THE WATER WAY TO DUSSELDORF

Evening Star, Issue 19659, 12 September 1927, Page 5

THE WATER WAY TO DUSSELDORF

A BREAM VOYAGE ALTERED LANDMARKS I have just returned from a voyage of discovery, or, rather, rediscovery, for mv destination was a country I knew well a generation ago (states a writer in tho ‘Observer’). Had I. not spent ten of the most impressionable years of my childhod at tho Royal Gymnasium at Dusseldorf, receiving the best education tho country could give at onetenth of tho cost of an English public school ? But that was over thirty years ago, and I had not seen the Rhine since. Many and vast changes must have taken place. Would 1 find any of the familiar landmarks untouched, anyone who remembered tho English boy who fitted so oddly among the princes and vons ami commoners of_ that typical German grammar school? So I took a passage in a Dutch steamer going straight to Rotterdam, most amazing of seaports, where ships seem to float in every street, and vast buildings ate raised on piles driven into the seabottom twenty foot below street level. Among the crowded shipping I sought and found a river steamer which promised to take mo up the Rhine as far as I wished to go,‘and I wont to sloop in the comfortable cabin knowing that we should sail at dawn, and that f could safely leave the rest to the Dutch captain of tho Hollamlia. It was a dream voyage, such as any contemplative invalid could undertake and cnioy. The smooth motion of the boat, tho excellent food, the absence of noise and fuss were inexpressibly soothing. And at night the vessel itself lav-to/and no sound was heard save the lap-lapping of the gentle waves of the mighty river. ALONG THE TOR OE THE WORLD.

Our voyage was like sailing along the top of the world. For the dykes that '-online tho river are also the horizon. Beyond them lies land sunk below river level and sea level, ns is one-third of Holland. Above Dordrecht we pass the Merwcdc tower, erected in commemoration of the flood which engulfed ssveuty-ono villages and 100.000 people in tho sixteenth century—-a grim reminder of the flight which tho,Hollander has waged for his existence, and still wages, for tbo land is .still subsiding at the rate of a foot per century. But gradually tbo land_ rises, and at Nijuegen it assumes quite a normal uersnectivc. Soon wc reach the junction of the Vaal and tho Rhino proper, for the Dutch are no respecters of Nature, and have diverted and subdivided the glorious river nut of recognition. so that the Old Rhino degenerates into a rivulet which peters out miserably near Leyden. The huge Gorman frontier posts, diminutive Eiffel towers, heave into sight as we approach Emmerich. Miles nf shipping, mostly Dutch, with _ a sprinkling of French and Belgian, line the broad river at the gate of Germany, waiting for the Customs officers. Tbo ilollandiu, by virtue of her four passengers, has precedence, and gets through iu half an hour. The German “ fierce-lookiug men iu bright green coats, arc scrupulously courteous and considerate, and as all luggage is examined on board there is no inconvenience. We are free to cuter Germany by the Gorman Rhine, that historic river which holds the first place in every German heart. It is nearly a hundred years since Max Sehneekcnburger wrote the words of ‘Dio Wncht am Rhein,’ and Karl Wilhelm wedded them to what is perhaps the most stirring martial air the world has ever beard—for the 1 Marseillaise ’ is not a war song, but a song of revolution. GERMANY’S FOUR FLAGS. But no martial sound greeted us as wo steamed up the shining river. The first German flag was shown by one of those smart pleasure steamers which ply between Emmerich and Mannheim, right through the Occupied Area. Tho flag was tho familiar red-white-black of pre-war days, but nobody seems to be quite sure as to the proper German colors for shipping. I saw four different flags used indiscriminately, the Imperial red-white-black, the Republican black-y el low-red, the Prussian black-and-white, and the Imperial quartered with the Republican flag. It is a symbol of the conflict of sentiments.

A few hours brought us to tho mouth of the Ruhr and tho border of that great industrial area which contains one-tenth of the population of Germany, and produces ono-quartor of its wealth. Hamboni. Duisburg, and Ruhrort have acquired international significance iu the matter of world finance and reconstruction. Wo see them from, tho deck of tho steamer as mazes of tall chimneys, cranes, and motor barges. And so on to Dusseldorl, tho administrativo capital and _ pleasure centre of this vast “ Tndustriogcbiet.” Tho boat begins to fill up with excursionists. They arc all German, where formerly they were half English. Since our all-wise Government stopped tho German waiter from coming over hero, English has become a dead language in Germany and the visitor must needs converse in what German bo can muster.

The population of Dusseldorf has increased five-fold in the last forty years. It is now half a million. No wonder 1 landed in what was to me a strange city. Tlio Lnmbertuskircbe still supplied the chief landmark, but the ruined Selfless bad been trimmed away and its tower “protected ” with a most inartistic cap, while the old picturesque bridge of boats bad been replaced by a steel bridge convoying high-speed trains to Nicdercassel—a name reminiscent of the days when the Romans faced an uiiconqiicrcd Germany across tho river. HEINE’S BIRTHPLACE.

Dusseldorf is a beautiful city. It is clean and spacious and embowered iu greenery. It has been au artistic centre ever since Duke Johann Wilhelm, of Julieii, Kleve, and Bcrge, whoso mouldy equestrian statue stands in tho old market place, collected a gallery of paintings and took tho first steps towards tho establishment of tbo A>-.demy of Art. But to English folk Dusseldorf is chiefly memorable as tho birthplace of Heine, the greatest of German lyrical poets, w'Jioso statue is sought in vain iu a town crowded with statuary. Tho powers of Church and State which he, satirised have had their revenge.

I. wandered through the beautiful Tlofgarteu and tho Avenue of Sighs. I imbibed milkloss tea from a glass and ate strawberry tart on the Ananasberg, surrounded by ornamental water. I discovered’ some old friends who remembered mo across the gulf of years. I visited Elberfold ami Crefekl and the beautiful Neanderthal, world-famous as tho site of the earliest human remains. I talked with all sorts and conditions of mem, and learned something about that new Germain’ which, after unprecedented military efforts and achievements, crushed and gashed about and humiliated, has settled down to the task of healing its own wounds and repairing the damage inflicted upon the world by four mad years of destruction.

Of bitterness 1 found ii|tlo on the Rhine. The most painful memory seemed to be that of the bolckadc, continued for twelve months after surrender in order to extort impossible terms of peace and a confession of war guilt which should havo been exacted from a swashbuckling emperor and his satellites. But the children who survived that agony have forgotten it. The demilitarisation of the Rhino has removed tho dread of military service from tho minds of the young mon, and a new generation is growing up of sport loving, open air, wholesome youth of both sexes, who may bo seen in .their

hundreds cycling along the level roads, bare-headed and rncksaeked, or bathing iu the Rhine ard doing excellent gymnastics before dressing. And the girls are not even bobbed or shingled, and flaxen heads may be seen wound close with a mass of little braids, suggesting a burst of golden glory when loosened. One sees finely modelled faces, innocent of paint and lipstick, but freckled and sunburnt and subtly attractive by their very candor and honesty. Ono wonders what forces are forming the minds and moulding tho characters of these young people. Social democracy has been in tho saddle for eight years. Tho investor in Government securities and war loans lias been utterly ruined. House property has been burdened with restrictions, which have aggravated the house shortage. Class distinctions have been abolished iu every direction. It is practically impossible to send a child between six and fen to anything except a national school. Medical treatment in serious eases cun only be obtained at the hospitals. And, again, there are no waiters. Everybody is a “bead waiter.” You must not call out “Kellner!” if you want to order a dinner, but “ Herr Obor!” To do him justice, the waiter often deserves the distinction, having served at first-class hotels abroad. Anyhow, be adds his own tip of 10 per cent, to your bill.

DOMESTIC SERVANTS IN PLENTY

The same spirit pervades commerce and industry. The Revolution of 1919 placed tiro factories in charge of workmen’s soviets, hut tho period of inflation which ruined tho middle classes also swept away the extravagances and excrescences of tho labor situation. Tho workmen’s councils have remained, but they are now nothing but advisory councils to the management, and their functions are strictly regulated by law. The managing director of a refrigerator company told mo they worked well on the whole, and saved a lot of trouble. When hours had to bo shortened or hands dismissed, ho communicated the fact to the council, and they decided how it was to bo done. The members of the council were specially secured against dismissal to guard against victimisation. In addition, there was tire “ Gowerbegericht,” or Industrial Arbitration Board, before which grievances could be ventilated. When a man was dismissed for insubordination ho was able to prove to the satisfaction of the board that the order ho was alleged to have disobeyed was not given by a superior, whereupon ho was reinstated with arrears of pay. Wages are practically the same as in England, and so is the cost of living. Women are more poorly paid, and do not crowd the factories to the same extent. As a consequence domestic servants are plentiful, but tho smallness of their wages is counterbalanced by the expense of their insurance. It is significant that laundry work is excellent and cheap. The Germans are a serious, reflective people, a nation of thinkers. They have pondered the lessons of the war, and they are quietly confident of solving the formidable problems of tho peace. They have held together against all the forces of disintegration. They have maintained their moral. They have kept their lend in science. In the largest industries they r*\'i treating on equal toms with their English and French compeers. They are a great nation, n nation with a great future. Wo cannot do without them.