New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-04
INDUSTRIAL GERMANY.
".
.scrrrs OF THE RHINE TowNs-COM-
pENsATIoNs FOR THE LOSS OF
THE PICTURESQUE.
Dusseldorf, July 3.

30
...,ra, movement which have been describing
=, recent letters. are lameated by the annual
.r,rs Of tourists on the Rhine. The pctur-
IN. river towns have been modernzed and I'M
.-.yed until they are hardly recognizable. Tall
f..orv chimneys are seen all the way down the
-. from Frankfort 20 Dusseldorf. Mainz is
~,.r manufacturing town; the industrial for
.. Of Coblenz are niending; Bonn is now an
..-.ant business centre rather than univer-
~ ,ovn with academic traditions; Cologne is
,.-ourhIv r,odernzed and its traditional re-
.,cb az the foulest ~ Rhine towns has been
s,or.d bv an improved system of sanitation.
.,d Dusseldorf once known only as an art
,nool has become a prosperous manufacturing
..,,re ON the edge Of the wonderful coal and
.on folds o. Wes,phalia. Not one Of these towns.
9TH The single exception OF Cobenz, can now be
aescr,Sed as either quaint or picturesque; and
me Rhine journey IS becoming more prosaic
evsry year There is smell OF smoke every
who're. troileys are bowling along the tram
xavs IN all the important towns; relics OF me-
s,..va, architecture have disappeared ard brick
manufactures without line OF beauty nave
taken their place: and the throngs OF working
people in the streets after nightfall can be re-
rr,auced in anv factory town In America. In
austr,ausun is triumphing everywhere in Ger
man and romantcism is going TO the wall.
voaK1N-; SCHOOL OF MODERN ART.
dusseldorf il still working school Of modern
NJ, and many fine examples OF painting and
scu,nfure are 10 be seen here. The best coec-
ZION Is IL the Kunsthae, handsome building
IN the French Renaissance style. 1t contains
The hes, works Of Peter Cornelius, the reorgan-
,zsr 4. not the founder Of the Dusseldorf school.
and also Of his famous pupils and followers.
Schadow HIbner. Hdebrandt and Sch!rmer;
and o. a group OF religious and landscape paint
ers. the two Achenbachs. Deger. Andreas and
Carl Muller. There Is permanent collection
OF masters and there Is also annual exhibit
ton Of new works: and there are several large
picture galleries the Alice Strasse In the
Academy Of Art there are collections % draw
ings, water-colors and statuary but what Is
left Of the famous gallery Of cid masters is dis
appointing. with the single exception of an As
sumption" by Rubens. Dusseldorf Is q centre OF
education rather than a treasure-house Of great
works Of art. 1t is a handsome town, with
lovely Pleasure garden and several interesting
Gothic churches; but the tourist finds little to
occupy mis- time, and is content to continue his
Journey after visiting the picture galleries 1t
IS however. most prosperous industrial town.
with population Of over 1900 and a rapidly
Increasing trade. II Is surrounded with iron
souaeries and textile factories and Is becoming
more mportan; every year manufacturing
centre
Dusseldorf S. indeed. on the outrim Of a circle
Of Industrial activity unrivalled on the Euro
pean continent To the north is Krefed a silk
manufacturing town which has doubled its pop
ula.ioe in twenty years: further east are Essen.
EochuIa and Dortmund centres of the iron and
s,eei lnlustry: and in the south. on line with
Dusseldorf the sister towns OF Elberseld
and Bsrner. With their hundreds of Industries.
These cities lie on he circumference: the circle
Itself IS filled with coal and iron fields and
factory y-iliases. II is the busiest quarter OF
Germany. with possibly the single exception Of
saxony; and it is pulsatng with industrial
energy and mercantile enterprise. Westphslia,
with us mines factories and swarns of workers.
reveals the modern spirit OF Germany. and the
operation Of the forces which are transforming
IL into an industrial empire. but this is hardly
more Interesting than what is 20 be seen In
Pennsylvania or Eastern Tennessee or Northern
Alabama Germany IS disappointing 10 the
American tourist. because the rnarvels Of It's
recent industrial progress are everywhere so
conspicuous and because its people are preoccu-
pled With the opportunities and burdens Of the
present, and indifferent 70 the historic gories
of the past Nuremberg and many other pict-
ur-sque bis of old Germany survive: but these
are only the exceptions which prove the rule
that the old order Of national life has passed
away ard that the main motive of the new
empire is prosa!c. commonplace ndustrialism.
COMFORTABLE HOTELS
There are. However. Important compensations
for the sacrifice of the picturesque and the
romantic elements. Nowhere in Europe are there
more comfortable hotels than to be found in
the Rhine cities. In Cologne Frankfort and
other centres Of business the hotels are SUI
rAr.or 70 those of the greatest English pro-
vinc.a towns The cooking Is good as 1t is
n France: the hotels supplied with ali
modern appliances and conveniences: there Is ex-
cellent management OF the houses and travellers
are relieved from many annoyances which are
vszstious IN English inns These German hotels
cspend less upon tourist travel than upon or
dinary commercial traffic all the year round:
ard they are conducted upon business principles,
with reasonable charges, good service and ex-
cellent organization The marked Improvement
II hotel accomroda. is one Of the many
evldences OF the Industrial progress Of Germany
during the last twenty years.
Another compensation for the obliteration Of
the quaint and picturesque effects Of tour in
Germany Is the facility with which foreigners
md their way from town 10 town without hav-
Ing any kaow,edg, Of the language. English is
spoken at every tnrn-in the railway stations
ana hotels. and on the streets. 1t is unneces-
sary for an American English traveller TO
attempt a 0eated and confused revival or
forgotten language. lie has only 10 look about
hin and ne will End an interpreter at his side
ready 20 speak English French or Italian The
Germans arr the best lInguists in the world
4hey are trained in their schools to speak the
I'hc'9a modern languages and they are al
a's n practice and seem ~ he Incapable OF
1Vse'''ns what hey have once learned in their
''"so'i-' methodical way. A commercial edu-