Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-06-07
Geographic News
Bulletins by the
National Geographic Society

Where is S'Gravenhage? Give up?
Perhaps you know it as Den Haag.
No? Well, 1t is only our old friend
The Hague dressed in its native
costume.
This uniquely labeled town. which
is the only city of Importance be-
fore whose name we place the" in
English, is still more oddly named
when its Dutch ~appellation is trans
lated. according to a bulletin from
the Washington, ID. c., headquarters
of the National Geographic Society.
The bulletin, which follows. is issued
in connection with the approaching
conference at The Hague which will
take up the unfinished work Of the
Genoa conferences:
1t Means "The Hedge
"S'Gravenhage, which is the pro-
per name of the Dutch capital we
call The Hague" says the bulletin.
means something like the hedge
enclosed space of the Count This
term was probably really descrip-
tive in the early part of the thir-
teenth century when 1t was applied
TO a rural hunting lodge, but it hard
ly fits the present-day city, almost
as large as Minneapolis, from which
are governed sever million Neither
landers and their colonial empire Of
nearly fifty million souls. On many
Dutch maps the unwieldy name has
been shortened to Den Haag' which
we in turn have changed to The
Hague As we use 1t, then, the
name means-if 1t mean anything
after its Observation-Disclosures hedge
or the hedge enclosure
"The Hague Is not a typical Dutch
city. 1t does not have the commerce
and industry of larger Amsterdam
and Rotterdam nor the distinctive
Dutch quality of the smaller towns.
1t is cosmopolitan, and may be COM
pared to Washington in thai its chief
business Is governing, and that 1t is
well built, has beautiful avenues and
trees and is rich in parks. But there
is much of the strictly Dutch at
mosphere. Numerous canals cross
the city's thoroughfares and in the
center of the town is a stable lake
called the Vyver-the fish pond
a survival of the hunting lodge days
of 700 years ago Cleaning white
mansions and government buildings
are grouped about this pond, which
serve Is a rejecting pool to set off
their appearance.
Promenading is "National Sport~
The Hague's shops and cafes are
excellent. LANCE Pooten is the city's
Fifth avenue and Michigan boule-
ward; and there of a late afternoon
and evening, the crowd of prone
naders seems out of all proportion
to even a population OF 100000.
Strolling of an evening Is such a fav-
orite pastime of the Dutch city,
dweller. though, that one traveller
has dubbed 1t Hollands national
sport
ITO the east of the city is a mag
nificent wood-'the Bosh- which is
a remnant of the heavy forest hat
once covered all this portion of the
coast of the Netherlands. Roads
and walks extend into this beauti-
full park; and deep in its interior,
besides small lakes, is a royal villa,
portions of which were erected hun
dreds Of years ago.. 1t was in this
villa that was held in 1899 the first
Hague conference called by the late
Tsar of Russia.
Dutch Atlantic City Near BY
ITO the north of the city is a
smaller fragment of forest. and
through 1t extends q beautiful ave-
III leading to the coast, only three
miles away. The terminus Of this
road is Scheveningen, Hollands At
lantic City, a feature which adds ma
terially to The Hague's popularity
as a conference place. The broad
hard beach of this seaside resort
is dotted with hundreds of queer,
hooded, toadstool-like beach chairs.
and at the waters edge are drawn
up scores of the bathing machines
without which no European beach
would be complete.
ut was not by chance that The
Hague was chosen as the situation
for the peace palace which Andrew
Carnegie donated in 1918. For hun
dreds of years the city has been the
center of European diplomacy. 1t
might be known as the City of
Treaties From 1858 onward The
Hague has been the scene of doz-
n Of conferences and treaty-mak-
ings. many of them Of worldwide
importance. 1t was this back
| ground of world diplomacy that led
many to believe that The Hague
would be chosen as the seat OF the
| T aao,,a ~ Nyottlnep