Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-11-10
NATIONAL GREATNESS.
THE IGNORANCE THAT PREVAILS S
IN EUROPE IN REGARD TO US.

THE IGNORANCE THAT PREVAIL S
IN EUROPE IN REGARD TO US.
Lack of European Newspaper knowledge
Concerning America-Smau Sire of Con-
un.ntaI RiVers-Our Great Railroad
system-our Large Cities.
An American is not a born egotiSt. When
he is abroad he speaks Of his country with an
honest pride, and as he meets many persons
who know little about il he finds himself often
Obliged to tell something of its extent, its
population, Its means of transit and its re
sources. The ignorance that prevails in
Europe in regard 10 us is astonishing. The
London Times is really the only European
newspaper that has an American correspond
encc worthy of the name. The CahlegramS
OF the other London newspapers are the
brlCiest possible paragraphs, entirely unSatls-
factory to the American abroad who desires
10 keep himself au couraut with what passes
at home There Is not Partisan journal
that maintains correspondent in America
though some of them have an occasional let
/ ter from New York. They generally trans
late the meager dispatches to London, often
with the unpleasant result not only that the
information contained is brief, but that they
often take with them from the British editorial
writers an unfriendly tone and color
This Is not fault of which French Jour
mails alone are guilty, because able foreign
correspondents Of American papers residing
in London and deriving their knowledge of
continental politics from the Journals of that
metropolis. lapse often into British preJudices.
The American on the continent has to supple
ment the scanty information OF the news
papers and correct the bad impression he
finds made 10y the inaccurate statements of
travellers The German newspapers maintain
no correspondents in America, though like
those of Paris they have occasional letters
Stlll, the German element being SO large in
America, private means Of information are
not wanting, and now and then some dis
GTuntled German sends TO his home paper
some malicious letter about our politics which
j. sure to be copied freely by the journals of
the PRINCIPAL German and Austrian cities.
What idea can a European have Of the size
of rivers who has seen only the Seine, the
Thames, the Loire, and possibly the Rhine,
the Elbe, and the Danubel The Thames is a
pretty pastoral StreaIs above London. Below
it is a part of the sea. The French know
nothing Of inland navigation except from the
Loire. on which small steamers would run in
certain STAGES of the water if the railroads
had not taken all the business, or from the
Seine, with its little passenger steamers,
which are one of the means Of local transit at
Paris. and the tugs and bargeS that come up
from the channel and suggest that there is a
sea somewhere. The yellow Tiber" has Just
about the same commercial capacity. Little
steamboats,, or tugs, come up from OStia TO
the mouth Of the ancient CloaCa Maximl,
into which they might enter at certain stages
of the water if they saw fit. The Rhine is a
shallow stream with boats not so large as
those that run on the Mississippi river above
St Paul The Ellie cannot he navigated TO
any great distance without locks and dams.
Boats like those used in American canals can
ascend the Spree to Berlin. The Spanish
rivers are useless for commercial purposes.
The Danube is nayigable to some point con
siderably above Vienna, but the entire dis
tance TO which boats can ascend it is sOnSid-
erabIy less than that of boat navigation on
the Ohio and not much greater than that Of
several of the rivers of the gulf states, while
the boats are small and inconvenient. Such
boats as are found on the Hudson and Con
necticut, among our smallest navigable
streams. would astonish Europe, not alone by
their grace of model and beauty of finish, but
by their size and the idea that we had rivers
large enough 70 float them. The Arkansas
and the Red rivers have a commercial avail
ability incomprehensible in Europe, while to
tell foreigner that you can travel 5000
miles on the same stream, from the mouth Of
81. c,,f ri
makes him open his eyes and mouth with un-
feigned astonishment He never heard Of it
before.
The extent Of our railroad system is to a
European as surprising as anything that can
lie told him. 1t seems strange TO hear that
we have more miles of railroad than all the
countries of Europe combined, and more
marvellous still to hear that it takes six days
and nights Of constant travel to go from New
York to San Francisco. To the American
this long trip suggests great deal Of COM
fort and some luxury. To the Frenchman,
not knowing how many means are supplied
for making the American traveller comfort
able. it means six days and nights Of pro
Ionged misery. A tourist departing from
John O'Groat's can, in less time than that,
find himself on the Nile, in Siberia or on the
Caspian. The traveller leaving Paris is in
two days and half in St Petersburg. A
single day enables him to reach Berlin, and
a trife more time to get to Vienna. Rome or
Madrid 1t required nearly as much time TO
go bv rail from the northern boundary OF
the country TO the southern, though if rail-
roads were everywhere in existence the
whole of Europe might he spanned at any
point within less time. Thus do we compare
with Europe in respect to area or quantity.
As to quality, it is a matter for separate CON
sideration TerritOrially considered, such
countries as Germany, France, Spain and
Austria do not differ greatly in size from
several Of our larger states. As to the smaller,
they can only be compared as regards area
with the larger counties of California The
Netherlands would be lost in the basin Of the
San Joaquin, Greese in the valley Of the
Sacramento Diligent search would have TO
be made for Italy if it were transferred
bodily to the Mississippi valley.
Yet to European his ordinary distances
seem great He is used only to railroad
JOURNEYS that can be made in a few hours.
Though Belgium is so near Paris five or six
hours only being required to make the trip,
comparatively few Belgians have visited the
great French metropolis. The average
Partisan has never visited London. The av-
erage I,ondoner has never been in Paris.
The distance can be accomplished in eight
hours but that is a long trip in Europe.
Eav 4 rnprirsuS who have lived within eight