Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-06-04
many BERLIN RESIDENTS
ARE MADE RICH BY WAR
Capital Are Doing Rush
ing Business.
MONEY is SPENT LAvisHLY
Large Number OF Pianos Are Bought.
Theaters Said to Be Faring rs
Well as ut Any Previous Time.
Prices OF Coffee and Beer Raised.

BERLIN. June 3.--"Ancs bcsctzt"
Etall full), said gorEeously uniformed
individual standing before tho street
deer OF the big Friedrichstrasse cafe.
The man to whom he spoke had no in
tention OF going IN. but he happened
TO look toward the door as he passed.
and the uniformed one had parroted
forth his one phrase so many times
that the simple glance in his direction
sufficed to evoke II again.
The passer-by, however, grew curl
Gus. and made a trip through the better
parts Of the city This is what he
found
Three be:ter-class cafes with from
ten to thirty persons standing outside
or in the entrance way. waiting for
table to become vacant.
All other wine or beer restaurants
visited so full that only In one could
a free table for two persons be found.
Two others where the doorkecper an
nounced in advance: allies besetzt."
The observer had for months en-
countered difficulty in fHdtnc table
in a leading restaurant having more
than 500 tables In one of the places
Inter den Linden. the head waiter, had
been graciously pleased to let him
table longer than an hour. In another
Inter den Linden restaurant he had
found that Il was all but impossible to
eat without reserving table in ad-
vance. And these two places are the
most expensive ones In all Berlin.
The condition Ia symptomatic. War.
which brings poverty and misery to so
many, brings wealth TO others Many
persons who had been struggling along
with barely more than the necessaries
of life for years have grown wealthy
almost overnight. And they are spend
ing. spending lavishly. spending care
lessly Berlin has become the City of
the Spenders.
COFFEE AND BEER
ADVANCE IN PRICE
The crowds that fiji the better class
places go there in spite of the fact that
everything costs more than before the
war Beer is dearer. Even coffee has
increased in price. The stil consider
able stocks OF the highest grade
French champagnes are finding
bigger sale than ever before. in the
face of price increase of TO marks
a bottle. a prominent German cham
payne firm recently declared dividend
thrice greater than that OF the proceed
ing year. 1t was only one dividend
contributed by the spenders.
Caviar cost from IS TO q marks
pound in peace times In Berlin. Untn
the recent prohibition of the further
import OF nonindispensable articles put
an end to the business. vast quantities
of Astrachan caviar were being sold
for prices upwards of - marks SINH
lar conditions existed as TO other
Injuries
Dealers in fine porceiains, Oriental
rugs. bronzes and antiques generally
are doing lourishins business.
There arc almost no really fine rugs
left among the stocks OF the Berlin
dealers. None can be secured by i'm.
port, and the spenders have bought up
Ill that were on hand. Berlin resi-
dent went recently to one of the lead
ing auction houses in the hope OF
securing an old Turkish rus at rea
Sonable price. Ii sold for 20 per cent
more than would have been realized IN
peace times. The same was true of