The Benson signal., 1919-03-29

senior British port omcer. =, r,,a
+ In the harbor an American, Admiral bulard
was a+ the head of the American naval affairs
aboard the cruiser Birmingham. The Amer
lean. force afloat consisted of the four oe
stroyers Stribng, Gregory, Luce anu Caesa.'
We heard that the Olympia, Adnrai Oe"ey .
flagship at the battle of Manila pay anu
lately from the ice-bOund Russian port ol AHcn
angel, was due to arrive In few days Win al
outfit Of marines.
Food Prices Tumble.
As to the people Of Fiume, they were commenc
ing to enjoy the fruits of peace, even though ther
town possessed warlike aspect; the 1000 DiocA-
ade had been broken and high prices nad tuin'
bed With the arrival Of the first allied rooushlps
the terrible war prices common In FluIhe, as "eAi
as in other portions of Austria. became memory.
Tho food control policy of the Austrians as well
as the Germans, had been fundamentally wrong
All through the war the rich could BUY rooostuils
and could hoard while the poor had to get along
tho hest way possible. Prices consequently az
tained an unheard, of level
Rice of which large quantities are consumed
even in peace times cost $40 pound, and soon
after the armistce signed dropped to 40 cents
a pound which was high enough, everyone granteu.
During the war days wheat flour cost from 81
to Sc a pound; beet sugar retailed at So pound
corn flour cost 81 a pound. Further nortn III AUS
tria prices were even higher
On OA
r,en and cotton goods the cost of these materials
olso SCARED Thread, during the war, cost $32
sroo, in Fiume One linen sheet cost $17o; q suit
of clothing made by tailor cost 5000, and an Or
dinarv cotton shirt cost $780, Shoes made Of leath-
,r and leather substitutes brought 1925. Tea and
coffee especially the latter, which is largely useo
IN fhe Balkans cost $50 pound.
THO death rate among the very young and the
,, old was horrible during the war days. MOI
onlv was the younger generation. born just prlol
~ tha war. great sufferer from the food short
" -" h,,+ the babies born this year are physically
ond mentally unfit. This is true not only In Flume
ad +ha Istrian peninsula but throughout Hungary
ond Austria men who had investigated the situa'
tion told me- American food experts verified the
statements
IN tho minds eye of Italian officials, Fiume is
no+ war-ravaged city, but the beginning Of
nrosnerous metropolis, peopled by Italians largely
and omen to the peoples of the world.
ItaIy sacrificed 100000 men killed In action, and
nearly million wounded, in order to overcome
German domination through central Europe and
also 70 restore to Italy Of those lands that
are adjacent to the motherland
The Italians are advancing strictly military
argument for possession of Fiume and part OF
the Dalmatian coast at least. Not only are these
lands largely peoped with Italians who speak the
language but the lands themselves possess ad;
vantages In military way that Italy must take
into consideration if she is to develop into first.
class nation
From Trieste, down the coast of the Adriatic to
valora the coastline is rugged and contains
of harbors and nlets which afford excellent shelter
to enemy warcraft. The italian coast, from Venice
to Brlndis the other side of the sea- is only five
hours steamlng distance away for fast warshps,
and the coast itself Is fiat and marshy and difficult
to defend.