ARCHANGEL

Nelson Evening Mail, 31 March 1916, Page 2

ARCHANGEL

I J During the war (says the Koelnische j Zeitung) Archangel has sprung up out of \ its age-long unnoticed existence near the ? "White Sea coast into quite a miraculous , f period of development, -which will disappear again when the "golden age" S has passed away, and Archangel once | more relapses iiito its Arctic torpor, i Fable became reality when a couple of j : ice-breakers were procured in order to keep the port and bay of Archangel open as long as possible; and when the ice -broke up in the spring of 1915 the traffic actually expanded to such dimensions that, as the Americans Commercial Attache in. Petrograd brought out in his -report, the port .-could well-nigh compete • with New York harbour in respect-. of the number' of outgoing- and incoming ; ships, and likewise as regards tonnage. The .entire life of this practically Arc- : tic town was now changed at a single stroke; over 50,000 people streamed into. : -it, brokers, merchants, and agents es-, tablished .themselves there, and the business life of the. town so increased, in" extent as if Archangel were a world-' , city. .All'the hotels were utilised as offices and stores, an electrip tramway was laid and electric lighting installed, while > goods : and jvares " from the interior of | -Russia were piled up and lay ready for r shipment from the one Russian export- , ing port in Europe. - - Shortly afte r the disappearance of the -ice in- the -White iSea in May last, ships, began to arrive. Steamers up to 5000 I tons burden made regular trips betweenArchangel and Britain, and one of the £• biggest which brought coal from Britain was of .7500 tons burden. A Russo-' i American steamship line was also estab-' lishedj -which had a sailing every second week between Nbw York and besides the many Norwegian and other steamers which plied to and fro. There was not. room enough available ; for all . these ships, and temporary, -wooden, stages were, therefore, built, at -winch the various craft loaded' up, principally cargoes. Wheat, too, was - an {"article of export; most of the grain,. | which formerly had been taken by the | ports of the Baltic and Black Seas, "was. | now sent northwards, and since. May;:'j I 1915, 15,000,000 poods, of wheat _a,re said; | to have been shipped out from Arch- [ angel. f Naturally the ships cannot be dispos-T -; ed oif by far as quickly as is desirable, , and as takes place- in ports which have • alvyays been accustomed to heavy traf- > ?<•. In " autumn,, when the ice/ which . usually closes Archangel for 180 days • '-in .the year, begins to come in, it was • reported that' 15 • ice-breakers —vzete j brou gh.t into rservice in the White Sea, | and with their help it is hoped that it j will be possible. to keep navigation. ! open on the river near Archangel rightI i nt ° December, and the harbour itself,. ' { 'which lies at a considerable distance { from the sea, it is-hoped, will be-kept f ™. 6n until the end of January even. ■< j. That this, , amongst other things, is , counted on for certain would' appear : from the - fact that steamers are said j to have left Britain on November 5 1 the White Sea- Affer Janizary. 5 noweyer, the ice is heaped up in uncom--1 P r dense and solid masses round, about Archangel, and then all | shipping ceases. I .