Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-03
(Copyrigl

~ OLOGNE, April 22.-(Special Cor
respondence of The Bee.)-I write
- today OF the Rhine. Not tho
Ip4k4& Rhine picturesque, not the rhine
49, romantic nor the Rhine of castles
and cathedrals, but the Rhine as a trade
route and as the great water avenue OF the
American invasion OF Germany. During
this trip in Europe l have studied 1t from
its sources to its mouth. l was near It's
beginning on Mount Saint Gothard in
Switzerland, | saw it rushing past Basel,
the head OF navigation, and watched the
enormous traffic moving into it from Rot
terdam near the sea. 1t Is 526 miles from
Basel to the German ocean, and throughout
this distance the Rhine Is spotted with
towns and cities; 1t Is cut by canals, which
lead to the Seine and the Danube, and
others which bring 1t into connection with
the busiest section OF this busiest OF all
the continents. You can get from Ham
burg to the Rhine by canal. The ports OF
Belgium have access to 1t and a network
Of railroads leads out from 1t to every
quarter Of Europe.
Here in Cologne the Rhine is about 1900
feet wide. and 1t is deep enough for boats
drawing twelve feet OF water. The fall is
slight from here to the sea, and the flow is
so slow that it does not impede navigation.
n llNNlb oouNh Az AANNA NAASNo
and In the Seven Mountains the current is
90 swift that the steamers make only a few
miles an hour, and SO strong that the banks
have to be walled in with stones almost the
whole way to keep them from washing.
Cologne Is the trade center OF the Rhine.
II has about 400. 900 people. and Is largely
dependent upon its river trade. 1t has built
up u great harbor for handling the trafic
and is now a general transshipping point
for all parts OF Europe. Ships come here
from London, Bremen, Hamburg, Copen-
hagen and Russia. There are daily boats
to England, and three boats which run
regularly between Cologne and st. Peters,
burg.
The most OF the goods from the United
States Is transshipped at Rotterdam, Am
Eterdam, Antwerp or Hamburg, and a large
part OF 1t is sent up the Rhine in barges.
l have spent much time on the river, now
passing RATS OF logs and boards Of Ameri-
can lumber. now going by strings of narrow
barges. each two hundred or more feet
long, filled with American what, and other
barges piled high with barrels of American
petroleum. l have met a few American
travellers and one or two Of our drummers,
but the most of the travel is European, and
the most OF our goods go on German and
Dutch boats handled by German importers.
Cologne is a good place to study the
Rhine traffic. 1t is the headquarters Of the
leading steamship companies, The trade
Is carefully watched, 1t steadily increases
from year to year, and II now approximates
q million tons annually. Something like
1000 passenger boats call at Cologne every
year. and the freight boats number many
hundreds. There are also sailing vessels
and an enormous traffic by tugs and bargCs.
saw my first Rhine barges at Rotter-
dam. They are built for the narrow parts
OF the river. and are, l venture, the longest
boats made in proportion to their width.
The average barge is about fifteen feet
wide and two or three hundred feet long.
1t looks like a great black eel as 1t is towed
up the river. At the bach Of II is a little
cabin, with a stovepipe sticking out OF its
roof. and about midway is a hinged mast
80 fixed that 1t can be raised and lowered
at the bridges. Each barge has a rudder,
sometimes 30 large that 1t Is moved by a
horizontal cog wheel pushed around by the
aailors.
On many OF the barges families of boat
men live. You see the washing hanging on
the line, the women cooking at the sterns
Of the boats and the little ones playing
about over the cargo.
The Rhine has an immense passenger
business during the season. This is now
at its beginning. and 1t win continue until