The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-11
GERMAN POLICE SYSTEM.
4 WITCHFUL EYE KEPT on MINOR
DETAILS or LIFE.


other day. asked the rortly. gold buttonot
Jortie, Of the delightful little Leipzig hotel Il:
aparty OF Americans came down TO breakfast
on the morning Of their third day in Germany
1T isn't certain yet; why =
Because II you stay to-day you must lie
dnoe,Heidei. or we shall have trouble with the
police"
That sounded formidable enough. Anoe.
meidst2 Police2 What in the world had they
done the Americans asked one another
The PORTER. who answers about the descrip.
ton OF the clerk Of an American hotel. seeing
their bewdermcnt. proceeded to enlighten
them.
II must All out these blanks. do you see
Here the name. the date and place OF birth. oc-
cupation. Of what country citizen. how long
you expect to remain in Germany. your bust
ness here, from what place you came here.
when you left it. whore you are going from
hero
He paused. for one Of the party showed signs
OF faintng. 1t occurred to them later that
such emotion was most unwlse and might have
aroused serious suspicion but fortunately only
the desired result was obtaiueI-thc Interrupt
ton Of the I1rtter's discourse.
This was the first encounter OF these Amer
leans with the German police regulations.
From that time on they were TO know what it
meant to be under the wutchful eye OF tho law.
The filling out and delivery OF tho blanks mem
toned by tho IUrtT was only the first step.
Travellers may remain at a LcipZig hotel two
days without reporting to tho police; but this
If local regulat ion and the time varies in diff
ferent towns In Munich. for instance. these
Americans spent a week without being ques-
toned at ALL in Dresden the blank was pre-
scented upon their arrival. and the name of
every stranger in town. whether at II
hotel. boarding house or private house. is pub
lshcd the day after his arrival. together with
his local address and the name OF his last stop
ping place. in the General An1ei0e,', the Cen
eral Announcer. as 1t would he in English.
Residents Gf Dresden read the Frendtn. or
Stranger. lists as religiOusly as the announce
ments of births. marriages and deaths: and 1t
Is really a convenient thing; many friend
travelling through the town has been Ioyously
hailed by reader of the List OF Strangers who
but for that would have had no idea OF the
presence in Dresden OF an old acquaintance.
During the season the number OF strangers in
Dresden is so great that the list often fills two
pages or even more.
The next experience OF these Americans was
when they had to be ab0e,npldet. Then practi-
cally the same blank had TO be filed out. with
the addition Of Information as to where they
expected to live in Leipzig. ana whether the
apartment was let to them by tho owner OF
the house or sublet by some one else. This
was question the importance Of which they
appreciated only when too late to do any good !;
for upon it depended to a great extent the rate
OF taxes they had to pay. Their ineXperience
cost them dear in more respects than one F.: for
instead of being entered on the tax lists as
students Of music who are entitled to live in
Leipzig for two years without paying taxes iun-
less the laws have been recently changed they
uyara ! bn hn1 p,nyi ,,''
which means that they " lived upon an income
from property Investments and 50 they paid
proportionatcly high rate Of taxes. 1t made
difference Of about $50 year.
Leipzig has rather n bad reputation as to
morals. but the police supervision is certainly
very close. A newly married couple who sailed
from New York Immediately after the we'd
ding without the prerautiOn of taking along
wedding certificate were greatly incensed be-
cause the Iolice refused to recognize the eX.
to was produced. Failure to produce II within
specified specific, tmr' lust long enough to admit 81
getting to Leipzig by return mail. resulted in
the threat OF moderate tln". The paper still
HS being Snd at hS h yoa ns
danger OF arrest by The @rFiyaI : Q" Of tho
were not at an end. The officials in this par
ticulqr DEPARTMENT could none Of them read
English, and so the certificate had to be trans
lated, and not by any one who happened to be
capable OF making tho translation but by a
s%fP1f for u b S,atG &
lines was Ave, marks, about Sl.25. Armed
with the signed. sealed aud stamped transla-
preached the desk OF the stony hearted Official.
What disappointment was IN store for him !
names, and the good minister who had PER
formed the marriage ceremony had omitted
81 d. h e @ the y s ami
was ca ed, the ono 10y which his mail was adj =
drrssed-the only important name of the three.
Dark suspicion showed itself at once in the eX-
prcssiye copntcnance of the official, Plainly
something here was not in order. This man
but is irving to pass himself of in place Of an
CHER OF smilarname.' was the evident thought.
More pryinG questions, more threats OF fines
the arrival Of "A duplicate certificate CONTAINING
al the man names nut an end 10 the doubts
Toa German the paper,of greatest import
s,nce in al transaction, is the birth certificate,
are no one. and accordingly entitled to moth.
Ing without birth certificate. You can hold
armynor to any on" otth large institutions uf
various descriptions sorommOu in Germany.
without first showing this certificate And il
you wish to marry you must produce the Ger
tihcato not only of your own BIRTH hut that
Of your parents marriage and Of their death.
be lust as well fortified. A German American
who had through living long time in Ger;
Gy a large majority to me political "ilic" hut
he never served because he had no birth cor
titlcatc: he bad never been born officially: he
did not, exist He returned to the United
States; his ambition to belong to the German
nation was cff"ctually checked,
some OF the police regulations are CNccel-
ingly practical. \ gentleman sitting smoking
at his window in Berlin was one afternoon dis
turbed by knock ut his door. A bury police
man entered the room in response 10 his
"HelPrn ~ and presented IA cigar stump. with
the laconic remark, Three marks. pNea-c -
To the astomishcd culrrit he explained that
this was the IN" FOR throwing anything out Of
aWlnduW. There was no arrest, no inCuuyrn-
icnce OF any description beyond that OF hand
ing over the amount OF the fine to the
policeman, who happened t. So" the lit
Of tobacco falling and lad the authority
u collect the specific lin" tor rhls Of
fence. This sam" procedure Is followed in
ever SO many other instances, IL. for example,
violation Of the minor laws regulating tn" uSe
oil bicycles II you ar" riding too fast. or arc
without n light after the prescribed tImu. or if
you neglect to observe the rI,u- about rIu giuE
the bell before passing any ON" or crossing a
street. or oven il You ar" concerned i'm an acct
dent, II not of too serious nature. TIA" police
man on post has tn" right toImUu-c and uIlr.r
! nc, and, IN case ~ an accident. To- take Your
name and address Tor r"i"rrru" should the re-
suit be more serious than anticipated. OF
coulse, IN the case Of a mora -urluu5 accident II
there appears To- be- Il good deal Of blame, to L.,
laid at the ryrIlSj : door. he may Lp urrr.t