The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-05-13
THE WORK OF THEIR HANDS.

LILLE WO1tA OF THEIR HANDS,
All. where went those feet whose fugitive
SCARCE yet has the ripple erased from
folded long since
HOW long. on. how long it outlasteth
those hands.
The canvas yet blooms with indeIibie
In its niche the presence in marble yet
The work Of the hands that were folded
How Won long. oh. how long it outlasteth
There hangs the shield with memorial
There the flower of an hour in the case
Here are the deeds of the hands-but
the hands?
We vet eat their stores. we vet drink
their vints;
Lo, the vines that they pruned; 10, their
own furrowed landsi
But. folded last eve or folded long since
Inc work, oh, how long it outlasteth
the hands,
The toy of a child. a garment of chintz-
How well such trifIe times ruin with
The work Of the hands that were folded
long since,
All. God, how long it outlasteth the
But folded last eve or folded long since.
Inc IRE When once out, how cold are
Is there aught that was theirs, that can
IN, trace them. that hints
through the work of the hands where
to reach for the hands?
-Eoltn M Thomas in the New York Sun.
Lesson from Germany.
Ihere are object lessons coming out
or Germany which are of great inter-
est to Philadelphia locally and to the
United States at large.
germany Is adding to her artificial
waterways canal which will connect
the Rhine with the city of Hanover.
The canal will eventually be extend
ed to the Elbe- To understand the
significance of this undertaking it
must be remembered that three large
rivers reach the coast from the in
terror of Germany-the Rhine, which
provides the bulk of the traffic in
freight for the Netherlands city of
Rotterdam; the Elbe, which gives to
Ham burg its great shipping port, and
the Oder, which, passing to the east
ward of Berlin, reaches the Baltic at
Stettin. Between these rivers run
the Ems, which enters the North Sea.
at Emden, and the Weser, which gives
Bremen its commercial Importance.
When the proposed canals are COM
pleted the German traffic on the
Rhine which goes to Rotterdam can
be diverted to German ports. Indeed,
a barge from the Rhine could be
towed to Emden, Hamburg, Bremen,
or Stettin.
The present commerce of the Ger
man rivers is greater than that of
Germany on the ocean. This has been
made possible because the rivers have
been improved at government ex-
pense. Barges carrying 500 tons are
lowed by powerful tugs and make
good time even against strong cur
rents. Freight is picked up at numer-
Gus river ports. The railways run d.
rectly to the quays and warehouses,
discharge goods for the barges, re-
ceive goods in return, and the river
transportation rates are so low that
the great steamship lines running
from the German seaports take
aboard cargoes that have been ham
died so inexpensively that they can
be laid down in foreign countries at
a profit in spite of tariffs and all
competition.
Germany is making all possible use
of her rivers, and this is where comes
in the lesson which the United States
has not yet learned. The inland wat
er routes of our own country are
stupendous. They offer cheap trans
portatfon If we are to extend our
commerce they must be developed. A
commission has at last been author
lied by congress to consider the
whole matter. What is needed is a
progressive systematic Development
that and a bond issue to prosecute the
work.-Philadelph Inquirer.