The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-11-26
GREAT THRIFT OF GERMANS
How Careful the Teuton Is With T
Money

|
How Careful the Tenton is With His
| Money
New York, Nov. 25.-Pnilip G. Hubert
writing to the Evening Post from Mu-
mich, Bavaria, says:
One day last summer while waiting for
some friends in the entrance hall of one
of the picture galleries in Munich, l no.
| ticed a stout typical German get out of a
| cab az the door, enter the lobby, and buy
a ticket, meanwhile putting vigorously at
a long cigar. He deposited his coat, hat,
and umbrella at the wardrobe counter,
! putting away all the time, and then be-
gan to peer around somewhat uneasily.
Big signs on the entrance doors to the
gallery warned him that no smoking was
allowed. Finally his face lighted up as
ne strode over to one corner and depos-
tied his lhalf-inished cigar in sort of
metal rack fastened to the wall. "Sc,"
he exclaimed, with a sigh Of relief, and
marched to sc the pictures. Almost at
the same moment another German, nav
ind done" the pictures, approached the
rack in question and, having scrutinized
it's contents, selected a stump of cigar
as his particular property and proceeded
10 light it before getting on mis- hat and
coat.
The provision for saving the stumps Of
cigars was a novelty to me, and exam
ined ii with some curiosity. A sign,
''Cigarre Ablade,' placed above 1t in
large letters announced its purpose-a
leaving place" or "depositing place" for
,ie L al
ioned something like a miniature wire
rack there was a special groove for each
cigar, bue no particular mark or number
by which one could identify one stump
from another, and no particular reason
why the first conner should not help him
self to the biggest and best cigar of the
lot. For all l know, that may be the GUS
tom. / discovered afterwards that these
cigar repositories are common all over
Germany in galleries, museums and
other places where no smoking is al
lowed. No better illustration of the pfen-
nig-saving propensity Of the German oc-
ours TO me, for, while the Frenchman
may count out the Jumps OF sugar for
each cup of coffee, / have seen in France
or England no such provision for &esr
stumps.
the very existence and use Of pfen-
mig, a coin worth q quarter Of cent
and found everywhere IN common circu-
Tatlon all over Germany, give notice to
the American traveller that he has reach
ed a land of small economies. In France
the centime exists, and may occasionally
he seen, but il is almost q curiosity to
foreigners; perhaps the Partisan shop
keepers think that the prinoely Ameri-
cans would be offended by the offer Of
so small a coin as centime, one-ifth
OF a cent; so they keep all the change un-
Ill the value of cent, and / don't think
any traveller will complain, for the cop
per sous now in circulation, as big and
cumbersome as old copper coinage OF
forty years ago, are nuisance enough
without the addition of centimes. How
the French, the leaders of Europe In
matters OF taste. can persist in filing
their pockets with pounds of copper
change long after Belgium. Germany and
Austria have discarded copper for nickel
is one OF the Paris puzzles, and the
change of French currency recently de-
cided upon will surely be welcomed by
natives as we'll as visitors In Germany
the copper pfennig exists and Is in every
day use. but it is a small coin, and it
is seldom that l find more than half
dozen Of them in my pocket at a time.
With the msoer Of my family who does
the marketing, however, it is different,
and the counting UP of pfennigs when
ever household accounts are made up is
one OF the amusing aggravations OF Ger
man life. In the markets many things
are sold for six pfennlgs, or twelve pfen-
nigs, or some other amount requiring
change in pfennigs. A box OF ordinary
safety matches is two pfennigs. and as it
is only reckless and wickedly extrava-
giant Americans who buy more than one
box OF matches or more than one head
Of lettuce a. i time, the German shop
keeper must have a big bag OF pfennigs
at hand all the time. In fact, IL you
wish 10 illustrate 10 a German the ex-
travagance and high cost OF life in Amer
lea, You have only 20 say that literally
nothing-not even a box OF matches or
a shoe string-is sold there for less than
one cent. Such a state OF things is al
most lneonceivSole 10 a German Once
l told our good landlady in Munich that
a few years ago nothing less than the
fve-cen- piece was known in California.
Yes, she replied, out that Is De-
cause IN California you have only 10
pick up gold whenever you want it,
Labo--ssving devices donot seem 10 be
muca priced in the fatheriand: but sug-
gent s5ne way Of saving a ptennig, and
you VIII cam the gratitude OF a people.
1 have just had occasion 20 mention that
a single box OF matches costs two pfen-
nIgs. while package % ten boxes costs
ten pfenniss o. twelve, according 10 the
shop. THUS a COX OF matches costs re-