The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-12-22

gives a most comprehensive picture of n
social conditions of the la5oring classe
in this city. and one. besides, which take
its data from unimpeachab:e sources. I'll
picture thus presented is far from invitin
nay, it is appalling. The stranger max
ing his first visit to Berlin would neve
suspect from the fair and apparent
smooth outside of the city the enormous
amount of misery underneath. Berlin j
different from London, New York, eve
Paris, in that its misery is not visible Z
| the naked eye, but that il is hidden NOR
or less carefully. Driving through Berlin
even through the quarters inhabited by tn
socialist laboring classes-for nearly eyer!
workingman here is also a socialst-th
| eye meets serried ranks of houses present
ing fax trcn; aud cleanly swept str ,e-s
often lined VIII rows of trees. But th'
awful misery, the callous immortality, anC
british malerialism Of the thousands and
thousands of dwelling in the rear build
ings are unseen. The rigorous enforce
ment by the army of 1900 Berlin police.
men of street decency inveigles the for
eigner on short visit here into the belief
that Berlin is singularly devoide of that
| moral filth and of that crying poverty
which seems to be common 20 the oshe.
capital cities of the world. To such peop.e
the reading of this book would be a reve-
lation. / will content myself with merely
citing some Of its Enumerated facts and
quoting some Of its figures.
According to the census of 1895 the total
| population of Berlin was 1.6l5517, 40 139
males and s45,37S females. OF these totals.
90 per cent 1922 of the male and 81 per
! cent (5l6,25S) of the female population be-
| long 10 the laboring Classes. OF the fe-
males s.. 600 are domestic servants. The
| rest of them earn an average of 1.5O marks
| (about So cents per diem, the men 2.40
marks GS cents per diem. This, with meat
| "a 20 cents for the poorer qualities and 30
cents for the finer. with rents at S5O-450
marks per annum for two-room flats in
the poorer quarters of the city, generally
in the rear buildings and four or five
stairs up, shows to what misery this vast
army Of human toilers is condemned: for
even when they are minated their earn
ings are barely sufficient TO provide for
thtir cOarsest needs But Dr. Hirschbsrg
shows that very few of these laboring be-
rgs remain minated married one can not
say, for the reason that the vast majority
of them never marry after reaching the
age of y for the men and Il or IS for the
women. The conditions thus created lead
to what are here technically known as
''Arbeiter-Ehen.' or laborers' marriages.
which are ties more or less brittle, and
severed at the first turn of fortune for
good or IL, both for the men and for the
women.
lott fr11q "a frfh ta
are therefore. of alarming frequency.
One-third Of them are among the servant
girls. But as far as purely material con-
ditions are concerned, the many thousands
of couples living in such "Arbeiter- Ehen'
presents an even worse spectacle. Herded
together in the higher regions of those
immense tenements in the laboring quar-
ters of the city Zone Of whAh, for in
stance, harbors a human hive of about
5000, sanitary conditions morals, almost
everything which goes TO make life a de-
cent and enjoyable thing. are necessarily
outraged. Add to this the fact that loss
Of work, sickness, childbirth, and other
occurrences to disturb the financial con-
ditions Of this immense army of coarse
toilers. and the child labor must be added
to enable the temporary family to make
both ends meet, and it Will be easily sur
missed that the total social picture thus
presented is appalling. Last year for in
stance, DIR. Hirschberg says, some 5000 de-
serted wives" with children of tender age
sought publis relief. and the 1895 census
brought out the fact that 1000 of the
married female lalbors IN Berlin had been
deserted by their husbands, and that d.
600 children of school age had to earn
their living after school. No wonder that
the organized public or semi1oublic char
ity Of Berlin is of a more comprehensive
kind than Mat in any other large city.
One peculiar feature of Berlin life in the
laboring classes to which the author calls
particular attention is the Sch Iafburs-
chen system. The one or two-room flats
Of these laiboring couples harbor at night,
for a slight weekly consideration, one or
more unmarried and minated laborers,
and the number of these latter is eEtimat-
ed by DR.. Hirsohberg at above 10000. In
1890 there were 1855 such "Schlafburs-
chen alone. besides the girls and women
who found similar night quarters. and 80
per cent of rsnis number slept in the same
room with their hosts.
Last Easter the new commercial high
SIC. and from the report just published I
see that This institution is evidently fiu-
ing want. There are already 149 stu
dents marticulated there. of whom 1l2 are
Germans and 81 foreigners. besides about
60 who attend certain lectures. Ii is in
tended to broaden and extend the plan
of studies as the attendance grows. OF
the seventy-two students who have Joined
this fall thir,y-ffe are already engaged
in commercial pursuits. The larger num-
Der Of the foreign students az this new
institution are English
The Bismarck memoirs Just published
provoke much criticism in Germany, es-
peCially a 10 the manner in which the
late eX-chancellor deals with his CO..
workers in the unificaton of Germany.
and even the most enthusiastic admirers
Of the author do not entirely approve the
way in which she old emperor is spoken
q. viz. a continual drag and hind
rance in Bismarck'S life work. The CO.
logne Nolkszeitung. for instance. saws:
The question is only whether Bismarck
tellS the truth. Adroitiy ne avoids all
direct criticism Of the king. bur leaves Il
10 the reader TO form his own Judgment.
But since he describes his own opinions
always as 50 perfectly unreasonable. no
conclusion bus one Is possible when once
one admits the correctness Of wha- Bis
marck claims. Il is very painful for every
patriotic German that She discussion &
these momenrous questions mas been
started in this way. But since 1t has been
done. public o pinion and posterity have
The right TO demand the truth The az
chives must opened. IN order 70 fix the
real facts and, meanwhile. historical !
criticism wiz be in he dark