﻿THE 
  STORY 
  OF 
  THE 
  RUHR 
  

  

  By 
  Frederick 
  Simpich 
  

  

  Author 
  of 
  "The 
  Rise 
  oe 
  the 
  New 
  Arab 
  Nation," 
  "Along 
  Our 
  Side 
  of 
  the 
  Mexican 
  Bordei 
  

   L,ife 
  in 
  Afghanistan," 
  "The 
  Geography 
  of 
  Our 
  Foreign 
  Trade," 
  etc., 
  in 
  

   the 
  National 
  Geographic 
  Magazine 
  

  

  "E 
  VERY-DAY 
  

  

  IT 
  is 
  a 
  phenomenon 
  of 
  history 
  — 
  due, 
  

   perhaps, 
  to 
  geographic 
  influences 
  — 
  

   that, 
  century 
  after 
  century, 
  great 
  

   human 
  dramas 
  are 
  often 
  staged 
  on 
  the 
  

   same 
  map 
  spots. 
  Thus 
  the 
  passes 
  of 
  

   northwest 
  India, 
  the 
  plains 
  of 
  Babylonia, 
  

   the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Nile 
  — 
  what 
  famous 
  

   theaters 
  they 
  have 
  been 
  in 
  the 
  great 
  wars 
  

   of 
  the 
  world 
  ! 
  

  

  And 
  the 
  Rhine 
  ! 
  Long 
  ago 
  Hugo 
  said 
  

   of 
  it, 
  "For 
  thirty 
  centuries 
  it 
  has 
  seen 
  the 
  

   forms 
  and 
  reflected 
  the 
  shadows 
  of 
  almost 
  

   every 
  warrior 
  who 
  has 
  tilled 
  the 
  Old 
  

   World 
  with 
  that 
  tool 
  they 
  call 
  the 
  sword." 
  

   Caesar, 
  Attila, 
  Charlemagne, 
  Napoleon, 
  

   Barbarossa, 
  Bismarck, 
  Hindenberg, 
  Foch, 
  

   Haig, 
  Pershing 
  — 
  all 
  have 
  passed 
  this 
  

   way. 
  

  

  Down 
  the 
  Rhine, 
  below 
  where 
  Caesar 
  

   bridged 
  it 
  at 
  Andernach, 
  below 
  where 
  

   Yankee 
  doughboys 
  now 
  wash 
  their 
  shirts 
  

   in 
  its 
  green 
  flood 
  and 
  British 
  Tommies 
  

   play 
  at 
  soccer 
  above 
  the 
  bones 
  of 
  bishops, 
  

   a 
  small 
  crooked 
  stream 
  flows 
  in 
  from 
  the 
  

   east 
  — 
  a 
  stream 
  called 
  the 
  Ruhr. 
  Merely 
  

   as 
  a 
  river, 
  this 
  Ruhr, 
  barely 
  150 
  miles 
  

   long, 
  is 
  not 
  important. 
  But 
  it 
  flows 
  

   through 
  and 
  lends 
  its 
  name 
  to 
  a 
  tiny 
  

   region 
  not 
  equaled 
  anywhere 
  for 
  intensity 
  

   of 
  industry 
  and 
  potential 
  political 
  im- 
  

   portance. 
  

  

  Viewed 
  in 
  the 
  light 
  of 
  events 
  since 
  the 
  

   war, 
  it 
  seems 
  safe 
  to 
  predict 
  that 
  the 
  

   course 
  of 
  life 
  in 
  Europe 
  for 
  the 
  next 
  

   generation 
  may 
  depend 
  on 
  what 
  is 
  hap- 
  

   pening 
  now 
  along 
  this 
  short, 
  crooked, 
  but 
  

   busy 
  stream. 
  

  

  "a 
  MERE 
  speck 
  on 
  the 
  map" 
  

  

  The 
  Ruhr, 
  as 
  this 
  famous 
  region 
  is 
  

   commonly 
  called, 
  is 
  not 
  a 
  political 
  subdi- 
  

   vision 
  of 
  Germany; 
  it 
  is 
  merely 
  an 
  in- 
  

   dustrial 
  district, 
  smaller 
  in 
  area 
  than 
  

   Rhode 
  Island, 
  but 
  crowded 
  with 
  mines 
  

   and 
  factories 
  from 
  end 
  to 
  end 
  and 
  settled, 
  

   in 
  spots, 
  with 
  1,800 
  people 
  to 
  the 
  square 
  

   mile. 
  

  

  Tiny 
  as 
  it 
  is, 
  a 
  mere 
  speck 
  on 
  the 
  map, 
  

   it 
  produces 
  in 
  normal 
  times 
  over 
  100.- 
  

   000,000 
  tons 
  of 
  coal 
  a 
  year 
  ; 
  it 
  mines 
  much 
  

  

  of 
  the 
  iron 
  ore 
  its 
  many 
  mills 
  consume, 
  

   and 
  the 
  steel 
  wares 
  of 
  Solingen 
  have 
  been 
  

   famous 
  since 
  the 
  middle 
  ages. 
  

  

  From 
  Essen 
  there 
  is 
  trundled 
  out, 
  

   month 
  after 
  month, 
  a 
  parade 
  of 
  finished 
  

   engines, 
  cars, 
  and 
  farm 
  implements, 
  to 
  

   say 
  nothing 
  of 
  tools, 
  shafting, 
  ship- 
  

   frames, 
  bridge 
  steel, 
  and 
  plates, 
  that 
  com- 
  

   pete 
  in 
  the 
  markets 
  of 
  the 
  world 
  from 
  

   Java 
  to 
  Jerusalem. 
  

  

  One 
  German 
  writer, 
  with 
  characteristic 
  

   racial 
  precision, 
  figures 
  out 
  that 
  the 
  

   volume 
  of 
  raw 
  and 
  finished 
  products 
  

   handled 
  in 
  the 
  Ruhr 
  every 
  working 
  day 
  

   would 
  load 
  a 
  train 
  of 
  cars 
  thirty 
  miles 
  

   long 
  ! 
  

  

  To 
  grasp 
  quickly 
  just 
  what 
  the 
  Ruhr 
  

   would 
  look 
  like 
  if 
  painted 
  in 
  on 
  a 
  map, 
  

   take 
  your 
  pencil 
  and 
  draw 
  a 
  horseshoe- 
  

   shaped 
  figure, 
  starting 
  northeast 
  from 
  

   Duisburg, 
  on 
  the 
  Rhine; 
  then 
  curve 
  east 
  

   and 
  southeast, 
  so 
  that 
  Dortmund 
  stands 
  

   at 
  the 
  toe 
  of 
  the 
  shoe 
  ; 
  thence 
  south 
  to 
  

   Hagen, 
  southwest 
  to 
  Barmen, 
  and 
  thence 
  

   straight 
  on 
  to 
  strike 
  the 
  Rhine 
  again 
  at 
  a 
  

   point 
  north 
  of 
  Cologne 
  (see 
  map, 
  p. 
  554). 
  

  

  Then 
  think 
  of 
  the 
  Pennsylvania 
  coal- 
  

   fields 
  packed 
  into 
  this 
  tiny 
  area; 
  pour 
  in 
  

   the 
  combined 
  populations 
  of 
  Philadelphia, 
  

   Baltimore, 
  Cleveland, 
  and 
  St. 
  Louis. 
  

   Then 
  take 
  a 
  flock 
  of 
  the 
  biggest 
  Ameri- 
  

   can 
  steel 
  mills 
  and 
  railroad 
  shops 
  you 
  

   can 
  think 
  of 
  and 
  set 
  them 
  down 
  along 
  

   the 
  Ruhr. 
  Fill 
  in 
  the 
  remaining 
  smaller 
  

   gaps 
  with 
  paper, 
  silk, 
  and 
  cotton 
  mills, 
  

   glass 
  factories, 
  tanneries, 
  dye, 
  chemical, 
  

   and 
  salt 
  works. 
  Now 
  put 
  every 
  man, 
  

   woman, 
  and 
  child 
  from 
  the 
  cities 
  named 
  

   hard 
  at 
  work 
  digging 
  coal, 
  firing 
  boilers, 
  

   running 
  lathes, 
  or 
  rolling 
  steel 
  rails, 
  and 
  

   you 
  will 
  get 
  a 
  graphic, 
  accurate 
  mental 
  

   picture 
  of 
  what 
  this 
  roaring, 
  rushing" 
  

   Ruhr 
  really 
  is. 
  

  

  Geographically, 
  the 
  Ruhr 
  district 
  lies 
  

   chiefly 
  in 
  the 
  province 
  of 
  Westphalia, 
  

   bounded 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  by 
  the 
  Rhine. 
  A 
  

   small 
  section 
  of 
  its 
  area, 
  however, 
  includ- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  city 
  of 
  Essen, 
  flows 
  over 
  into 
  the 
  

   Rhine 
  Province. 
  Physically, 
  it 
  forms 
  a 
  

   part 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  sandy 
  plain 
  of 
  north- 
  

  

  553 
  

  

  