The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1919-09-12
MAKING A RIVER USEFUL
COMMERCIAL PRESTIGE OF
THE DANUBE IS SEEN
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE
Not One Ship When Allied Com.
mission Took Over the
Transportation

Aboard, s. s. Alexander, On the
Danube, Hungary, August 26A[Cor-
respondence Of The Associated Press. ]
Sir Ernest Thomas Troubridge, ad-
miral commanding the Danube, for
the inter allied commission, In an in
terview on his flagship today describ-
ed the success which so far has mark
ed the efforts Of the commission ito
promote the commercial use of the
Danube" since June I when control
of the river passed into it's hands.
The commission, which is temper
airy, is responsible to the supreme
economic council at Paris. It's other
members are the Marquis de BELOW,
Captain Of the French Marine: Count
Dentici, an Italian colonel and Henry
James, an American. The prompt and
effective manner in which transport
facilities on the Danube were restOr
ed by the commission is well known
to all observers of events in the Ball
kans. How it was accomplished Is
another story.
Admiral Troubridge, who partici-
pated in the naval defense of Belgrade
in 1915 and in the great Serbian re-
treat is credited with his colleagues
as doing much toward reconstruction
in southeastern Europe. For two years
he was a representative OF the British
war cabinet at Saloniki and came
north with the advancing armies,
reaching Belgrade on the day the
Ausrfans fed.
Begin at Beginning.
early in November of 1918" he
said, there was not single steam
ship available for service on the Da-
nube. So we had to begin at the very
beginning. 1t was the aim of the Aus
TRANS that all shipping should escape
up the river to safety beyond Vienna.
But as the ships raced northward
they were fired upon from the shores
nv the Jugo -Slav revolutionaries AS
a result, many of the crews deserted
and a number of ships We're surreno-
cred or beached. This gave us a nue.
lens for the reorganization OF sery-
ice.
every difficulty confronted US. We
had to secure and organize new crews,
rcpair machinery and landings. TAe
armies had to be moved and an I'm
mense volume of traffic awaited hand
ling. Also there was a great sh0ryr
age of coal. We secured some Along
the river, and later from Sara1eyp.
hut the great bulk had to be furntsnHu
nv Great Britain. Three thousand W4s
we're supplied regularly each montp.
Service had been resumed to Semlip'
permitting connection with the rah-
| way terminus; to Panchoya anu 70
| Novi Sad. T.
GAS rapidly as possible steamers
were nut in operation up the Save anu
down the Danube The rayitailiement
and fuel supply of several countries
and the movement OF armies anu rea
ugees awaited this service. -
sWhen the steamer service Wfs
turned over to the government al BEL
grade on July l." continued .the az
miral, eve were handling comlneIcSai
freight at Belgrade at the rate OF
0OO. 900 tons year, and there vs.
available passenger and commerce
service from Belgrade for an ayerase
daily distance of 1900 miles.
Jurisdiction Of Commission:
The Jurisdiction Of the commissi2n
Go from Sulina, at the mouth OF me
river, to New Ulm. in Bavaria. Stea%
ers ply on various sections OF the
river from Sulina to Paya. Nasigat!on
is, impossible between Baya, ITO miles
south of Budapest. to Prisbourg. IL
like distance to the north. This sec
ton of the stream is controlled by the
Magyar revolutionists and Is heavily
mined. The section Of the river from
prisbourg to Passaw in Bavaria rs
omen. and the commission Is now a.
lively engaged in restoring tranic
! from Passaw to Tim. The restoEa.
tion of through traffic on the great
river highway therefore awaits only
the restoration of normal eonoitioHs
in the Magyar area. ~.
In addition to his control OF corn
mercial traffic Admiral Troubridge's
in supreme command of the alliea
naval force on the Danube, which en-
braces a total of approximately fnir-
Nv craft. British, French, Serbian, Ju
% slav and Rumanian. This force II
almost a new creation, the crews rep
resenting dozen nations and tne
sbips coming from many sources some
of them being prizes of war.