New-York tribune., 1919-07-04

when he was moving into his pa.aee. -
which he answered that he was nos go,rs
20 move in at ALL He wss still, ,ivins -
the modest two or three room fat which bo
nao occupied az party secretary.
Les any one try &c imagine the reelinry
OF the old typical Frussis. hureaucrat wher
ne finds himself placed under the orders ~
simple workman who hiss never rolled or
twisted red tape in his life. Whoever car
imagine those feelings fully will have the
materials Cor a tragedy and comedy relied
into one. Ths Junker organs are already
gnashing their teeth over the humiliation
OF their fine old officials. One of these re
cent appointees, to make matters stil worse
is Jew; and he was till quite recently
a simple country editor. But the editor
of the "Kreuz-Zetung" does not feel the
editorial bond of sympathy draw even
little bit; he is infinitely disgusted to think
that only two years ago this high cficss'
was actually climbing about on market
wagons at country town asking the prizes
of butter and eggs.
And thus is Germany ringing our the old
ringing in the new.
Alas. the good old German stork. whicr
brings the German babies, has also. like
the Prussian bureaucra. alighted upon evi-
days. So evil that he IS actually desertins
the Fatherland, and accordingly the birth
rate has fallen alarraingly. as ell vital
statistcians assure US. For several YEAR
the question has been under discussion.
What has become OF the storks' Up 70
twenty years ago there was hardly village
in North Germany that did not have its
stork's nest, perched upon some tha.cheo
roof or old chimney But now few village
boast of nest. Why All sorts OF
answers have been given. Some have saia
that many thatched roofs have g.ver
place TO roofs of tiles or slate .ha. tie storl
has no place to nest. But I used TO see
from the platform of the spree Of Strass-
burg Cathedral, storks' nests on the steep
tile roofs Of that city, neatly balanced or
a chimney top.
Others argued that the gradual transfor-
nation Of meadow land into ploughed ields
has destroyed the chief foraging grouno
Of the stork, which likes TO stalk about OF
wet meadows, picking up the small frog
that hop there. Bur there are still wei
meadows enough, but storks upon them
So try again, Others suggested that there
might DE causes in Africa. where the storh
has his winter quarters, but there was nc
good ground for such guess.
What Is now offered as the true ezplsna-
ton is a simple enough enc. II is thas
huntsmen have latte-ly taken to shooting
the storks, charging them with being killers
of young hares and quail. Why THIS cause
has only become operative within the past
twenty years is social one, connected with
the great creation Of wealth in Gerr- n
during the decade or two preceding the
The newly rich from the cities mostly
have an ambition to own hunting pre-
serve; it Is pleasant and exceedingly
dignihed way Of displaying ones wealth
a means, Ioo for bringing the wealthy toad.
into contact with high-born families in tne
country. But these urban hunters are ig-
noranuses TO the habits Of the stork, o.
at least careless Of the service that he does
t. the farmer by devouring field nice arr
beetles. So the stately and scmbre hirc
goes down before guns that can seldom. hi
anything else. And storks and babies are
growing scarce.