PARIS, November 4. — The latest news from Paris is that the French have resolved to fire the city of Champagne. They have destroyed the pride of the town, the glorious cathedral; they have left no stone untouched of the old palace of the archbishops, and they have set fire to houses without number. They have driven out of the city a part of the oldest, the weakest, and the most wealthy. They have destroyed values that never can be replaced, but they have only strengthened the will to live of the people of this wealthy city of Champagne.

The only thought of the people of Rheims is of their beloved cathedral, which the Cermans first declared had been bombarded through a mistake. That mistake now has been repeated so often that more than 1,500 shells have struck the famous building. The sight of the ruined main entrance between the towers brings tears to the eyes of the city's people. They never will forget the day when it took fire. According to a story believed here, the fire was due to a man who had lived among them for years, honored and respected, the millionaire champagne manufacturer. Mumm, now fighting as a lieutenant in the Kaiser's army.

The Rheims people say he told his countrymen that by aiming their guns at a small wooden scaffolding erected at the foot of the northwestern tower they would set the cathedral afire. They followed his advice, the story goes, and on September 11, 1914, they succeeded. The work of centuries went up in flames. 