ALBAN MOUNTAINS 



149 



ALBANY 



After the Young Turks revolution in Turkey 

 in 1907, Albania was in continual revolt, with 

 the aim of gaining its independence. Finally, 

 during the Balkan War, the people proclaimed 

 their independence at Avlona on November 18, 

 1912, and this was recognized by the ambas- 

 sadorial conference in London. The fate of 

 this troubled little country after the War of 

 the Nations is one of the diplomatic prob- 

 lems of Europe. 



Further Interesting Facts. Albania is the 

 only country in Europe without railways. 



Avlona, also spelled Valona, is connected 

 with the Italian port of Otranto, sixty-five 

 miles away, by a submarine cable. 



The Albanian title of Prince William of 

 Wied was Mpret. 



One of Italy's demands on Austria in its 

 note of April 8, 1915, previous to entering the 

 War of the Nations, was that Austria should 

 renounce all interest in Albania and acknowl- 



-- Italian sovereignty over the shores of the 

 bay of Avlona. In answering, Austria agreed 

 to renounce all political interest in the little 

 country. 



The hero of Fitz-Greene Halleck's poem 

 Marco Bozzaris was an Albanian. His story 

 appears in these volumes. 



Francesco Crispi, the Italian statesman who 

 created the Triple Alliance, was a descendant 

 of the Albanians who fled to Italy and Sicily 

 when the Turks first invaded Albania. 



Education is Albania's greatest need. Aside 

 from the church institutions, open, of course, 

 only to Christians, there are practically no 

 schools. A normal school at Elbasan, founded 

 by native leaders, was suppressed by the Turks 

 in 1910 and all persons connected with it were 

 publicly beaten. O.B. 



ALBAN MOUNTAINS, a group of low 

 mountains of volcanic origin, lying in the cen- 

 1 part of Italy, thirteen miles southeast of 

 Rome. They have several extinct craters, two 

 of which are the beds of lakes. On the central 

 crater, 3,145 feet above sea level, a temple to 

 Jupiter stood in ancient times. The Rom .-in- 

 made these mountains a popular resort be- 

 cause of their agreeable climate and beautiful 

 scenery. 



ALBANY CONVENTION, a representative 

 aasembly which met at Albany, N. Y., in .June. 

 17:. I. tid drew up the first scheme for a 

 political union of the American colonies. It 

 was summoned by the British government. 

 and was made up of delegates from Massa- 

 chusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode 



Island, New York, Pennsylvania and Mary- 

 land. After proposing a union with the Five 

 Nations in the war with France, it drew up, 

 at the instance of Benjamin Franklin, a plan 

 for a government, which was to consist of a 

 president-general, appointed by the Crown, 

 and a Grand Council of representatives from 

 the colonies. Though rejected by England 

 and the colonies, the scheme is important as 

 one of the first steps toward final union of 

 the Americans. 



ALBANY, GA., an active commercial city, 

 popularly called THE ARTESIAN CITY, on account 

 of an abundant supply of artesian water, 

 which is used for all the requirements of its 

 people. The city was founded in 1836, was 

 incorporated in 1838 and named for Albany, 

 New York. The population, chiefly American, 

 increased from 8,190 in 1910 to 13,126 in 1915; 

 the area is over three square miles. 



Albany is the county seat of Dougherty 

 County, and is situated in the southwestern 

 part of the state, about 188 miles south of 

 Atlanta, 107 miles southwest of Macon and 

 210 miles west of Savannah. The Atlantic 

 Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line, Central of 

 Georgia, Georgia Southwestern and Gulf, and 

 Georgia Northern railways, offer railway ac- 

 commodations, and the Flint River, which is 

 navigable up to this point, affords steamer 

 transportation. The principal industrial enter- 

 prises are cotton compresses, fertilizing facto- 

 ries, cotton-oil mills, brick plants and lumber 

 manufacturing plants. A Federal building 

 erected in 1911, at a cost of $125,000, a $65,000 

 ntv hall constructed in 1909, and a $75,000 

 Municipal Auditorium built in 1916, are 

 structures worthy x>f note. One of the nine 

 municipal abattoirs in the United States, and 

 the only one municipally owned and controlled 

 in Georgia, is located here. An excellent 

 school system, a Carnegie Library and a busi- 

 ness college offer educational advantages, and 

 the city has a public hospital and six banks. 



This rapidly growing city is situated in one 

 he richest agricultural sections of Georgia, 

 ulnch produces cotton, corn, hay, oats, water- 

 melons, wheat, inuskmelons, fruits and vege- 

 t:iN( s. Tin pecan-raising industry has attracted 

 considerable attention to this district, about 

 50,000 acres being devoted to the cultivation of 

 paper-shell nuts. Albany is also a favorite 

 health resort, climatic conditions being excel- 

 I. nt. :.:..! ih re are beautiful parks, fine roads 

 .mtwrinn. and a country club. The famous 

 Blue Spring is in the vicinity. J.H.M. 



