Omaha daily bee., 1902-12-14

spOndenCe OF the Bee.)-lnls Is
AA the busiest cell In the great in
IEY0SWl dustrial beehive of the Alps and
~ 1t is the best headquarters for the
distribution of American goods. The chlet
OF the American exporters to switzerland
have their agents here and | find many OF
our goods for sale in the stores. Our
typewriters, machine tools and agricultural
implements are well represented and one
OF the finest buildings of the town has
large store rooms devoted to the sale OF
American office furniture and especially
Grand Rapids roll-top desks. You can buy
Boston shoes at several places along
Balmhof Strasse and | find Yankee notions
for sale in the arcades in the older parts
of the town.
Zurich Is the biggest city of Switzerland
II has 10, 900 people and among them the
richest of the country. II is the center OF
the silk industry. the site OF the chief ma
chine and iron works and the great whole
sale supply point,
The city is situated in northern Switzer-
land, a couple of hours ride from Basel,
the head OF the navigation OF the Rhine,
at a place where the railroads which give
access to every part OF switzerland and the
Alps meet. 1t lies on Lake Zurich, which
Is twenty-five miles long and two and one
nalt miles Wlue' Inc lLllllldl river, WhlCh
connects this lake with the Rhine, runs
through II, cutting a beautiful valley,
spotted with farms and vineyards. The
town is in the heart of the Alps and the
Rigi and other famous mountains are in
plain view in many parts OF It.
l rode up Mount Zurich on the cable line
this morning for a view OF the city. Zurich
lies at thes north end OF the lake, which
stretches on almost as far as you can see,
winding like a great river in and out
among the hills. 1t extends some dis
lance Gown on both sides the lake; It
climbs the hills and you can see its smoke
stacks along the banks Of the river, mark
ing the sites OF the silk, cotton and iron
factories for which II is famous.
Zurich proper looks more like a city OF
residences than a commercial and manu-.
featuring center. You see many churches
and school and college buildings rising
high above the ordinary houses. The streets
are wide and the houses have beautiful
gardens about them. In the older sections
there are buildings with gabled roofs, out
OF which quaint dormer windows poke their
heads. The Limmat is lined with such
structures. They wall its banks and at ono
place cross the rushing river, being erected
on piles so that the water flows on beneath
There is an acre or so OF such houses. II
other places the buildings have arcades OF
c~loisteTs on the ground floor, facing tn,
street, with stores behind them, so that YOU
walk in the shade, the roof OF the stree
being the floor above. This Is the old Swis.
form Of building and you find II to an ever
greater degree in Bern.
have spent much time In diving abou
the newer parts of Zurich. The craze 10
flats or apartments is quite as great her
as in the United States. and new apart
ment houses are going up everywhere. In
deed, the fiat system is now common al
over Europe. It has been in vogue /
France and Germany for more than a gen
Grafton, but Il is now pushing its way int
England, Scandinavia and Switzerland. &c
neya is a city Of fats, although II has som
beautiful villas. In Bern there arc store
on the ground floors with apartments aboy
even in the older sections OF the city, an
Zurich is fast becoming all fats. Many
the new houses are apartment houses pul
and simple. Others are apartments an
stores combined. There seems to be l
fixed rule as TO business locations, as
other cities. You find a big Wholesale 81
tablishment way of at one side surrOund'
by residences, and you have often TO hui
for the stores that you want. The poop
are very conservative. They stick to Il
merchants with whom they are accustom'
10 deal. and for this reason II will pay We