The daily sentinel., 1912-04-23


in other countries.
After mentioning his work at the
university, Mr.. Burgess writes:
After leaving Marburg We visited
I.eipsig and Dresden, remaining two
weeks in the latter place and putting
in a large share of the time in the
art gallery. What few hours we had
left to ourselves we spent in the
study of the literature of the German
people; so the past month has not
contributed anything very vital to
my understanding of the political,
social and economic situation of Ger
many / have no statistics at hand
and, as | say, | have not been fol-
lowing the trend of events very care
fully for the last month. What |
give you are just a few glittering
generalities based on still fewer su-
perficial observations - in other
words. hot air,-but may contain
some things which will interest the
readers of The Sentinel.
''In the economic line, you doubt
less know of Germany's effort to boy
colt foreign goods, so far as possible,
to build up her own industry. Ger
man houses, il is said, are running
English houses a close race for the
trade of the orient. and the Germans
are becoming more and more an in
dustrial people.
But, still, Yankee goods can't be
kept out For instance: The Singer
Sewing Machine Company has a
branch or agent in every town of
consequence, and handles the big end
OF the sewing-machine business.
"One sees more agricultural ma
chimes of American make than of
German in the country. American
typewriters are almost the only kind
sold; American shoes are advertised
as a speciality, and the moying-pic-
ture shows not only run American
films but display American advertis-
ing of these shows with the titles
printed underneath in English, just
as they stand on the Grand Junction
bill boards.
"A friend of mine wanted to have
German fountain pen for SOU
yenir; so he asked for one. Oh, yes;
the storekeeper had only German
makes; so my friend bought. What
was his surprise upon careful exam
ination to find that the German had
simply scratched off the American
name Ga bad job at thatD, putting a
| German make instead, and overlook
firm had put their trade mark.
But, of course. you are familiar
with the made in Germany" toys,
etc. If Germany has to, against her
will, import lot of Yankee goods,
her exports to the U. S. A. are by
no means insignificant. The Ameri
can consul in Nuremburg tells me
| that from that point above million
dollars worth OF goods annually
| tmostly toysl are exported to the
| United States.
so far as the German colonies are
concerned, they don't cut much fig
ure yet. They were planned to pro-
vide safety valves against our pop
ulation here in Germany and to pre-
vent the emigration of such great
numbers of Germans to North and
South America and their absorption
into other races as the past genera
tion has seen. So far, these colonies
have failed of their design. There
are in all less than 10000 Germans
living in them, and these are largely
officials. missionaries, etc.
Economically. Germany is fast be-
coming a dependent nation. The
population is increasing regularly at
the rate of a million a year, and yet
the agricultural products are not
much more than holding their own.
Things are not yet anything like they
are in England by a long ways, but
they are going the same direction.
Socially, the old distinctions be-
tween nobleman, merchant and peas
ant are tenaciously held to- Relig-
ion enters in here, too. The law for
bids the son OF working man to go
to the university. The daughter of
Methodist minister Cor any Meth
odist, Baptist, etc. is not allowed to
| attend a state normal school. All
public offices under the government
are barred to Jews, free-thinkers and
everybody except members of the
Evangelical CLutheran or Reformed)
Church and the Catholic Church.
Lately the universities have been
opened to women. These women
seem to be of the opinion that this
necessitates their initiating the men
throughout; so they eat in the same
restaurants with the men, and drink
beer and smoke cigarets almost as in
dustriously.
"A friend of mine was talking
with German about the prevalence
OF cigaret smoking among German
women the other day. We'll, said
the German; it is not exactly good
form for a German woman to smt Ike.
1t is only the 'emancipated women
who do it,
But one thing that Germany has
opened by eyes to is the fallacy of
that statement that the bes, way to
prevent drunkenness is to give the
people plenty of good beer to drink.
! 1t is sure that the Germans have
plenty of it, and | am told by COM
petent authorities that it is good 4;
but one sees more drunkenness here
in Germany than he does even in
such cities as Chicago or Denver.
while we are talking about the
booze question, it may interest you
to know that German minister of