The sun., 1919-07-12

A New Yorker's Impressions Of the
WORRIES YeIitfsxI Tinher Boz.

n NEW Norkers Impressfons OF INC
Worries YeIitfcsI TinAer Bon.
To TILE EDITOR or THE suN--sir: The
City Of Disputes. Fiume. 10 about
eighty kiiometers southeast Of Trieste
and lies at the extreme northeast cor
nsr Of Istria. The ride from Trieste In
through a part Of Croatia and amid
varied and most beautiful scenery.
High mountains rise on both Sides Of
me valleys through which the road runs
and IN the distance We saw mountain
tops capped with snow. This country
N endless with gray rocks OF volcanic
origin. and but for shs ribbons Of culti-
waited land would represent . scene OF
compiets barrennssa. The country
seemed f1lsd with what appeared 10 be
craters OF extinct volcanoes whose depth
varied from fifty to $50 feet. with corrs-
spending widths.
The bottoms Of these craters were
highly cultivated for truck gardening.
for practically none Of the surface soil
admitted OF tillage on account OF the
rocks, and the peasants therefore are
forced to utilize these volcanic holes
for their produce Probably the stony
structure Of the soil IN these basins re-
tains the rainfaIls and thus gives fer
ttlity to the soil which Is 80 carefully
and economically used.
We saw very few wells and no
streams or brooks whatsoever from
Trieste % Ftume. The villages We
paused were small and scattered and all
were policsd by italian soldiers and an
occupied by Croatiana When the Aus
TRANS withdrew from Dalnatia they
took with them practically all ths 1--we
stock and we saw no cows hogs, goats
or sheep except In a few Instances
The road we followed wound round
thu hills and mountains like q great
white snake, but was in excellent con-
dition Cor motoring except for many
dangerous turns and sharp, unexpected
twists. A single track railroad, won
derfully ballasted with native rock, kept
close company with the road We took.
which. believe, Is the only one across
this section Of Istrta.
After about two hours ride We saw
In front Of US and far below US the
blue Of the Bay of Ftume, and at this
point the scenery was magnificent In
its grandeur. Our first glimpse OF the
huge amphitheatre Of water and noun
tains was from an elevation OF at least
1900 feet. Monte Maggiore, to the
north, rose abruptly, almost angrily,
from the bay 5000 feet. while around the
periphery Of the lake q series Of noun
A,.N Stafyr mn
completed the crescent OF natural
protection.
Away to the west was an opening into
the Adriatic guarded by a sort OF
Scylla and Charybdis gate Of rocky
formation. Islands limned the southern
horizon, added to the enchantment OF
the scene and made the blue bay calm
and serene in its natural security.
To the left, on the shore OF the bay,
we saw Fiume browsing in the afternoon
sunlight, its red roofs on buildings OF
white stone contrasting beautifully with
the water and the shadows OF the en-
circling mountains. The road became
sharp descent and the people we passed
were equally italians and Juso-Slavs.
We noticed tho hastily prepared street
signs IN Italian which took the place OF
former Hungarian signs. We were In
two countries at the same time. We
we're at the worlds political finder boz.
Fiume Is made up of two parts. Fiume
proper and Sussak. The latter, q sort
of Harlem, Ia separated from Fiume by
a small stream not more than thirty
feet in width. What this stream lacks
! IN water Is made UP In European poll
tics, for Sussak Is wholly Jugo-Siav.
while Fiume Is now predominatinsiy
| Italian. II one desired an exciting and
perhaps brief earthly career I recon-
mend the position of census taker OF
| the city Of Fiume.
It's population depends upon claims
made--iike our election night returns
We tried our best to tally the reports
but gave it up In despair. But in the
entire city limits Italians take predomi-
| nance, although the Jugo-Slavs claim
| that the Italians came in great numbers
! to Fiume Immediately after the arms
tice was signed. Before the war Hun
garlans dominated the city commercially
although the city politically was par
OF Austrian territory.
| Al the docks, we'll made of rock and
where constant water depth OF
| twenty -seven feet is maintained, were
British, French and American de-
stroyers. Prom every building hung
Italian fags-that Is, In Fiume. II
Sussak there were not so many Italian
nags. but there were plenty Of Italian
| soldiers. also a number of Serb soldiers
| In sussak we stopped for lunch at q
restaurant high on n rocky cliff over
looking the bay and commanding Z
superb view OF the matchless scenery
| We had butter In abundance and ex
cellent In quality: bread better thar
I have tasted since leaving home: q
local Slav wine which could also hav'
been used for vinegar. and a goot
on,elet, costing In all about seven hr'
apiece.
But the pleasant meal was wholly
destroyed by the coffee which followed
| Why any nation on earth should wan
a city capable Of serving such
monstrous liquid I cannot understand
have never tasted hot varnish before
but / am sure / did in that restaurant.
Some Of the streets are wide, otheri
narrow and there are number o
squares where we saw most OF tn
people gathered in groups or strollint
by. We counted British. Americans
French, Italians, Jugo-Slavs, lndo-chi
uese. Hungarians and Greeks, and
don't think our casual inventory wa
complete.
There was an alert watchfulness evi