The Monmouth inquirer., 1923-08-30
HAMBURG COMES
BACK AS PORT
Germanys Most important Com
merciaI City Shows Increase
in Shipping Over 1913.

Washington, D. C.-"Though Ham
burg, the fourth commercial city Of
the world before the World war, has
been doing more shipping in the first
same period Of 1913. TO the average
American woman's mind the name of
the city suggests just one thing-the
trimming on her grandmother's stif
cambria petticoats," says bulletin
Of the National Geographic society
from its Washington Cd. CD head
quarters.
Hamburg has always been jeal-
GUS rival of New York, London and
Liverpool, the three other great COM
mercial cities at whose ports more YES
sells dock than visit the German har-
Dor. During 1921 nearly 10000 ships,
representing a tonnage Of 20,OO0,OOO
and flying flags from all over the earth.
entered the Hamburg harbor as
against net tonnage of 100000 for
New York harbor during the same
period. Hamburg and Bremen have
the honor of being the chief gates of
intercourse between Germany and the
United Kingdom and the United States.
Is a River Port.
'Unlike most of the other great
commercial cities of the world, Ham
burg does not lie within stones throw
Of the ocean. About ninety miles from
its mouth in the North sea, where a
tributary of the Elbe. the Alster, has
been damned to form two lakes. Ham
burg has been built, Its earliest be-
ginnings having been castle of Char
lemagne which stood on the spot in
S11. It's harbOr Is broad and deep
enough for the largest vessels. The
docks are among the finest In the
world, and will accommodate 450
ships at one time.
"Most of the German railroads ulti-
mately lead to the city, and numerous
canals bring their traffic to Its portals.
Hamburg has very interesting If
dirty, old district along these canals,
where the poor of the city live In dark
houses and damp cellars. When the
tide Is out these canals become empty
and the women and children of the
district Immediately run out and wade
about in their muddy bottoms to look
for articles which may have been
dumped overheard by the boats. Three
cannon shots are sounded when the
tide begins to turn. to tell the scaven-
gers that soon the waters will come
rushing into the canals.
Old Customs and Costumes Cling.
1.-THE State and Free City of Ham
burg. comprising 168 square miles, is
a republic, Its constitution bearing the
date Of January 7, 1921. In 1920 it's
population Of 1,O91,0 74, more than
million Of whom live in the city
proper, made it the most densely pop
ulated OF all the German states. It's
average of more than 5000 persons to
a square mile gave 1t more than twice
the density Of the State Of Bremen,
the next In order, and nearly six times
the density Of Lubbock, the third In
order. The public debt of the city at
the END of 1920 was nearly three bill
lien marks, spent chiefly for public
works.
Hamburg streets and market
places are typical of those of many
German towns. In the markets women
may be seen wearing Jokes on their
shoulders from which hang big wooden
buckets filed with milk A few of
them still cling to their woodea shoes
and bright-colored costumes. And
soma of them still hitch themselves to
their vegetable and milk carts and
draw the loads through the city
streets"