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About Dakota County herald. (Dakota City, Neb.) 1891-1965 | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1914)
DAKOTA COUNTY HERALD; DAKOTA CITY, NEBRASKA. Making Tomorrow's World By WALTER WILLIAMS, LL.D. (Dn tlU School tfoumallim lht Un'renllu tMtiuarft THE GERMAN CITYr-ITS GOOD AND EVIL P7flf ML. Cologne, G o r many. Tho mod ern German city is, In a doublo seuso, a factory product. It did not "Just grow," as Topsy, but It has been manu factured. Tho roason for Its manufacture has usually been tho development of the local factory. This generaliza tion must bo modified by ox ooptlons, of courflo. Trans portation, com merco, music, art and education have contributed to the recent growth of some German cities. Tho majority, however, machine-made as othor fac tory products, are the results of an industrialism which tends overywhoro to urbanization Exnnples of tho old Germany may yet bo scon in the an cient quartora of Munich, Nuretnburg, Frankfort and other townu, but for theso one may look in vain along the boulevards and In the modern sections of cltleB which havo giown to great ness In the present generation. Theso aro tho cities of tho now Germany. Upon their stucco the paint is hardly, dry. Outwardly Attractive. There are two sides to tho German city tho outsldo and tho lusldo. Tho outsido is ordinarily beautiful and attractive. The boulevards aro broad and airy; tho open places aro many and artistic; tho streots are well paved and aro clean usually by wom en sweepers; tbo lighting, excellent; tho sanitation, good; tathedrals aro stately, and the oldor ones, at least, picturesque; the nowor public build ings, though often coldly regular and many that not only is there an old and a new. Gormany, but a northorn and a southern Gormany, a Prussia, a Ba varia, a Saxony, a Hadcn, and in the differences between them, though not the distances, aro equally as largo as and In many ways larger than thoso between Pennsylvania and Texas, MasoachusettB and California. Ger many, however, with all Its Internal differences of social and administra tion llfo, has been called, with much apvropriatcness, a macnlfled Prussia. Voting 8trength Gauged by Wealth. The method of electing town coun cillors in the cities of Prussia may servo aa an illustration of how tho people of theso cltlee do not govern themselves. In each votlug district tho total of tho stato tax paid is di vided into throe parts and the votors, all males of twenty-flvo years of ago and upwards, aro also divided Into throo "lasses, each class oloctlng one third of tho council, Tho first claea consists of tho heavlost taxpayers, whose payments total one-third of tho whole sum of tho strict; tho second class consists of the next hoavloat tax payers, whoao taxes also amount to a third of tho total; while tho third class consists of tho smallest taxpay ers. Tho first class sometimes has fonly ono or two voters In it, tho soc- ond only n few, whllo tho third will havo several hundred or oven thou sands. Each class has, however, tho samo voting strength. This gives, of course, to tho heavy taxpayers many times tho voting strength of tho small taxpayer. A Berlin newspaper, In pointing out some results of this three-class sys tem, showed that In ono voting dis trict ono taxpayer with an annual in como of $10,000 was tho entire first class; in an adjoining and very poor district ton men, whoso taxeB were only $25 each, constituted tho first class, und added that If tho Berllnor with tho $10,000 income had voted in tho rich Thlorgarton quarter ho iiypK r'aaiBcKreMMMUKsnnkMMpm1''' .aainmTem'Aams" ,HHBHRHHDH0flMBP'ri5-lMrfdtfHlKKK'vEMc.'t& WSLatmtBKK .& -.W rTirrm 1 1 MiiMMgrr .:' .u.w IHBBRPF'" ,, iif.f r c& .tvTS'v' 9T4vJC . - xt .-' " ' -- wEafc1 Wi K&l h,iUr.mhr;i ' Wt',! Bridge Over Rhine at Cologne. etlff In architectural doslgn, aro spa cious and impressive. People's Food Carefully Supervised. Tho German lives much in the open air. Wo And tho gardens in tho modern cities, evon in weather that seems unseasonable, thronged. There Is much drinking of boer, but llttlo intoxication, much festivity, but llttlo bolsterousnees. Tho German is care ful though comprehensive in his eat ing. Tho German city provides mu nicipal slaughter houses, whero meat la prepared for sale under etrict regu lation against taint; open air and covered market halls, whero fresh veg etables,, ilsh, poultry and other food products aro sold; and haa a ceaseless supervision of bakerlos, dairies and breweries. In Berlin and some other cities tho meat from the slaughter house Is stamped, "unbodnigt tang lien" free of all posslblo taint. The city arranges for the salo of other meat, not thus freo from taint, but which can bo used for food without danger to health, at municipal eatab llehmenU called tho "Frol Banko," where It Is bought at low prices and at certain fixed hours by tho poor. The German lovee music and tho theater and so the German city pro vides municipal opera houses whero the bost artists may bo heard, often at prices within tho reach of tho poor-at-pold laborer. Cltlea Deal In Real Eotate. The German city provides publlo baths and disinfecting establishments. It owns Us own street cars. Berlin 1b a notable example, but In Berlin a heavy tax on the gross receipts of the street-car system Is lovied. It buys and holds tracts of land In and adjacent to tho city for tho construc tion of bouses for business or resi dence purposes, sells or loaseB thU land and thus controls tho growth and development of tho city Itself. This last function of tho Gorman city le responsible for much of tho bost re sults of the municipal town planning and bouse planning In tho empire. Theso aro Bom features of tho Gor man city. Beyond flower pots In the windows, let ub glance at the German city on tho Inside. The German city does not govern Itself it to govorned. True It oleoto Its own town council, which, la turn, relects the burgomaster or mayor, and has general control of municipal af fairs. The electore, however, are di vided Into voting groups, according to wealth, by which tho man if aver age prororty has only a small part In the election. Somewhat different suf frage systems xlst in tho different German states Indeed, It fihould bo remembered in observations upon Goi'- "would have been In tho third class, llko the Imperial chancellor, Iierr von Bethmann Ilollwog." Actually thero aro 200,000 voters In tho first clasB, 900,000 In the second, und more than 6,000,000 In the third. If tho eutfrago syotem of Prussia prevailed In tho United Statos, Androw Carnoglo, John D, Rockefeller and othoni would In their respectlvo districts, constitute! tho ontlro flrst clasa. Councilor High-Class Men. Whatovcr criticism may bo raado of this oloctoral eystem from othor viewpoints, It has resulted, generally, In oloctlng to tho position of town councilors hlgh-c!aB8 and public-spir ited men. ThU evil haB attachod to It, however, that the men thus chosen havo reflected too often and too ex clusively tho wishes and Interests of their rich constituents. Tho now Gor man city, as mado or pormlttod by thorn If anything is really officially pormitted In Gormany is too largely an aristocratic municipality rather than a democratic community, for show to tho fev rather than for use by tho many. Publlo Borvico, giving, as it does In Germany, u civotod social position, attracts many Germans of tho hlghost character. Tho call to civic duty la one which no Gorman refuses. Tho law which punlshoa with u flno any person declining to nccopt tho offlco of councilor after oloctlon Is said to havo provod unnecessary. GormunB accept theso positions, without salnry, and with no patronage, becauso of tho proatlgo and, chlofly, from a high sense of civic patriotism. In some of tho larger cities of Gor many cltlxen deputlee aro appointed by the council to advlso and aid It. In Berlin aro about a hundred, serv ing without pay, drawn from all ranks,. assisting in various Important func tions of government, particularly thoso having to do with city social and philanthropic work. This unusual feature of municipal government haa brought to the uorvlco of tho city many export who havo contributed much to tho dovolopment on right lines of tho modern Gorman city. Mayor a Bualneaa Dlrootor. Distinguishing features of Gorman city administrations aro thalr porma noncy and the business method on which thoy are conduoted. Tho town councilora are eloctod for six years, one-third every two yoans. Tho bur gomaster or mayor Is chosen for twelve years. In nearly evory city aro publlo officiate who havo boon re elected for twenty or moro years, City administration has bocomo a bualnoss in which tho German dooa not wish araatouro, Tho mayor la choaon aa poratlon. It 1b not unusual to find In a German newspaper an advertise ment for a mayor! Some German tlty, having lost its mayor, wishes tho bait to bo had in tho omplro and ad vertises for ono with experience aa mayor. Frequently aj mayor of a largo city Is chosen a man who Is serving with conspicuous success as mayor In a smallor town. Tho Ger man system secures a continuous pol icy of city administration and one In which business rather than poll tics rules. That tho system Is too often controlled by big business is a result of tho electoral plan under which It Is chosen rathor than of the system itsolf. This electoral plan In sixteenth-century Gorman feudalism brought down to date. Housing Condition! Bad. Tho Gorman city, despite the benev olent bureaucracy of its highly organ ized administration, has loft much to be desired In actual municipal life. Upon looking within wo find oppros flivo restrictions, high rents, crowdod quarters, the Blum and the German "barrack-house." The average Ger man, laborer, mechanic, clerk or small merchant, doeB not live on the boule vards or near the open places. His howa 1b in small rooms, with outlook apon a dark courtyard whero Innu merable carpetB are beaten twice a week. Flats, with congested quarters, take the placo of the detached dwel ling houses which are familiar in American cities. Clean etroets but gloomy and dark interiors, lacking air but not lacking dust and noise, aro tho rulo in the larger German cltleB. It may be questioned whether tho bright boulovardB and tho red gera nium i In tho balcony windows com penapto to tho city aa a wholo for tho dullness, stuffiness and worse of tho uvorage citizen's nctual living rooms How far all thla could bo prevented by municipal effort, It Is Impossible to say. When tho outside of tho Gorman city Is commended, however, and tho ndmlrablo features of its municipal admlnlfltration, tho unsolvod problom of tho "barrack-flat" makes a consld oiablo offset to the morlted praise. In London wlx per cent, of tho popu lation live In "dwellings" or ono room, In Berlin 11 per cent. Tho declining birth rate In tho Gorman cities a few bublea aro moro to bo desired than many boulevards la, to a degreo, the result of tho lamentable housing con ditions. Municipal Land Ownership. striking feature of tho German city is its ownership of land. Within ten years Frankfort has expended $50, 000,000 In buying real ostate and now owns moro than half of tho land on which tho city stands. Berlin owna 30,000 acres, Munich 15,000, and other cltlea own largo tracts. It Is urged In favor of municipal lnveHtmont in land that it enablos the municipality to carry out adequate plans for town building, kooplug factories together, openlnu desirable streets and parks, providing bettor conditions and pro vontlug tho land speculation which deforms and disfigures bo many towns, small as well aB largo. An othor argument urged In its favor is that in thiB way tho municipality, not prlvato Individuals, who usually havo dono llttlo or nothing to bring It about, gotB thq bonoflt of tho unoarned In crement which comes with the city's growth. This ownership of lnnd with tho financial profit thorefrom haa In mnny German cities reduced or elimi nated taxation and mado tho- munici palities rich. Must Improve Living Conditions. In any vlow of the German city to day It will be found that tho outside of tho platter haa been mado scrupu lously clean, but within thero aro yet dead men's boneB. The chief problem of tho Gorman city's Justly praised business administration has now be come that of making flowers to bloom and lights to shine and breathable air to como In the Inside where tho peoplo llvo, to savo the babies without losing the boulevards. In theso benovolont and business municipalities today, careful about many llttlo things handing tho visi tor a cab ticket lost he loso himself and numbering tho very pigeons on their roosts lest too many pfennigs aro paid for pigeon food the chief con sideration tomorrow will be for the men and women, llttlo as well as big, who are the town. For evon tho Gorman city Is made for tho reBldonts thereof. Tho resi dent is not made for the Gorman city. This fundamental fact Is Just now be ing roallzed In all Ita largonesB by tho dwellers in the German city. (Copyright, 1H, by Joseph B. Bowleg.) Humble Joker. "Humphry Ward, tho huBband of the well-known novelist, likes to Joke about lils nonontlty. Tho 'speaker was a New York maga zine editor. "Humphroy Ward, thoy toll mo," the editor wont on, "onco entered hU wlfo'B study while Bhe was out, and glanced over the manuscript upon her writing desk. "Ho read tho Bontonce, 'Sho swept tho room with bright, fresh glanco,' and taking up a pencil, ho wrote on tho margin of tho pago, If sho would only sweep tho room with a bright, fresh broom l' "Roadlng on, ho camo to. 'Sho touch ed a button nnd a foot man apponrod.' His marginal noto to this was. 'Alas, she will novor touch a button!' "And now ho camo upon the sen tence, 'Sho decided to xiond her way,' And again ho wroto, 'Ittpeluas. She'll novor raond anything.' tieiarif&yil , -VVX. :p3U$hter of Ifiz flimsier from ObsteRies offfie. , , ' f e Mme Pezef, Wife of the Minister from Pertx Napoleon's Home Saved. Tho popular Indignation that wan shown In Franco when L'lllustratton a fow weeks ago gavo detailed accounts of tho neglect of Kapoleon's prlBon homo at St. Helena boo bad immedi ate effect. Mombero of tho chamber of depu ties belonging to all factions have agreed that It la tho' notion's duty to caro for tho Uoubo whero tho omporor lived and died, and an addition of $!, 000 to the prosont appropriation moro than twlco what la now given will undoubtedly be made. It would havo boon easy enough to ralBO monoy by popular subscription, but by common agreement It was de cided that It would bo mora dignified to havo it tho offiolal act of the nation OMEN of the United States, look to your laurels! You'vo carried off all tho worth while prizes in international beauty contests for a long, long tlmo. Your good looks, your superior in telligence, your keen wit and airy grace, to say nothing of your num erous other surpassing qualities and nccompllshmentB, havo won for you an enviable " position among tho women of tho world. In fact, you havo worked your way up until In recont years your supremacy has been unques tioned. You are conceded tho most beautiful, the most accomplished, tho moat sought after wom en In tho world. 'Bowaro! Your supremacy Is threatened. Your pedestal 1b Insecure. The world's admiration, which you bo long havo held, at somo not distant day may bo transferred to tho women of another quarter of tho globe. Your- competitors for the world's admiration aro cloao upon your heels. Thoy have como upon you all unawares; so quietly, In fact, that It's n two to ono wager you don't even know who they are. Who are thoy? Tho women of Latin-America. Probably you won't believe this. You'll laugh and Bay that tho principal business of Latin America is to raise comic opera revolutions, not women capablo of wreBtJng from you the laurels which your beauty and charm havo won. If you think that way, Just read what Mrs. Sberrlll, tho wife of tho American minister to Argentina, has to say about the women of tho southern republics. "Thoy dress hotter, look bettor and have finer mannora than any othor women In the world," de clares Mrs. Shorrlll. "Thoy aro enchanting crea tures, and now Europe Is loarnlng of their won derful charm. They aro fond of homo life and mako Ideal mothors, although they aro not do mestic to a sordid degree. They aro as fond of Boclety as tho women of tho United Statos, only thoy are absolutely without the faintest traco of snobbishness, which is probably due to their brooding. They aro vastly well informed and well bred women, and strangoly enough their so cial obligations aro never such ,aa to Interfere with their homo llfo. Tho women aro good moth ers and aro dqvoted to tholr largo families." Europe, where the Yankeo girl has bo long ruled a favorite, has fallen victim to tho Latin-American girl's charms. Whether sho appear In her favorlto Paris, or In other centers of fashion or recrea tion, she Is surrounded by a crowd of admirers. Sho haa tho entroo to exch.slvo drawing rooms. At her chateaux, which she loves to hire for ho Beason that sho may outortaln on her own ac count, she la always euro of as many guoata as she desires Sho is tho Joy of continental mod iBtes, and tho despair of those who ould wear towns rucIi bb hers. It must bo admitted that, her wealth In worldly possessions does ndd to her attractiveness to many eyes. The continent is filled with Impecuni ou, younger sons of varied "brands of aristocracy, and few would In the least mind marrying the nowest American girl because of her great woalth. StUl, evon without her wealth sho would deserve all tho praise that has been heaped upon her. Tho now American girl of the Latin states is strangely composite of tho old nnd tho new order of things which her land has known. In tho modern world's capitals and fashionable centers sho Is indeed a woman of the present; but In Latin-America aho Is a woman of the past. In her native homo still persists an order of things which In many respects Is nlmost medieval. Tho stamp of Spain, so strongly seen on her, la also seen on tho religion, tho language, and tho social creed of this girl. The laws and the landscape of her peoplo alike aro still dominated by this ancient influence. Indeed, Spain Itself has Infinitely more variety In speech nnd custom than Is seen in the vast territory it has peopled, and tho peoplo of Valparaiso. Bogota, and Caracas speak better Castillan than usually Is heard In Madrid and Cadiz. Hence it Is that the Latin-American woman has but llttlo of the freedom enjoyed by the Ameri can girl she now would rival. Thero still exists between the sexes that armed neutrality which lsf a tradition of the Spanish blood. Matrimony still 13 a lottery. The would-be husband never sees his wife alone until they aro married. His nego tiations for her hand aro largely becauso tho Roman Catholic church dominates all society, and It recognizes no divorce. In addition, tho Latin- American woman, wrapped up in her family, for children generally are numerous, endures many indignities rather than separate from her husband and babies. The United States knows them best and most pleasantly through their representatives connect ed with tho diplomatic corps in Washington. Thoy are almost without exception representa tives of the modern trend In Latin-American de velopment. Thoy have won for themselves In official society a regard based primarily upon their own-beauty and charm, and only secondari ly upon tholr official position. One of the most prominent of theso women is Mmo. Pezet, wife of the minister from Peru. Sho is considered a great beauty, and Is a leader In diplomatic society. Of equal charm and beauty aro Mme. Malbran, bride of tho first secretary of the Argentine legation; Mme. Suarez, wifo of tho minister from Chile; Senora de la Cueva, nlfe of the flrst secretary of the Mexican legation; Mme. de Naon, wife of tho Argentine minister, and Senora Castrlllo, wifo df tho now minister from Nicaragua, who Is a recent arrival at Washing ton. Among tho younger Latin-American women who have charmed social Washington, and whoso beau ty vies with that of their northorn sisters, are Senorita Dona Luz Mendez, daughter of the min ister from Guatemala; Senorita Marta Calvo, tal ented daughter of the minster from Costa Rica; Senorita Amelia Mojia, daughter of tho minister from Salvador, -and tho young brldo of Don Ale jandro Herqulnigo, of tho Chilean legation, who bofore her recont marriage was Senorita Mai vlna de pena, daughter of tho minister from Uruguay. HOW TO TELL COUNTERFEITS Tho hand Is quicker than tho eye In detecting fraudulent bank notes. Tho "feel" of tho dis; tlnctlve paper used by tho government Is the first warning signal that tho monoy tendered 1b bad. This paper is distinctive not alono because of tho Introduction of silk fiber lri tho bill itself, but be cause of the treatment tho stock receives In print ing. The silk threads are sometimes imitated by pen-and-ink lines, but theso do not bear close ex amination. Tho engraving has been the greatost protection, for even photo-engraving falls to bring out the proper color valueB, and retouching by tho graving tool makes tho llnea heavy nnd Ir regular. Photography also falls In reproducing tho color of the seal, which must bo washed In. with water colors, tho black lines of tho engraving showing through In counterfeits. Tho most dan gerous counterfeit la that In which a genuine bill of lower denomination la bleached out and a false plato ahowlng a high denomination placed upon It. Here Is a genuine bank bill. It has tho "feel." Tho silk threads are present. If tho engraving la fairly well dono and tho color of approximate cor rectness it becomes a dangerous counterfeit, and bankors aro at onco warned to bo on tho watch for It. In this connection tho "check letter" often comes Into play. All government notes are print ed of one denomination, four on a sheet, and are lettered respectively A, B, C and D. Each note bears a treasury number. If, when that number 1b divided by four there romains one, tho check let ter should be A; If two remains, the letter should bo B; if three, then C, and If thero Is no re mainder, D. If the result shows otherwise then tho numbering Is wrong and tho noto is a coun terfeit. All denominations from $1 to $1,000 have, been counterfeited, as well as all our coins. The' most usual method of defrauding when gold coins aro handled 1b to saw tho coins In half, extract the Interior, ami fill with base metal. JU&T ONE LETTERT Lady at card party who had exchanged seats with her partner What excellent luck. Why la this thus, partner"? Partner Becauso U and I havo changed places." HE KNEW. "You know, my son, it is your flrst step which Is your undoing," said the parent. "Guess I'd bettor take dancing lessons then, pop, before I go Into society," replied tho boy. SEA WATER AS LIFE SAVER Brought From Ocoan's Depth and In jected Into the Velna It la Beneficial. For aevoral years tho doctors of the world havo had beforo them tho ad vocacy of sea water as a llfo 8a?er In varlouB diseases, tho value of tho rem edy being largoly baaed on the reports mado by Dr. Robert Simon" of Paris nd Doctor Qulnton in London It Is used chlofly for Infants who are suffering from malnutrition. The water employed In Europe Is literally dug up from tho bay of Biscay and later modified, undor scrupulously aseptic conditions, until It Is In shape to bo injected into the sick child's veins as a plasma, aa the liquid Is termed. Hero, tho water has been brought up from a depth of forty feet seme forty mllos beyond the coast of New Jersey, the precautions of distance and dopth being observed to make Euro that no posslblo Irfect'on from sewage can occur. It is brought to laboratories and prepared after tho manner used In Parla and London, Halt a dozen cases of malnutrition among children showed marked Im provement after tho second or third treatments. Othor patients respond more or less markedly to tho remedy. The Idea underlying the uso of the sea water as an injection ia that tho blood plasma of all animals appears to bo very closely related and thnt we. as land animals, owe our earliest origins to tho ocean Real sea valor presents an affinity for animal llfo which, because of the underlying na ture of both, Is superior to any salt water preparation man can mako up in his laboratories. Blood Will Tell. He Thoso Brown boys are In bad. Tom had to leave the state for graft ing, and now his brother Bill Is ac cused of the samo offense. She It must run In tho family; I understand tholr father was a horticulturist X.- 4' i A