Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1924-04-30

prepared by the National Geographic So
cietY. Washington, D. c.
Lisbon is running true TO form. It
very seldom gets into the newspaper
headlines which almost daily carry the
names of Paris and Rome and Athens
and even Madrid, it's Latin sisters.
True, Lisbon is not an outstanding
figure either politically or CONNER
cially, though in the latter field its
Importance is very much greater than
most persons would guess. But If
beauty and attractiveness and clean
ilness-civic virtues which rank with
the greatest-were of news value,
Lisbon would probably lead all the
rest.
Sun-kissed on It's eleven hills, Lisbon
has all the delights of a salubrious
climate; stretching for five miles
along the banks of the mighty Tagus,
Il offers the finest harbor in Europe;
seven miles from the open sea, 1t is
protected from the Atlantic's gusty
storms 1t is the center of a rich and
ancienr province, the capital of a ma
GiOn and the seat of culture and learn
ing.
Lisbon is all this and more. 1t Is
the largest and most strategically To-
Gated seaport on the remunerative
ocean trade lanes between London and
the Mediterranean, and between Lon
don and Cape Town.
Lisbon is also the central metropol-
Fton c,+orabouSo for DOrt,,oo1,S ou+lond
er colonies. Into its markets pour the
tributes Of the vine-clad Azores; the
rich wines of Madeira; the tropical
delicacies of the Cape Verdes; the vii
est of tobaccOs from Dakar; dyes
and gums from Guinea; cotton, gold,
and rubber from Angola; ebony, ivory,
and grains from Mozambique; tea,
rugs, and ivory from Goa, in India !;
more tea, silks, and fabrics from
Macao, in China, and choice drugs
and spices from Malayan Timor.
Lisbon is far from being decadent !;
It has increased In population more
than 40 per cent In 20 years.
From a ships deck the whole water
'front.' of Lisbon Is visible; II miles
of clean shoreline stretching out be-
fore one. To the west one can see as
far down the coast as the green-gold
suburb of Pace d'Arcos and the lit
Gle hill-town of Carcavellos perched
above it, although a mile or two be-
yond
To the east, up the Tagus, the eye
follows the city until it sweeps out
of sight in a great bend to the north
ward beyond the noble buildings Of
che Asylo de Dona Maria Pia In di-
rect line beyond the Ajuda palace
loom the "Paps," three hilltops, each
between 400 and 500 feet high-one
topped by a beacon for the benefit of
mariners coming up the river chan
mel, and one by a wireless station
which keeps Lisbon in touch with the
world beyond the seas.
Fine Praca do Commerce..
Once ashore and striding across the
huge square, thanked as it is on three
sides by magnificently colonnaded
buildings, a triumphal arch of monu-
mental proportions on the side OPP
posite the river bank, and a striking
equestrian statue in the center, one
wonders why other large seaports do
not do these things, and why beauty
and practicability are not more often
welded in municipal undertakings, es-
pecially waterfront undertakings.
The Praca do Commerce., once ia
NOUS as the Ter1eiro do Pace, or place
of the palace, known to sailors the
world over as "Black Horse Square,
this last because of the statue-is one
of the rebuilding projects of the Mar,
quez de Pombal, TO whom Lisbon owes
her rebirth after the catastrophe OF
1855.
The bronze horseman and steed II
she Praca are ei1igieS of King Jose anC
bis favorite charger. The great gov
eminent buildings which flank the
square on three sides are the cham
Der OF commerce, the Palace of JUS
&ice, the customhouse, the House o,