New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1879-11-05
Hard Times In Ger many.
aust. Pl Dispatch.

aust pl Dispatch.
Bismark is reported, by recent
biographer, as lamenting in the pri.
vate circle Of his family, that while
he has brought glory and renown to
the German nation, his policy has
caused great sorrow and misery to
the people. If the official reports
Of our Consuls in that empire to
Secretary Evarts are to be credited,
the great Chancellor's self.accusa.
tons are certainly justified by the
facts. According to the report Of
the U. S. Consul at Bremen, it is
aim ost impossible, in the coal and
iron mining districts, fer working.
man to earn more than enough for
his individual support, and every
member of the family is required to
contributs to the general support.
The Consul at Bremen writes that
in order to make life possible WON.
en- in the country raise garden pro.
duce, and work ON the farms, while
in the towns they keep shops, pedd.e,
wash, sew, etc. AS illustrating the
general depression which prevails
through out Germany, and the
wretchedness which exists among
her laboring classes, the following
extract is introduced from the re
port of the Consul at Chemnitz: CAT
the present time, large numbers are
unable to obtain employment; the
country is full of tramps, both
honest and vagabondish and every
dwelling in this city is visited daily
by at least half dozen beggars,
although begging is prohibited by
law. In this district [Saxony] labor
is subdivided, giving one mans
work to two, in order to employ the
largest possible number. As the
husbands earnings are not sufficient
for the support of his family, the
wife and older children must con.
tribute their share of the weekly
earnings. This is a general rule,
and applies to all families whose
support is dependent on labor
The wages paid to mechanics in
Germany are lower than those paid
in France, and those paid iu France
are lower than those paid in Belgi.
UNI. The averages weekly wages OF
the agricultural laborer Of Germany
are as follows: Men without board
or lodging, $3.50: with board and
lodging, $3.50; women, without
board or lodging, $1.55: with board
and lodging, g. cents. With such
nominal vases it can be readily
understood how, as the Consul at
Sonneberg writes, ''the working
man rarely eats meat at all in any
other form than sausage, and his
wife and children scracely know it's
taste, so little do they get Of it.
There is poverty in super-abundance
in the workiugman.s home, often
verging upon squalor; his children
are generally barefooted, and his
wife looks haggard and weary of her
lot. The following extract from
the report of the Consul at Chem
nitz will illustrate at once the con.
dition Of the working classes OF
Germany and their disposition to be
happy under the most pinching cir.
cnmstances: 1.-The poorer classes
in Southern Saxony far very meanly
indeed. For houses they have gen.
orally a single room, which answers
for workshop also. For household
furniture they have a few chairs or
wooden stools, a table, stove, and
sometimes loom. For beds they
have the bare floors or straw pallets.
For fuel they have the dead bran.
ches fallen from the trees iii the
kings forest carried home i'll their
arms. For food they have black
bread made Of rye; coffee made priil...
cipally Of chicory; few boiled po.
tatoes; sometimes little cheese,
butter or goose grease, and on Sun.
days a pound of meat for a family of
five or six persons. But if poor
aud content is rich, no others with
in my knowledge can compare in.
wealth with the poor Of this dis.
trict. They live in villages and
love company. When Sundays or
holidays come they meet at restaur.
ants, smoke poor tobacco, drink
poor beer, talk, sing and dance, and
seem as happy as if they had tbous:
and year. s.
N. C. Russell, late Of the Lake
City Leader, has taken charge Of the
Duluth Tribune. Ia Mr.. Russell
the people Of the Zenith city will
find an able journalist and 9 worthy
nifiZan