Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-11-27
VIEWS OF EUROPE.
Durtcen Hundred Miles Through
Germany.

empire from the northeast of Prussia
to the south limit of Alsace-Lorraine.
Germany is one vast army camp. Every
| city of any considerable size has its
strong garrison of soldiers numbering
often 5000 or 1000 men. Scarcely day
passed but met companies of soldiers
| on the highways or passed them drill
ing in some way-side field. Alsace-
Lorraine, 1t will be remembered, Is the
border province taken from France in
the war of 1901, after nearly two
| centuries of French rule. Naturally
the Germans have massed consider
able part of their army in this region.
| Strassburg, the capital, three miles
from the Rhine. on the Ill river, has al
! ways been city of stragetic import
ance. and SO long ago as the time of
Macmillan 1t was called the bulwark OF
| the Holy Roman empire. During
French domination 1t was the third
arsenal in strength of France and in
1870 capitulated to the Germans after
| siege lasting forty-four days. Going
| over the Qualifications one may readily
| imagine himself a citizen of mediaeyel
| times. The inner rampant encloses a
space considerably larger than that
occupied by the town and again is sur
| rounded by a girdle of fourteen out
! works strong enough. it would seem, to
resist any ma nner of attack. The outer
of these are five miles from the city
| limit. The province is distinctly Ger
man and my Judgment formed from
mingling with the people of the towns
! and villages Is that there is no desire
for another change of rule. The en-
| forced military service. as has often
/ been said. is the curse of Germany. as 1t
is the curse of Europe. The support Of
| the army is grievous burden on all
! classes There is no other possible
| reason for the poverty of the people
which holds with the force of this.
Everywhere have been asked as the
| first question, rs it true that in your
country army service is voluntary
4 This to the peasant Is what makes
America the wonderful land. Woman
| is the beast of burden in Germany. 1t
| is not the imam with the hoe that Is
| the pitiful sight, 1t is the woman with
| the hoe and the spade and the fork and
the pillow, performing every sort OF
/ manual labor. There is not task OF
! any kind no matter how arduous, how
/ difficult. or how disagreeable. connected
4 with the process of agriculture that
/ have not seen women perform. Bur-
dens too heavy for horse to carry are
/ laid upon the backs of woman. work
\ which no Iowa farmer would ask ms
4 s2o-a month hired man to do, over and
i over again have l seen women doing.
4 The keeping of the home, the rearing OF
i the children, az woman's work is lost
sight of while she has become COM
mon laborer OF the fields. Indeed many
/ of the peasants have no home There
is a roof and four walls, place 10 eat
and place to sleep, that Is all. And
! as ! have seen in one and another OF
4 these European countries the condi-
tons brought about by the maintenance
of a great standing army have prayed
+ that the common people of America
4 might never know the meaning of the
reign of militarism.
would not give the idea by what !
4 have said that the country people are
all oppressed by poverty. On the con-
Il trary there are many regions where the
peasantry are generally well-to-do.
They know how to take life at
slow pace and hurry and wor-
lfry are not known. A social
spirit prevails which Is not seen
lin American villages. Beer-drinking is
universal and the beer table is the CEN
ter of German social life. Drinking is
+ very often excessive but when this has
been said il must be admitted that So
, cia customs are not more objectionable
in their forms some of their own.
The German does not know that there
are people who drink no beer. More
a than once / have astounded a circle
about an inn table by the refusal of a
glass of beer. What do you drink
only water? And the silence of aston
ishment would be in moment fol-
\ lowed by peals of laughter at such ar
! anomaly among men. guest never
2 enters an inn without meeting on the
4 threshold the question, What Will yot
have to drink" Twice the answer,
wish to sleep and eat, but not to drink
!. was met with, Have you no money
that you do not drink Bread Is sur,
e prisingly cheap and If one has no jew
7 like scrupies against swine products hs
o may usually have cheap meat. INT
beer drinking is a second great cause o
y poverty. ! have many time seen
: laborer who has received 40 to 70 cents
e for his days work come into an I'M
$ and drink four to seven mugs of bee
e at two or three cents each. This IN tn
: evening. He mad MS morning Hlut
S when he went TO his work and beer ha
Il been carried to him during workint
n hours for he drinks no water. No MAJ
= stops at one glass, three to five
should say is the average at an evening
s sitting.
II The raising of sugar beets is prin
re cipal industry of great sectios of coun
IS try to the north and TO the southwest Q
e Berlin. The factories are most ofte
l. situated in the midst of large are
d devoted to beet growing. Potatoes tax
:. up great part of the ground. Pear
d rather than apples are the staple fruit
3 AS in the northwest so Throughout
= there are no fences an to see even
n garden patch enclosed is rare. shout
IS estimate that over the whole countr
e five OK or COW teams are In use to ever
o. one Of horses. Many implements ar
ID rudely constructed as will be eviden
l. when say that the ordinary pillow re
* quires two to run it, one to hold tn
lie handles. another to drive or lead Tn
J., team. In different parts of Germany
is have noticed the forests which hav
l. been planted and grown by the govern
Is. ment. The great decrease in woodlan
I'd area by the destruction of the naturs
forests was found to cause diminutio