Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-26
GATRW AVS OF WORLD
THEMEDF ADDRESS BY COL. JOHN
q 9McELRoY.
Free Course of Lectures for the People
sa at Eastern High
q aea School.


"The Gateways of the World was the
subject ofza fetsture delivered at the East
ern High School Friday night by Col. John
McElroy,f past senior vice commander In
chief of the Grand Army of the Republic.
A large audience greeted him. and the adj
dress, with its numerous illustrations of
romantic spots, battles for mountain
passes, ancient soldiery. medieval methods
| of travel and wild west scenes was plenti-
fully punctuated with applause. Particularly
was this true of his arrival at the gateways
of Our Own United States which was
represented by great American flag,
thrown over the United States in such
! way as to outline it, using Alaska as
tassel at the top Pictures of the surrender
at Appomattox, Grant, Lee, and Let us
have peace" were also enthusiastically
greeted
When in closing he sketehed the influence
of the American idea and how 1t had
changed the maps of the world in less than
Il century, a, large American flag was
limned upon the screen, and was greeted
with an ovation
Col McElroy declared that nature has
divided the surface of the earth into con-
tinents by great barriers of oceans, high
mountain ranges and wide deserts. and that
again by similar barriers, subdivisions OF
continents have been formed into what is
known as countries or nations. These bar
rfers, he said are of the utmost Importance
from their tendency to fuse together the
people of diverse races. customs ana Ian
guages inclosed by them into homogeneous
nations. Penetrating these barriers are
great natural gateways through which all
communications and commerce between the
different countries pass. The nigh lmpor-
lance of these gateways is Indicated by the
constant recurrence through the centuries
OF great battles in their neighborhood, nav
ing for an object their possession. that be-
ing of vital interest to commerce and travel
Armies, he declared, have always been
sent to attack or to protect these passes
An illustration he said, is France, which is
shut off from the rest of Europe by the nigh
mountain walls of the Pyrennees, Alps,
Jura and Vosges. France was originally
peopled by many races, diverse IN origin,
language and customs, but through the CEN
turtles were fused into homogeneous people
with the same language, religion and gov
eminent. The main gateway to france is
where the Vosges mountains SINK down INTO
the sea plain, and is occupied by Beigium
and Luxembourg, which have been for thou
sands of years 1.-The cockpit of Europe
Greatest in History.
The greatest gateway in ancient history,
he declared was the Plain of Esdraelon,
near Jerusalem. which was the only pas
sage between the continents of Asia and
Africa, and the gate by which the people of
Asia Minor reached the Mediterranean sea.
| There was periodic battling for 1000 years
for the possession of this gateway, in which
all the nations Of ancient history were IN
volyed. The next great gateway, IN nus
opinion is. that of Constantinople and the
valley of the Danube, which is the main
| doorway between the continents of Europe
| and Asia, and fer which there has been IN
| cessant fighting, for thousands OF -. years.
session. was fought as late as 1871, ana
Russia got within eight miles of CONSTANT,
nople before Europe rose in her might ana
pushed her back from victory.
he AtJantic SaabOarQ of the UnteQ
States then claimed his attention. 1t is
separated from the great interior by the
| Appalachian chain OF mountains, ne salo,
| through which great gateWays nave Deen
cut by the Hudson, Susquehanna, Potomac,
James, Monongahela, Kanawha and Ten
nessee rivers and which are now taken ad-
vantage of by the great railroad systems
| between the ,,yseabeard and the, interior.
These have all been the. scenes of fearful
| fighting for their ,eontroLNand then with PIC
| lures on the screen and graphic WORD pic
lures as we'll he delineated some or these.
The Potomac river, he stated, forms bar
| rier between the northern and southern sec
lions of the Atlantic coast, and washington,
| In connection with Richmond, forms the
| great gateway through which all communi-
| cations and trade must pass. Fhe controi
| of this gateway was the cause OF the nerces,
and most continuous fighting IN the clvH
war during which the battles or magnitude,
| unprecedented in the history of the world,
| were fought and the country around FRED,
ericksburg made a second Esdraelon and
the end of the war came when the Union
| armies secured complete control
| The next fact of highest Importance, ne
| thought, was the barrier of the Rocky
| mountains between the great interior OF the
| country and the Pacific coast. Like the
passes through the Appalachian chain of
| mountains the passes through this barrier
were first made by the great animals in
| search of food, prey, salt and water. They
were followed by the Indians in war and
| hunting parties, then by the trappers and
| traders then by the gold seekers and immi-
grants Next came the stage coach, and
| finally the great transcontinental railroads,
which traverses these mountains through
| three great gateways.
| The most stupendous fact in all history.
he declared, has been that more than half
| of the population of the earth is eoncen-
trated upon the far eastern shores of the
| Pacific in China Japan, Hindostan and the
/ adjoining countries.
Control of Trade Routes.
"The control of the trade routes with the