Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-09-02
vOLHYAIA ONE Of
RUSSIA FINE ST
BORDER PROVINCES

part of Volhynia to invasion. The Blu
reau of Information of the National
Geographic society. with headquarters
in thic city, has prepared the follow
ing data on the geography and history
of Volhynia for the use of the public
in interpreting war moves in that re-
gion:
"Volhynia, a little smaller than the
state of South Carolina, lies immedi-
ately east of Poland proper and Cali
cha. A broad, fat spur of the Car
pGthians sweeps across the Galician
boundary and forms plateau in the
southern part, which reaches maxi
mum elevation of 1900 feet and slopes
gradually toward the marshes of Pinsk
and the Pripet river. This part Of the
province is billy and intersected by
deep river valleys, the chief river be-
ing the western Bug.
Forests cover a considerable part
OF the area, and are exploited on a
large scale, timber being extensively
exported in normal times.
"The population of Volhynia is ap-
proximately 4,O0O,0O00 Although the
United States Of America have only
nine states which have smaller area,
we have only five that have a larger
population-New York, Pennsylvania,
Illinois, Ohio, Texas More than three
fourths Of the inhabitants are Little
Russians, the other elements being
White and Great Russians, Poles, Jews,
and Germans. The conditions of peas
ant ownership of land are somewhat
different from those obtaining in other
parts of Russia, the peasants owning
approximately one-half About AZ per
cent. of the land is in the hands of
private owners. Many Germans live
on lands bought from the Russian
government
In the northern portion Of the prov
ince there is little farming land, more
than so per cent. of the territory be-
ing occupied by virgin forests, but in
the southern part there is a considera-
BILE agricultural industry. It is said
that the productive capacity OF the
southern region is approximately So
100000 bushels Of cereals alone. In
the northern section timber and fire.
wood are exported in large quantities,
together with much pitch, tar, wooden
ware, etc Deposits of Ignite and coal
with some graphite and kaolin are to
lie found.
THE manufacturing industries OF
Volhynia include sugar works, dis
tilleries, textile mills and candle, to-
Eacco, glass, cloth and agricultural i'm
plement factories.
There are a number of railroads in
Volhynia, one crossing it from Warsaw
to Kiev, another from Lemberg to
Petrograd, and a third from Konigs-
burg toward odessa.
THE first glimpse that history re
veals of the province shows slavs
dwelling there From the 9Th century,
TIE towns of Volhynia, Vladimir, Oy-
rutch, Lutsk and Dunno were ruled by
descendants CT the great Scandinav
ian chief, Rurik the Red, and Volhynia
remained independent until the 14th
century. Then it fell into the hands
cf Lithuania, only to be annexed to
Poland in 1869, and finally to pass to
Russia uron the last partition of the
Polish empire.
"Volhynia lies within what is known
as West Russia, as distinguished from
Little Russia and South Russia, lying
to the south, and Great Russia, which
lies some hundred miles to the east.
1t would probably have to be entirely
conquered before line Of communi-
cations into Bessarabia and Podolia
would be free from the danger of be-
ing broken by an even partially re-
habilitated Russian army The CON
quest of Volhynia by Germany and a
successful drive on Odessa would
serve to shorten the eastern battle
front by several hundred miles Civ
ing an almost straight line from the
southern shore of the Gulf Of Riga to
the northernmcst waters OF the Black
Sea. At present the line zig-zags its
way from Ri a to the lower Carpath-
fans. and then follows these noun
tains don the border Of Moldayia'
thenct east by way Of Focshani and
Calatz, to the Danube and the Black
Sea. The air line distance of battle
front between Riga and odessa would
be $50 miles. The eastern front as OF
August 10th was approximately $50
miles
The effort of the Acknowledgements