The New York herald., 1921-12-18
GERMANS ANDDUTCH
BATTLEOVER GIFTS
ON THE FRONTIER
Hollanders Buy Out Shops
in Border Villages and
Raise Prices.
STREET FIGHTS RESULT
Berlin Resents Foreigners
Purchasing Precious Objects
to Resell Abroad.

Copyright, 1891, By THE New York HERALD.
Special Gable to The NEW York HEzALD.
New York Herald Burenu.
Berlin. Dec. IL.
Christmas presents were the rea-
son for bloody street fighting by
infuriated mobs on the German-Dutch
frontier. This latest oddity Of post
war conditions .rd mentality grows
OUT OF the anger of German inhabi-
tants in villages along the frontier
with Holland because Dutchmen are
anxious to buy Christmas presents as
cheaply as possible and are swarming
across the border into Germany and
are buying out all the shopkeepers
and at the same time driving prices
upward.
At last German villagers decided to
offer armed resistance and attacked
the Dutch buyers. A hand to hand
street fight was reported from the vii
lage Of Kobscheid, where hundreds OF
persons were roughly handled.
AT Kercradea similar battle lasted
several hours, both the police and non
participating city dwellers being unable
to stop 1t. The law, of course, does not
permit the removal Of unwanted foreign
shoppers by means of the knife and re-
volver.
Berlin Angry mt Foreigners.
Nevertheless IL anger could kill, half
Of Berlin's visitors would be dead owing
co>t the feelings of the German population
here. Last week furnished the occasion
Cor vernacular newspapers here to attack
foreign spectators These newspapers
point out the difficult position of the Ber-
liner. who is hardly able to buy any
Christmas presents owing to the fact
that the price of almost everything has
been driven up by foreigners. This cam
paign is directed against private persons
who come here from abroad to buy ur
the few precious objects left In Germany
for a few marks and then resell them
abroad for huge sums.
The Vosstsche Zeitttng reports an auc-
ton sale OF art objects where an Eng
iishman's chauffeur outbid the directors
of German museum. After one of the
directors, In trying to obtain an italian
painting for his museum, offered $4,000
marks for it, the chauffeur offered 75.-
900. Nobody present was able to outbid
the chauffeur and he obtained the pic
ture. Asked by persons present who he
was buying for, the chauffeur explained
that he had orders from mis- master tc
buy several paintings, and that his in
structions were to bid up to f100 for each
OF them. His master takes the pictures
20 London and resells them for from
f1 900 to $4,000 each.
4 great number of similar deals by
g. .1.A<~
ported. A woman money rate" shark
bought fine fur coat In Berlin for
100000 marks equivalent to 5000
French francs. and resold the coat to a
Paris furrier for $4,000 francs, thus
making a handsome profit, while the
furricr in question sold 1t for 10000
francs. The same person often repeats
similar nlaneuvers several times.
A similar traffic exists between
sweden. Holland and Germany. Berlin
jewellers, however, sell much more to
Berliners than to foreigners. This is
explained by the general German desire
value rather than run the risk of change
In the actual value of wealth according
TO the rise and fall in the exchange rate
on the mark.
Christmas Buying Early.
Many persons here buy Christmas
gifts long before they are wanted IN
order to avoid rise In prices duo to
the possible further fall in the value OF
the mark. While a diadem was for.
inerly the privilege Of women belonging
90 the upper ten.' many a guest a.
Berlin society parties now wears a blaz-
ing diamond crown. This quaint eco
nomic situation is often accounted for
by the fact that such woman often
wears her whole fortune and all her
savings on her head.
Numerous Russian fugitives who set
tied in Berlin live entirely on the pro-
cecds of the sale of their jewels. While
Berliners do not consider Jewels a luxury
but look upon them as an investment,
the actual native Christmas shopper gets
moro of "a look in at the shops stocked
with cheaper goods, such as toys.
In this connection 1t may be said that
the German toy industry put several
new ideas on tho market this season.
Tho downfall of German militarism
manifests itself in the toy shops, too
The tin soldier has almost entirely dis
appeared. Their disarmament led 10
revival of the tin and lead red Indian.
Tho industrial spirit, too. has a great
influence here on toys. New specialties
are big metal building cases, enabling
bVyo " buiu cTAHeS, UOflnB inaCnlneSi
bridges and even locomotives, tram cars
and airplancs. Tho models can be made
to move by connecting them through a
simple device with any electric light
contact in a room.
Certain toys are very expensive. Thus
the best quality of a perambulator for
dolls IL almost equal in price TO regu-
iar peiambulator for child.
The economic situation In Germany
has killed one of the poetical Christ
mas illusions of romance found so fire.
quently in sentimental novels-how a
mother pawns her linen In order 10
buy Christmas dolls for her daughter.
statistics show that the pawnshops are
surrendering pledges left with them by
many persons. and that more articles
are being redeemed than pledged
Owing TO the advance in wages due
10 The fall IN the value of the mark II
is comparatively easy for workman
. now to redeem an object which he
pawnod several months ago for, say,
100 marks.
However. Christmas conditions here
In 1871 make an observer think that
tho Christmas angel ought to study
economies.