Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1904-05-23
1.-THE KEY OF THE PACIFIC"
VIadiVostock Prominently For
tress.

NldoINOStoSk FTe~emlnently ToT-
tress.
Pail Mall Gazette. Russians have
described Vladivostock as the key to
the Pacific. l believe that a literal
translation of the name gives the title
Sovereign of the East" to the place
upon which the Russians have lavished
millions and millions of rubles. Vladi-
Ivostock is prominently fortress. The
interests of the army and navy center
! there, and around the fortunes Of these
two services the place has sprung up.
/ 1t is also the chief town of east Siberia
in fact, it may be said TO be the most
I important seat of Russian influence in
the far East. 1t is so much more for
midable than Port Arthur, so much
more magnificent than Dalny, so much
I larger than Khabarovsk, and it pos
sesses such an admirable harbor, that
il is not surprising that the Russians
regard the town and its surroundings
as the hub Of Greater Russia in the
East
The town is situated on the slopes
of high ridge forming a tapering pen
insula which projects into an irregular,
1 iandlocked bay. The entrance is COM
manded by Russia island, where there
is an important fort, and innumerable
small islets, on which, too, the general
scheme of the Notifications is also car
ried out Again, along the crests of
the landlocked harbor, stretching for
miles to the eastward and known as
the Golden Horn, there are other con-
tinuous chains of earthworks and de-
I fensive positions. The lofty hills on
the northwest protect the port from the
land side, and in the deep water of the
Golden Horn, which is four miles long
and half a mile in width, ships ride
safely at anchor, free from the menace
! of attack and beyond the reach Of the
weather The guns mounted on the
hills are plainly visible from the water
/ in a number of places, while in curious
contrast to the smiling muzzles of these
/ pieces of artillery are the clusters of
suburban residences which are scat
tered about the hillside. even descend
/ ing in places to the level of the water.
The main street runs east and west
( through the business quarters and
/ across the railway track to Amur bay
and east past the government buildings.
The main street, Svetlandskaya, named
after the frigate upon which Grand
/ Duke Alexis visited the port in 1873,
follows the curve of the Golden Horn.
/ Lying between the street and the
shore, on rising ground, are the resi-
! dences of the commandant of the port,
/ the public gardens, the admiralty gar
dens, the museum of the geographical
society, the residence of the governor
of Primorsk, the grounds OF the Mari
time club, the native bazars and the
steamboat quay. At one point there is
a magnificent granite monument sur
mounted by a bronze globe, on which
perches an eagle with outstretched
wings. This monument commentaries
the memory of Admiral NevelsHi, who
made several voyages to the East in
the Early SOS. On the north side Of
the street there is the cathedral of the
Holy Virgin, and there are also the of
fees Of the municipal council, the post
and telegraph bureau and the railway
station.
The Svetlandskaya is crossed by
these two streets intersect is the COM
mercial center of the town. The main
street is well paved with granite, and
it is efficiently drained. The sidewalks
are raised and asphalted, the houses
offices or public buildings. as they may
be-are imposing and lofty structures
of brick. The pretensions to architec-
tural beauty which Vladivostock boasts
come to those who know Siberia and
the untidy wastes of the towns there
as a pleasing contrast.
Labor in Vladivostock is native-Chi-
nese, Korean or Japanese, the Russian
authorities finding that greater eff
cheney is procurable at the hands OF
these workmen than is the case when
the work is given over to the Russians.
There is, therefore, a very large native
population, alien to Russian authority,
but contented, peaceful and industri-
Gus. This section of the population
not only supplies the labor market, but
controls large proportion of the trade
which makes Vladivostock its center
The trade of Vladivostock is compre-
helsive. It's imports include most OF
the products Of the West, while its ex-
ports are characteristic of its position
and quite local as regards their destin-
alton. AS a commercial center Vladivos-
took is superior to Dalny, although the