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Show Today's War Primer San Giovanni Dl Mcdua, tho gateway gate-way to Northern Albania, Is a seaport sea-port by courtesy of geographers. It Is merely n curve In a low, sandy shore, and In Itself, suggests no reason rea-son why any vessel should over touch at such a place. However, at the beginning of 1913, Albania, hitherto ' unknown, found itself grown famous over night ns a foundling stato of tho European Great Power?, and San Giovanni dl Medua shared In the famo. At this point In tho world war Mcdua bids fair to add materially to Us Importance by having n business thrust upon It surpassing that of Its 2,000 years of sleepy desolation." Thus begins n primer on war go-ography go-ography Issued today by tho National Geographic society, which describes the strategic entrance Into Northern Albania and Montenegro, a port which, in view of reports, may soon bo used as giving the most direct Hue of communication with the Montenegrin Mon-tenegrin and Serbian fronts. With 60,000 Serbians wnrrlng on tho Serbian Ser-bian Albanian border and with tho Montenegrins heavily engaged on every ev-ery front both entirely dependent now on their Allies for materials It Is most probable that, whether Allied troops land hero or not, San Giovanni Giovan-ni dl Mcdun will blossom under an undreamed of rush of business, handling han-dling munitions and food supplies. Tho primer, continues: 'Despite lis unimpressive appearance, appear-ance, Mcdua has been coveted by Serbia and Montenegro, both' of which countries demanded It ns a prlzo won In tho war of tho Ua'kan League. Tho port lies at tho head of a wide bay formed by tho estuaries estuar-ies of tho lllver Drln. A rnngo of frayed, unkempt, dispirited hills, stretching from Dolans to Alessle. constitutes tho background. To the south, lies a melancholy wnsto of swamp land, which reaches out bo grailual'y toward tho sea that thero is no lino of demnrkntton between land and salt water. "Thero nro no harbor works, piers, wharves, warehouses or docks at Mo-dim. Mo-dim. A lino of stones piled into the sea has served tho port's full pur-po&o pur-po&o for many a yoar. Tho shore shelves gently out, and tho bay Is very shallow. Landings of trnvclers and freight were mado by lighters, In tho dnys boforo tho war when the steamers of tho Austrian Lloyd called call-ed here. Boatmen, llko opera houf fo brigand, animated arsenn's anil truo Albanians, served the place's traffic. "From Mcdua tho road suns to Scu. tarl or Scodra ns tho natives call It, tho Albanian capital. It llko tho port Is recognized only by courtesy; Its principal property of being n road Is that of direction. For a short distance dis-tance out of tho port, anil nt tho other oth-er end, for a short dlstnnco out or Scodra, n roadway Is apparent. In between, howovor, lies tho uneven Zadrlma plain, tho crossing of which Is complicated In all by dry weather by tho Inconsistent wanderings of tho Drln river. "Mcdua could bo mado Into a sea port of somo importanco; nnd its use by tho Allies might bring a blessing In disguise, a b'esslng of tho naturo nf nrmy engineers, a nue'eus of harbor har-bor works, and tho beginnings of n sound roadway to tho ancient capital." |