White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1932-10-27

Washington, -. C.-WNU Service.
THE Beautiful Blue Danube"
which is not blue, but either
muddy brown or green accord
ing to the rainfall in it's valley,
bids fair to increase In commercial
prestige since the agreement at the
European nations regarding certain
economic and political policies.
For many years countries border
ing the Danube have disagreed on
tariffs and other regulations, thus
sitting trade on the most important
navigable stream in central Europe.
Flowing from the hills of Bavaria to
the Black sea. the Danube has been
called the highway Of races because
many races Of both the Orient and
Occident have navigated the stream
and held parts of its l,S0O-mile course.
AS one travels from the Black sea,
the maritime Danube is left behind at
Turnu-Severin, at the head of Its
sprawling delta. There the Orient has
been exchanged for the Occident-
Moslem minarets for Greek Orthodox
domes, old Turkish gates for old Ro-
man bridges. There narrower
Danube winds between blue, ever-lift-
ing hills, the gateway to western Eu
rope.
And there you may board one of the
big river steamers that all summer
long ascend or descend through half
a dozen countries lying between the
Black forest and Black sea. Hard
ly Is Turnu-Severin astern when the
traveller finds himself amid wild
swirl of waters, before whose terrific
force his boats progress more and
more resembles the freak feat Of try
Ing to mount a descending escalatcr.
At last the shelter of an artifclally
walled channel is reached. Men call
this two-mile stretch the Iron Gate,
and doubtless the Argonautic heroes in
their ascent gave it some equally
forceful name, perhaps likening it to
the battering club of Herakles.
For thousands of years the club
battered, or If you prefer, the gates
changed, against craft that sneaked
upshore, lowed by battalions of men.
At last owing to the decisions of the
Berlin Congress in 1878, the rapids OF
the lower Danube were regulated by
Hungary at cost Of $9,OOO,0O0
The Forgotten Island.
'There's Ada Kaleh," remarks a
guide pointing to an islet off Orsova.
"Folks call it the Forgotten island be-
cause the Berlin Congress overlooked
1t. Now, would you catch an island
being overlooked in the Hudson? Why,
there'd be an amusement park on it!'
Ashore the traveller glimpses
quaint island colony of Bosnian Mos
lens, who long ago built their little
houses amid the encompassing ramifi
cations of dismantled Turkish
fortress. 1t is as peaceful sight as
that of wild flowers carpeting an old
shell crater.
On the Danube there are customs
duties and enough local port regula-
lions to make a sailorman go bald
with worry. The river Is more like
a political conflict, with seven tickets
in the field, which Is to say, 1t flows
through three Kingdoms, one regency,
two republics and social democracy.
Its length Is exceeded in Europe
only by that of the Volga. Its naviga-
BILE portion, as shown on the chart,
totals nearly 1000 miles and glance
at it's nine political sectors, of which
81 hot 10 CHI Nv,
pairs of countries-reveal that al
most one-third of the Danube's nav
igable length is thus shared by states
which face each other from the rivers
opposite banks.
Presently the boat enters sheer
faced gorge of sky-cutting profiles that
incloses the observer in an endless
vesta of rock-walled waters.
Through the kazan Defi'e.
Silent as twilight, primitive as when
the daedal Danube wrought this pas
sage to the sea, the Kazan Defile might
easily have seemed to the early Greeks
Charon-haunted Styx leading to the
underworld Their bards called the
future Danube the Istros and dwelt
in awesome terms on its shadow en-
vroned origin" thus placing its
source at the head of the Kazan
where rapids still swirl malevolently
over lodges of rock.
But the Greeks never permitted
superstition to Interfere with business
With sword in one hand and merchan
disc scales in the other they unloaded
textiles pottery and arms on the