Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1904-12-14

bureaucrat of the deepest dye, sudden
ly conceived the idea of going to Amer
lea to study the conditions Of life in
the new world.
In so doing he was animated by a de-
sire to please the kaiser, who has ex-
pressed the desire that as many of his
statesmen as possible should see some
thing of American life, while it was
also his intention to collect evidence
showing that Germany was better gov
erned and altogether a happier country
than the transatlantic republic.
After completing the usual tour to
Niagara Falls and to other points of
interest, Imperial Councillor Kolb threw
off the black coat, silk hat and patent
leather shoes of the bureaucrat, donned
the garh of the workingman and pro-
ceeded to explore the world of labor.
In a perfect disguise, which gave
him the appearance of a poverty
stricken emigrant just arrived from
Germany, Imperial Councillor Kolb APP
piled for help and advice to the Ger
man society in Chicago, where he was
recommended to a humble inn in the
center of the city. "The proprietor"
writes Imperial Councillor Kolb, in his
newly published book on his expert
ences, "received me and showed me
his choice of rooms. There were 10 of
them, but only two had windows. The 4,
remainder were simply black holes with
out light, and ventilated only by hole |
in the wall over the door which admit |
ted the foul air of the long corridor |
This corridor was always reeking with |
the smell of burnt fat emanating from
the kitchen at one end. Both the rooms
with windows were already occupied,
so had to be content with one of the
black holes, for which I had to pay
$1.25 weekly"
Close at hand was a restaurant at
which the kaiser's chosen adviser ate
his meals in the company of horny
handed sons of toll. The menu was
the same every day in the year, and
ran as follows;
Steak, with potatoes, bread and
butter, with coffee, tea or milk. 10c
Pork, with ditto ..............10 10c
Veal, with ditto ...............10 10e
Mutton chop, with ditto. .... .10c
Sausage, with ditto .10c
Meat hash, with ditto. = IS. 80. 10c
Three eggs, cooked, fried or
poached ......... ......,......l lOe
Cup of coffee and two rolls. ....... sc
This was not a sumptous fare for the
habitue of court banquets, but the food
itself was not so bad as the knives and
forks with which the disguised states
man had to eat it. Knives, forks and
spoons were indeseribably unclean, and
the fragments of food left by numer-
GUS earlier diners always clung to them.
The imperial councillor just shut his
eyes and ate
Now followed the search for employ
ment Furnished with strong recon-
mendation from the German society,
Imperial Councillor Kolb offered him
self to successive employers in the fol-
lowing capacities: Hostler, milker of
cows, grocer's driver, baker s boy, dish
washer, gardener, blacksmith IS helper.
He was rejected and rebuffed at
each place. Every employer had some
fault 20 find with him. Some were
brutally rude, others coarsely con-
Day after day the imperial
councillor tramped and tramped in
search of honest employment, till his
limbs were weary and his feet sore.
He tasted to the full the extreme bt-
terness of compulsory unemployment in
mid winter.
Finally he secured a casual job for
a few hours as so-ealled "omnibus" |
at a banquet of the Athletic associa-
tion in Chicago When the walters
had removed the dirty plates from the
tables and placed them on a sideboard,
the "omnibus" had to load them on
big wooden tray and carry them to the
kitchen. Imperial Councillor Kolb was .
engaged as an "omnibus" and de-
scribes his experience;
"On arrival, black jackets, trousers
and white tie were supplied TO me.
There were 20 walters and six omni.
buses engaged for the occasion. Be
fore starting work we had TO wash our
selves thoroughly, under the supervis-
ion' Of an overseer, and then we sat
down and ate as much bread and but
ter, with ham, as we could. The work
Of the evening was harder than may
appear at first sight. Soon the perspira-
lion was streaming from my brow as
staggered under the heavy burdens
,,,.r nafnra IonD ms L