The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-12-18

tary supplies. Since then ordinary mer-
chandise has been admitted to shipment
The returning barges and boats carry
raw material of all sorts and foodsttffs
During the last few days regular pas,
senger and mail service to LON Palanka
has been in operation, until to-day traf-
fic on the Danube may be considered
normal, with the difference that never
before had it known such proportions.
The military supplies of which Bulgaria
! and Turkey can make use are many,
and on the other hand, Austria Hungary
and Germany offer an eager market for
the agricultural and animal industry
products of the two first mentioned
countries.
Some anxiety had been felt in Con-
stantinople and lately in Sofia that the
heavy demand which the war made on
their relatively scant stores of artillery
ammunition might soon create problem
it would be difficult to solve in case a
free route of communication were not
opened up. This, in fact, was the prin-
cipal reason why the long delayed Of
fensive against Serbia was undertaken,
when it was, though the attitude OF Bull
garis necessarily played an important
part in this. But German and Austrian
war stores were not the sole factor. The
central powers could make good use of
Turkish and Bulgarian wool, skins, hides,
cereals and copper ores and Turkey and
Bulgaria needed the revenues which
would come from the sale of these ma
terials. 1t is to be doubted that history
ever before presented an instance in
which the opening of line of commu-
nication met so adequately the needs of
four allied peoples engaged in war, or
that from this condition so urgent ne
cessity had sprung. For the fist time
since the outbreak of the European war
Germany and Austria Hungary are rela-
lively independent economically, while |
Turkey and Bulgaria now have within |
their reach an inexhaustible supply of |
war materials, inexhaustible to-day be- |
cause the German and Austro- Hungarian |
arms and ammunition manufacturers |
now have access TO the great mineral /
stores of the Balkans and the Ottoman
empire. The shortage of copper in the
central states has been ended by the TAX
ng of the copper mines near Milanovac
md elsewhere in Serbia. Bulgaria, too,
las large number of copper mines, the
,est of them near Mesdra, on the Mes
Ira -Lom Palanka branch railroad, and
he Turks can meet any possible short I
ge with ores from Anatolia, notably +
rom the Smyrna region. Chemical raw
Material also may be brought from Tur-
icy in Asia and a paucity of cotton for
Explosives is now altogether unlikely,
ince this staple is produced in consider
BILE quantities in the Cilieian plain. IL i,
J OF interest to learn that even a placer
old field has fallen into the hands of /,
he central powers, that near Milanovac, !
erbia. Washing is now in progress. !
In a single day the Associated Press
saw as many as nine tows /,
0 down the river, each consisting of a
az and seven barges latter each
,rrying the equivalent OF 100 freight ;
hrs, giving the days traffic a total of :
800 carloads or 2l5 trains of average /.
ne. For the five days spent on the riv- !,
! the total cannot be less than 10000 :
'rloads, or, with bulk and weight
rought into relations, over 100000
ms. Many OF the tows came directly 4
ON Germany, the names of the barges'
Dme ports and the distances Travelled =
dicating that they had been concen- :
ated in the Austrian reaches OF the !,
anube when the offensive against Ser
a had not yet begun. As an example !,
German and Austro- Hungarian thor. !,
ighness. the preparations for the re- a.
Imption Of Danube traffic are note
orthy. !
Already train connections for military :
irposes exist between Berlin and Con- :,
antinople and. according 20 assertion
ade here, = through passenger and ex- :,
ess freight service viii be in operation =
thin three weeks via Belgrade and =
sh. The Serbs were not given time 7.
ough 10 destroy this line As thorough
a. Il was expected they would and a. :. =
result Of this, people here hope 30 trav- :.
soon on the n" express, a train that "a
m link nruaNels Berlin Rudano9t Rel.