The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-07-05

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At the little town of Altenahr / waI
surprised to notice the figures % legibly
painted on the Intel of the church door
Apparently, an edict had gone forth from
the Home Office that every house In
every town should be numbered consecu
lively, and, accordingly, the church, be
ing the twenty-third house in AltenahE
it was numbered %. Fancy if Westmin,
ster Abbey was known to the official
mind only as No. 81 Parliament street
But the home Government of Germany
is conducted on policy of "peddling
and meddling" Ito paraphrase a celebrat
ed epigfammatic saying), which born
German accepts as his natural heritage,
but which to any other nation would bs
int lerable.
Not long ago-very likely they are
there still-there were to be read in the
carriages on German railway the fol-
lowing regulations: "Only one window
of this compartment may be open at one
time, and that only on the side from
which the wind does not blow, and that
only with the expressed consent of all tho
travellers in the compartment. So that
if on the hottest day the travellers are
unanimous in wishing to put down both
windows or the window on the winds
ward side, paternal Government inter.
poses its veto, and says: "Not so, my
children. know what is best for you.
You will get cricks in your necks and
rheumatic pains in your shoulders, and
will be unable to fight for the father
land. One window only, and that Oh
the leeward side"
The maxim of English lawyers, "De
minimis non curat lex" might be exactly
adapted to German usage by the omis-
sion of the negative. Any one who may
have CHANGED to take lodgings in Ger
man city some twenty-five years ago Gt
may be so now very likely will remem-
Der with awe the form which on the very
first day Of his entry was brought to him
from the Polizei to be filled up; how he
had to inform the Government not only
of his own Christian name and age, but
Of the Christian names and ages of each
of his revered parents, of his religious
profession, of his means of living, OF his
reasons for coming there, whether he had
ever been there before, how long he pro.
posed staying there, with sundry other
particulars, dear to the mind of Ger
man officer, but hateful to the indepen.
dence of a frceborn Briton.
The way in which German carries
about with him under all circumstances,
and probably keeps under his pillow at
night, his Legitimations-Schien and all
those precious documents attesting his
identity, without which he would con-
slider that he had lost his right to exist,
is a standing marvel to those who believe
that the f0rmaIities were made for man
and not man for formalities. 1t must,
however, be admitted that there are oc-
casions when this bondage to formalities
has its compensating advantages. This
present writer set out one hot summer
day to walk to the colossal statue of Ba.
varia, outside Munich.
The road led round the outermost
boundaries of meadow; but as the said
road was hot and dusty, and the meadow
was soft and COOL he naturally took the
shorter cut across the grass. He was ac-
costed on the further side by an officer,
red with anger, who informed him that
the way across the meadow was "am
streng ten verboten," and that he was
liable to fine of 8 gulden, which would
assuredly have been inflicted, but unfor-
the officer whose duty it was to
enforce it was gone to his dinner, and
therefore the majesty of the law could
not for the moment be vindicated.
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