Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-03-25
EVOLUTION OF A GREAT CITY.
HOW THE CAPITAL OF THE GERMAN
EMPIRE HAS GROWN To ISIPER-
IAL IRoPoKTIoNsA AND PosIrInN.

Berlin in 1871 was a city Of much
magnificence, Tut it was in the tran
sitiOn state due to its recent asSump-
ton OF imperial honors, with many
defects manifest 10 the visitor, Ia
the shape Of wretched pavements OF
cobble-stOne, lad drainage system
accompanied by a high death rate.
inconvenient methods Of local tran
sit, and other reminders Of the more
provincial days before the great EN-
pire spraDg into existence. Berlin
i today one Of the most splendid
capitals Of Europe, harily surpassed
even by Paris in grandeur, and
with Its population Of a million and
a half is the second city Of the con-
tinent in size and the first In indust-
rial rank. 1t is growing with the
pace Of Chicago, and every year he
holds enormous areas OF the sur
rounding sand plains covered dense
ly witk the new houses Of the ex-
pending city. Here, In the sand
box Of Germany" amid the barren
plains Of the old Mark Brandenburg,
the cradle Of the HOhenzolIeTn
might, the tireless energy and per-
sistence Of the Prussians have built
up the chief city Of the most power
full Empire If Europe.
The prind al streets OF Berlin are
nearly all paved with asphalt, anu
they are such marvels Of cleanliness
and smoothness that one feels the
same respect for them as for a nice
drawing room, and scruples to litter
them even with a scrap of paper.
The most frequentei ones are liter
ally washed and scrubbed every
night: after being wet down n few
men or boys proceed along the road,
pushing before them pieces OF board
set diagonally on a pole, with q
strip Of rubber on the lower side.
The mud is thus transferred from
the course Of one man to another
and finally left In the gutter, whence
it Is removed. The consequent free
dom Of the city from dust Is very
marked. The smoothness Of the
pavement affords immense relief in
diminishing the confusing noise
and jar Of the streets. Walking early
in the morning at hotel In the
centre Of the business section, one
perceives no rsttling Of wagons,
only the CHATTER Of the horses hOofs,
20 that il seems rs if cavalry regi-
\ ments were continually passing.
The smooth streets have also made
cycling very popular, and tEicycles
are extensively used for business
purposes. The broad sidewalks are
laid with tagging in the. centre,
and between that and the kerb stone
are paved with small, mOsaic-like
stones that form a smooth surface,
and are easily removed and re-
placed. Beneath this space are laid
the gas pipes, Telegraph and electric
light wires, pneumatic tubes, etc,
so that in laying or repairing these
the street pavement il not disturbed.
The wires Of the car lights, as well
as Of the incandescent,a all are carried
underground, and in Berlin there
are not to be seen the unsightly poles
that so disfigure the streets in Mex
lean cities. Only the telephone wires
are carried overhead, running over
the roofs Of the buildings, and these
are nov being put underground in
cables, ~ far as possible. In cOnse-
quence Of the admirable method
pursued there is no interference Of
one electric system with another;
that foe Of the telephone service, in
ductiOn from other wires, Is kept at
bay.
In Berlin the wires have been
carried underground from the start,
and no difficulty has been eXper-
fenced. Instead Of adding new ug-
illness TO the streets, the arc-lights of
Berlin are things Of beauty, an ar
tistic establishment 10 the city.
Inter den London ia probably the
most brilliantly and beautifully IL
Illuminated street in the world.
Along each side and down the CEN
tire the arc-lights are set even more
closely together than ordinary gas
lamps, and the effect at night is that
of great strings Of white, cleaning
pearls. The posts consist Of graceful
iron standards, with tasteful orna-
mentatiOn and curying over at the
top. Here the globe is suspended,
incioSed in n coarse network, so that
in case 1t breaks the pieces Of glass
may net fall on passers. From tbs
globe there hangs a light chain,
with q ring in the end, and there
are counterbalancing weights aside
the post, 50 that the lamp Is quickly
and easily attended TO by pulling it
down with a light stick, with
hook in the end-a great improve
ment in the economy of time and
trouble over our clumsy methods Of
either climbing the pUst or lowering
the light by an unwieldy and ugly
crane.
The incandescent light ia very ex-
tensively used. 1t illuminate all
the frst-class theatres, halls, hotels,
and many stores and private houses.
The telephone service is admit
rable, as is testified by the public
appreciation. there being over TO-
900 instruments in use in Berlin.
There are no private telephone
companies liz Germany, the tele-
phone, like the telegraph, being n
branch Of the postal service. The
price for telephone service is low,
the annual charge for an instrument
being one hundred and twenty
marks, or something less than thir-
ty dollars. The long-distance ser
vice between the principal cities Of
the empire il being rapidly intro
duced. A telegram being received
for a person who has a telephone Is
at once delivered orally from the
central Office, and the written mes
sage then forwarded by the local
post. Likewise n telegram is trans
mitted by the sender to the tele-
graph office by telephone. The tele-
phones in use are manufactured by
Slemens K Halske, the great electri-
clans, and are said to be a great
improvement upon the Bell patent,
upon which they are based.
The efficiency Of the German
posial-serrice, with its branches Of
telegraph, telephone, pneumatic
tube and parcel post is sufficient
reply to the assertions that the con-
venience Of the public cannot be
30 well met as by private corpora
tions having control Of the various
blttAA1 vi
General Stefan is always on the
lookout for opportunities. for i'm
provement, and is quick to seize
upon any new means Afforded by
modern inventions for increasing
the efficiency OF the service. The
Imperial Post Museum in Berlin
is most interesting place to visit.
Here can be seen models Of the va
rious devices used in the service, as
well rs a valuable historical
collection illustrating postal inter
course from the earliest times. Pos
tai administration il regarded in
Germany As a practical science in
itself, and no means are neglected o
promote the interest Of members Oh
the service 10 its study.
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