Evening star., 1924-04-20
GERMANS BY THOUSANDS
LIVE IAVISHLY ABROAD
Upper Classes Travel Luxuriously, Spend
ing American Money Freely, as U. S.
Congress Debates SlO,0OO,0OO Gift.
ny PHILIP &. KAUFFMANN.

HILE the s1O,oOO,OOO appro-
NI priation voted by the
House of Representatives
for the relief of destitute
women and children in Germany is
being considered now in the foreign
relations committee of the Senate,
housands-eYent tens of thousands
OF more fortunate Germans are lead
ing lives Of luxury and extravagant
ease and comfort not in Germany,
but in every other country on the
European continent. At the same
time that the lower house of Con-
sress has proposed that the taxpay-
ers Of the United States be further
heavily burdencd to support the
needy and starving lower classes in
Germany the junkcr class has spent
the past winter touring the Mediter-
ranean in magnificent ships, spending
money freely in the most expensive
hotels in the most expensive winter
resorts in southern Europe and north
"rn Africa, with little apparent
thought for their pennhess brothers
at home in the fatherland
American travellers invaded the
Mediterranean countries on winter
cruises" in greater numbers than in
any previous year, but no matter
where their various tourist COM
pantes led them they were sure to
find an almost equal number of Ger
man tourists, travelling with similar
German tourist companies, or in even
more ostentatious style, with private
guides, private automobiles, riding
first class on the trains de luxe"
living in the best rooms in the best
hotels and invariably dining in the
most ultra plush restaurants and or
dcring the best wines and cham
pagnes and drinking heartily of
them.
Swarm Tourists Haunts.
II the American tourist seeks ro-
nance and picturesqueness in the
Casbah, at Algiers he will find Ger
mans; in the Arab section of Tan
Athens. Germans; in the Mosque of
st. Sophia, in Constantinople, Ger
mans; in the bazaars at Damascus,
in the Church of the Holy SepuIchre
at Jerusalem, at the museums at
Cairo, at the pyramids, on all the
Nile steamers, at Luxor, in the VAL
ley of the Kings, at Karnak, AsSuan,
Port Said, Alexandria - everyw here
Germans This does not mean an oc-
casional German or an occasional
German party, but many of them.
southern Europe and the near east
the German language is heard almost
as much as English, and there are
nearoly as many signs and notices
posted in trains and stations and
hotels for the guidance of Germans
as there are for American tourists.
This is the situation at the present
time, and it has been the same ever
since last November.
Only Europeans Travelling.
4 Frenchman travelling for pleas
ure in the year 1924 is practically
an unheard of thing. Italians in
foreign resorts are very rare and
then of the titled class. The num-
her of Enslishmen with leisure and
means to traveI at the present time
is small, only a fraction of L per
cent of the figures before the war.
But despite the war and despite the
poverty at home, Germans are travel
ing. many thousands of them, and
in very first-class fashion.
It is difficult to estimate just how
many there are wintering abroad
since any available figures would
necessarily contain many duplica-
tfons. However, a rough idea of
the German invasion is obtained
from an official report of the italian
government that 10000 German
tourists have been registered in Italy
within the past year. 1t is believed
that this figure is misleading since
it certainly contains many duplica-
tions. but even a fraction of this
NUMBER together with proper
tionate showing for France. Switzer-
land and the near eastern countries
would bring the total to an army
Of very considerable size.
Members of the American consulate
service abroad, who have collected
some data. on the situation estimate
the total number of travelling and
sightseeing Germans the past win
ter at nearly 100000. These same
American officials also have figured
out the interesting computation that
every week for the past six months
Germans travelling abroad for pleas
ure have spent an average of $1o,-
nj n
the proposed gift from the Amer
lean taxpayers to the poverty-strtck-
EN- in Germany.
Excuse for Extravaganza.
This correspondent had the imper-
tinence to ask a dozen well dressed,
we'll fed German gentlemen in diff
ferent parts off, Nthe world how they
found it compatible with their con-
science to spend so much on travel,
with the amount of misery prevalent
at home, and in every case he re-
ceiyed the same answer or approx
rnately the same: We'll, this is the
first chance we have had to move
Don't you think it's about time We
deserved a little fun"
This desire for relaxation and nun"
among the Germans appears to be
very widespread for those who have
been occupied with the more serious
pursuits of sightseeing, cruising from
point to point on specially chartered
chips among which is now numbered
the ex-kaiser's former private yacht,
the Metior, are in the minority. Many