The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-20

ton, and almost ~ ss&&R $$$SS&A
despair, which r. q .SsssSSH
hang over it in &$3 g23 ~ ID 81 aa
clouds so thick
that no silver lin
ing is visible, the city is one of the
live municipalities of Europe. 1t
thrives on misfortunes. The inva-
sion of the Ruhr has caused many
to flee to Berlin. Tens OF thousands
have come here from Alsace-Lor-
raine. and multitudes from that part
of Si1eSia taken over by roland, ana
from Latvia and Esthonia where the
been divided among the peasants.
Something like half million refu,
gees have come in from Russia, ana
the total influx Is such that the city
has increased more than fifty per
cent since the World war began
Berlin is now half again as large
as Chicago, twice tho size of Phila-
delphia, and next to New York and
London among the cities of the
world. The present population Is
estimated ut four and one-half mil
lions, and this means an addition of
more than seven hundred thousand
within two or three years.
The Russian Invasion
So far tho greatest invasion has
been that of the Russians. With the
revolution that overthrow the Car.
the middle and upper classes had TO
flee for their lives and great part
of them came to Germany. They
brought their Jewels and other val
uables, and settled In the different
cities but In Berlin more than any
where. else. Indeed, some sections
have been Russianized and among
these the most fashionable quarters
which We're formerly occupied by
rich Germans and Jews who are now
practically paupers. This is espec-
tally so of the famous street known
as Kurfurstendamm which runs
through Charlottenburg. Kurfurst-
endamm had formerly so many rich
jews that the motor bus line running
through it was called the Palestine
Express. The nickname has now
been changed to the "TranS-Siber-
street to "Neppski Prospekt," carl
cature of the famous Nevski Propskt
the main avenue Is Petrograd. The
word "nepp" is slang for over
charge.
Before the war Berlin had only one
Russian bookstore. Now 1t has six
ty and every day new ones spring
up out of nothing. They are usu-
ally small stores and luxury shops
where the Russians make their ap-
pointments and buy book on the
side. Some of the larger bookstores
have shelves and counters filled with
Russian books, newspapers, and
magazines. The books are beauti-
fully printed in the Greek script and
we'll illustrated and are in fact Won
ders of typography and pictorial art
in these days after the war. Some
magazines are printed in colors and
some contain pictures by Boris Orig
oriev, the Russian artist whose por-
traits are attracting worldwide no.
tice. and especially In Berlin and
Paris. The prices of the magazines
and books seem ridiculously cheap to
the foreigner. There are a dozen or
more Russian publishing houses and
the books they are getting out sur
pass any now printed in Germany.
Both nations are now on their up
pers and are ready to work for wages
one-tenth or one-twentieth those of
the United States. They can manu-
facture goods SO cheaply that no
tariff We can enact will be high
eHough to keep out their products
and neither nation is .scrupulous as
to the means by which 1t accom-
plishes its ends. We talk much of
the yellow peril" including therein
the Japanese and Chinese. but
should we not have greater fear of
this peril. consisting of quarter of
a billion Russians and Germans with
an understanding of modern metho IDS
and the use of modern machinery?
i spent yesterday on Kurfursten-
damn, going from one establishment
&c another and making notes of the
DuSlneSSs 1noTO are from 10 10 ~
Russian banks, four Russian thea
tres, and seven film companies. There
are a large number of Russian movies
and dance halls. and a high school
of music. There is vodka factory
and a score or more of export under
with soviet Russia. There are Rus
sian unions for doctors, lawyers and
engineers, and sport clubs Of various
kinds. There are hundreds of small
stores whore gold, diamonds. and
other jewelry are bought from pri-
vate persons to be sold again. and
there are picture galleries, antique
stores, clothing stores and shops fol
the sale and repair of automobiles.
Twenty-Five Restaurants.
Berlin has now 25 Russian restau-
rants of considerable size, and SO
many small eating places devoted to
the Russians that 1t is difficult to
count them. 1t has numerous cafes
where these people crowd together
about tables, drinking tea and eating
cakes while they discuss politics
of the best of the restaurants the
other day. 1t was in the fashionable
quarter, was as well furnished as any
first-class restaurant in New York
and the bill of fare would cover half
a page of this newspaper. / had my
,
and we were about the only people
in the room besides the Russians We
took the regular lunch and had. for
10 cents. a meal that could not be
bought at any gCod restaurant in
New York for less than 50. The lunch
began with Russian salad, which
was followed by delicious, clear
soup, with croquettes of fish la
Russo. After this came some chopped
veal fried with potatoes. and then
"a dessert. We had in addition, three
cups of excellent coffee and | drank
three glasses of port as per my doc
GLIDING the walters fee. brought the
total sum for the three meals up tc
so cents, or less than II cents each.
O o O
Prosperous Amid Paupcrs.
am surprised at the apparent
prospt rity of the Russians. Those
who sat at the tables near me in this
restaurant We're better dressed than
the average well-to-do German, and
those | have met in the stores have
an air of wealth which one does not
see in ether parts of the city, There
are Of course, poor Russians hut
there are many comparatively rich
They have made their money out of
the rise and fall of the mark and in
taking advantage of financial sit
uatlon which corresponds to that of
Russia in the first days of bolshe-
vism. They had Witnessed the fall of
the ruble and believed the mark
would go the same way. Therefor re
they turned their diamonds, pearls.
and other belongings into foreign
monies and bought foreign securities.
They bought, also, palaces apartment
q mr. of har