Norwich bulletin., 1916-10-03
THE WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Society

Constantza-"From now until peace is declared Rumania's chief seaport, Constantza, will consecrate her mod
 ern docks and quays to the import
 trade in Russian soldiers whereas be- fore the war this thriving little city of all the surplus wheat raised by the
 Rumanian peasants which did not find
 it's way up the Danube to the great
 four mills of Budapest" says today's
 war geography bulletin issued by the
 National Geographic Society. "A large percentage of the 'Czars
 fighting men who will pass through
 RUmania bound for the Hungarian and
 Bulgarian frontiers will embrark from
 Odessa, ITO miles northeast of Con-
 stantza via the Black Sea lane trav
 ersed in peace times by passenger
 ships of the Rumanian state-owned
 steamship lines, 190 miles to the south
 of ~~Constantza is ConsIantinople,
 through which the Allies hope event.
 ually to secure the vast stores of grain no wheld in Southern Russia, as well
 as the coming seasons wheat crop of
 Rumania.
 Until hostilities began in 1914 Con
 stantza was the transfer point for the
 extensive passenger service from Lon- don. Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Vienna and Budapest to Constantinople and
 the Near East. Here express steam
 CTS connected with the deluxe trains
 from the west. making the run to the
 Sublime Porte overnight.
 Millions of dallars have been spent on the harbor and docks of Constantza since the town became a Rumanian
 possession by the Treaty of Berlin,
 vince to this country. The principal improvements were begun in 1888. "COnstantza, or Kustendje, with it's
 wide clean streets. it's numerous mos queS, synagogues and churches, occu- pies the site of the ancient Tomi,
 Tonis or Tones, the metropolis of the Euxine. The remains of many col umns and fragments of statuary testi- fy to the importance and the wealth Of | the city in those days. In the fourth century Constantine the Great changed the name of the port to Constantina in honor of his sister. During the reign Of Theodosfus it experienced an era of great posperity as the metropolis of Pontus, but after it passed under the control of the Bulgars and later of i the Turks it's decline was dapird In the Russo Turkish war. of 1912 it was bombarded by the Russians, and IT years later surrendered to the same power without blow in it's defence. Probably the most noteworthy event | In the history of ancient Tomi was it's de%gnation by the Emperor Augustus
 as the place of exile of the great Latin l tOO| NN44GS oN1d4pS known as Ovid. The poets offense
 was the publication of 'Ars Amatoria''
 which enjoys the questionable dis 1 tinction, according to no less an au-
 thority than the Oxford scholar, George Sidney Oxen, of being perhaps the
 most immoral work ever written by a
 man of genius. Augustus had become ] peculiarly sensitive about such litera-
 ture because he had been forced to l banish and disinherft his own daugh- | ter. the brilliant and beautfmul Julia,
 on account of her scandalous intrf- | que with the son of Mark Antony. | This disgrace was followed by sec | ond scandal in the imperial family - | the notorious behavior of the younger Julia, the emperor's granddaughter. As | Socrates was charged with having corrupted the youth of Athens, So Ovid
 was deemed by Augustus as at least in | part responsible for the corruption of youthful society in Rome. Therefore l he was ordered to leave the capital and take up his residence at To1ni.
 where he remained for the last eight years of his 1ffes sbitterly complaining of his fate in series Of letters, com
 piled as the five books of the Tristta."