Omaha daily bee., 1903-02-08

steadily increasing, and it now comprises
lines to all parts of the world. In 1900
there vert about 600 ships from the United
States. This is not one-tenth of the whole
number that came he e, but they carried
almost onc-third of the cargo of that year.
The chief of these ships are those of the
Holland-American line, which go from Rot
terdam direct to New York, and have be, IL
doing so since 1900. These ships are first
class passenger steamers, some of them
being 1000 tons and over.
Rotterdam is our gaze 20 the Rhine ana
to the enormous country tributary to it.
Our goods are here transshipped into the
huge barges, from 200 to 300 feet long, in
which they are carried up the Rhine. The
river freights are exceedingly low and the
Rhine trade is enormous. About one-half
of all the goods that come into Holland 60
through Rotterdam up the Rhine to differ
ent parts of Germany, Switzerland and
France, the number of river ships and boats
which carry them being something like
liz, 900 annually. There are canals con-
Meeting the Rhine with the Seine and the
Elbe. The barges go as far north as Basel
and some of them are taken up the Main
to the Danube, so that Rotterdam is ac-
tually the center point of a network OF
49, "SJS "AANA Aib AAApo III WI
traI Europe.
The increase of the Rhine trade has given
Rotterdam great prosperity. 1t had about
10000 people in 1890. 1t now has almost
$4,000 and it is growing like a green bay
tree. 1t is steadily increasing it's ship
ping facilities. 1t has built a new harbor,
which is over a mile long and 1000 feet
wide, and has another harbor in course OF
construction which will be 1000 feet long,
1000 feet wide and twenty-six feet deep.
When the present improvements are COM
pleted Rotterdam will have twenty-five
miles of quays. 1t has already over twenty
miles and more than thirty-two acres or
sheds and warehouses for its ocean ship,
ping. This all belongs to the municipal.
ity. The city has put up eighty steel cranes
which will lift from 1900 to &C, 900 pounds
each, and it has hydraulic coal lifts which
will move 200 tons of coal per hour at a
cost of 4 cents per ton. In every respect
the shipping facilities are of the best.
am surprised at the work the Europeans
are doing in making canals. | have been
pretty well over the continent within the
past few years. Nearly every country is
improving its waterways. Russia is plan.
ming a canal from St. Petersburg and the
Baltic to the Black sea, which will b"
thirty feet deep and able to
the largest of the ocean steamers. The
canal system will probably be extended
eventually to the Northern ocean, so that
the Whole country will be accessible by
water. The chief rivers of Russia are al
ready connected by canals, and it is DOS,
sible to go from st. Petersburg to the Cas-,
plan sea by boat.
Germany has for years been spending an
enormous amount on deepening its river
and building canals, and it has one OF the
best canal systems of Europe. Goods can
be taken from Hamburg to Berlin and al
most to the sources OF the Elbe by boat.
There are canals connecting the Flbe an
the Oder, and the canal which has been
built to join the coal and iron regions about
Dortmund to the North sea will eventually
be extended to embrace the Rhine. the
Wesser and the Elbe.
The Germans want to standardize their
canal system, IL possible, so that hargrs
carrying 1000 tons can be taken TO anv
part of the country. They use wide blrg,s.
on the principle that il is easier to MAKE a
wide canal than a deep one.
At present the canals of eastern German
seem to be favored over those of the west.
the port of Stettin complaining that the
Prussian government will not give it thu
canal facilities which it needs to compete
with Hamburg. 1t is much nearer End
naturally more accessible TO Berlin than
Continued on Seventh PtgeD