The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-02-02
(By Associated Press.)


centuries ago furnished an asylum
Of safety for refugees fleeing from
Attila, is today almost emptied. or
the 100000 persons who ordinarily
inhsbit the city, only about 1000
remain. But this is not because
Venice fears for her own protection.
Across the battlefield of the reeds 1t
is believed that no invader will pen
citrate to the islands of the Venetian
lagoon. The city puts her trust In
the lagoons as confidently as she
trusted to the sea in olden times.
To the visitor in Venice in these
days when the invading army lies
only a short march distant, one Of
the odd memories of the war will be
that of the music of the great guns
bombing from the Lid and the nests
CT reedy islets in the northern la
COON. That music accompanies you
all day in Venice.
The Queen of the Adriatic has her
face to the foe. She has shut her
shops and sent her merchandise
away. The army or navy has taken
her young men. Those that remain
have bricked up or sand-bagged her
churches and monuments and now
await the issue in entire calm. con-
fient that although the enemy is no
more than a long gun shot away, It
is not at her own gates that Venice
is menaced.
From Burano, a motor boat takes
you through a maze of channels into
the canal Silone where you thread
your way between reed covered
banks toward the mainland. You can
see nothing but the channel and the
reeds. There is not a roof nor a
spire in sight. We are getting up to
what may be called the artillery de-
Tense line Of Venice. On the way we
passed a British monitor with her
big guns pointed inland The coast
batteries and big gun monitors con-
Istitute another defense line. Here in
the salt channel between the islands
We come suddenly upon a floating
battery or pontoon, as the Italians
call them. 1t is a big steel barge
mounting a gun which has been
steadily pounding the Austrians on
the Piave Vecchia all night. She is
manned by sailors for the artillery
Edefense of Venice is entirely in the
hands of the navy.
From Porte Grandi, as far as the
eye can see the land is covered with
waste of muddy water with rows
OF half-submerEed willows marking
|
out the fields which it covers and
Eere and there an isolated clump of
farm buildings emerging from the
Hoods. We are here on the edge of
the Piave foundations and in anoth.
naval artillery defense belt. Higher
banked roads, dikes and farm houses
are all That remain above water.
Some Of these farm house islands arc
hello by Austrians and some bv ,tal.
lans and it is the aim of both sides
TO destroy the farms held by the en-
emy A few nights ago some Italian
s3>lors undertook a cutting out ex.
pedltlon against one of the Austrian
islands, captured and burned tbe
buildings and came back with Aus.
TITAN prisoners.
Nothing more dismal can be mag.
ined than this battlefield among the
reeds except the awful desolation of
the FLANDERS front. Unending water,
mall drowned willows and farm hous.
es under a bitter winter sky compose
about as melancholy a picture as ey-
en- war presents. On many of the is
lands formed by the release of the
floods to protect Venice are brave
families clinging to their homes in
the hope that 1918 will see the in
vader thrown back.
On this sector the Italians have
superiority of artillery, 1T is at night
that the Ialian guns do their hardest
Work. At night the Austrians al
ways attempt to construct field
works or to lay bridges of boats
across the Piave Vecchia to the ca
nais. They take a number of boats.
tie them together and swing them
out from one bank trusting TO the
current to float them into place on
the other side. 1t is the business of
the Italian floating batteries to drive
away these bridge builders and to
destroy The fruits of their labors and
i This fhnu do