New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-06-13
nv CONSTANCE DRExEL.

IN which blank sheets OF PaPet "
transformed into a magazine? And nave
YOU marvelled at the complicated IN
tricate parts uniting to form a perfect
whole, and at the brain power when
conceived II all? To-day Berlin. and
Germany are like that machine. So far
"a critical eye could see, there isn't
a screw loose anywhere. The whole
complicated machinery is in best run
ming order. Inspiring, you may say
No. disheartening, since the motive
mower behind it all is war-the de-
struction, the negation OF LIE.
| reached Berlin over Magdeourg,
now in the public eye for two reasons
first. as the former station OF the
worshipped Hindenburg, and second as
the city where the English officers, now
treated like soldier prisoners, are con,
fined. 1t WAS Sunday when we arrived
in the capital and the streets as we
drove from the Potsdamer station 10
the Kaiserhof were crowded. The alb
sence Of motor cars and taxis was i'm
mediately apparent, and the few CABS
we're drawn bv superannuated horses.
| Later that afternoon the cafes along
Inter den Linden were thronged, most
of the men in uniform, but, neyerthe-
less, one got the impression of plenti-
! ful stock Of bodied men not yet
called It was not long before COM
pany of infantry went by, with KNAPP
sacks on back. They were being broken
/ in 10 long, forced marches, some one
/ said. For some reason they began
"roose-stepping" just as they were
nessing the cafe. | had never seen
/ this done before and it struck me as
ridiculous, especially the accompany
/ ing expressions on the faces of the
men, After the coffee hour, drive
/ through the Seges Alice and the Tier
/ Carten showed that everything had
been attended to with minutest care.
Bread a Reminder of War.
Saturday and Sunday evenings are
/ the gayest, it seems, in Berlin. Inc
Kaiserhof. like all the great hotels,
| had seemed gaunt and deserted during
/ the day. but quite filled up at the din
ner hour, with people who did not look
the part of barbarians. We ate de.
| licious dinner, including caviar and
pigeon, all more daintily cooked than
/ | had supposed the Germans capable
of. On the tables were soft pink
/ lights and pink roses and the orchestra
played beautifully. However. no bread
was served without Bread cards. The
maitre d'hotel brought us ticket
stamped with the date, good for that
dav only, and TO be renewed each day
at the office. Attached TO il are eight
little squares marked twenty-five
grammes, which are torn off and given
up for thin slices of the dark var
bread, somewhat whittier rolls or zwie
back. But these bread cards were not
needed to remind US that the country
was at war. You never for one in
slant forget it in Germany. The whole
atmosphere is saturated. Later we
went to a cabaret. where songs Of the
war were sung. like We'll Stick
| Through" and another one describing
the characteristics of their various en-
emies when captured.
Still later, in order to form an idea
/ of night in Berlin. we looked in at
| the Vaterland. Berlin's hugest cafe. 1t
/ is not in the least chic. but here were
! about 1000 people. many Of them sol
diers, listening to the music and drink
/ ing a glass OF beer. Germany has been
/ fortunate in having no drink" prob
! lem to cope with. 1t is another evil
| dence of each and every inhabitants
/ realization of what the war means to
/ them collectively and individually, and
/ that no clog must be placed in the
/ perfectly running machine. Nor has
/ Germany to face the problem of war
babies" When / mentioned the sub
| ject TO several people, among them
one of the officers of the Mutterschutz.
| an association caring for unmarried
mothers, they looked at me in blank
establishment. Ii should not be con-
/ cluded from this that Germany has
/ higher standard of morality. but sim
/ ply that duartering large numbers of
/ soldiers in and about towns is no nov
! city, since Germany always, in times
| of peace, has an immense army in
| barracks.
| As for relief work in Berlin the Ger
/ mans make a great point of claiming
| that the necessity for it is dwindling.
They say that the money so long held
/ by the government for use in war is
| now in circulation and that it all stays
/ in the country. 1t is paid to the Off
GERS and men at the front, to their
/ families at home, and used in indus
! tries manufacturing the necessities of
war. The people do not hoard this
money, but, was told, spend it quite
| freely, or hustle it into the savings
! lady from Konigsberg, way up in East
Prussia, which. as every one knows, is
about the hardest hit of the German
cities, said to me that the jewelry and
| other luxus trades had never done such
/ a thriving business, and explained that
men, going to and returning from the
| front, bought souvenirs for their
women folk. All of which, to a keen
student of economic conditions in Ger
! many, may have many holes in il, but
which, nevertheless, IS at least an in
dication of how the people feel.
Artists Not Allowed to Suffer.
There was one branch of relief work
which interested me personally and
into which l inquired particularly.
Germany has taken special pains that
her artists should not suffer from the
war. The government has made 1t
known that it consideSs its artists, IN
music, in painting, in sculpture, in lit
erature, a most important part of the
| state, necessary to the welfare OF the
people. Various cities have raised
funds or appropriated them out of gov
/ eminent money to purchase pictures
of the artists at the front and OF the
men and women artists left behind.
Art societies have opened galleries
where artists may exhibit freely and
are encouraging the purchase of works
of art as one way of serving the coun-
try. A demand has been created for
portraits and busts of the fallen.
Prominent people have opened their
homes for the entertainment of artists
and professional people whose re-
sources have been cut off by the war;
others have agreed to invite them for
meals at their houses.