The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1919-05-30
Claimed BY Many Nations in Last
Eight Centuries. I. =.
ORIGINATED IN ROMAN TIMES
Fiums a Foothold on the Eastern
Adriatie Where Italians Chung Fast
Despite Steady Influx Of siays in
the interior--city Bears Evidence
Of Early italian cuIture--very
Small Proportion Of the Population
Of the City 10 Hungarian. g

Ddtd III Tie EGCUIUS u TIC l<dL1OudA
Geographical society throw strong
light on the places which figured in
rival territorial claims Of Italy and
Jugo-Slavia. OF the city most hotly
disputed it is said =. - "
"Fiume is another of those foot
holds on the eastern Adriatic where
Italians chung fast despite the steady
influx Of the SIavs in the interior and
even into Fiume itself. Thus the city
bears evidence OF early italian ctll-
ture. 1t figured as potent Slave
factor in the turmoil of Balkan poll
tics and 1t felt strongly the influence
of Hungary upon Its thriving indus
tries and fast growing commerce. II
Trieste was the Bremen Of Austria.
Fiume was the Hamburg OF the Hun
garian kingdom. W = .2 w, M ... 4,
Magyar gerrymandefing caused It
to be annexed to Hungary in 1870 In
spite eof the protest Of Croatia, to
which It had belonged since the reyo-
sutton Of 1s4s. Consideration for its
value AZ, Q seaport rather than for
it's citizens prompted Its establish
ment as royal free town. - 3. =
Despite the Hungarian interest. in
the city It's prewar population was 90
per cent Italian and 3 lav, with the
Italians slightly predominant. Only
about half the remaining tenth were
Hungarians. The Slays Included
Croats, Serbs and Slovenes.aTA As Inn
portant to Hungary as is New York
or Boston to the United States,
Fumes total population is not much
greater than such suburbs Of those
Z American ports as East Orange, N. j.,
or Brockton, Mass. .~''" .r~,. -
u a Three Harhors ut Fiume. IL
"Fiume is situated on the northeast
shores of the Gulf Of Quarnero, only
70 miles ny rail southeast Of its trade
rival. Trieste. Across the bay is the
popular summer resort, Abbazia,
famed for It's evergreen laurel and
profusion Of roses. to which tens OF
thousands Of visitors formerly
tbronged each summer. The older
town, distinctly Italian, Is built, on
the hillside overlooking the gulf. The
newer city lies bearer the water front.
There are three harbors. The largest,
accommodating $50 large vessels is
protected by breakwater half a
mile long. The quay Is two miles
along. o." so .s. &1L%a@ +LJs$
Before the war Fumes manufac-
turing plants included government
tobacco factory, the Whitehead tor
petio works, a rice Smelling factory, a
petroleum factory and many smaller
plants. among which were sawmills
and paper mills. It's fisheries consti-
tuted an important industry. IT rx.
ported sugar, grain. -four, horses AMI
timber.
"Originating in Roman times, Fiume
was destroyed by Charlemagne In 100
The Franks ruled 1t for - consider
able period. Then It passed to- fe,i-
dial lords until Emperor Frederick TIT.
made it part Of Austria. This EN-.
peror, who as an archdnke OF Aus
'ria was Frederick ". was the son
of Ernest, the man Of iron and
Cymburgn. II Polish woman from
whom the Hapshurgs are thought to
have inherited the protruding lip
which sometimes became distigure-
nent. His long and inconsequential
reign is recalled chiefly because he
puzzled photographers ny leaving on
u hnnl-y nd la, ;,,fe tn,
scrihed on his tomb the Initials "A.
T.. I. q. T. The most generally ac-
cepted explanation Is that the initials
stood for the Latin. Austria Est I'm
pcrari' Orhi Universe. meaning. All
the earth Is subject To Austria This
was promisSOry note Of future Aus.
trian greatness which Frederick did
little to realize. r -5@ g
Proclaimed Free Port. ~.
"Charles VI. proclaimed Flume a
free port. Maria Theresa first united
it with Hungary. Successfully occu-
pied by the Fr"nch ami British. II
reverted to Austria and later was re-
stored to Hungary before 1t was added
to Croatia. - -.
"Small wonder that Dalmatia should
form one OF the most sharply con.
tested regions in the rival Italian and
Jug0-Slav claims for this strip Of
sea coast land for eight centuries has
heen swept by continuous racial tenn
pests. With an area about equal to
Connecticut. Dalmatia is so elongated
that nowhere is it more than IS miles
wide and it tapers down to a mile at
Cattaro.
3 with climate Of extreme tempera-
lures, hot and dry when the sirocco
sweeps over it and cold and wet when
the dread bora or wind of death
comes from the sea, peasants find life
a struggle. The land is not fertile,
much Of 1t is not arabic at ALL The
Greats and Serbians constitute the
Slavic, element In Dalmatia. They
speak the same language but employ
two alphabets. The Serbs use the
Russian and the Croats the Latin let
ters and alphabet In the cities the
Latin influence is more prevalent"
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