Vol. XXVII, No. 4 



WASHINGTON 



April, 1915 



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AUSTRO- ITALIAN MOUNTAIN FRONTIERS 



By Florence Craig Albrecht 



Illustrations from Photographs by Bmil Poole Albrecht 



TWO summers in the mountains — 

 two summers of sunshine and 

 flowers, of clear blue skies and 

 dazzling snow peaks, of bristling rock 

 and rich green valley. Unforgettable les- 

 sons in botany and astronomy, in history 

 and geography, learned in the loveliest of 

 schools. But one summer faded with 

 rich promise of many happy days to come, 

 while the other ended abruptly in the 

 crash of war. 



Then only the real meaning of those 

 grim fortifications which face each other 

 in long rows across Alpine valleys came 

 home to us ; then only we sensed the 

 bitter reality of the soldier's calling — we, 

 to whom the horrors of war were happily 

 all unknown. Forts until then had been 

 unconsidered save as they interfered with 

 picture-making; the soldier's life had ap- 

 pealed solely from its picturesque side. 

 Today it is a different matter. 



nature's bulwark 



One might think that the great chain 

 of the Alps would themselves be suffi- 

 cient fortification, a natural bulwark be- 

 tween north and south, between Saxon 

 and Latin. But the pine has ever yearned 

 for the palm, the palm for the pine ; in- 

 vaders there have been from either side ; 

 so today a line of forts runs bristling 

 over peaks, passes, and highways like cat- 

 teasers upon a stone wall. 



Sir Henry Norman, writing of Brian- 

 con and its forts, remarks : "On the Ital- 



ian frontier, seven miles away, there is, 

 of course, a similar outfit of fortifica- 

 tions, and one naturally reflects that if 

 the two countries had spared themselves 

 this vast cost they would be in a pre- 

 cisely similar relative position." Pre- 

 cisely. But each hoped to deceive the 

 other as to the number and strength of 

 his forts, and having begun building 

 them, neither could stop. 



While the forts upon the Swiss-Italo 

 borders are inconspicuous, those in the 

 countries to the east and west thrust 

 themselves arrogantly upon one's notice. 

 Possibly Italy maintains as many pro- 

 portionately upon her Swiss as upon her 

 Austrian or French frontiers, but she is 

 discreet about it. Nowhere does she call 

 the traveler's attention to her fortifica- 

 tions by signs forbidding him to look at 

 them ; and, as a consequence, he rarely 

 sees them. 



France is a little more sensitive in that 

 respect, and modestly requests the ko- 

 daker not to trespass upon certain terri- 

 tory nor photograph in certain directions. 

 If there be an unwitting transgression, 

 however, the photographer is not treated 

 as a hardened malefactor, but is cour- 

 teously instructed why that particular 

 shot had best not be tried again. 



WHERE THE EYE MUST XOT SEE 



But in Austria ! Make no excuse, for 

 there is none ! "Verboten," expressed 

 wordilv in four languages, lines the road 



