The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-01-21


in loading and unloading and the h
back other sweets, the manufactured
products for the greedy bees of Eng
land, North America, South America
and Asia. Belgium has enough in
terror waterways connected with her
ports to make a continuous stream
around the world at equator. Its
canals alone if Joined end to end
would reach from Philadelphia to the
Mississippi river; and some of the
enormous barges below us, now TAX
ing on cotton, grain and other pro-
duce. will travel inland by water to
the Rhine and by a canal to the
Danube and on that stream past port
after port almost to the Black sea.
There are canals from the Scheldt
and other rivers into France, so that
goods can be carried to Journal,
Lille and Paris; and there is now
talk of a complete inland waterway
system from Antwerp to Marseilles
on the Mediterranean sea. The plan
is that it shall be wide and deep
enough to permit the passage of
boats of 10000 tons and IA feet draft.
A part of this system is provided for
in the peace treaty of Versailles. 1t
includes the making of canal from
of the Rhine from Cologne to Strass-
burg, the capital of Alsace-Lorraine;
and the reconstruction of old French
waterways from there to the Medi-
terranean sea. The Antwerp Rhine
canal awaits only money to start its
construction.
There is talk also of a big ship
canal from here to the North sea,
avoiding the necessity of using the
C,f.1 i l.. l. II
land and thereby causes much fric-
ton between the Dutch and the Bel
gians.
In addition to these canals, Ant
werp has railways that connect her
with all parts of central and western
Europe. She has three lines to Ger
many, and several to France, one of
which goes via Alsace- Lorraine to
Switzerland and italy. By the ST.
Gothard tunnel, passengers are car
rid from Switzerland to Milan and
IN down to Brindisi. at the heel of
the Italian boot, where begins the
short water route to Asia and the
Far East. Milan is more convenient
of access to Antwerp than to any
other great port of Europe.
The Giant of Antwerp
Do you wonder that a city so sit
uated should become center of
trade? The people here say its
original discoverer was Antigonus, a
giant twice as tall as Goliath who.
as / figure it, was just short of 10
feet Antigonus selected this spot to
prey on the traders whose ships
passed in and out cutting off the
right hands of his victims and throw
ing them into the Scheldt. From this
came ANT" thand) and 'werpen" (to
throw the two forming Antwerpen,
the Flemish name for Antwerp. The
coat of arms of the city still has two
hands upon it.
Whatever may be the truth about
the giant, we know that Antwerp
was rich commercial center when
all America belonged to the Indians
In the middle ages. it is recorded
that 500 wagons passed in and out of
it daily carrying goods. and that 500
ships sailed up the Scheldt every "a
hours, while $500 might be seen
there at anchor at the same time.
Later Antwerp surpassed Venice
and Genoa. holding fairs that at
tracted merchants from Europe and
Asia; and about rs years after John
Cabot had discovered North America
among her annual imports were
$4,000 900 worth of grain from the
Baltic. and goods from England
worth several times that amount.
They included also more than
s4,000.00o worth of spices and sugar,
and twice as much in silk and gold
embroideries from Italy. In these
figures given l have reduced ducats
to dollars. Antwerp then had ! 1000
foreign commercial firms doing bust
ness inside her walls, among them
the Fuggers of Augsburg, who were
the Rockefellers of that time, and
one of whom left fortune equal to
about 100000, then an almost in
conceivable sum.
Docks Made by Napoleon
Such were the conditions when the
Spaniards under the Duke of Alva.
"the hangman of Phillip. H." tried
to rule the Netherlands. They ruined
the country and within less than a
generation it's population dropped
more than so per cent. In 1890 Ant
werp had only 10000 souls Later
Napoleon saw the possibilities of the