Daily Kennebec journal., 1879-07-30
Letter from Berlin.
The CAPITAL OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE
BIsMARK's PoLIcY.-RELIGIoN IN GER
MANY.-"THE ROYAL AIR."--GENERAL
GRANTS HABIrs.-THE WEATHER.
BERLIN, July 3, 1879.
BERLIN, July 3, 1879.

BERLIN, July 8, 1879.
As one old resident very truly says, ''that
this comes very near being a beautiful city"
The streets are broad and clean, the buildings
are fine and many of them imposing, while
the private residences many of them with
gardens attached and little lawns with shrubs
and flowers in front, are handsome and at
tractive. A fine park of eight hundred acres.
covered with a very good growth of trees, and
laid out with drives and walks, extends well
into the city.
The inhabitants now number over one mil
lion. In the time Of Frederick the Great,
(l7S6), the chronicles of the time relate with
pride that the number of inhabitants has risen
to one hundred and forty seven thousand.
And yet the city does not fully please the
stranger 1t lies in the midst of a vast sandy,
sterile plain, much redeemed indeed by faith
full cultivation, but bearing naturally only
few stunted pines. There is not tree in the
park which would not hide its head in shame
before our elms and naples in Augusta, and
that, too, after two hundred years of royal
protection and care. The trees of the cele
brated street "Unter den Lindens" are still
more inferior and the whole aspect of the
street is quite "A disappointment. Many of
the older buildings, churches. palaces, and
public offices never had any pretence to beau
ty, and age has not improved them. If, how
ever, nothing else were wanting, this utter
fatness is totally destructive of the pictur-
esque. Once IA little fishing village on the
river Spra, that it should always have re-
maned, and the real city should have been
built sixty or seventy miles either east or
west upon the Oder or the Ebe Accident
and caprice of rulers decided otherwise.
The health of the city is none of the best
During this last month of June the average
deaths per thousand in various cities of the
world, if carried through the year, at the
same rate would be as follows San Fran
cisco A. st. Louis IL, New Orleans 2l;
Baltimore Is, for the western continent
and on this side Liverpool 20. London
10, Paris 25, Lisbon %, Alexandria
33, Vienna. 20. st. Petersburg 81, Berlin 3S
These statistics make one shrink little es-
pecially toward evening from the darnpness
the perhaps imagined chill, but by no means
fancied smell. of the several canals that wind
their tortuous way through this il-drained
city.
Yet it cannot be denied that the people as a
whole, whom one meets, men. women and
eliiulen' are no' ohiy orieh', ihteiiiseht ana
Inv n.e a'''' oi'en na',"so''e' pu' "a'e
'iso 'he appearance Vi hea''h ana 'lsor'
Ill.
1t is quite common at home to speak of
Bismark as a tyrant, especially with refer
ence to his repressions of the socialists. He
is certainly not free born American citi-
zen and of course therefore is very far behind
the times, but he has no more power to be a
tvrant than Grant has to be a Caesar. When
after the attempted assassination of the EN-
peror he desired certain repressjye laws. and
the existing parliament would not pass them,
it was dissolved according to law. and new
election held The socialists did, indeed, in
that election poll six hundred thousand votes.
but the other side polled five millions. and
the laws were passed by the parliament so
elected. At other times he carries what he
ieealus as necessary measures oy MS man
"senen' Vi pa tieS' euui.i's no" one, now
an9.nei. Suite ieeeh'iy IN, rhe German ruhch
n;u,i '.inS .ai 'oo. iii'e.ia.ihe ',iis 'sc''
;'.:a , a nopie .rl ,ri s'oou AZ lhe .eii,i iac-
ine /" s'i'i uie'A.. ne "heei con',ihe" 'h,ee
sp Si ~, presenting man anu 'aneicu as
parry, Ipelai' c"nssr'au'e, cierical; just
.nen 'ne ,".'ei vi Sa.noiic, 'o""ru WHICH ne
mas sho" II ,a'oi Vi iate' was the upper most
spoAe ou' ''ie otn1i men say ing 10 mi'i' on
uon . ~ a. 80 si"'u Oui 'urh VIII co'iie as
sun r.. a' ',,. "''i9 on"nees.
..i - =, 'o"e'er py aoie ana 'houent
~, 1ui men 'l ueeP .ieashess III the air
ne So : nan'elioi % - stiaihiIie every nerve
10, W" W" "iu p,c enu " Ee. money 10 n'ai'-
.s'i IAN anu e'iarse .iie mii''ary arm 10 90
ms ne i'as 50 ,''a'aseu al parties rs 10 carry
nio PioJee' vi nea'y .arih' anu even 10
man ~ i.'ip'Pe't'e, 81 '''a' an 'hose snre~u
ieioNs "nU M, nave oeeh importing lareeiy lor
iase' VII, na'e ~ manu- over their iit'ie
Pi'n.s W iiihce pisniaik; bu' 'he uieasl-
ness Is hcl On account ,,, Vi the taxes ana the
rise III prices i"ey kno" that such an "r
gent pressure heahs tiai money must De nau
,oi sum- iii'uIn PuiPose' anu "hat can that
oe out TaT. war WIN "nom they 90 not
kho"' perhaps WIN hussla, perhaps WIN
+ rrahce' pu. 'iey KNOW tnat blsmarK KNOWS
~.
The Rev. DR.. Thomson has hon reouested