Show 0 WI T 0 0 1 I 1 14 1 3 i 41 M z GAL ATA midor INCH again the eys ays of the civilized 0 world are cente centered Fed upon the channel of constantinople aud and on the thracian Thra clan which forms tho the outlet to the waters of the black sea and which separates the continent or oc asia from that of europe the channel stretches from the dlack black sea to the sea of marmora and where it runs into this landlocked little body of water constantinople lies upon an arm ot of this sea known as the golden horn on the european side sida there Is scarcely a bit 0 of f water on the face of 0 the earth w hose name appears more mare frequently in the annals of human history than this narrow channel As the history 0 of f the world centers so largely along tho the banks of the river rhine since the days of caesar so BO it centered a long along the for some thousand years before caesars caesara Cae sars day find and so GO it has centered largely since then all around the black sea on the asiatic shores and on the european lie ile immensely tn broad stretches of the most f a artile laud land upon the globe immense rivers drain this territory keeping the diack black sea full and overflowing through the from the first arst dawn of hattory hit tory a targe large population has always found homes on these fertile lands and as commerce coin merce developed its pathways multiplied along the uhlna sea coming down from these immense rivers or on the south bouth lay tho the mediterranean a largo large body of laland inland waters by all the overflow of the black sea and multitudinous rivers from the nile to the rhone aurl Rund ed ad by broader and richer lands landa and is as commerce grew up around the mediterranean its paths crossed those of the commerce of the or black sea and the became the tha connecting link between bel below w tho the sea of marmora the outlet to for rathe the black sea waters Is the strait ot of the dar da dati nelles elles shorter but broader than the important waterway important as this bit of water was to the ancient world it ter la much moro morn go BO now and Is becoming increasingly so BO as the years pass with the development of modern naval warfare fara the importance of 0 constantinople rises to a predominance in european and asiatic affairs scarcely equaled by any other point on the shores of the two continents and it a great power ever gets geta possession of constantinople Constantino plo and controls the passage of the dardanelles Darda nelles and Hosp orua it will be very possible for tt it to dominate tho fortunes of all europe at the mouth of the great rivers that empty into the will grow up immense cities affording opportunities port unities for the construction of a mercantile marine as well as one for naval warfare and with the passage between the mediterranean and the controlled by such a great power these lies fleets would be ble by the com combined binea forces of the world it would not be a great under taking to the engineering enterprises or of today aj j construct a bridge over the Ilos porus which would enable railroad trains to pass fram from one continent to the other resulting in an exchange of commerce almost unimaginable in extent with the dardanelles Darda nelles fortified the sn sim of marmora and the golden horn would afford a rendezvous tor for merchant ships for a back country reaching up to vienna around the dan provinces and into russia with asia on the other side including the territories of palestine and on in of 0 tho the euphrates ph rates going on down in the tha path ot of alexanders con conquests questa into india and to tho the banks of the indus the nation which could make the best use of this strategic point would be russia and the Alus covite has haa coveted it tor for years but this ambition has haa been balked by tho the jealousies of rival european Euro pein powers the next nation that might make the tha greatest use ot of the position would be austria with its Ilung hungarian arlan annex and a population neither purely european nor purely asiatic germany galiks third in the possibilities presented for na lional commercial development by the possess possession icia of constantinople and the but there I 1 ts between germany and the straits a vast population not teutonic Tenton le hostile to Germ germanas germanys Ger manya anys aspirations great britain franca and Ital italy yare anro utterly out of 0 the qu as aa controlling constantinople and the but each ot of these nAtIO natrona would oppose tho the control ot of the advantageous point by any ot of the tha other three because ot of the power that would grow out ont of 0 such auch requisition what looks likely in the future fiuzi from thi the present point ot of view ti the orran oraan of a pan fulkan cont edera eton of 0 states after the fashion of the german empire consolidation la Is the or der of our era from manufacturing plants and financial enterprises to na dional governments and racial solidarity the world owes the united states the lesson to be learned from the fedoration federation of states germany has taken the lesson to heart and Is profiting by it this la Is suggested as the outcome of the present war of the balkans Hal kans population mixed the population of the states here under review Is very mixed its sentiments lire are neither asiatic nor european but a kind of mixture of both in this way the now new federation would play an important part as a buffer between russia and western europe and also between the two continents the territory Is agriculturally rich possesses great mineral deposits Is dotted over ever with magnificent forests Is cut by fine rivers and offers offer li advantages for wonderful develop development me nt in every respect for the up building 11 ding of magnificent cities at many points with the the sea of I 1 marmora and the dardanelles Darda nelles in possession of the confederation a fleet of warships might be collected trong strong enough to bid def lahce to halt the world if these teutonic empires sh should ld be osti brought together they will con constitute tute a formidable menace to all of europa east and west of cf them so far english influence at vienna united with that of st kersburg petersburg burg has kept austria and germany apart but as the great game la Is played ou out I 1 there Is in no telling what comb combinations may ma y be ba made which would send this power to sac a knight or a castle and that power to give up a bishop or a handful of pawns to protect tho the king altogether it Is 13 one of the greatest grea tesi games of war and diplomacy ever played by the nations of the world |