davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07
AMERICAN MONEY rs
RULING POWER FOR
BERL IN AT PRESENT
AS Mark FluctuateS, Dollar Is at Once Who
the WiSp and Nightmare to Germans Tax
Imposed on FOREIGNERS Twice That Put on
Natives Members Of Imperial Family Ride
in TrOlleyS; Can't Afford Taxis.

washing walls because mechanics.
are paid better than artists.
Gifted actors receive eighty cents
an evening for their recitatiOns.
IL they. insisted upon their pre-
war honorariurn in terms Of gold
currency their qualification would
amount to Il million marks more
than any audience il able to pay.
Scholars are unable to purchase
books or laboratory instruments
for their experiments. Doctors
cannot afford to subscribe to for
eign medical journals. They cam
not even, pay the carfare to the
few libraries where such Injuries
may stiIl be found.
It ID written: Man shall not
live by bread alone.0 German in
tellectuals must live not only with.
out bread but without the Word
that proceedeth out Of the mouth
Of the Spirit.
i know millionaire bankers who
carefully consider before they take
= street car! / know . pros
porous manufactures OF autoFno-
biles who. nevertheless, does not
indulge In an automobile himself.
Such things are Tor Foreigners Or
for showers profiteers and ma
nipulators). We cannot afford
them
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07
Luxuries Gone

AT aristocratic parties one hears
whispers Of strange happenings.
There lie q home for aristocratic
old ladies' which was unable to
make both ends meet. The poor
old ladies' had made over their
fortunes to the institute, hoping
to insure thereby material secur-
ity for the rest Of their lives.
But the catastrophe that de-
stroyed the empire Of William III,
undermined the foundations Of
their own little world. Their lux
uries disappeared. First the lump
OF sugar with their coffee. Then
the coffee itself. They were COM
pslled to do all their own work
with feeble aristocratic hands.
Daily the cupboard seemed to
yawn with an emptiness that was
ever increasing. And then, one
of the little old ladies' died.
Nothing was said about her
oeaLn' nor ABOUT the circum
stances that accompanied it. The
following week another died un-
der similar circumstances. And
30 week after week. "And next
week." one was heard to say, cit
will be my turn. Next week I
shall turn on the gas"
Many old ladies are In an
equally unfortunate position. They
were left q little income of a few
hundred marks by their parents.
who believed that they would be-
able to make both ends meet In
accustomed. IL threadbare, nobiI-
ity.
But who could foresee the fate
Of the mark? Who. could know
that the poor old girls would be
expected to live On two or three
cents year? have a list of
twenty or thirty such cases in
the vicinity Of Potsdam. No
doubt 1t would be possible to dis
cover q thousand.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07
All Topsv-TurVy

Financially life In indeed tcpsy-
turvy. The princess must play
the part Of Cinderella. Cinder-
ella. however, in most cases, must
stiIl putter about with the ash
can. The remuneration Of domes-
tic servants L. ludicrously made
Quate.
The monthly salary Of q maid
Is hardly enough to pay the price
Of q pound Of butter. A trained
nurse whom we engaged for our
children deliberately took a terri
BILE advantage over us when she
demanded q monthly wage Of two
dollars!
Professional men. people Of the
old middle class, are compelled
to practice extraordinary econo-
mics. They will turn every en-
velope they receive inside out to
use it a second time. Butter and
sugar are strangers to their palate.
AT best they use dunouS chen1I-
cal substitutes. They rarely go
out.
They cannot afford to 90 to
theaters or restaurants. Besides,
it IL no longer good tone. Even
those who are comparatively well
off can spend less on their house
hold for an entire month than
my modest daily bill at the hotel.
No man Is master in his own
house. He IL constrained to
share his habitation with dodgers.
Many members Of this class, for
mer officers, university professors.
etc., work night and day to pay
the interest on the money they
have borrowed from the banks to
subscribe to the German eQuiva-
lent Of our Liberty Loan.
Painters Of distinction are re-
duoed to painting signs OR white
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07

PEELED to perform their abluticns
III the Same tub Of waterl
Diseases Of the respiratory or
gans have risen to alarming pro-
portions owing to the lack Of
coal. Even the first-rate hotels
are exceedingly economical with
their heat. And meanwhile the
Germans are compelled to pour
thousands OF tons Of coal into
Belgium and France. where
plethora Of coal already exists.
Germany's greatest coal mine
(the Phoenix Works. b COM
PEELED to import thousands OF
tons Of English coal to propel its
machinery.
Students flock to armoriee
where they receive meager doles
Of maccaroni. Painting women
stand an night to purchase meat
which now and then the city sells
st special rates to the poor.
Three out Of every four deaths.
: physician assured ms, are due
directly % indirectly to under
nourishment OF lack of fuel. And
still there are some who insist
upon carrying out to the letter
the suicide pact Of Versailles.
The medal also has q reverse
side, too. People w1ar ~4Il agri.
cultural products rsCsave prices
almost approximating the world
market level. ! have heard 81 )
peasant In Bremen who III order
to set rid Of his paper money I'M
vested his profits ii four pianos.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07
J Fare Goes VI

Al few weeks ago, IN q street
car. . neat old lady in shabby
black pulled ten marks out Of her
bag to pay her fare. II am
sorry, Madam" she was Informed
by the conductor. ''but the price
was raised five marks this morn
ing" Then" said the little old
lady simply, as she paid the adj
ditional amount, II shall 60 to
night without supper"
IN the meantime the price Of q
fare has gone up thirty marks for
q single trip. In some German
cities the trolley service has been
suspended owing to the increase
in overhead, especially in the price
Of coal.
A wealthy man whose house ia
picture gallery finds that he
would ruin himself IL he paid
more than cent for q good cigar.
Hermann Sudermann. the play
wright, and author. explained to
me that he could still go to the
theater, because he drew royalties
from solvent countries.
But" he said. ''our younger
writer's cannot afford to visit the
theater even on free ticket They
cannot afford to pay the carfare..
for the programme, the wardrobe
charge. and the small tax exacted
by the Municipality
Ludwig Fulda. who was present
at this conversation, sadly con-
firmed this statement. He is the
head Of the League Of German
Dramatists.
A distinguished writer whose
films are produced even In the
United States, unable to realize
the worthlessness Of the mark,
recently sold his American rights
film for fifty thousand marks
about fifteen dollars).
An actor Of reputation asked
mo- Il could not arrange an
American tour for him. 'Even il
I bring back only two hundred
dollars, I shall be able to buy a
little place In the country for my
wife and my children he said.
In the case OF one family, known
to history for more than eight
hundred years, whose ancestors
have played a great and honor
able part in laying the founda-
tons Of the German Empire, the
father acts as secretary Of a semi
political Organization. The two
daughters have taken up stenog-
raphy.
my wife, he said, "does our
cooking. She is now taking les
sons as a laundress, for we could
no longer afford to pay a wash
woman. The woman complained
that she did not like our food.
told her could not get out and
buy q beefsteak for her, when I
and my family must live on
stewed cabbages and potatoes. So
she stayed away"
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07
Money Has Wings

Her fifty thousand marks, at to-
days or yesterdays calculation,
represented about ono hundred
and twenty-five dollars. Her
profit, therefore, by the witches
multiplication table, equals a loss
Of three hundred, and .Seventy-five
dollars.
Nor is this all. For the Ger
man Government takes one.half
or more Of her paper profit in
marks. II she sells the house. II
she counts her witches gold, or
rather her Internal paper money,
she will find that she has hardly
seventy-five dollars left. And
who knows, IL they touch them,
they. too, may vanish.
All this may seem q merry tale
Of adventure to the American.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07

wandering througI Germany with
dollars in his pocket. But think
what It means to the Gernnanl
On the day on which I arrived
in the German capital the cele-
brated Zoo was compelled to close
its gates for lack or funds. we
closed the Zoo" the director, Pro
lessor Heck, renowned xoologist,
explained to me. 'for the win.
ter, to save five million marks"
Five million marks about $60Ol
It IL not only the poor that
suffer. The so-caIIed upper Glass
suffers perhaps most. 7 was q
guest in the house of a royal
prince. He lived in q stately
country house in Potsdan, placed
at his disposal by the German
Government until the pending diff
ferences between the imperial fam
lily and the state are solved.
At dinner the princess. herself
assisted the maid In serving the
dishes. The little prince, her
eldest son, helped his mother to
clear the table.
Only one room In the house was
heated, In spite Of the fact that
there were little children. But
what Royal Prince can afford to
pay the price Of coaI2 The little
princess looked pale and sickly.
I'VE cannot afford to send them
to the country" their mother sad
ly remarked. '"That Is d luxury
for foreigners and profiteers."
Il am perfectly willing to earn
q living" remarked a Prince Of
the blood, 'but my education 1s
that OF an officer. I know sol
diering. and no other business. I
have no money. My small per-
sonal fortune is invested in the
German War Loan. I can hardly
hire myself out az a messenger
boy. "Of COURSE" he added, at
might obtain work like some Of
our old generals who are employed
for their honesty and their exact
ness to count coins and bills in
the banks. .'-. -
but even those" the Prince
sadly continued, who are friendly
to US are apt to be embarrassed
by the presence among their en-
ployes of a Royal Highness. We
are really wanted only by showers
who. desire to use our name as
shield to hide their own shady
practices.
However. the tradition Of our
rank carries with 1t it's own OBJ
legation. We are not afraid OF
work. But we will not besmudge
our escutcheon."
The same Prince - IN habit Of
saving wood. not % q matter Of
sport, but IN order to provide fuel
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07
GERMAN PEOPLE ARE
SLOWLY STARVING;
PEACE PACT'S FAULT
Old Women Expected to Live ON Incomes of
Three Cents Year-While Children Suffer
for Lack of Coal, France and Belgium
Are Selling Germany'S Supply Versailles
Treaty Means Ruin and Death.

BERLIN, Lee d. S
TRIP through Germany is trip through Topsy Turvy
Land For money, the Of all values in society
it is constituted, fuctuates wildly from hour to
hour.
The housewife does not know whether her monthly allow
ancs will suffice pay the needs of the household for
month a week day. Prices change overnight.
In fact one almost them change In the way
IN which observe the growth of plant the
expedes prodgiousy the of metabolsm
No merchant tell if he will be able to repenish his
stock at twice the price which he sells his goods Some
prices prevail for the article in the
shop depending upon the date Of its delivery "How much
Il this shirt -Four thousand marks - Ell take six.
tThen the price will be six thousand for each garment
ssWhyfn because do not know if replace.
them. We protect other customers. How much
these collarsf" Twelve hundred marks" GIVE
dozen. = impossible, sir cannot sell more than
three
How much is your incomei', was discussing the
situation with dramats of international reputation said to
be man of considerable wealth He lives fine subur
ban home. He still possesses beautiful things My income
is million marks But my coal bill for this house amounts
e-haH million marks. I cannot afford to buy
suit myself for suit would cost hundred
thousand marks, or one-tenth of my yearly income
What American with income Of five ten thousand
dollars would spend onetenh five hundred thousand
dollars, for suit of clothesf
When this conversation place the dollar worth
three thousand marks Today is worth thousand
Yesterday it thousand. No tell what it
will do tomorrow What makes the situation impossible
q the instability of the The German could adjust
himself low value but he build budget the
Ghifting sand Of his changing currency.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07
Paid II Sugar

Manure, being almost worth its
weight in gold, II regarded as
"undebased'' currency. An archi-
tect. on the other hand, was glad
to receive for weeks work
few pounds Of sugar, q few
pounds 81 lard ana 5 few sides Of
bacon.
The man who owns = little bit
Of land il comparatively wen OF.
Labor Is living. ID 3 ssnse, on the
fat Of the land. But the fat ID
meager, and when it is consumed
labor and the middle class win
meet in q common abyss Of de-
SPAR and starvation.
The facts are not obvious 70
the casual visitor. The German
takes good deal of pride In his
personal appearance. Attachable
cuffs and shirt fronts cover the
absence Of q shirt. A doctor re-
Gently made an unexpected tour
Of inspection through the schools.
He discovered that hardly one
out Of . hundred children had Z
shirt to its back.
He asked: How ID this pos
sible? On former occasions the
situation did not seem to have
reached such extremes" s'Your
former tours Of inspection" the
teacher replied. ''were announced
in advance. Every mother has
one shirt left for such special
occasions. And IL she hasn't one
left, she borrows it from neigh
Dor. If you go to their homes to
visit a patient, you win find .
sheet on the bed. What you
don't know is that this il the
only sheet left in the entire
house."
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07
Dollar Mad

The banker. the businessman.
IN are dollaxNmad. I feel In
clined sometimes TO ask my Ger
man friends: 'Ten me, what IL
this dollar about which I hear 20
much7 In America, where I come
from. we hardly mention the dol
lar In. conversation. Here one
discusses nothing else.
Newspaper headlines morning.
noon and night. carry the last
quotations Of the dollar. A pic
ture In q comic sheet reveals Q
drowning man anatched from the
waves. His first gasp, a. he re-
covers under the administration
Of oxygen -: where's the
doIlar7"
This story 81 by no means ex-
aggerated. The dollar dominates
everything. It 10 the Germans
win o. the wisp and his night
mare.
The supremacy Of the dollar 10
q tribute 70 the financial solvency
Of the United States. Marks,
crowns. francs, the lire. all are
shooting stars, shooting mostly
downward. The pound lost its
sterling quality. The dollar alone
IL stable. It Is the fixed star in
the armament Of international cur
rencies.
The uncertainty carries q form
Of hysterta into every phase Of
social and business life. In view
OF the topsy turvy conditions, it
is not surprising that morality
suffers. If we consider that many
Germans must live for q year on
an income adequate only for q
days decent comfort. measured by
pre-war standards, it is not sur
prising that some men are dis
honest.
1t il surprising that any honest
men are left ins Germany. It IL
a signal testimonial to the ma
ttonaI worth that most men are
still honest. and most women vir-
tuous.
Goethe places a scene In his
~Faust" in HelI's Kitchen. The
great poet must have had q pre-
vision Of present German condi-
tions when he put into the mouth
OF one Of the denizens of hell the
Witches Multiplication Table, a
fantastic arithmetical hodge.
podge, where two and two make
five. and six make seven.
Anyone who desires to prepare
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07
Disguise Poverty

The Germans are fond Of dis
gushing their poverty as ''sport."
But it is not sport for families
to gather chestnuts in the Tier
garten to make coffee, or to see
women and children collecting
shrubs and old leaves for fuel.
And as I watched these pale
faced creatures at work I saw
members of the various allied
commissions that infest Berlin
riding on sleek brown horses
whose daily fodder, paid for out
of the German exchequer. far ex-
coed the allowance Of an entire
family.
noticed many men, old and
young, walking in the cold with
out hats. what does that
mean?" / asked. us It q new
health fad?" ''That is what they
say" I was told. but in nine
cases out of ten necessity. il the
mother of their eccentricity. They
are unable to pay q few thous-
and marks for headgear." One
must look beyond the surface
to see the deep suffering Of
Germany.
My little boy had . cole. 4
doctor was called In. He sur
veyed the chubby little fellow
wistfully. There are mighty few
children of his age in Germany"
he remarked, who have 90 much
surplus fat ON their little tum,
mias."
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07
A Feast Day

An old general whom / invited
to dinner was unable to come.
Pressed for q reason he confessed
that it was wash day." not for
the family linen, but for the fam
lily! Owing to the great dearth
Of coal, they were unable to afford
hot water except one day a week.
That was a feast day for all,
Dolicacy made 1t, impossible for
me to ask the question, II all the
members Of the family were com
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07

three thousand. Suddenly it jumps
to nine thousand. and Mr.. Amer
lean learns to commiserate him
self. for his money has lost two
thirds Of its purchasing power.
Or the reverse is true, he has
neglected to buy the mark when
the mark was cheap, and his dol
lars. expressed in German cur
rency, have lost Sc 2-s per cent
or more Of their value.
1t is true that prices follow the
fluctuations Of the mark. but their
movements, too. are erratic, and
somehow 1t is always easier to
mark prices up than to mark
them down. One begins to real
lie the feelings that animate Ger
man bosoms when the dollar
practices fits feats In gymnastics.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07

schedule OF expenses. of i'm
come or outgo. must resort to
some such multiplication table.
II you take q taxi in Berlin,
you must multiply the sum the
meter indicates by three hundred
or four hundred or five hundred,
or whatever the state Of the dol
lar may be. When you pay your,
hotel bill you must add forty per
cent, the tax exacted by. the city
Of Berlin. II you are a German
citizen.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07
Royalty in TrOlleys

These poor old people lie in bed
all day In some dark and for
saken garnet. They lie In bed
because they have no clothes to
wear and because they can thus
sustain Life with Len nOAxiah-
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07

Z The dollar seems to be the
fetish of Germany. Wherever I
30 I hear some reference to the
dollar. The apple woman, whose
chief possession on earth IL her
little hand cart, specuIates in
dollars.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07

70 keep &c least one room warm
for his children. He ii unabis.
to pay the wages OF q wood cut
ter. In spite OF his own poverty
the Prince feels obligated to help
others who are In even more des-
perate straits.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07

P1TuR Berlin n-a top the flows The the sa
to
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1923-05-23
FLORA

Arnold Biefer and J. c. Edgingtou
went. to Lancaster Friday
Urge Noble and wife attended
chul CHI here last Wednesday evening
Anthem Peterson and wife went to
Lancaster Wednesday.
Arnold Biefer attended the play 1t
the Rowden school last Friday night
Mrs. Alma Borah is the guest of
her sister, Mrs. Ervie Edwards
The Glen Park baseball team play
ed the Flora boys Sunday. The score
was to 3 in favor of Glen Park.
Dr. Vern Edwards and family and
Al Stowel and wife attended services
here Sunday forenoon.
John Edwards, Ervie Edwards, DR..
Vern Edwards and Will Garthwaite
and Art Bass and families were at
Lester Snyder's Sunday. They taken
their lunch along and had a picnic
dinner.
Mrs Eda Suttle was at Homer
Irish's Sunday.
George Noble and family attended
church here Sunday and took dinner
at ]. G. Edgington's.
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1923-05-23
NORTH LANCASTER

Burr Halferty and family spent last
Sunday with Mrs. Halferty's people
at Fennimore.
Leslie Deakin is starting a straw
berry bed, one that contains 10000
plants. They are the Dunlap variety.
Rowden and Pine Knob schools are
to close Friday. The teachers, Miss
Ethel Weisbenner and Bert Krohn,
with their respective schools, will
meet at the Klondyke spring and en-
jo~ a picnic.
Algy Beetham was weekend visi-
tor with her aunt, Mrs. Frank Tanner,
at Sitter.
Mrs. Peter Udelhofen has gone to
make her home with her daughter,
Mrs. Rose Bierman, of Platteville.
Little Eunice F'ralick has been
quite sick with the measles but is get
ting better Mrs. Fralick is still weak
from the effects of measles.
Mr.. and Mrs John Diesel and Doris
Huff were at the M. Burns home Sun
day. Ada Burns and grandmother,
Mrs. Burns of Beetown, were each eel
ebrating their birthdays.
Mr.. and Mrs. Oscar Kohlenberg
were Sunday guests at the parental
Roesch home in Lancaster.
Johnny Clark is working for Walter
Burr
Mrs. Frances Oates, who has been
dressmaking at the Hickin home, is
now with her sister, Mrs. Clyde Bee
than. ,6e
The play 1.-THE Face at the Window"
put on by the Flora Dramatic Club at
the Rowden school, was we'll attended
and much appreciated by all who saw
it. The players cleared about $34.
Mr.. and Mrs Fred Schloesser and
children, Barbara and Dorothy, were
Sunday guests at the Will Brandt
home in FennimOre
Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1923-05-23
SITTER

Mirlo BOase returned Sunday from
a fishing trip with 20 trout. Several
of the speckled beauties were of such
a size that we fear our veracity would
be questioned if we recorded it.
Mrs. H. B. Schuppener was called
to Montfort by the serious illness Of
her mother, Mrs Chas. Houston.
Mr.. and Mrs Ed Swartz called on
friends in Sitter Thursday evening
Mrs. Edward Roth attended the
funeral of DR.. Gault in Lancaster
Thursday.
Bud Chandler and wife welcomed a
baby girl in their home last week.
Mr.. and Mrs. ]. B. Houston OF
Schuppener home last week.
A shower was given at the home OF
Mrs. VIM. Lind Tuesday evening il
honor of Mrs. Ben Wenzel. The bride
received many beautiful gifts. De
licious refreshments were served and
a pleasant evening was enjoyed by
all.
Mr. and Mrs. Webster were week
end guests of her brother, Philip
Parish at Lancaster.
w. H. Finnigan and Ed. Bergheger
spent the week in Madison taking
Masonic work
Mrs. Fred Wagner of Ridgeway
spent everal days at the parental
John Plattner home.
Louis Kirchner's baby and little
Shirley Spencer have been very IL
with double pneumonia.