The herald., 1897-05-02
VALUE OF CoNsTANTINoPLE

When Napoleon I was at the acme OF
his career and seemed in a fair way to
found the most powerful dynasty on
earth, the only apparent obstacle was
Russia. The ambitious emperor made
overtures to the czar with view to form
an alliance and divide the earth. Alex
ander I told "the Little Corporal that
he would not oppose the French In their
desire to subjugate Europe. provided
Constantinople were given to Russia
Napoleon. who was about the most far
seeing ruler Of modern times weighed
carefully the proposition. and after
due consideration refused the terms
He thought the city on the Bosphorus
worth more than all the rest Of Europe.
To any one who viii lay map Of the
eastern hemisphere before him the rsa-
sons will appear obvious. With circle
having Constantinop ople as its center. the
circumference will paes through Stock
holm, the capital Of Sweden, st. Peters
burg. the capital Of Russia. Orenburg.
In the Ural mountains. Bokara. the cap
ital Of Tartary, pass beyond Teheran.
the capital Of Persia. touch the mouth
Of the Persian gulf. pass through the
Arabian sea, swing past the mouth of
the Red Sea, sweep through central
Africa. pact Morocco and the Straits of
Gibraltar, go outside Of Madrid, touch
Lisbon and hit the meridian of Greenwich
at London. That circle will cifcumscribe
about half the population Of the globe,
three-Quarters Of it's best civilization and
four-fifths Of its commerce and wealth.
No other spot on the face Of the earth is
90 situated as commercial center.
From a strategic point of view the cap
ital Of the Ottoman empire 10 quite as
remarkable II the Black Sea to the
north and the Mediterranean to the
south open up the highways of the COM
merce Of all nations to the wharves of
this beautifully situated city, the Dar-
danelles and Bosphorus close its gates
against the combined fleets Of all ma tions
in time Of war. From where the Black
Sea pours its great tide. through the one
channel to where the other empties it
into the Mediterranean Is perhaps 200
miles. But the Bosphorus is not more
than twenty miles long and not much
more than a mile wide at any point. The
Dardanelles ar, little longer and about
as wide on an average. The sea of Mar
mora occupies all the rest of the distance
and widens to perhaps forty or fifty
miles The city is on the Bosphorus
just where it debouches into the sea of
Marmora. 1t is built upon tongue of
land reaching down into harbor which,
from Its shape, has been called "The
Golden Horn" Strabo, the ancient
geographer. says of it, 1T is like stag's
horn, for it is broken into many creeks
like so many branches" The waters all
the way from the Black Sea to the Medi-
terranean are practically tideless, and
excepting In the middle of the sea of
Marmora so sheltered by bold shores,
well wooded that ships lie at the
wharves along the city front or at
anchor IN the harbor with the utmost
80 efAS A'i'iA4cQidNc l4dIDDF lZUU
ships can ride, and along the adjacent
bays and shores all the shipping
Of the world might find shelter.
Batteries on the two straits, we'll
mounted and manned would render
their passage absolutely impossible. A
line of land Notifications from the Golden
Horn to the sea of Marmora would pro-
tect the city from the attack of any
army, if one could ever reach its walls
were it the capital OF an intelligent and
warlike people competent to man the
passes of the mountains to the rear of
the city. We all know what it cost
Russia to dislodge Osman Pasha in the
Balkans at Plevna in 1877.
The history of the city proves all that
ts claimed for ii in the way of com
merce or of war. 1t has had a career
matched by no other city on earth. For
nearly twenty-six centuries it has gath
cred the trade of a large area of the
world, and has withstood more sieges
Than any ten cities in existence. It has