Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1919-07-30
Red Cross Cares for People
Made Destitute by Bull
garianS.
LIKE REAL AMERICAN CITY
Headquarters Of American oil and To
baeeo Interests Opens After Bull
garian oeeupatlon--See Awful
Picture Of Misery.

Kavalla, Macedonla.-Few Ameri-
cans, except those In the tobacco In
dustry. have ever heard Of this little
port on the Aegean sea. Yet 1t has
many features and activities TO com
mend It to the interest of the people
of the United States.
Here the finest tobacco I'm the world
the bulk of which is consumed In
Americas grown. Here the great
American tobacco compGa'"e have ex-
port headquarters. Here the biggest
oil company of the United States and
Americas greatest relief organization,
the American Red Cross, have distrlb-
uting centers.
Indeed. Kavalla has come to have
some Of the aspects of a real Ameri-
can city. There are so many Amerl-
cans here that one feels himself only
a few hundred miles from home. In
stead of In the heart Of remote re-
gion whose beginnings antedate the
birth Of Christ.
Bulgaria Wants Harbor.
For years Bulgaria has looked upon
Kavala with covetous eye. Al
though defeated and subdued. she
iooked hopefully to the peace con
gress at Paris to give her Kavalla as
n port Yet Kavalla is not harbor.
1t is merely roadstead affording good
anchorage for coastwise steamers.
Millions of dollars and endless ode
Selopment would be required to con-
vert the city into a first-class port But
Bulgaria, which now has only the
shallow port Of Dedeagatch at the
mouth of the Gulf OF Enos. was and
Is anxious to get an outlet through
Macedonia and the sea for her large
output of tobacco wheat. live stock,
silk and altar of roses, and would be
quite ready TO spend any sum in de
veloping and deepening the harbor.
Kavalla is situated on a rocky Pc
ninsuIa and Is dominated by the ruins
of an old Venetian fort II Is protect
ed from the south by the Greek island
OF Thasos. Back from the seacoost Is
mountainous district known In Mnce-
donia as the Pangalon.
Courslng through the valley. on
pangaion's eastern slope is the placid
Aughlsta river, which some historical
writer's believe to be the stream where
Paul baptized Lydia. On all sides OF
the mountains in this region is rich
arabic land peculiarly adapted TO the
growth of tobacco. The best leaf ii
the world is grown here, and SO yalu
able are the fields for tobacco culture
that very little else is cultivated.
During the way the Bulgarian
adopted in Kavalla the same ruthies
practices they followed in all occu
pied territory. They pil!aged and de
stroyed. They mnee every effort Z
make the land unlnhahitable. The
cut clown the trees and carried or fur
niture and everything made of Woo
They sacked the homes and drov
the Greek inhabitants out.
As result of all this. when tn
Greek commission OF the America
Red Cross established relief post
here, few days after the armIstic,
their representatives, found Twin
conditions almost unsupportabl'
First Red Cross Base.
Kavalla was the first city in Mac,
donia to become base for Red Cros
operations.
The natives speak with unbounde
gratitude of the help given them
the Americans. They say the foe
furnished by the American Red eros
was the first substantial nourishmeI
they had in four years.
No section of the Balkans ev,
presented more depressing pictul
OF misery and Squalor. When Il
Americans came in they found Il
inhabitants dying by the dozen fro
famine. exposure and typhus.
They immediately established sou
kitchens and dlspensaries and gay