Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-07-22
EAST ADRIATIC COAST.
Beautiful Bays. Picturesque Cities
and Historic Buildings.
From the New York sun.

| From the New YORK sun
The entrance of the southern Eu-
ropean states into the war promises
| to make an active scene of opera
| lions of the east Adriatic coast that
| has so far been scarcely more than
| the background of the great strife.
! This western fringe of the Balkan
| peninsula, with its harbors and strong
strategic vantage points, has long been
| A contention between Austrian and
! Italian diplomatists and the goal
toward which Serb ambition has strug-
. gled for a window on the sea.
| The Austrian fleet operating from
| Pola has been Zealotsly guarding this
| treasure of the dual monarchy, max
| ing now and then dash INTO Anti
vari and then bombarding the neigh
! boring black mountains, while the
| British and French in their effort 10
| succor their diminutive Montenegrin
ally have tried to force their way
the romantic beauties of clusters of
islands, the medieval charms of the
towns and the fascinating remains of
the splendors of Rome's declining days
and of the freshness and vigor OF the
Venetian republic have been undis-
turbed.
Perhaps nowhere else can these two
, interesting periods be studied to such
an adVanta ge: and as the coast has
been somewhat the byway of. travel
| and the world has just begun TO know
| it. may ii remain undisturbed, its
treasures undefiled by wars rava ges.
There are few more beautiful bodies
of water than the Bocche of Cattaro,
or auainter towns than those the Nene-
tians built or embellished with their
art at the foot of the rugged combining
mountain slopes. II was at Spaiato
that Diocletian built his great ram
bling palace and where was the origi-
nal tomb of the emperor. AT cara is
the church of San Donate, its flooring
the pavement of the old Roman forum.
At Durazzo a great Struggling wall
that il took years to build climbs the
hills to browning Venetian citadel.
and. marking out an area ten times
greater than the present town, are tn"
remains of its ancient Roman wall.
Ragusa built soIdly to last forever
and remaining much as the t"netia ms
left it, was once the stronghold OF the
| Adratic. but now its massive walls
| challenge the marksmen Of the mod
! ern battleship. And what target
would he the old Roman amphitheater
on the hillslope of Pola Just above the
| topmasts of the Austrian ships
Whatever the result OF the war, the
! status Of the coast will be materially
| affected A Teutonic victory would
! mean the shutting off of Serbia from
| her coveted Adriatic outlet, the
| Dalmatia and Bosnia and the fortify-
! ing of her position as an arbiter Of the
| future of unfortunate Alba mia. Rome
| reported some time ago, as one OF the
preliminaries of Italy's entrance into
! the war, an understanding with Serbia
| as TO the division of this coast. How
far the ambitions of both of these ma
| lions extend regards Dalmatla Is
not known; but it is beyond a Ques-
| ton that Serbia will demand Ragusa,
| which in spite of the many years since
| a Serb monarch ruled there, is sun to
| her the South Slavic Athens" and a
| strip further south to let her sister
| Serb state of Montenegro out Of her
black mountains. And Italy must find
herself dominant in Albania. secure.
| If not in possession, at least in the ac-
| tual control of the important harbors
| of DuraZZo and Avlona.
| But whatever the exactions of war.
may fate deal kindly with this inter
| esting, beautiful coast. it's long trou-
| bled people and its treasures.