The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-18
.DERNBURG LEAVES 0N EXTENSIVE TOUR Will Visit German Possessions
 In Africa SUES WOMAN FOR $375 We'll Known Actress Refuses to Let a Berlin Silk Manufacturer Kiss Her According to Claimed
 Agreement.
SUES WOMAN FOR S375

retary of the colonies, Privy Councillor Dernburg, leaves England for an exten- sive tour through the German possessions in South West Africa. He goes from England direct to Capetown where he will remain until the end of June, and will then spend more than two months looking into conditions in the colonies with the special purpose of finding out Tor himself how great part of the Ger man territory is fit for the raising of cotton and what the government should do to encourage this branch of farming, which is of great interest to German manufacturers, who desire nothing more than to become independent of the Amer ican cotton speculators. Another object of the secretary's trip is to find out how much the colonists have suffered from the long wars against the rebellious natives and what may be done to promote the development of the country.
 Before leaving Secretary Dernburg came out strongly against Prof. Robert Koch's suggestion of exterminating all big game in Africa in order to get rid of the plague of the tsetse fly, which lives on their blood, and which is the primary cause of the sleeping disease. On the contrary he declared it was his in-
 
 able bills to protect the big game in the German colonies.
 Because a well known actress refused to let him kiss her after he, at her suggestion, had shaved off his mus tache la Kaiser, a wealthy Berlin silk manufacturer has sued the lady for $375 damages in connection with tho loss of his martial face adornment.
 ,f.,,a quaintance asked the actress for kiss and was told that she could not grant his wish as long as he wore a mus tache.
 Though very proud of his mustache, the manufacturer longed enough for the kiss to shave it off, but when he claimed his reward the lady told him that while he was deliberating she had become engaged to another man, and naturally dared not kiss any one but her fiance.
 Then the manufacturer went to court with the demand that the law procure for him either the desired kiss or it's equivalent, $375.
 It is feared that the impresario and journalist, Moritz Guttman also known under the name of Joseph Pey, for whom the police of Bavaria are look ing, has succeeded in making his eS- cape to the United States.
 Guttman is accused of having stolen from a certain ballet dancer, Zarina Wa1pala, whom he met in Italy, jewels valued at a quarter of a million lire. He is only 35 years old, and has al- ready twice visited America, so it is most likely that there is a chance of the American police getting the re- ward of 10000 marks promised for his arrest.
 The Kaiser may soon have to lecture his people on the subject of race sui eide, for the statistics just published by the Prussian government show that the number of births in the German empire is gradually decreasing.
 In southern Berlin the number of children born during 1907 was 52,404, against 46, 203 in 1876.
 Although this is apparently an in- crease, the proportion per thousand has fallen from 47 during the latter year to 23 in the former, a decrease of more than 50 per cent
 The number of families having one or two children shows an increase but the number of families with three, four and more children is rapidly growing smaller During the period between 1887 and 1907 the number of families with three children fell from 70S7 to 64S4; with four chill dren, from 1920 to 4070 and with i've from 3571 to 2509.
 A dispatch from Debreczn announced that the wife of a prominent citizen, Peter Kisz, had been arrested, accused of having killed her two children. Inn mediately after the arrest she broke down and confessed that, with the assistance of her husband, she had killed the 20 chill dren to whom she had given birth during her married life As her only excuse for these horrible crimes, she said that she thought there was too little happiness in life and that the children were bet ter off dead.
 and the authorities of the city of Der sanction the monument to the late Pro- lessor virchow which it was intended to erect at the Karlsplatz.
 It was first thought that the Kaiser did not want a monument in honor of a man who had always been opposed to him politically But this has been ab- solutely denied, and the Kaiser declares that his only objection to the monument is that it is ugly.
 It has always been the custom. dur ing the reign of the present Kaiser. to submit all statues and monuments tn- tended for erection in Berlin to him. and he has hitherto always sanctioned the de, signs approved by the city authorities Now they make the statement that there is nothing in Prussian law which makes it necessary to ask the Kaiser permis- sion to put up a statue, and that the