The Leader, enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1915-1921, 1917-05-11
HARBOR OFLISBON
READY FOR ATTACK

hes Off Commercial Square, which
correspondents with the Battery in
New York, two long lines of destroy
crs have been drawn up clear across
the broad entrance of the Tagus. The
long, black bulls of the destroyers are
SO close together that at half-tide they
swing at anchor broadside toward the
sea, almost touching, and presenting
a double line of batteries pointing off
at the German submarines darling
along the coast.
But Lisbon feels secure against an
enemy attack by sea, for besides the
double lines of destroyers, ready for
defense or quick sortie, there are
cruisers and gunboats with steam up,
and back of them the big land forti-
fications on both banks of the Tagus,
rising on high terraces and present.
ing a semi-circle of massive stone
fronts topped with lines of heavy
| GUNS. anu DCSluCS lllSSG IdQQ ana
sea defenses, there is the feeling that
the British feet is not far off and
presents pretty solid barrier against
the German fleet bottled up in the
Kiel canal
When the British naval commission
VISITED here short time ago still an
other naval defense was devised and
has since been put into execution.
This is heavy steel net extending
Gear across the channel leading from
Lisbon to the sea. This can be low
fered at stated intervals for the pas
sage of commercial traffic. But when
in position it is not only a bar to
submarine, but any which venture
near it are. likely to be caught and
held in its meshes.
There are two German submarines
which appear to be keeping a pretty
constant vigil of the nearby coast.
How they are provisioned and
equipped is mystery. They have
not done much damage to large mer-
chant ships, but give their special at
tention to the smaller craft and the
fishing fleets. 1t has practically put
an end to the coastwise trade, and
good share of the trade of Oporto
has been stopped The shipping to
England and France is also greatly
curtailed. This is adding to England's
food danger, for much of her fruits
and vegetables and most of her wine
was drawn from Portugal
Portugal is feeling the pinch, also,
in being cut off from a supply of coal
from the Cardiff coal mines, and in
having its supplies of fish cut off.
Coal has gone up to $37 and $40 a
ton, and is SO scarce it cannot be OBJ
tanned at any price. The normal price
is about 81 ton. Besides the de-
rangement of domestic heating and
cooking, and the misery caused to
the poor, the lack of coal is proving
| a serious menace to factories rail
roads, tramways and the heating and
lighting of public places, hotels and
theatres. The government has sought
to remedy the situation by reducing
the lights in the streets. extinguish-
ing all lighting at an early hour, and
advancing the legal time by one hour
so that people will get up earlier and
live more in the daylight.
With long seacoast Portugal has
always had such an abundance of fish
as to feel proof against any lack of
meat and other foods But with the
submarines stopping fishing, the nor
NAL supply of fish has suddenly been
stopped, and the price has doubled
and trebled, until the poor are unable
to get the usual supply of fish on
which they depended. Four fishing
boats were sunk within the last week
The war is making itself felt in
many other ways. Most of the young
men have been called into military
service, as the small peace footing
of the army has now been increased
to war footing of several hundred
thousand men, including about 10000
sent to the western fighting front,
as many more go to Portuguese East
Africa, and large reserve for home
defense and recruiting forces at the
front. The streets of the cities and
towns are now crowded with soldiers
and at the railway stations one sees
long lines of freight cars loaded with
light field guns and military equip
ment.
In the agricultural sections. also,
the war is showing itself in the alb
sence Of men and the increased num-
Der of women doing the farm work.
In ride of a thousand miles through
the farm country, with the spring