The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-11-10
F|UNE:: A CR0AT|Ah
SEAPORT OF INTEREST
Soidiers--How the Magyars Took
1t From Croatia.

From Fiume come reports OF
smoulderiny rebellion among the
Croatian people, The sudden revolt
of the seventy ninth regiment of
Croatian soldiers stationed at Fiume
must he taken as an indication of the
way the wind blows. 1t was brief
enough, for three Austro- hungarian
regiments were hurr cd up treln Al
bania to crush it. Nevertheless, there
was bitter fghtina in the streets of
the city before the uprising subsidized
and scores of people were killed.
Even If II is nothing more, the unrest
in Fiume IS another significant proof
that the Croatians are ripe for revo-
luton.
Fiume. or Reka, as 1t is called in
the Croatian tongue, has long been
source of friction between the Magr
yrs and Croatians. Although 1t was
built on Croatian soil. the greed of
the Hungarians led them to snatch it
away from it's owners in 1868. Tn
way In which they did this was extra
ordinary. Some years previous there
! bad been an agreement between the
Magyars and Croats that Fiume
should remain under Croatian con-
| troll together with the rest of the
Croatian territory. This irritated the
! Hungarian traders, who had begun
| to covet port on tho Adriatic. Con
sequentIy the Hungarian governor OF
/ Croatia boldly pasted a strip of paper
/ over the part Of tho contract which
| related to the city OF Fiume and de-
/ clared it Il separate governmental
unit. annexed TO Hungary. This docu-
ment, with the strip of paper pasted
! over part Of 1t, is still preserved in
! the archives o. che Asiafaae officials. =
Many Jugo- Slnvs in Port.
! Today the government officials at
/ Fillma are Magyars and so are most
of the commercial people and ship
owners. But fully one-half Of the
! citys population or 1896 are Croa-
| tians ana belong to the Jueo-Slav
race. There is also large italian ele-
ment which is prominent in COM
merce and in the rity government.
! Although Fiume is one of the three
/ important seaports Of the northern
! Adriatic tthe other two are Venice
and Trieste). 1t Is not a natural har-
Dor. Up to the middle of the last
century it was only d small port on
a steep coast. exposed to all the gales.
At enormous expense an artificial har-
Dor was constructed and railroads
were built to Zagteb. Belgrade and
| budapest The city quickly became
the port of export FOR the entire Pam
nonian and also for northern Siberia.
For twenty-five years, F'iums has
been a hourishng commercial center
and the headquarters of several large
steamship companies. The "Adria',
which is subsidized by the Hungarian
government, possessed before the war
! thirty-three vessels with total ton
! mage of 1869 tons. They cerved the
trade between Fiume. the ports of the
western Mediterranean. and South
America A smaller line Is the"un-
! CARO- Croatia, which had a feet of
-
plying between the local ports on the
Croatian and Da!matian coast.
Fiume was also port OF call for the
Cunard Line boats sailing between
New York and Mediterranton ports.
There are also a number of large fac
tories. including that o tn e White
! head Torpedo works, an English firm.
Surroundings Picturesque.
! Fiume presents an appearance of
| striking lovliness when approached
from tbs sea. Behind it is the steep
slopc of the Trsat mountain and on
} either side arc the seaside resorts Of
the -GrAatian Rivitrt. with thefr mar
BILE villas and tropical gardens. To
one OF these watering places. Dpatia,
the Gar Nicholas used frequently to
come. At other villages along the
sunny shore are palaces belonging to
the German kaiser and TO the Empe-
ror of Auatria.
Aside from its commercial import
ance, Fiume il clean and modern
city. 1t has a number OF stately pub
! lie buildings, including a stock ex-
change and chamber of commerce.,
great wharves and piers, fine city
hall, and very old cathedral There
are several small parks and public
squares and the principal streets are
broad and paved with asphalt. The
townspeople dress ordinarily in plain
European garb. but on market lays
the squares are filed with a sprink-
ling OF caily dressed country people,
who come to hiring fruit. green vege-
tables. and other produce from the
adjoining islands and farms. There
are Istrians, dressed in pinks and,
blues with great shoulder bags called
+ "bisagr'. containing cheeses on d
fruits. There are also Dalmatian
wine and oil merchants, and Croatian
/ farmers who wear wide brooches,
blue vests. and small fiat e caps
/ with tassets. The harbor Is usually
dotted with the plum coloret sails of
the boats belonging to Italian fisher
men, who catch great quantities of
tuna fish In adjoining waters.
RahtuH t,futaa NS nj tad /