represents 16 per cent. If other products, such as flour, wine, etc.,
are considered, 50 per cent. of the total trade must be ascribed to
Croatia, Slavonia, etc. And that does not take into account the western
Banat and other Yugoslav territories. Serbia, too, would now take her
part, so that there is no need to fear for the position of a Yugoslav
Rieka based solely--omitting Hungary and the Ukraine altogether--on her
Yugoslav hinterland. Rieka without Yugoslavia would be ruined and would
degenerate into a fishing village, with a great past and a miserable
future. This could very well be seen during the spring of 1919 when the
communications were interrupted between Rieka and Yugoslavia. At Rieka
during April eggs were 80 centimes apiece, while at Bakar, a few miles
away, they cost 25 centimes; milk at Rieka was 6 crowns the litre and at
Bakar one crown; beef was 30 crowns a kilo and at Bakar 8 crowns. Italy
was calling Rieka her pearl--a pearl of great price; the Yugoslavs said
it was the lung of their country. It is within the knowledge of the
Italianists that the prosperity of Rieka would not be advanced by making
her the last of a chain of Italian ports, but rather by making her the
first port of Yugoslavia. What has Italy to offer in comparison with the
Slovenes and the Croats? The maritime outlet of the Save valley, as well
as of the plains of Hungary beyond it, is, as Sir Arthur Evans points
out, the port of Rieka. And, in view of the mountainous nature of the
country which lies for a great distance at the back of Split and of
Dubrovnik, it would seem that Rieka--and especially when the railway
line has been shortened--will be the natural port of Belgrade.
THE TURNCOAT MAYOR
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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