Imperial Valley press., 1918-01-18
VENICE BEFORE
HUNS ADVANCE
IS OEPOPUlATED
Beautiful Italian City Denuded of Art
Treasures, it's Business Houses are
Closed and its Civil Population Re-
moved to the South

With the French Army in Italy, Jan.
| 6.-Before the menace of the modern
Hun, Venice whose iagoons centuries
go furnished an asylum of safety for
efugees fleeing from Attila, is today
almost emptied. Of the 10000 persons
who ordinarily inhabit the city, only
about 1000 remain. But this is not be-
cause Venice fears for her own pro-
lection. Across the battlefield of the
reeds it is believed that no invader will
penetrate to the islands of the Vene-
tian lagoon. The city puts her trust in
the lagoons as confidently as she trust
ed 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 Lidi and the nests of reedy islets
in the northern lagoon. That music ac-
companies you all day in Venice
! The Queen of the Adriatichas, 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 bricked
up o. sand-bagged her churches and
monuments and now await the issue in
entire calm, confident that although
the enemy is no more than long gun
shot away, it is not at her own gates
that Venice is menaced.
From Burano, a motor-boat takes
you through maze of channels into
the canal Silone where you thread your
way between reed covered banks
oward the mainland. You can see moth
ig 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 defense line of Venice. On
the way we passed a British monitor
with her big guns pointed inland. The
coast batteries and big gun monitors
constitute another defense line. Here
in the salt channel between the islands
we come suddenly upon floating bat
terry or pontoon, as the Italians call
them. 1t is big steel barge mounting
gun which has been steadily pounding
the Austrians on the Piave Vecchia all
night. She is manned by sailors for the
artillery defense 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 a
waste of muddy water with rows of
half submerged willows marking out
the fields which it covers and here and
there an isolated clump Of farm build
ings emerging from the floods. We
are here on the edge of the Piave in,
undations and in another naval artil-
cry defense belt. High banked roads,
likes and farm houses are all that re-
main above water Some of these farm
house islands are held by Austrians
nd some by Italians and it is the aim
both sides to destroy the farms held
y the enemy. A few nights ago some
Italian sailors undertook a cutting out
xpedit on against one of the Austrian
islands, captured and burned the
buildings and came back with Austrian
prisoners.
/ Nothing more dismal can be imagin-
ed than this battlefield among the
reeds except the awful desolation OF
the Flanders front. Unending water,
half drowned willows and farm houses
under a bitter winter sky compose
about as melancholy a picture as even
war presents. On many of the islands
formed by the release of the floods to
protect Venice are brave families cling
ing to their homes in the hope that
1918 will see the invader thrown back.
On this sector the Italians have q
superiority of artillery. 1t is at night
tiidC .lic Itdlitu gums 10 CnSlF nurueSC
work.At night the Austrians always at
tempt to construct field works or to
lay bridges of boats across the Piave
Vecchia to the canals. They take a
umber 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
way these bridge-builders and to de-
troy the fruits of their labors and
his they do with surprising success.
In Venice, herself, l have seen no
ign of actual damage, except hole
orn in the roof of San Giovanni and
San Paolo by an Austrian airplane
bomb. The front of San Marco and the
pillars of the Doge's Palace have been
bricked up so that nothing of them re-
mains visible. The same precautions
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