Evening star., 1915-06-02
|ADR|AT|C ONCE MORE
THEATER OF WARFARE
Fine Harbors Of Naval and Com
mercial Value Line It's
Eastern Shore.
Mastery Of Mediterranean May Be
Decided Upon Its Waters by
Present Conflict.

"once more the peoples upon the op-
posite shores of the Adriatic sea are
| in a duel with one another for the
mastery of the Mediterranean-just as
| neighbors across this arm of the land
| locked sea have always clashed-for
| upon the Adriatic south European su-
premacy has been contested since the
| days when Rome fell heir to the sea
| power of Athens and Carthage. Over
| this waterway Rome met the pirates
of Istria and Dalmatia, aggressive
Teutonic tribes and pressing hordes
| of Slavs: over 1t the empire of the
east sent it's expeditions to attack the
empire of the west: and Austria a
generation ago waged war with a dis
| integrated Italy over Adriatic paths
and for the suzerainty Of the sea"
| After giving the above brief review
| of this historic theater for the trans
| port of invading armies and the &C
ttOns OF battle fleets, youngest of the
war theaters in the present European
| struggle. around whose shores the in
terest Of south European battles Will
center through the months to come.
the bulletin issued today by the Ma
tional Geographic Society continues in
| presentation of the geographic de-
tails of the Adriatic sea:
The Adriatic sea is 500 miles long
and about 130 miles wide at Its great
est width. 1t separates the Italian and
Balkan peninsulas as far as Brindisi
and the lower coast of Albania. and
ends at the Strait of Otranto. by which
| it communicates with the 1onian sea.
Its average width is ITO miles. but the
islands Off the Dalmatian and Istrian
coasts decrease this average to about
ninety miles The sea is very deep,
varying from 500 feet in the north to
more than 1000 feet in its southern
area
Great Naval and Commercial Value.
THE Austrian or eastern coast is
very broken, strewn with fine harbors
and lined with numerous rock islands.
which belong to Istria and Dalmatia-
This eastern coast is of great naval
and commercial value. we'll formed for
ports. and. by reason OF its almost
continuously mountainous shores, its
deep CULTS and bays and its screening
fringe Of rocky islands. advantageously
defended The western or Italian
coast. on the other hand, is low, sandy
and almost unbroken. 1t lacks good
harbors and offers few natural advan-
tages for defense.
THE commercial Importance Of the
Adriatic sea throughout the dark ages
and the middle ages was very great.
This Importance was somewhat i'm
paired by the opening of the all-sea
route to India and by the determined
groWths of the Dutch and English
merchant marines.
with the opening of the Suez canal
and the commercial and industrial
awakening OF Italy and Austria Hungary.
the Adriatic regained much il its old time
significance Tho most important COM
mercial points are Trieste. Venice, Fiume,
Ancona and Brindisi Venice and Trieste,
at the head OF the Adrfatic, are the two
foremost cities.
Sea Very Salty.
Owing to tho systems Of screening
mountains the Adriatic receives but little
drainage. There are only two rivers OF
any considerable size that empty into it.
the Adige and the Pc. The water OF this
sea, therefore. is very salty Navigation
is generally safe, although there are some
dangerous points upon the eastern coast,
and sudden, northerly squalls often lash
the waters with terrific force against the
rock bound coast
are those Of Manfredonia on the west,
Venice and Trieste on the north and Quar-
nero on the northeast There are numer-
GUS and admirable bay harbors. extend
Ing from Fiume and eliminating in the
wonderful land-locked harbor, the Bocche
di Cattaro. Tho Strait Of Otranto, where
Italy approaches nearest to the Balkan
mainland, is forty five miles wide Here
is the magnificent Albanian harbor,
Avlona, over which Italy aspires to win
control"