Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-03-27
THE GERMAN CAPITAL
Modern Bee1in u Scarcely Bur
passed by Paris.

A City Of Much Maxninosnoo and Wo0Aee.
fal Cleaniiness-E1eotrio Lights 1EAAs
Things Of Beauty The Tsls-
phonlA Service.
Berlin in 1877 was acity Of much mag.
nidcence, but It was in the transition
state due to its recent assumption Of i'm.
perial honors which many defects man.
ifost to the visitor, in shape Of wretched
pavements Of cobble-stone, . bad drain.
age system, accompanied by . high
death rate, inoonvenient methods Of
local transit and other reminders Of the
moro provincial days before the great
empire sprang into existence. Berlin
is to-day, writes q correspondent Of the
Mexican .Financier, one of the most
splendid capitals of Europe, hardly sur
passed even by Paris in grandeur, and
with It's population Of 1,500, 900, IN the
second city Of the continent in size and
the first in industrial rank. It is growing
with pace Of Chicago, and every year
beholds enormous areas Of the sur
rounding sand-plains covered densely
with the new houses Of the expanding
city. Here, in the ''sand-hox Of Ger.
many" amid the barren plains Of the
old Mark Brandenburg, the cradle Of the
Hohenzollern might, the tireless energy
and persistence of the Pruasians have
built up the chief city Of the most pow
erful empire Of Europe.
The principal streets Of Berlin are
nearly all paved with asphalt, and they
are such marvels of cleanliness and
smoothness that one feels the same re-
spect for them as for . nice drawing
room. and scruples to litter them even
with q scrap OF paper. The most fire.
,quented ones are literally washed and
scrubbed every night After being wet
down few men or boys proceed along
the road, pushing before them pieces Of
| board set diagonally on pole, with
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 freedom of the city
from dust is very marked. The smooth
ness of the pavement affords immense
t,relief in diminishing the confusing
noise and jar Of the streets. Waking
early in the morning at hotel in the
center Of the business sec ton one per-
ceives no rafting of wagons, only the
,clatter of the horses hoofs, so that it
seems as If cavalry regiments were con-
tinually passing. The smooth streets
have also made cycling very popular,
and tricycles are extensively used for
business purposes. The broad side
walks are laid with tagging in the CEN
ter, and between that and the curbstone
are paved with small, mosaic-like
stones that form q smooth sur
face, and are easily removed and re-
placed. Beneath this space are laid tho
gas pipes, telegraph and electric-light
wires, pneumatic tubes, ETC., so that in
laying or repairing these the street
pavement is not disturbed. The wires
Of the arc lights, as we'll as OF the in
candescent, are all carried underground.
| and in Berlin there are not to be seen
the unsightly poles that SO disfgure the
streets in Mexican cities. Only the tel
ephone wires are carried overhead, run
ming over the roofs of the buildings, and
these are now being put underground in
cables as far as possible.
In Berlin the wires have been carried
underground from the start, and no diff.
fculty has been experienced. Instead
Of adding new ugliness to the streets
1.-The arc lights of Berlin are things OF
beauty, an artistic establishment to
the city. Inter den Linden Is probably
the most brilliantly and beautifully-tl-
Illuminated stress in the world. Along
each side and down the center the arc
lights are set even moro closely to-
gether than ordinary gas lamps, and
the effect at night is that of great
strings OF white, cleaning pearls.
The telephone service is admirable,
as is testified by the public appreciation,
there being over 10000 instruments In
use in Berlin. There are 40 private tel.
ephone companies in Germany, the tel.
ephone, like the telegraph, being q
branch Of the postal service. The price
for telephone service is low, the annual
charge for an instrument being 12(
marks or something less than $50. The
1ong-distance service between the prin'
cipal cities of the empire is being rapid
ly introduced. A telegram received TO,
e person who has telephone is at once
delivered orally from the central Office
and the written message then forwarded
by the local post. Likewise Telegram
is transmitted by the sender to the tele
graph Office by telephone. The tele
phones in use are manufactured by Sic
mems & Halske, the great electricians
and are said to be great improvement
upon the Bell patent, upon which they
are based.
The efficiency Of the German posta
service with its branches Of telegraph
telephone, pneumatic tube and parce
post, is sufficient reply to the assertion
that the convenience of the public car
not be so we'll met as by private corpora
tions having control Of the various
means Of intercourse.
Whore william Penn L. Buried.
Few people, perhaps. are aware thai
William Penn Is buried in England
writes Eugene Field in the Chicago
N News. His last resting-plac is at I
% small village, Jordan's, within few
g miles of London. Several years ago I
y wealthy American expended E300 in &C.