Barton County democrat., 1911-08-25
. AMSTERDAM AND OTHERS.
Editorial Correspondence.
Hutchinson News
Amsterdam, July q

Amsterdam, July q.
This is the largest and most impor-
tant city of Holland. 1t has about as
much commerce as Rotterdam and is
longer on history, manufactures, art
and society. 1t was the first large
city built up on a canal system and its
100000 population is a proof that
something can be built out of nothing
Along about 1900 and 400 it was
small town in a swamp. When the
war for independence from Spain be-
gan in 1856 Amsterdam profited by
its location on the Zuyder Zee. The
Spaniards ruined most of the rival
towns and put an end to the COM
merce of Antwerp for a while, and
Amsterdam received the mechanics
and merchants fleeing from the sol
dieS of Alva. The name means a
"dam,' or dixie, on the. Amstel river.
The swamp was reclaimed from the
water sby dikes and drainage canals
but even now every house in the city
must have its foundation on piles.
The word dam, or its inclusion in a
name means just about what it does
in English, provided you refer to the
proper dam, not the improper damn.
Nearly all Dutch towns are built
On dam sites, a great many of them
are several-kind-of-a-dam. Amsterdam
is built below the level of the sea
which Is just beside it, and the wa
tef in the canals is pumped out by
bic engines and forced over the dixie
into the sea. If this we're not done
the water would come over the town.
site and Amsterdam would go back to
swamp and not be worth a dam site.
Amsterdam is the chief money mar
ket of Holland and one of the finan-
cial capitals of the world. 1t is the
place an American promoter makes
for when he is out after the stuff with
which to take the female horse ira
va A large part of its business men
are Jews and their ability and wealth
have maintained the credit of Dutch
interests in all parts of the globe. At
q time when the Jews were being per
secuted nearly everywhere they were
given liberty in Holland and much OF
the country's progress is due to the
r fact that of the religious liberation OF
all kinds of sects.
{ The canals run along nearly all the
streets and are filled with freight
boats from the country and from 9th
er cities. Thousands of these canal
boats lie in the canals of Amsterdam
end are the homes of the boatmen
who are the commerce carriers of
Holland. Under our window is tied
ND a canal boat which could carry as
much freight as dozen American
box cars. The power is a sail or a
pole or a man or a woman, which
ever Is most convenient. The boat
man and his wife and ten or fifteen
children, with a dog and a cat, live
comfortably in one end and We can
watch them at their work and play.
A<aoEen more such boats are lying in
tbs block, some with steam engines
and some with gasoline engines. The
Standard Oil company does a great
business In Holland and as usual is a
great help to the people. 1t is intro
ducing cheap power for canal boats
b means Of proper engines and in
9 short time will probably free the
boatman and his wife from the pull
and push system received from the
good Old days.
me canals are lined with big build
ldga business and residence, mostly
ff0lM kour to six stories high, with
ahs narrow, peaked and picturesque
architecture made familiar to Us BY
ne eictures. All kinds Of color are
ed and ornamented fronts are COM
nan. Imagine q street such as / de-