The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-01-31

Washington. p. c.. Jan. 3o.-Mon-
tenegro is one OF the smallest mem
bers of the family OF nations, ana
freedom has made her sturdiest STANDS
among its dreary crags and unpro-
ductive rock-strewn. gravel slopes
Now, true to traditions of centuries
of inccssant warning. she has joined
in the world-war. with eagerness 10
expand IN the tobacco and grazing
lands Of Herzegovina A picture OF
the strongly individual characteristics
Of this nation. INJURED and contained
upon n mountain, whose entrance into
the war-scales caused hardly tremor
of the balance, has been prepared
for the National Geographic Society
|by George Higgins Moses. United
States Minister TO Greece and Monte
negro during 1so9-lai2. Surveying
the history Of the miniature country.
against which powerful lsIainic waves
broke In vain for centuries. the writer
says:
For 500 years they have main
itaiued freedom, which OF old mas SAT
upon the heights, anu, with suffeflnGs
ind eseri Ia bic, with courage iliimitaeie,
won from the great English apostle or
balkan freedom those words of an
dying praise In which he gave II as
his deliberate opinion that the ira
ditions OF Montenegro exceed In glory
those OF Marathon and Thermopylae
and all the war traditions or the
world" Everywhere within the little
kingdom, the writer says, one can see
memorials of grim. unhfohen straggie
of Montenegros people against the
power OF the Turk, a struggle IN which
the Turk, master through the Bal
kans, battered aginst the mountain
heights to no avail,
montenegro has lite to invite eS-
cept the majesty OF the vtstas IRON
sts higher cresls. and the little band
OF Slays who hed hither had free
dom more than luxury and ease IN
mind. At the creation, so runs
Montenegrtn logent given Mr. Moses.
an angel was sent forth TO gather The
superifuous stones on the sarth's sur
face.
lie placed these stones In q bag
which burst as ne was aging over
C'ernago.a. and Montenegro richeY
dover rs still the rocks which the an"
gel spilled upon IL.
The approach to tho Kingdom, a
winding way all up hin, is spoken
Of by the writer as a splendid piece
OF engineering. which weases up the
gaunt, gray cliffs, finally threading 81
narrow. easily defended defiie and
crossing over a pass mostly sSathed
IN clouds Montenegro. Mir. Moses
continues, Ii webhed with fine roads.
The expression OF the present king :
restless spirit for Improvement. The
capital Itself Cctin1e, is, hardly more
than u knot of cross-streets III two
broad roads Of this system. There
are no pretentious buildings in the
city, only two being of more than two
stories In heighth, the Russian and
the Austrian legations. The external
tlife OF tho capital is simple in the
leAtrcme.
/ Montenegrin. according to the
writer. are mostly u greater than
average stature. ana the anen have
come to feel theig principal calling
I to be thai OF war, The women OF
| Montenegro are it's economic pro6u-
/ cers, and, to quote King Nicholas,
who has married his delightful daugh-
| tiers to some of Europc's leading hous-
| es, the women are the lands most
important export. Tho men. Mr.,
| Moses says, are good workers whsn
| put to it, and whenever a Montene-
1 grin applying for a job Is asked what
, he can do he invariably answers. "sSn =
perlntend."
There is little commerce and al
| most no manufa ctures Ia the king
dom. whose lands are barely rich
ienough TO support the needs OF the
people in the most simple manner,
StBHpu iobHNstt lr kaASf-N IA TAG ItAhti
land few coarse stufYs are woven In
podgoritza. Nearly everything In usa.
however. ~ imported and duties and
prices are very high.
King Nicholas. democratic mon
larcl,, more patriarch than king,
lis an astute politician and n capable
administrator. Throughout his long
reign of more than fifty years. he
has accomplished much in the devel-
Z .,f la ~ has in. 90. a
+. his territory many times: adding two
| Adiatic ports TO his possession. and
Thoroughly organizing all departments
/ of his government
l