Barton County democrat., 1911-08-25

scribe and you have this one that is
under our hotel window and which is
the universal street scene of AmSter-
dam. Some one called this the Ven
ice of the North but to my mind 1t
playing up "Has Anybody Here Seen
lacks some of the oriental architec-
ture and smell.
Last night we went to the Rem
brandt theatre to see "The Mikado,
in Dutch. Of course we could follow
the music of the old time friend, and
this language made the play funnier
than ever. The Dutch are not near so
strong ON music as are their German
or French neighbors. They utilize
compositions of other nations and
American airs are very common. The
window of a large fine music store is
they try to please us they turn loose
Kelly?' A few. Americans were at
the big garden Krasnapolsky listen
ing to really fine orchestra with an
Austrian leader. We sent up re-
quest for the American national air
and it came promptly: "Whistling
Rufus The Europeans think the
cake walk is something like a nation
al dance in our country and whenever
one of our rag time melodies. They
one of our ragtimemelodies. They
dc not mind chucking the Georgia
Campmeeting' or " Rings on My Fin
gers and Bells on My Toes, into a
program of Wagner and Tschudi and
other composers which we are taught
at home to consider sacred.
The most entertaining feature of
the Amsterdam landscape that have
seen is a Dutch lady in hobble skirt
The fashion is here all right and it
would make an American hobble ap-
pear tame and common. In the first
place the Dutch lady is not Of the
proper architecture, and in the sec
ond place she still wears lot more
underskirts, or whatever they are,
than are considered necessary in
Paris or Hutchinson. But she does
not expand the hobble. The shopping
street of Amsterdam is filled with
fashionably dressed Dutch ladies who
lCok like tops and who are worth CON
ing long ways to see. Far be it
me to criticize the freaks of female
fashion. never know what they are
until they are past due. But if the
Dutch hObble ever reaches the Amer
lean side of the Atlantic it will be
time for the mere men to organize.
The greatest art gallery in Europe
is here, The Rijks Museum. l went
10 see it-once. l do not get the pro-
per thrills from seeing a thousand pic
lures in thirty minutes. They make
me tired. But Rembrandt Night
Watch, or nearly anything a good
Dutch artist has painted, is a real
pleasure. The Dutch are recognizing
their own modern art and in that way
they are going to distance the Ital-
iGns. The Dutch artists are good at
portraying people and common things
such as cats and dogs and ships. They
are not strong In allegory or imagi-
nation and you do not have to be
educated up to enjoy them. And they
run a little fun into their work acca-
siolly, which would shock Dago ar
tist out Of his temperament.
Wages are higher in Holland than
elsewhere in Europe. A street car
conductor gets a dollar a day. Or
dinary labor Is paid sixty to eighty
cents day. Farm laborer about SIS
month, but boards himself. A
good all round hired girl is dol
lar week. Mechanics receive from
one dollar to two dollars a day. The
necessaries Of life are not so high as
with Us. Vegetables ar cheaper. To
bacco is much less. Meals are about
as high. Clothing Is cheaper but our
people wouldn't wear It. Beer is two
cents a glass and lemonade b five
cents. The ordinary workingman
lives on SOUP vegetables and very
tttle meat, gets new suit Of clothes
about once In five years, and takes
his family to garden for amusement
where they get all they want Cor ten
cents. ThA Dutch citizen on foot n