Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1898-02-03
News From Far Off GERMANY.

his wife. IS now enjoying we'll
earned rest by taking in the sights OF
the old world, and when the letter
was written was visiting at Munich
Germany, will be highly interesting
to his many friends in this city.
! They are both in excellent health
and enjoying the trip, but declare
/ that they could not be satisfied any
where but in old Wisconsin Their
| Mineral Point friends most sincerely
! hope for their safe return home.
MUNICH, January II, 1898.
| FRIEND BENNETT:-
| In answer to your request, made
when | left Mineral Point, | will
write a letter for the TRIBUNE. and
will for the first time violate the rules
and write on both sides of the paper,
to save postage. If the letter is
lengthy you can save it for some
week when news is scarce, and then
use it for filing in.
do not think we know very much
about Germany, and yet after being
here nearly three months, and Wis
iting seventeen cities and towns,
staying i'm each one from day to
two weeks, we would be poor obser-
vors if we had not noticed u good
many things. | shah not write so
much about the things which the
encyclopedias mention, as about
those which have struck us as novel
and strange.
,r al. Il -
tinct parts. the old and the new.
This does not apply to Berlin. which
is practically new city, with wide
streets, beautifully laid out But all
Of the older cities were originally
walled towns, and the streets wer"
made as narrow as possible to econo-
miZe room. They We're also made
crooked, for what purpose | do not
know. But as they were. SO they
remain, for everything here IS sub
stantial. We have seen streets IN
many cities which were little more
than lanes, from eight TO twenty
feet wide; and this in such cities as
Cologue, Frankfurt, Dresden and
Strassburg, which have from two To
three hundred thousand population.
Then out of this is usually taken two
sidewalks with Curbstones, of course
very narrow, so that one team can
90 through at once, and a load of
hay would stick fast. Al these,
streets, sidewalks and houses. are
made of stone; a wooden house Is
rarely seen either in the city or
country. | cannot remember seeing
a single one. The old walls are as Il
rule taken down now and the place
they occupied made into series ol
public parks, beautifully kept In
Bremen the moat which was outside
the walls is utilized for artificial
ponds. Outside these parks Is the
neW city. with wide streets, large
squares. fine stores, electric cars, and
everything that goes to make up
modern city. This growth, which
shows so plainly outside the walls,
marks Germany as Il prosperous ma
tion. The signs of such prosperity are
everywhere. Sidney Whitman, au-
thor of "Imperial Germany" one of
the books in the Chautauqua course
for this year says: The curse of the
30 years war is only in this genera
tion lifted from Germany" He also
gives some figures which Were sur
prise to me. He says that from 1870
to 1890 Berlin distanced Chicago in
population, Hamburg went ahead #
Boston. Leipsio of San Francisco.
Munich of Cincinnati and Cologue
of Buffalo. That is, in 1870 these
German cities We're smaller than
those mentioned i'm America, and in
1890 they were larger. This has been
due to number of causes, and ! have
inquired diligently as to the influ-
euce of the tariff. thinking to make
you present of campaign argu-
ment, but so far have discovered
nothing worth mentioning. IT does
not seem to be regarded as Il polltl-
cal question here. The chief cause
of the prosperity seems TO be the
unification of Germany ana the
welding together Of what we would
call different states or provinces
which before 1871 Were independents,
into one great nation.
think German would say there
are less poor people IN Germany
than in America, while an American
would claim the contrary to be true.
The reason for such opposite beliefs
j. that while German labOrer earns
only from fifty cents to dollar and
"a quarter day he Is better satisfied
with what his wages can buy chan
the ordinary American laborer, being
ronteuted with less of luxury.
Whether such a disposition j. an un-
mixed blessing i, Of course ques-
tion. We went through the Old cas-
tie on the Wartburg with "a young
mana German. who has been iu
business in san Francisco for six or
seven wears. Mrs. straw asked him
whether he would rather live in Ger
lpluy or the United states. and he
ans Werpd with a shrug of his -houl-
dpr-. Il like Germany best, but ! can
make more money in san Francis
co should Judge that more pocr|
people are assisted IN our large cities
fhan IN the large cities here; and
Germany has no institution like our
paorhouse. or course Germany has
I'm advantage over us in immigration.
One reason why the poor grow no
poorer even if they grow no richer.
i because of the paternal form ol
Government. The state owns the
railways, telegraph aud the express,
.Ia lattar hpfnty "A branch Of the post