Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-02

an American trade center It has enor-
nous imports of American grain. coal OIL
and tobacco and is the headquarters for
the transshipment of American goods.
The Diamond Match Company, the Stand
ard Oil Company and the Pure Oil Com
pany have plants there and our leading
exporters of all kinds have their agencies.
Mannheim is the head of Rhine naviga-
ton for large boats and the chief point of
distribution for grain, cotton, coal Oil,
lumber and coal. Over sixteen thousand
boats unload at its docks every year and
it's freight runs up into the millions of
tons. 1t is a great commercial center, 1ts
banks having capital of $So,OoOooO II
is also a manufacturing city, making dye
stuffs and chemicals, corks and cars, peer
and glass bottles, agricultural implements,
pianos, cocoanut butter, cigars and a score
of other things. It's analfne dye plant is
the largest in the world, its exports to the
United States alone amounting to Sloo,ouV
a month 1t has 1000 men in it's chemical
works 400 workmen in its comb and DOH
factories and other thousands making
wood pulp, which, strange to say, 1t ex-
ports to the United States. 1t also sends US
patent leather to the value OF something
like 1000, 900 a year. and at the same
time buys a few American shoes IL uses
American tobacco and makes millions OF
cigars every week. which are shppeo "
all parts of Germany.
New German Towns.
These Rhine towns are among the newest
seems strange when one remembers that
they thrived in the days of the crusaders
Cologne was founded about the time that
Caesar overran Gaul. 1t was so rich dur
ing the middle ages that instead of saying
"as rich as Croesus'' they said las r1ch as
a cloth merchant of Cologne" and 1t has
been an important town from that time
until now.
And still it is a new town! Since the
Franco-Prussian war it has been almost
rebuilt The old wall has been torn away,
and a wide street, paved with asphalt,
with trees in the center and r1deWays ana
driveways each side, has taken us
place. New houses have been erected
along this street, and, indeed, the whole
city looks as though it were put up for
show. 1t is only in the older sections that
you find antique structures, ana the cathe-
dral, although begun centuries ago was
only completed along in the eighties. 1t is
now the finest cathedral in Europe, and
cost. all told little less than 5000 600
Dusseldorf is also a new town, and there
GLIDING the villas of the rich, which have
grown up under the shadows of medieval
castles
Municipal Ownership.
The Rhine cities are new in their systems
of government. Municipal ownership is
coming to the front along the old river
There is much city pride, and but little
boodlng. Dusseldorf owns its own gas and
electric light plants. 1t has public bath
houses, where you can get at cost Turk
ish or Russian bath, first, second or third
class. 1t has It's own slaughter houses and
market houses, and it's own ice plants and
cold storage establishments. The munich
pality acts also as a wine merchant selling
wine by wholesale, and making profit off
of it. 1t has a municipal savings bank
with pawnbroking attachment. and also
homes for the aged and those who are too
feeble to earn their own living.
Dusseldorf owns it's street cars and so
does Cologne, and the fares in both cities
are just about half what they are in the
United States and the accommodations
equally good. My car fares cost me about
s. a month, or $50 year. while at home
in Washington. In Dusseldorf could have
the same for lust half and save $50
Here in Cologne one can buy a yearly
pass good all lines for $50, monthly
passes are sold for s2.3S and the ordinary
fare for the longest distance is 314 cents,
while the shortest distance costs less than
2k cents. Children under ten years pay
less than cents, and students attending