The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1897-12-19
IN THE land OF PENNIES
TN TIL L1HU vi LHIVILU
Effect on the German Character
of the Pfennig.
SMALL ECONOMIES PREVAIL
The Many Things Which Can Be Had Fer
Little Nothing Sold For Less
Than One Cent.


The very existence and use of pfennig,
coin worth a quarter of a cent and found
everywhere in common circulation all over
Germany, give notice to the American
traveller that he has reached land of
small economies. In France the centime
exists, and may occasionally be seen, but
it is almost curiosity to foreigners; per-
haps the Partisan shopkeepers think that
the princely Americans would be offended
by the offer of so small a coin as CEN
time, one-fifth of cent; so they keep all
change until the value of n cent, and /
don't think any traveller will complain, for
the copper sous now in circulation, as big
and cumbersome as our old copper coinage
of forty years ago, are nuisance enough
without the addition of centimes. How
the French, the leaders of Europe in mat
tiers of taste, can persist in filling 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 decided upon will surely
be welcomed by natives well as visitors.
In Germany the copper pfennig exists and
is in everyday I'm but it is a small coin.
and it is seldom til find more than half
dozen of them in II pocket at a time.
Less Than Cent.
In fact, If you wish to illustrate to a
German the extravaganza and high cost of
life in America you have only to 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 almost inconceivable to a German Once
| told our good landlady in Munich that a
few years ago nothing less than the five
cent piece was known in California
YES she replied. "but that g bapauca
in California you have only to pick up gold
whenever you want money"
Labor-saving devices do not seem to be
much priced in the fatherland; but suggest
some way of saving pfennig, and you
will earn the gratitude of a people. |
have just had occasion to mention that a
single box of matches costs two pfennigs
while package of ten boxes costs ten
pfennigs or twelve, according to the shop
Thus box of matches costs really about
one pfennig at retail, and yet to what de-
vices have | not seen people resort to save
few matches. 1t was but a few days
ago that man next me in the railway
car between Berlin and Dresden was about
to light his cigar, and had a match out
ready to strike against the box. Just then
he noticed Whit of tobacco smoke from
the next compartment to ours. so" he
muttered to himself. as he carefully re-
placed the match in the box. Then he
got up, went into the next compartment
borrowed a light from the smoker there,
and returned, treading on my toes in so
doing, and sat down with a we'll satisfied
air. He had saved his match-value,
1-200th part of cent.
Saving Matches.
have still another illustration in my
note book of the care taken of matches
A clockmaker urged me to buy a certain
kind of clock, because by pulling string
1T struck the hour I would save matches
in the night, he said. Clocks with this de-
vice, by the way, were once far more COM
mon in Germany than they are now, and
in the days, or rather nights, when
matches were unknown 1t must have been
convenient to be able to know the hour
by simply pulling the string. 1 bought
one near Munich which strikes both the
quarters and the hours, but upon different
gongs. Thus, when I pull the string in
the night and hear the lighter gong strike
three and then the deeper gong strike two,
l know that it is a quarter of three and
go to sleep with no match on my con-
science.
1t is no uncommon thing in these parts
to see men fill their pockets with matches
from the box on the tables in the cafes and
restaurants. The small allowance of SUI
gar to cup of coffee is constant source
of sorrowful amusement, If there be such
a thing, to travelling Americans. Such
thing as a bowl full of Jumps of sugar is
almost unknown, perhaps for the good rea-
son that the first customer would empty 1t
of every lump. / have seen much more
curious things than this DONE. I have
watched wel-dressed women take the re-
mains of steak or chop off their plate in
a restaurant and carefully wrap it in
piece of newspaper for future consumption.
Left Nothing Behind.
And no German was ever known to leave
a bit of sausage behind him. AS an old
lady, German, of course, once remarked
to us as we were dining together at an inn
in the Tyrol you have paid well for all
this food, and why should you leave half
of it on the table, as you rich Americans
always do? 1t is SIM So she put the
Remaining sugar into one pocket. the figs
and nuts into another, and wrapped the
bread up in her handkerchief. I have
nothing to say against this practice; I
merely mention it curious to Americans.
To economize labor is, as have already
remarked, apparently of no Importance.
Servants are worked in a way unknown to
us. They do all their work without the
aid of any of our housekeeping devices,
and the German housefadchen trudges
cheerfully to market with a basket that
our maid at home would refuse to carry
upon any terms.
The military caste makes the social laws