New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-07-18
INDUSTRIAL GERMANY.
rNAGNE'S CAPITAL AS A MODERN
FACTORY TowN-PRosPERirf UNDER
rporECTIoN AND RECIPROCITY.
Aix-la -Charelle. June %.

.crORY TOWN-PROSPERlTf UNDER
PROTECTION AND RECIPROCITY.
Aix-la- Charele. June %.
.,s,,er recently tried to condense into a
=. sentence his impressions Of the radical
s"s ~ industrial environment witnessed In
'"-. .,,r the frontier between Belgium and Ger
ION one side Of the line" he said, 1.-The
NO. A's .r. seen going to mass. and on the other
t rrsn women and children are swarmng
s factories" This transition is less notice
NV ~, when one takes the main route from
a.,ora 10 Cologne taan 1t may be elsewhere.
" .rnroaching the border one passes through
,v.v hustling manufacturing town Of Lege.
VI" 40, long afterward through Verviers aquiet
-. Of the cloth trade; and as he enters Ger
- with the prospect Of seeing at Cologne
-. most majestic Gothic cathedral In the world.
-. are no immediate signs Of neglect of
Sarsb.soing II is. however, a passage from
" Industrial hive into a larger, buster and more
",rrsssiye one. Herbesthal is the customs sta
- and beyond II lies Aachen or Aix-la-
Chapelle. the gateway 'e""'''s ~
many ,- ,,,.
There could hardly be a more striking Illus
titan OF the change which has passed over the
,..s of Germany during the last twenty years
..,,,al with its traditions of the Romans and
=. memories Of Charlemagne, into a modern fac
law TOWN This was he seat Of royalty, where
.s, great sovereign lived and died. where FOR
.-.r centuries Emperors were crowned. where
mot. Of the Holy Roman Empire were held.
-.,,ss,ss,ical courts Of the Middle Ages con-
sa and three historic treaties negotiated
.,., t,mous wars: but how few are the relics
4 .-lo
S.,.,,ss the site Of the Marschier Thor, the
..nt fortress: and the other medieval forti-
cations. the Pont Thor and the LANCE Thurm.
an handsome promenades trolley. following
=, overhead wire from the station and whiskins
around several sharp corners, passes Withih a
few wards Of the Byzantine Cathedral. which
Charlemagne began To build llVo years ago
The crumblng cathedral and the Gothic Rath-
haus furnish constant employment Tor res'ora-
tim architects. who are more or less destructive
in their processes; but little else OF the ahcleh1
eitv remains Everything is modernzed. Inc
crooked lanes have been Strengthened ana wa
med and are now thoroughfares OF trafnc
Nanked with handsome business DOCKS ana "eii-
stocked shops. There is a working population
of over 100000 mainly employed In FACTORIES
The town Is encircled with manufacturing VII
lagos. and carries on great trade Win Ehs-
land America. Japan and Australia There is
mustv and mythical past streaked win COP
webs like the relics In the cathedral treasury
hut II does not overshadow the fortunes OF the
town. whose thrifty and intelligent people De-
long in the working world Of to-day, and nave
their rightful share of the industrial triumphs
Of Modern Germany.
A TRANSFORMED CITY.
rho commercial revival which has transformed
tho conditions of life and thought in this ancient
town began less than twenty years ago Ihere
., WOW linen woollen and cotton factories In
o,,. quarter of the city, and nearly all OF them
ORC ~ recent construction. These are the great
trades of the town. but there are many more
l.,o,.as ara manufactured here on large scale.
There are iron and steel works anc prosperous lac
,rias for the making Of cutlery. pins and needles
,rhare ,s an increasing production OF pate-glass'
huttons stationery and machinery. Dyes drugs
and chemicals are also manufactured, and there
is a great range Of smaller Industries. There is
no lack of employment in Aachen. All the rae
tories and workshops are in full operation, ana
skilled labor is constantly in demand especially
IN the cotton linen and wooden trades Not only
have these various industries been established
within twenty years. but the town has virtually
been rebuilt during that period. Before that
time IT was market place for an impoverished
agricultural community. and ng-ground
for summer tourists Now IT has largely aug
men,ed and well-empoyed population. and lis
are numerous and important
few hours ride by railway from AlX-la-
Chapelle lies Crefeld. which twenty years ago
was an insignific,t town. II Is now the chle1
centre in Germany for silk goods
ribbons velvets and braids. These Industries
have been developed with marvellous rapidity
during that period. and the town has become
populous and prosperous Not far away are the
sister cities Of Elberfeld and Barmen with an
aggregate population Of nearly 250,O00 Twenty
years ago these were languishing towns with
wide gap between them. They now overlap each
other and have countless Industries in opera
ton and world wide trade. All these textile
towns are in the Eas. and on the border Of the
great coal and iron region of Westphalia.
but their activity and prosperity are not en-
cepiional Saxony is the chief spinning and
weaving country in Germany, and the progress
If its textile Industries during the last two dec
ides is one Of the marvels Of modern times
Indeed throughout the Empire. and not only
IN textile trades but in all manufacturing in
dusirles as well. the most revolutionary changes
have been wrought during recent years Immi-
grafton has been checked; the population has
been drawn from rural into urban communities;
great factory towns have been built; new In
dus,ries have been introduced by the score; the
home market has been reserved for home manu-
features. and an immense foreign trade mas
been opened at the expense of Great Britain,
Which now recognizes in Germany its most Tor
micable commercial rival
THE EXAMPLE OF THE UNITED STATES.
On the night before left England heard MT
courtney declare at a Golden dinner Inc
more that J can make this nation dependent
upon other people the more will do it That
vas the principle upon which Prince Bismarck
"ted In adopting free trade In 1870 as the I'M
pena system. He made Germany dependent
70 a large degree upon England for manu-