El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-06-24
Waterways of Nation To Be
Utilized and Great Canal
Constructed.
CENTRAL POWERS
JOIN IN EFFORT
complete System of Canals
To Be Used as Feeders
For the RiUers.

ERIN, Germany, June 24-The
political and economic leaders OF
IL Germany are preparing the plans
for the great commercial war that Is
Sto begin Immediately after the con-
clusion Of peace and which is sure to
be equally as bitter and considerably
longer than the war Of arms
Practically cut off from all communi-
cation with the world outside the cir
Gle OF her allies. Germany is now doing
everything TO strengthen the ties that
bind these together and lay a solid
foundation for an economic union Of
Central Europe
For more than year German
champions OF a close customs and COM
mercial union between the Contra
Powers and their allies have had their
attention focused on the important
problem Of developing their ways Of
transport and communication, especial
" river communicat ions The country
IS preparing TO spend millions on that
great natural water way Of central
Europe, the Danube.
From Bavaria TO the Black Sea this
great river offers a slower but cheaper
way of transporting heavy commodities
such as coal minerals, grain and oils
than the railroads At present the
Danube IS = very broken and tncOm-
plete road, navigable in all but its
Aseven hundred tons Il Is. besides.
glsoIated and needs well-develOped
canal system as feeders
Hitherto the powerful agrarisn par
ties in Germany and Austria have con-
stantly and stubbornly placed obstacles
in the way Of the ambitious plans con-
ceived and outlined long before the
war by fsr-seeing statesmen in Berlin
and Vienna
Years ago these men suggested the
construction Of q great canal system
connecting the Rhine and The Danube
making the widest possible use Of the
fNeckar and Main rivers
In addition to this they planned to
connect I'D the Elbe, the Oder. and the
Vistula as well as the Dnlestar with
the great AustrO-Hungarian river In
this way il VIII be possible 10 send
products from all parts OF Germany to
the Black Sea. doing away with the
expensive and circuitous sea route
through the straits Of Gibraltar and the
Dardanelles and Bosphorus.
Canal VIII be Built.
During the war the German people
whole have had a chance to real
lie the immense value Of their navig-
able rivers and the agrarians Will be
allowed no longer 10 block the carry
Ing out Of the canal projects.
As q matter Of fact, IL is already be- 1
ing carried out for all the large rivers I
are being extensively used for the /
transport of ordinary goods while the I
- 'N---f-- - +-AI NH
itary-
The shipyards on the Main are busy
building large river craft and two new
shipyards have been opened at Rats
bonnie in addition TO the two already IL :
existence before the war. The success
of the Serbian campaign was largely
made possible through the ceaseless
activity Of these yards
On the initiative Of Prof Tlamm OF
Berlin and councillor Of state OreL of
Munich, a conference was recentlv held
at Leipzig and one OF even greater i'm
Dortance is about to be held at Buda-
pest
To Widen the Danube.
The latter conference wiz deal with
plans for the widening and egula ting
of the Danube river so as TO make IL
possible for craft Up to 5000 tons 10
navigate the river Up to Budapest and
OF l-oOo tons 10 90 as FAR as Rats
bonnie.
IN this manner. it is calculated. it
viii be possible 10 lower the freight
rates from Germany TO the Black Sea
By about twO-thirds.
The success OF the scheme is some
what endangered by the animosity and
distrust Of Germany, voiced in the
press
During the war and the years pre-
ceding IL large number OF Germans
have come into Hungary and settled
down permanently. undeterred by the !
openly shown III viii Of the Magyars. !