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The article focuses on the industrial operations in the historic Rhine River. The river flows between Western Europe's two vast and priceless mineral deposits, iron ore and coal, the two vital ingredients in forging the steel which is the structural basis of modern industrial civilization. In its prewar heyday, the river moved the staggering total of 90 million tons of barge traffic per annum. In this year, 1949, the total traffic on the river is forecasted to hit about 50 million tons.