Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-10-04
Written for The Evening stsr
THE POOR ~ GERMANY.
Their Dwellings Dcscribed Ne Is~ksus Evcr,
Element nj Hesithfuiae-s.

THE fooR IN GERMAN.
Their Dwellings Dc.crieed Ne I.s~kfns Every
Element of Hesithfuine.s.
IL was said by the Morning Posi- of Berlin a
stated BY THE srAR.that .'the cholera viii prove
boon to Hamburg and other large citios n 70
leads 20 the better housing % the poor" aud a
is to be sincerely hoped il will. for a. appalling
rs were the descriptions Of the dwelling houses
Of the poor in Berlin and Hamburg. the state
ments, 1 am sorry to say, were MOI exaggerated
in the least.
Along one Of the WATERWAYS in HAMBURG.
some squares back from the old Junfernsteig, in
the older part Of the town. I saw the canal for
almost half square lined with deca wing mr.
baee. which had been washed up against the
building. and IL alive with Vcrmin that
at distance il appeared NJ though the lower
part OF the houses were painted white the
water itself Was full of rotting meat aud Negeta-
bles. and the odor which arose sickenlng
The German poor live in more dirt aud dlth
than any nation upon the face Of the earth. and
the mortality among them at times IL very
great. The poor Of China are ne far above the
Germans as Americans are above the former IN
the art Of cleanliness. ventilation and sanitary
improvements
was once obliged to stop at an inn on the
outskirts OF wilhelm-havcn in Oldenberg I
can assure Won would not have STOPPED had
not been obliged to- 10 get dinner and nights
lodging. The day had been a sultry no
one was in sight upon INV arrival bu, a few msn
under the shade Of the porch. who were disid-
Ing their time between sleeping and picking
vermin from their bodies Close, almost be-
side the entrance under the dormcr window
sat three garbage boxes. seething and recking
with filth. but il was not until dinner was served
that the worst 20 be seen.
The dining room had nothing but earth for
flooring. and as il was never cleaned the refuse
from the table Law in ill-sin.lling ces-pools hero
and there. The dinner, think was 3 littl. bit
worse than the floor. IL consisted of q soup in
which the primo ipal ingredients were barley and
grease. sour beer cheese and bla..k bread
which the others ut the table dipped in melted
lard and ate with great relish The lard ap-
parently does them no HARM except during
warm weather in making un.i,,htly .erofulous
diseases and running sores break out upou the
When il became bedtime was conducted 10
a miserable little room over the Kitchen. II had
but window stuffed with rag. and urper
The heat was sitting and odors from the Kitchen
came even visibly through large cracks In the
floor. while the moment entered the we'll
known hum of hosts OF mosquitoes sounded In
nv ears. | need only saw that \ passed the
night there. OF what had 20 endure YOU can
only imagine. can safely say that the great
variety OF bugs. beasts. vermin aud reptiles
that hoped skipped Jumped crept and crauled
over my body that night II individually named
would Ill volume the size Of an encyclo-
p@dia-
remember quite distinctly one cold winter
day In january, while travelling from Bublitz
my birthplace. To Hammcrstcin, west Prussia,
that had a most singular adventure. stayed
for the night at a small tumble Of buts. q villsge
OF about 100 inhabitants. and was surprised TO
learn that there was a OF diphtheriA next
door to where was stopping. Hoping to rem
der aid. II possible. visited the place, but the
sight that met my ewes on entering was awful
The whole house consisted % one small
room. which was covered with dirt aud 9th.
and the rafters were fcstooncd with cobwebs
hung with SCOT. On side Of the room
which was divided in the center by fev