The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-01-22
VENICE IS EMPTIED
. OF 100000 SOULS
NO MORE THAN ONE THOUSAND
NOW IN THE CITY-AWAIT
COMING OF FOE.


COMING OF FOE.
With the French Army in Italy, Dec.
Correspondents of the Associated
Press).-Before the menace of the mod.
ern Hun, Venice, whose lagoons cen
turies ago furnished an asylum OF safety
for refugees fleeing from Attila, is to-
day almost emptied OF the $50 600
persons who ordinarily inhabit the city,
only about / 600 remain. But this is
not because Venice fears fer her own
protection. Across the battlefield of the
reeds it is believed that no invader will
penetrate 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 II
short march distant, one Of the old
memories Of the war will be that OF the
music of the great guns bombing from
the Lidi and the nests of reedy islets
in the northern lagoon. That music
accompanies you all day in Venice.
The queen Of the Adriatich has her
face to the foe She has shut her shops
and sent her merchandise away. The
army or the navy have taken her young
men. Those that remain have brickec
up or sandbagged her churches anC
monuments and now await the issue ir
entire calm, confident that although tn,
enemy is no more than a long shot
away, it is not at her own gates that
Venice is menaced.
Through Maze Of Channels.
! From Burauo, a motorboat takes yor
! through a maze of channels into The
canal Slone, where you thread YOU
way between reed.covered banks to
ward the mainland, You can see moth
ing but the channel and the reeds
There is not roof or a spire in sight
We are getting up to what may b,
called the artillery defense line O
Venice. On the way we passed a Britisl
monitor with her big guns pointed In
| land. The coast batteries and bg-gur
monitors constitute another defense line
| Here in the salt channel between tn,
islands we come suddenly upon a float
| ing battery or pontoon, as the Italians
call them 1t is a big steel barge mount
! ing a gun, which has been steadil,
pounding the Austriaus on the Piay
Vecchia all night. She is manned b,
sailors, for the artillery defense o
Venice is entirely in the hands of th
navy.
From Porte Grandi as far as the ey,
can see the land is covered with
waste of muddy water with rows o
half.submerged willows marking GU
the fields which it covers, and here am
there an isolated clump Of farm build
ings emerging from the floods. W.
are here on the cdg of the PiaYe inun
dations and in another naval artiller,
defense belt. High banked roads, dixie
and farm houses are all that remall
above water. Some Of these farm
house islands are held by Austrian
and some by Italians, and it is tn
aim of both sides to destroy the farm
held by the enemy. \ few nights ag
some Italian sailors undertook a GU
ting.out expedition against one Of tn
Austrian islands, captured and burne
the buildings and came back with Aus
trian prisoners.
Dismal Picture This.
Nothing more dismal can be imagine
than this battlefield among the reed
except the awful desolation Of tn
Flanders front. Unending water, hal
drowned willows and farm houses VI
der a bitter winter sky compose about a
melancholy a picture as ever war pre-
sents. on many of the islands forme
by the release Of the floods to protec
Venice are brave families cinging t
their homes in the hope that 1918 wi
see the invader thrown back.
On this sector the Italians have
superiority of artillery. 1t is at nigh
that the Italian guns do their hardes
work. At night the Austrians alway
attempt TO construct field works or
Law bridges of boats across the Play
Vecchia to the canals. They take
number of boats, tie them together an
swing them out from one bank, trustin
TO the current to float them into plac
on the other side. 1t is the bushes
of the Italian floating batteries
drive away these brdgebuilders and
destroy the fruits Of their labors, an
this they do with surprising success
In Venice, herself, l have seen II
sign of actual damage, except a ho
torn in the roof of san Giovanni an
San Paoo by an Austrian airplar
bomb. The front of San Marco an
the pillars Of the Doge's palace hay
been bricked up so that nothing
them remains visible. The same pr
cautions have been taken with I'll
famous statue Of Colleoni and, in fac
with all the monuments Of the tow
) that can be so protected.
In the Piazza di San Marco almo'
I all the shops are closed, but a numbt
are still open in the Merceria, and, a
though almost all the gondolas hay
vanished, it is still possible to find or
to take YOU up the Grand Canal.