San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-02-18
KLEIN DEUTSCHLAND.

/ lObdoiy 10" ~ any VIM
have visited New York and seen
the sights, are aware Of the exist
ence OF such an interesting place as
| Small Germany, or Klein Deutsch-
land, as it is known among the
Germans OF New York city. TO
students OF human nature it is the
only place on earth, while to the
German, be he a native or natural
lied American, it is the only Ger
many outside Of the Empire. 1t is
bounded by avenue A, Bowery,
Twelfth and Hudson, and contains
an almost pure German population
of $4,000, who speak their native
language almost exclusively, and
keep up the habits and customs OF
the Water Land. In this section
vereinS, clubs, societies and import
ed beer abound, and the population
can be defined In three words, to-wit:
thrift, cleanliness and morality.
In none of the above qualities
are these people behind those OF
any other nationality. They rise
at the break Of dawn, open their
shutters, and dispatch breakfast by
lamp light. Ere the clock strikes
six, strong men and boys and pref
ty girls may be seen issuing from
their homes, with dinner pail on
arm, and fastening to their re-
spective places Of employment. Be-
fore these people are off the streets,
the housewife appears, with basket
on arm, and after an hours loud
| but good natured conversation
with the shopkeepers, purchases
her provisions, and disappearing,
takes Germany with her for the
day, and gives the streets up to
| business.
AS the last rays Of the sun sink
in the west, the dinner pail brigade
of the morning may be seen wend-
ing its way home, from shops and
factories, where it has passed a
busy but happy day. After the
evening meal has been disposed Of,
every one changes his working
clothes for those OF the latest
fashion, and proceeds to some
| family resort, club house, hall or
other places OF amusement, for
there are any number Of places.
| The gentlemen who accompany
ladies, generally frequent dance
hall or family resort like the Man
hatten cape, OF Tenth street, Nolks
garten, Bowery or Banks Of Thir-
tenth street. These places are all
elegantly furnished and of such
good repute, that a young man
may take his ShaetZen to them,
| to listen to music and sip beer.
The young men who 60 out alone
frequent saloons where they can
sip beer, crack jokes and sing to
their hearts content. The elderly
gentlemen usually retire to sa-
loon where there is reading room
attached, and they can procure the
latest German papers, national
dishes and imported beer. Not
withstanding the amount Of drink
ing done, one seldom sees a drunk
ard among the Germans, for every
one is a member OF three or four or
CARNATIONS, and he who partakes
too freely Is always taken care Of
by his friends.
| Since the Germans spend their
evenings with pipe, mug and song,
| (for these three 60 together,) 1t
must not be supposed they are
idlers and spendthrifts, for the Ger.
man savings bank shows the de-
posit Of the wage earners to be $780,
100000. While there are no cases
of extreme poverty among them,
their thrift and energy are apparent
in the keeping up Of the numerous
clubs and lodges, and having
many magnificent club houses
| Of which Arion and LiederkranZ,
situated at the corner Of Fifty
ninth street and Park avenue, are
their pride, and two OF the noblest
buildings in this country.
The large number of German
churches, hospitals and charitable
institutions in this section Of New
York also go to show the charac-
ter Of the Inhabitants. They are
not one iota behind the times when
it comes to intellectual standing,
for their schools are not only
numerous, but far above our pub
lie schools. The brewing business
is carried on almost exclusively by
Germans, and they furnish the
best musicians Of New York, and
supply other occupations with
good men. The poorer class either
work in factories or about house
and are spoken we'll Of in their
several vocations.
In conclusion it may be said
the officers OF the law give them
the best recommendation Of any
class Of residents, and they showed