El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-03-10
HOLLAND HUGE
SKATING RINK
AND ALL SKATE
Canals and Lakes Frozen
Hard; Prince and Beg
gar Enjoy Sport.
ARMY DRILLING
DONE ON SKATES
.HE HAGUE. Netherlands. March

@HE HAGUE. Netherlands, March
1o.-Honand IL at the moment
= one big skating rink From SOW
ercign 10 humblest peasant, from aged
grandmother and grandfather to the
tiniest toddlers. the nation is gliding
se-enely. merrily along on skates
In striking contrast with the last
three or four mild winters = most in
tense and continuous cold spell has set
IN. and despite brilliant sunshine from
q clear sky, every lake and canal IN
the land OF canals IS now frozen as
hard as the cobbled streets Even the
big North sea canal leading from the
sea 20 the port OF Amsterdam is only
being kept open by icebreakers.
Many OF the islands are islands no
longer, and travellers passing TO and
fro. instead OF booking their steam
boat passages. buckle on their skates
The mail is even being conveyed to
the famous island OF Marker. on the
ZUyder Zee. BY the same means One
can 20 from The Hague to Amsterdam.
10 Rotterdam. to practically any part
OF the country on skates The coun-
tryside. ordinarily so deserted and
dotted everywhere with fleeting Hol-
landers Of all ages; and in the towns
themselves he who viii need 20 no
farther than the canal just outside his
door TO indulge IN the pastime
Is Democratic Sport.
The lakes outside the royal house in
the wood at The Hague resemble moth
ing so much a n fair. with their stalls
and seats and barrows and endless
Kaleidoscope crowd whirlinE up and
down and in and out in ones. twOs-
threes and tours sometimes with JOIN
ed hands. sometimes IN chain fashlOn-
On the big rink OF the Ice club nearby
may be occasionally seen the queen
herself. on skates among the tnrong,
for skating is decidedly democratic
snort Private brushes shoulders with
officer indeed Z Tristan soldier was
Mortified a day or two ago TO recognize
a general in the skater he had acct
dentally overturned.
Down in the children's corner at the
Ice club rink is the little seven-year-
old princess Juliana- Mounted on FRS
ian skates, she glides and shuffles and
slips among the other small 'krao-
belaars" f.-cratcherS" or Scrapere p
as the beginners are dubbed Glowing
with health and laughing heartily al
her own and her companions comical
efforts. the little heiress goes up and
down the run. queen Wllnelmlna oc-
casionally coming TO watch her prog
ress. a day or two ago the royal fam
ilv went up TO see and join in the
skating in the northern province OF
Friesland, so famed for the sport, the
little princess helping to present the
prizes awarded at Leeuwarden and be-
ing the recipient OF a bouquet when
she went TO join the Tristan children
on the ice
1 Army Drills on skates
The modified troops OF Holland
have been carrying out various eIer-
cises and competitions on skates, for
the army authorities consider IL in the
countrv's interest that the men shall
be thoroughly at home on the ice. The
r-oblem OF Hollands defence - nor
mallv based, as II is, on the method
Of flooding a certain protective zone
known as the new water lne-would
he entirely transformed should fnvas-
ion occur during such frost spell rs
the present The Netherlands have 10
this day not forgotten their fore
fathers dismay when their water gates
were in the year 1875 thrown open 10
the invading French army by Just such
another frost. which enabled the enemy
to easily cross the rivers and other
water barriers on which Holland had
been counting