Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-21
THE WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Society

"MarseiIle, the unwearied contestant for Mediterranean trade during twen- ty-six centuries, and the city wherein the earliest naval traditions of France were formed. whence fleets were sent
 before Rome's day of power to chal-
 lenge the great Mediterranean port city, Carthage, is today the principal
 naval base for the Allies upon the
 Middle Ocean: and, with the shifting
 of the stress of the world war toward
 the East, to the Balkans, to Turkey
 n-Europe, to Syria and Mesopotamia, it is become a place of first strategic
 consequence, while, from its harbor,
 steady stream of the 'sinews of war
 fare is pouring into the vital fields bordering the eastern seacoast," be- gins the primer on war geography is- sued today by the National Geogra- phic Society.
 ''MarseiHe has been an important city through all of Europe's historic ages. It has been in competition for the commerce of its inland sea from earliest times; has seen it's competi- | tors, one by one, reach their zenith and decline, while it still remains a foremost Mediterranean port. It's ri vals, today, are of the younger set of cities, Genoa comparatively youthful | and Triest, a new conner into the fold | of contending world-ports. Genoa, | though of about equal age with Mar seilles as a harbor, first came into | commercial fame during the early Mid | dle Ages. SIdon, Tyre, Athens. Cor | inth, Carthage RaguSa, Pisa, Venice, | and host of other cities have at one 1 time and another, fought a bitter riv- airy with Marseille, and, of some of
 these, even the history of their efforts is forgotten, while their one time ri- | val has passed through several de- clines toward an ever greater future. ! Tracing its descent from early Pho 1 enician times, the fortunes of Marseille have fiuctuated with the fortunes of | civilization upon the Mediterranean l coasts. The Phoceans, a Greek people
 whose trading instincts carried them l beyond the confines of the known world 1 of their day, came after the Phoeni- | clans, took Marseilles from them, and
 made it the New York of the ancient
 seille became the first of trading ci-
 ties, and during the Punic wars its | aid saved Rome.
 Situated in the center of things Mediterranean on the Gulf of Lyon, l enjoying the advantages of an excel lent harhor. well equipped, together with a rich and productive hinterland Marseille has again become the first port on the inland sea, the first port of II France, the second city of the Repub- II lie, and ne of wealthiest communities
 in Europe. It lies 534 miles south
 southeast of Paris, with which it is
 connected by the Paris-Lyon- -Mediter- rance railway. The manufacturing city of Lyon lies 219 miles to the north
 upon the River Rhone, whose princi-
 pal channel reaches the Mediterranean
 Sea 25 miles west of Marseille.
 While Marseille possesses few ar
 chitectural eXtravagances, it is vel
 and solidly built and thoroughly mod ern. It has preserved no interesting remains from ancient times; for the modern spirit which has characterized its long life, has left it little apetite for reminiscence, and the wars thai have swept over it have destroyed
 much of its heritage. The public works Of the city and its conveniences however, are on a par with those O. the best administered municipalities O today.
 Tt has a considerable industry One-half of the quantity of soap pro
 duced in the whole of France is man ufactured here, amounting to nor than 200,000,000 pounds annually. Th' Marseille soap is an exclusive, lux \ ury produce. which has made it's wa. in all of the principal countries of tn
 world. There are here, also, suga
 refineries, with an annual production of 100000 tons; oil factories, fiou
 mills; tanneries; lead, tin and coppe plants; petroleum refineries; and fac
 tories for the production of candles
 macaroni, tiles and brick.
 The port does vast export ant import in peace times; buying cattle coffee, raw cotton and silk. hides an \ grain; and selling cotton and woolel goods, ribbons, soap, silk. sugar, grain fruits, wine, oil, and perfumes. It M shipping business is carried on aloni
 12 miles of model quays, where 2,50 vessels can be accommodated at on time