The Washington herald., 1911-04-07
COMPACT BETWEEN
LONDON AND BERLIN

M greater contrasts could be found
between any two capital cities than be-
tween London and Berlin. London es-
sentially is old and looks it: Berlin is
new ana looks newer than it is. London
!mprcsses visitor with its size, its ac-
tivity, its immense distances, its irregu-
larities, its picturesqueness. Berlin is
\ modern, regular. well ordered, almost mo-
notonous and artificial. obviously a new
town, growing rapidly in size and pros
perity 1t is clean and bright has spa
clous streets, without any sudden tran
sitions from wealth to poverty, such as
are found in almost every quarter of
London.
London hides from the visitor some of
its best features. but the more one knows
OF 1t, the more one is impressed by the
variety OF its life and the extent of its
beauty. Berlin is ostentatious: it puts its
best in its front windows. 1t opens its
arms, as II were, to visitors and SUBJ
mits itself to an easy conquest. A visitor
can see in a short time all that is worth
seeing in Berlin. The most interesting
quarters are concentrated within a very
small area. less in extent than that of the
old city OF London. It has for its center
inter den Linden and within that section
are to be found the royal palaces. the mu-
seums. the art galleries, the House Of
Parliament, the markets, the government
Offices the financial center. the fashion
able shopping streets. leading places of
amusement, the hotels, cafes, theaters,
leading churches. The chief residential
districts cluster around the Thier-Garten-
1t is as if in London the financial, COM
mercial parliamentary Official newspa-
per and shopping centers royal palaces,
most fashionable residences, &c. were
to be found in an area between the West
Strand and Hyde Park and Oxford street
and Westminster.
London has become the one fashionable
center of Great Britain. Berlin has not
succeeded in imposing itself on the en-
pire to this extent London Is the great
center of finance, the headquarters of the
publishing trade, the center Of the lit
erary and art world, a dominating and
monopoliZing capital. Berlin deos not
represent the same concentration. There
are great and competing cities-capitals
of kingdoms and duchies in Germany
which challenge Berlin in the world of
art. music. books, and finance. There
are cities which overshadow II in his
torical interest and in architectural
beauty.
London is built on clay and Berlin
on sand. beautiful white sand. as if it
had been washed up from the sea A few
years ago London was one of the health
lest of large cities and had a much lower
death rate than Berlin. The death rate
Of Berlin has been falling rapidly and
is now almost equal to that of London.
This Improvement in the health of the
city Is due to a much more generous
use of water for flushing and all sani-
tary purposes. to the sick insurance
funds which help to check disease, and
to the general advance in sanitation
which has taken place in Berlin during
the last ten years.
While Berlin looks prosperous. It is
a long way behind London in point of
wealth. Many comparisons could be made
to show this superiority of London-the
far greater number of motor cars which
parade the streets. the better dress of
the average citizen the wealth in the
shops. and the general atmosphere Of
luxury found among the leisured classes.
The shops in Berlin. like the city, put
their best in the windows. The chief
shopping streets. next to Unter den Lin
den. where the shops are small, but select
and cater to the best classes. are the
lelpZ1gGrStraSSe.
Hausvoigterplatz. Spittelmarkt, and the
neighboring streets. The windows of the
shops look well. but when you enter you
find that the stock is not great
Following a recent fashion in Berlin to
manufacture an air OF antiquity which
the city does not possess, some OF the
new shops are limitations OF old build
ings. Wertheims' store has been rebuilt
in the style of ancient Oriental archi-
A-,4 . 60 - -
lin, but is not a patch on the Printemps
or Bon Marche in Paris. or Harrors,
Whiteley's. OF Selfridge's in London.
There is no prejudice against British
goods, and among the wealthy and upper
classes there is a preference for them.
There are as many English shops IN
Berlin as there are in Paris.
Modern Berlin looks as If 1t had been
built hurriedly on the lines Of a new
American city. all at right angles and
in squares. The brick houses have a We
neer OF plaster. giving them an artificial
architectural appearance. In the dis
tricts, beyond the Geological Gardens,
where numerous blocks still are being
built. one can see first the bare brick
walls being erected then comes the plas-
ter. and the exterior is covered with
stucco. Great groups of sculpture are
stuck on over the doorways, under the |
balconies, by the windows, the sculpture
generally taking the form of Roman
heroes and classical figures. but in the |
center of the city real stone frontages
are now becoming the rule. and a better |
style of architecture is making it's ap-
pearance. 1t is noticeable. also, that
when Berlin rebuilds it does away with |
the small. detached properties and COM |
bines half a dozen in one new block |
adding thereby beauty to its buildings |
and dignity to the streets. In old streets |
in London the narrow cramped buildings |
are being reconstructed in individual |
styles, out of harmony with the sur |
rounding buildings and according to in |
dividual eccentricities.
Means of locomotion in Berlin are |
cheaper and far better organized than |
in London. The tramway service Is ex-
cellent and tramways are found in all |
the chief streets. The Berlin tramways. |
while the city is not half the size of Lon
don, carry more people than the Lon
don tramways. There Is a universal |
fare of four pfennig (two cents). You
can travel five miles in Berlin for four
pfennig The tramways, except a small |
section which is municipalized belong
t. the General Electric Company, which /
seems to run everything on its own lines |
in the city. 1t runs the tramways, owns