The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1922-03-22
TO LINK NORTH
and BLACK SEAS
Plan to Cut Steamship Waterway
That Would Be Great Help
to Commerce.
ACROSS EUROPE BY WATER
Germany Is Considering Project Of
Connecting Up the Rhine and the
Danube for Ocean-ooinq
Vessels.

Washington, D. C.-"Instinctively
one links the Mississippi and the Mis-
souri, rivers; years to come may find
us regarding the Danube and the Rhine
In the same way" is the Of
u National Geographic society bulle-
tin upon h reports Of a plan to cut
. steamship waterway from the North
sea to the Black sea.
las for a waterway acros Europe
such a waterway already exists.
though travellers through a small sec
ton Of it might have to resort to very
small craft. Information about the
condition Of the canalized portion Of
this trans-European water route is
not readily available, since the linking
Of the Rhine and the Danube occurs In
Germany.
New Conceptions OF Europe.
The very fact hat we classify the
legend-laden Rhine In one mental
pigeOnhole, and the romantic, castled
Danube in another, makes the an
nouncement Of a waterway across Eu-
rope come upon us with the impact
Of q fresh idea. Just as war brought
about political changes in Europe, so
peace Is bringing economic changes.
Hence, II Germany carries out the
project she Is considering, we will have
u water route, just as we have learned
to think of a Europe with Turkey al
most zone, a Poland with a boundary,
and the new names Of Czechoslovakia
and Jugo-Slavia conspicuous upon it's
map.
"A present water route across Eu-
rope-and others are possible with very
short portages-lies along the Rhine.
to Mainz, up the Rhlne's tributary,
Main, to Bamberg, thence through the
Regnitz, into the Ludwig canal to the
Altmuhl, which empties into the Dan
ube at Kelheim.
Where Two Rivers Are Linked.
"In your minds eye, even without
a map, you can recall two focal points
Of this route, Frankfort, on the Main,
and Ratisbon Cor R~egensburg) on the
Danube. Vessels of more han 1000
tons can go up the Rhine and Main
to Frankfort and vessels between 400
and 1000 tons can go up the Danube
as far as Ratisbon. Kelheim, the
Danube end of the small river-canal
link with the Rhine, is only - miles
of Ratisbon. The improve
of the Danube to Kelheim would
offer no great difficulties. Above
to Wurzburg, vessels be-
tween 400 and 1000 tons can traverse
the Main.
1.-THE trouble with this route, even
with channels deep enough to carry
larger steamers from Wurzburg to
Ratisbon, Is the extremely circuitous
course between the Rhine and the Dan
ube. From Frankfort the route forms
almost perfect wv and then trails
off like a careless flourish through
to Ratisbon. A projected
Of this route contemplates
passing the confluence of the Rhine
md the Main, continuing up the
Rhine to Mannheim, thence into the
Neckar and into the proposed canal
rom that point to connect with the
Danube near Ofingen.
completion of the project for this
leep waterway across Europe would
make the Rhine-Danube route one OF
most important commercial high
Ways of the understanding in
c Importance with the Panama and
suez canals, and in extent with the
Mississippi Missouri channel and the
-z..o.1,,. ,o.fxah1a Yonntb ~ thu
Amazon. The Black-to-North-sea trip
would be a journey of nearly 1920
niles. The high water navigation head
+ the Missouri, in Montana, is $500
lilies from the Gulf of Mexico, while
cean-going steamers may ascend the
MACON for 1890 miles,"
oil A~-. H. 04kkit