Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-10-16

One thing surprised me, in Berlin
and that was the slight difference il
you hooked only on the surface be
tween the appearance of the city be
fore the war began and after 1t had
continued for thu ee years.
On the surface everything appeared
the same
Despite the fact that three-fourths
Of the man labor had gone, the streets,
houses, parks and public buildings
kept their t,ic and span appearance.
There were fewer soldiers in the
streets than before the war, for in
peace times Germany is overrun with
soldiers.
There were no young men to be seen,
of course nor even middle-aged men.
But there was no universal spread of
mourning in wearing apparel, for, al
though practically every woman In
Berlin had seen death enter her family
at least once, and the majority OF them
had felt it's bitterness many times, yet
little black was worn. There was no
appearance Of universal sorroW, either,
although there was deeper gravity IN
the air than before the war. "A
The amusements kept up, although
no musical comedies were billed. The
kept open only from
6 to p. M, so as to save the light.
The price of admission at the cheapest
was one mark, about a
quarter. One heard no popular songs
on the streets or in the theaters-only
patriotic airs. Few grand opera per-
formances were given. In the cafes
what few cabarets they had were rath-
er dispirited.
THINGS ARE WEARING OUT.
But, when you looked closely, you
saw that things were not what they
seemed" All the buildings. the bridges
and other structures which depended
on paint to keep them fresh looking
were looking shabby and worn.
In the homes the carpete were wear
ing out, the curtains were getting
shabby. There was no attempt at re- |
or re-painting inside. The !
floors lost their gloss and showed the
need of the paint brush.
When we moved into the fiat this
spring it was very shabby. l asked
he woman from whom we rented II
she could paper it and have 1t fresh
,ped up. She said no, not until after
he war.
It is hard even to keep things clean,
ct alone keep them in repair, with
,ut soap. And there was no soap to
wash ones face, not to speak OF
loors and walls and chairs.
The furniture in the stores is be-
oming exhausted and no person is
making any more. Leather Of course
8 terribly scarce. Sometimes when
would 60 to have the heels on my
hoes Strengthened the cobbler would
Jay he had nothing to fix them with.
lie would take of the broken layer
nut had no more leather to put a
lew layer on. When you had your
hoes half-soled land when you are
Flowed. only two pairs year, you
re very glad to have this done), the
.obbler would use a thick paper spe-
tally prepared.
vERMIN CAUSE TROUBLE.
There are few pets in Berlin now.
had a beautiful bird, but it died.
hink because I was giving 1t the
wrong kind Of food. could not get
egular birdseed and gave my bird
substitute they sold me. Evidently
here was no nourishment in it, or the
vrong kind, and the bird died.
There were few birds In the parks.
Whether they died or were killed for
o>d I do not know. l heard them
az that, always, Berlin had species
( bird which destroyed the mosqui-
oes. This bird evidently died or mi
rated, for last summer the mosqui-
pes we're terrible there. Ii
OF course every person who knows +!
nything about European travel II
nows how the fieas plague the trav- d
Ter. They were bad in Berlin. They I
eemed to be so much worse after /
he war. And, after the war, re- Ii