Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-03-28
VERY HARD TIMES IN GERMANY.

Berlin Correspondence Of the New York Tribune.
The general cry of duIlness in trade
is swelled not little by the voice of
Germany. If wages have been reduced
20 per cent. in America, they have
been reduced 40 per cent. here; If there
are hundreds of unemployed men IN
New York, there are thousands in Ber-
lin. Last winter this city had difficulty
In finding street labOrers at two thaleTs
per day; this winter an indefinite num-
Der can be had at 20 silbergroshen, or
one-third the price. If the great man
ufactories In America make wholesale
reductions In wages, those Of Germany
make wholesale discharges of hands.
Hardly a week passes in which the
International Gazette, the new Ameri-
can paper here, does not report such
events. The reason Is that it is
simply impossible, at any rate of
wages, to sustain a large production;
and the concerns find it easier, there
fore, to close their works. There
is In short, almost an utter prOstratiOn
of business. The National ZeituHg,
this morning, makes a frank confession
Of the fact. 1t admits the distressing
condition Of trade in general, and es-
pecially of the drug in the labor mar
ket; and draws, on the whole, picture
which would not encourage many emf
grants to return hither IN search of for
tune. The National Zeitung confirms
the fact, which was indeed clear to all
but too patriotic eyes, that the extraOr-
binary business prosperity that fol-
lowed the war was unnatural and could
not endure. There were many reasons
why the period after the close of hos
tilities should have been marked by an
abundance of money and an abundance
of labor. The indemnity was passing
into the country, and was increased,
owing to the universal delusiOn about
the future Of Germany, by large IN
vestments Of English capital There
was plenty of employment, even in re-
pairing the effects of the Tar-I mean
IN restoring the railways which the war
had severely tried, and IN enlarglng
Notifications. Of course the abund-
ance of capital gave rise to q reckless
prOdigiality IN all sorts Of private en-
terprises. New railways we're under
taken, great manufacturing companies
established to rival Krupp, and ship
yards to compete with the Lairds were
organized. Above all, new and costly
houses sprung up In all parts of Berlin
and In almost every other city. The
most popular form of investment was
/ in stock companies, and the multiple
cation Of stock companies In 1871 and
| 1872 was marvellous. Money was plen-
ty, wages we're high, and hOd carriers
drank champagne at their daily work.
But this did not last, and could not
/ last. First the stock companies began
| to totter, and at length there
was a general crash. Then wages
began to fall, while the necessities of
life were stationary. The fOrtresses
we're completed, and thousands OF
workmen thrown upon the market.
People began to leave Berlin on &C
count Of the high prices until the evil
spread and distributed itself through
out the country. The stock companies
went to pieces one after another IN all
the chief cities, until that sort Of or
ganizatIon became another name for
everything unstable and treacherous.
The new palaces Of Berlin stood unoc.
cupied, and fewer new ones were OF
course begun. In short, a complete
transformation has taken place, and II
spite of the five milliards, it is TO-
day very difficult to raise money, and
still more difficult TO realize it on In
vestments. Now it will help no emi
grants fortune to return to Germany
even If he escapes impressment int
the military service.