Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-12-31
Our EereiEn Letter.

THE CITY OF BEHIIS-Irs LOCATIONS SOME
THING ABOUT ITS HIsroIY-soME OF ITS
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and better known.
II is situated in broad sandy plain in
vi. ,,a,,u.r 6,.-, ,ho ho,I.. %, ,,o
-'''' ''', '''' y"
flver spree, an lnconsideraole tributary OF
the Elbe. Nature was by no means generous
in her rifts TO the rerion. Not only is the
Ill -, ,,,,i, ,,.,r,,i,.., t,- o,,l,,r.,io, Ian,
AN
II Is so ueVoiu OF SOIL that the Wihds sweep
inc across the sandy plains permit one to ap-
nreciate tborourhly the nearing of Berlin
-. a.
Si""' Ai'aii'''soS vi "a'ei l''"ei' 'o'' INT
place never had Originally on the site
where the heart of the present city stands were
So ,ya,a;.h eshi,r ri,,oooe sor,. ooron
wv i''
hunureu years ago 'iie lrst "eiiiian sct'lefs
made their home here little more than
tvo centuries LATER the Uohenzollern family
-. IL. I,r,,, o,,a soo,, os,ob.
occa'''e 'iie proprietary io'us anu SUN es."o
llshed here the seat OF thelr tlectorate. lhat
event was the corner stone of the modern
porrr Inv, s,;lI with M natural odvap,sres
me CROWN oi 'he cl's WIS sio", anu 81 iate
as the middle of the last century, when every
other capital in Europe was recognized as a
mctropoIis il was hardly known unless it
was mentioned in connection with the name
of Frederick the Great. Between 1917 and
1910 the nopulation increased from 1SS, 900
TO 3ll 600: in 1861 il amounted 10
800 900. in 1875 10 $4,000. and by
the census which has been taken during
the fortnight if is reported to be / lis. 900.
suuls. In ace. therefore, Berlin NAV be
comnared with such cities in the New World
as Boston. New York and Philadelphia,
while in point Of population it is nearly as
larre as New York and her depepdepts,
Jersey CITY and BROOKLYN, half the size of
PARIS and more than a fourth the size of
Iondon Without having single village
TO annex (as London and Boston have donel,
excepting perhaps the suburb Widding, in a
score of years it has actually doubled its
population.
And what Is the cause of this abnormal
growth; Certainly ii is not the discovery at
this late day of any special commercial ad-
vanages, for commercial advantages CON
fessedy If has none. The only plausible
reason which have heard gwen Is that
until recently believe lS1l-here as at
Heligoland, residence tax was levied which
kept many would-be residents away, and
when this tax was abolished, German, Polish
and Russian peasants alike Hooked here to
NADN tAiN 'AANeAsiCha4 anu 9SS4"i
for which the city has long been famed. But
believe the chief cause is to be found rather
in the prestige which always follows great
victory. The metropolis receives the hon.
Ors; and with such men as people north
eastern Europe II argues that the resources OF
such metropolis must be lneXhaustlble,
so they flock here to enjoy the advantages
and share the spOlls. Mechanics and day
laborers with whom ! have spoken assure me
that these were the reasons that led them and
their followers to flock TO Berlin, and with
starvation-wages or possibly no work at all,
they have found their mistake. But without
mentioning other probable causes for the re-
marliable growth of Berlin, ! will proceed
with the description of the city.
At whatever m ilway- station the visitor
arrives his first impressions are sure to be
f,voralle for the depots are all new. and for
their purnose are models of architecture. If
he arrives at The west end and enters
by The Brandrrhurp Gate. he will be
Immersed with lbe snacinusness. the neat
urss the ART. and above all the grandeur of
the German c,nitol No citv thai | eyer en-
tered made so favorable first-imprcssions.
There is The Tbeirg,rten with its forests and
lakes aud drives and walks and monuments.
tbere in the polsdam and Moltke aunrters
are the finest residences. there is the splendid
, ,r'.,. .i,nu,,u,eut Of victory with lis gold
..t..,,,i,i,is and poid statue riistcning in the
sunIiaht and tncrr il the massive pillared
Date Iisrlf with its historic war chariot. first
seen as an imnenctrable wall of clusiercddorIc
columns and then as one apnroach 10 the
Paris Square and the wide street which
from tic nromenade under the hme
trees has iong be.n lannon's as Inter
der Ijod,D The Linden iq in the centre of
The never mart of the civ IL contains the
hest hotels many of the hest sbons imnerial
and official residences From north TO south
il is intersccted at right angles by the
Friedric6s strasse making. by the bye, the
only cross which the Berliners are much in
the habit Of using. The parts of the city
construcfed ahout these intcrsecting streets
as n model are very regular. The same alsc
may ha said of the new streets built in tht
Iaet decade around tho Older parts of th,
citv nor,b south east and west, The oldel
nayt tho nucleus os il were is n conrIome
Tation of irrcrrIori,ice ON tho other hand
which may dcfv comnarison cven with Bos
TOMS Norfb End knn,ren,lv at first thu
s,rec,s ,rerc built Nv banIozord. they mr.,
narrow fairly noved with stone proyidet
with miserable sidewalks and worst of al
with ahove- gronnd drains The building