The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-07-12
Some of ItaIy's Richest Treas
ures and Memories May Be
RuthIessIy Destroyed.

WASHINGTON. July Where
romance and industry, beauty and
squalor, the greatest in art and yeri-
est quackery run riotous patterns
through the sub-A1pfne lands of Italy,
| invasion is threatening again, and
such of the rich heritage of civiliza-
| ton. as has weathered the many
storms that have gathered and
broken ever northern Italy. is again
in danger Of wars ruthless destruc-
ton. Some OF Italy's richest treas
sures and memories are contained
in her northern cities. and here. too.
lies the weight OF Industrial, com
mercial and political italy. An in
innate description OF these provinces
AUDITING upon the latest battlefront
tier has been prepared for the Ma
tional Geographic Society by Florence
Craig Albrecht. whose understanding
of Italy is that of longtime, SYM
pathetic friend. She writes:
THE fatal gift of beauty. which
is Italy's dover. is that of each OF
The unified Italy. which our genera
ton has known, is no older than US.
The peninsula bounded, roughly
speaking, by the Alps. the Mediter-
hanean, the Adriatic and the TYR
henean sea, has been occupied from
the dawn of history to our own time
by countless rival states; has been
III turn both conqueror and con-
quered; ruler of half the world. vas
sal of petty kings. Each OF its an
cient cities presents a shield so dented
with scars, so overwritten with
words and deeds. that no casual tour
list may decipher 1t. Its loveliness,
however, he may none-the-less enjoy.
Italy'S Glowing Pages.
t.If Italy's pages in history are
drenehed in blood, they are gilded
and glowing also with music and
poetry and song, with valor and love
and art. If she were not a nation.
she was the home of many; bit
of earth SO lovely that the coolest
headed seographer must admire;; a
Mace that gave birth not only to
wondrous fruits and flowers, but to
marvellous children Of men.
tsWhat our debt to her may be
in architecture. IN sculpture, In
painting, In music, in poetry. In all
that raises life from dull necessttous
routine-none may measure. Her
political past we may criticize; her
artistic, never.
ttFrom Genoa northward to Pavia
is but little way. but that way
is over the Ligurian Alps, all green
and gray with vineyards and olives.
and noisy with swift little rushing
rivers. and mill-wheels clacking
around-a lovelysway that eventually
brings us into the plain OF Lombardy,
And here there are many rich cities
and much of art and of history, for in
this great fertile plain between huge
mountain chains armies have ever
gathered, looking up toward the Alps
to great victories over the pagans
beyond them, or, themselves pagans'
rejoicing in the 1uxuriance spread be
fore them, as they faced 1oyousiy the
Apennines and Rome.
Alps Natural Barrier.
..Northward the snow peaks OF the
Alps form natural barrier. it-would
seem, to the nation tenanting this
peninsuIa: but soldiers have little
sympathy with geographical boun-
daries save for strategic purposes
and diplomatists none. The western
chain OF Alps bends southwark to
the Mediterranean. ending presum-
ably in the breat headland between
Nice and Monaco. Across this ply
steal boundary line Italy's western
| limits have been thrust back and
| forth through centuries. reaching
once FAR beyond Nice. at present not
quite touching Mentone,s which &c
fifteen miles to the East OF It. IN
| the Central Alps the southern slopes
belong to Italy. although, Of course,