﻿THE 
  STORY 
  OF 
  THE 
  RUHR 
  

  

  561 
  

  

  Photograph 
  from 
  Frederick 
  Simpich 
  

  

  WRECK 
  OE 
  A 
  RHINE 
  BARGE 
  

  

  Thousands 
  of 
  these 
  long 
  craft, 
  with 
  quarters 
  astern 
  for 
  the 
  captain's 
  family 
  and 
  a 
  coop 
  

   for 
  his 
  chickens, 
  crowd 
  the 
  swift, 
  shallow 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  Rhine, 
  moving 
  85,000,000 
  tons 
  of 
  

   freight 
  a 
  year. 
  

  

  light-draft 
  boats 
  and 
  barges 
  carrying 
  coal, 
  

   ore, 
  building 
  materials, 
  and 
  manufactured 
  

   products. 
  

  

  From 
  Cologne 
  to 
  London, 
  too, 
  by 
  way 
  

   of 
  the 
  Rhine 
  and 
  serving 
  the 
  Ruhr 
  fron- 
  

   tier, 
  runs 
  a 
  regular 
  line 
  of 
  specially 
  built 
  

   river-sea 
  steamers, 
  which 
  do 
  away 
  with 
  

   the 
  cost 
  of 
  unloading 
  and 
  reloading 
  from 
  

   river 
  barge 
  to 
  ocean 
  steamer, 
  or 
  vice 
  

   versa, 
  at 
  Rotterdam. 
  

  

  Ideas, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  boats, 
  it 
  is 
  said, 
  are 
  

   carried 
  on 
  great 
  rivers. 
  Here, 
  then, 
  may 
  

   be 
  a 
  lesson 
  for 
  America 
  on 
  how 
  to 
  use 
  

   inland 
  streams. 
  Through 
  all 
  this 
  region 
  

   railways 
  parallel 
  the 
  rivers, 
  cross 
  and 
  re- 
  

   cross 
  them, 
  and 
  compete 
  with 
  them 
  ; 
  yet 
  

   the 
  water-borne 
  cargoes 
  continue 
  to 
  be 
  

   enormous, 
  taxing 
  the 
  capacity 
  of 
  twice 
  

   ten 
  thousand 
  bottoms. 
  

  

  A 
  NETWORK 
  OF 
  CANAES 
  AND 
  CHANNELED 
  

  

  STREAMS 
  

  

  No 
  country 
  has 
  developed 
  its 
  water 
  

   transport 
  to 
  a 
  higher 
  efficiency 
  The 
  

   whole 
  of 
  Germany 
  is 
  covered 
  with 
  a 
  reg- 
  

   ular 
  network 
  of 
  canals 
  and 
  channeled 
  

  

  streams, 
  linked 
  up 
  with 
  one 
  another 
  wher- 
  

   ever 
  practicable. 
  For 
  example, 
  by 
  means 
  

   of 
  the 
  Rhine-Rhone 
  and 
  the 
  Rhine-Marne 
  

   canals, 
  the 
  Rhine 
  is 
  connected 
  with 
  a 
  

   large 
  part 
  of 
  southern 
  France; 
  in 
  the 
  

   same 
  way, 
  its 
  lightest-draft 
  barges 
  can 
  

   get 
  through 
  to 
  the 
  headwaters 
  of 
  the 
  Dan- 
  

   ube 
  through 
  the 
  Main 
  and 
  the 
  Ludwig 
  

   Canal, 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  Weser 
  by 
  a 
  canal 
  now 
  

   being 
  extended 
  to 
  Hanover 
  and 
  thence 
  to 
  

   the 
  Elbe. 
  

  

  Through 
  this 
  service 
  to 
  the 
  Danube, 
  

   barges 
  can 
  actually 
  now 
  carry 
  goods 
  from 
  

   the 
  Ruhr 
  to 
  the 
  far-away 
  Black 
  Sea, 
  thus 
  

   giving 
  an 
  all-water 
  haul 
  to 
  southern 
  Rus- 
  

   sia, 
  Turkey, 
  and 
  Armenia. 
  And 
  in 
  these 
  

   latter 
  regions, 
  in 
  the 
  next 
  decade, 
  it 
  seems 
  

   likely 
  that 
  engines, 
  rails, 
  and 
  other 
  Ruhr 
  

   products 
  will 
  be 
  largely 
  consumed. 
  

  

  Since 
  its 
  great 
  growth 
  began, 
  many 
  

   busy 
  Ruhr 
  towns 
  have 
  grown 
  up 
  along 
  

   the 
  rivers 
  and 
  canals, 
  at 
  points 
  nearest 
  the 
  

   mineral 
  deposits. 
  Duisburg. 
  or 
  Duisburg- 
  

   Ruhrort. 
  where 
  Mercator, 
  the 
  great 
  geog- 
  

   rapher, 
  died, 
  and 
  which 
  now 
  includes 
  

   Hochfeld, 
  Meiderich, 
  and 
  Ruhrort, 
  is 
  

  

  