wr onan : BERLIN'S STREETS ARE SILENT VERY FEW MOTORS OR TAXIS ARE TO BE SEEN. tt} What a Russian Correspondent Ob- served in the Capital of Germany. The London Daily Express pub- lishes the following, written by a Rus- sian correspondent who visited Berlin as a neutral: I walk up Friedrichstrasse, then along Leipzigstrasse right up to Leipziger Platz, and then through Wilhelmstrasse and other streets to Unter den Linden. I have noticed already the remarkable scarcity of people and the untidiness of the prin- cipal streets, and now I was struck with the small number of people be- tween the ages of 20-40 whom _ one meets in civilian dress. Excluding the women and the grey military figures, those I met in the street on my first evening were al- most exclusively elderly people and cripples. From the hotel to the corner of Friedrichstrasse I counted four hunchbacks, one dwarf and about a dozen paralyzed and lame people (not invalids, but deformed from birth). The absence of motor buses and motor cars and of carriages in gen- eral makes the streets of Berlin un- usually quiet and unpleasantly silent. I noticed another innovation -- the nightwatchman have been substituted by women. There are women on the trams as conductors and drivers. Wo- men and old men drive the. omnibuses --and there are a good many women cabbies. 'The Unter den Linden is silent and deserted, although the lights of the cinema shows and various cabarets are on. Deserted Cafes. Here are the two famous Berlin cafes patronized by foreigners--the Cafe Bauer and Cafe Victoria. Form- erly between 10 and 11 o'clock in the evening one had to wait about half an hour for a place at a table. Now in each of them there are not more than ten visitors engrossed in reading their papers. ? ; I walk on and enter one of the large beer restaurants. Here--the same gaping emptiness, and instegd of the usual waiters dressed in white--wait- resses. I am served with an omelette and some dish of potatoes. For the {rst time I make use of my bread card. Two lidtle squares of 25 grammes each are torn off, and I am handed a parchment bag bearing the "inscription, "50 grammes bread, against delivery of bread card only." The bag contains a little roll half the size of our copeck "rogue." This little roll is just as grey, raw and un-' pleasant in taste as the bread in the restaurant car; the beer is the same, only it has gone up in price and is now 45 pfennig a tankard instead of the former 30 pfennig. 500 Rooms--30 Guests. By the time I leave the restaurant jt is nearly midnight. The streets are quite empty; the cafes and auto- matic restaurants are beginning to close. Berlin has left its old habit of night life, and goes to bed early. I direct my steps to the hotel. 1 go into the lift, and again an inno- vation--instead of a lift-boy there is pow a "Hisse-frau" (this is the new name for the hated English "lift). On the table in my room there is a list of visitors staying in the hotel. I count, and see that out of 500 rooms in the Central Hotel only 30 are occu- pied, and this during the Christmas holidays, when Berlin is usually full of visitors, especially from the pro-' vinces. oe Unrecegnizable. = Even in the daytime, when the flow of everyday life is at its highest, the city is unrecognizable. There are, of course, more people about than in the evening, but the absence of mo- tors, taxis, buses, and of the usual noise and bustle of the traffic raises a queer, almost oppressive, sensation, especially in one who knew the Ber- lin of old. It was unheard of in Ber- lin that even in rainy weather one should have to wear goloshes, but now the slush and dirt in the streets and on the sidewalks equalled that of a provincial Russian town. A Deal in Rubber. I had left behind in Copenhagen my Russian goloshes as a precaution- ary measure, and I had therefore to go to a shop and get some new ones and pay 10% marks for them. I was surprised at the high price asked, and to my query the lady shop assistant informed me that Germany is now suffering an acute rubber famine, that the import of rubber ber had long ago deen requisitioned. "We are selling the last pairs of goloshes, and shall not be able to get any more. Why, we cannot even get rubber suspenders in the whole of Berlin: You read that!" explained the shop assistant, and pointed to a bill that was hanging over the pay- desk, and which one can see in every large shop in Germany and Austria. The bill read: -- "On account of shortage of rubber, benzine and labor, the firm cannot deliver goods bo addresses of pur- chasers." What City Does Not See. There is an apparent absence in the town of any wounded ° soldiers, both in the streets, cafes, restaurants, bier-halles, and other public places. Nowhere that I went did I come across any wounded soldiers or cripples. I subsequently discovered that most of the hospitals are situated close to the fighting lines, and all convalescent |. soldiers are sent to the heart of the country; the Berlin hospitals and other places of medical assistance for sol- diers are carefully hidden and screened. rn EE ie "WARDENS OF KULTUR." Brutal Treatment of the German Soldiers. The question as to the state of mind of German soldiers in the field lends interest to the following documents, which reach us from an unimpeach- able source, says the London Daily Telegraph. They were found upon German soldiers who fell recently in France. The first was taken from the pocket- book of a German soldier, Sebastian Schauer, of the 11th Company of the 13th Bavarian Reserve Regiment. It is addressed to his family and runs: My Dear Ones,--If I fall, write upon my tmbstone--He was murdered by the wardens of Kultur; he gave his life for the purses of the the great, to fill their money-bags. I want neither King nor Fatherland: otherwise I shall turn in my grave, for the guard- jians of the Fatherland have torn love The other document is a letter found upon a dead soldier: "Weilurg, July 18th, 1915. . Your last letter naturally upset me. Have you really got to a point at which you think of suicide? It is true tha, if you are treated in a way so unworthy of a man, so cruel and 'brutal, I should sincerely wish: that you might soon go into the trenches to be delivered from the hands of your tormentors. But do not take things so much to heart. That is, of course, easier to say than to do, but in casg let the officers do what they like, how- ever scandalous it may be, since you are 'unable to alter things. In your place, I should show my wounded hands to the officer. He would be obliged to give you leave until they were cured, for those terrible ser- geants have not the right to flay peo- ple alive. ", . . If you are in the trenches, I beg you not to expose yourself need- lessly. Keep yourself well out of dan- ger; others do it also." - or ---- OBNOXIOUS NAMES. Australia Will Cut Out German Recollections. The proposal, put forward by the Australian Commonwealth, that Kais- er Wilhelm's Land, the German por- tion of New Guinea now in our occu- pation, shall be renamed, is a remin- der that other considerable portions of the earth's surface may undergo a similar welcome change when we win the war. For instance, there is the Bismarch Archipelago, ceded by England to Germany in 1884. This is now held by us, and it is very unlikely that the island group will retain its present name much longer. Probably it will be changed to New Britain, which was what it was called before we sur- rendered it. Curiously enough one of the largest islands in the archipelago was chris- tened New Hanover by ourselves, a name which it still retains. This, too, will have to go. We want no names reminiscent of the Hun on our maps nowadays, nor hereafter. Then there is Kaiser Wilhelm II. Land, situated in the Antarctic Con- tinent. This may well go the way of the other eGrman overseas posses- sions, for although it is of little use to anybody just at present, being cov- ered all over with an ice-cap a mile or so thick, one never knows what the future may bring forth. These frozen lands pound the South Pole are believed to abound in mineral wealth; gold and coal, for instance. And, by the way, there is yet 'an- other Kaiser Wilhelm Land, in Green- land. © We shall have to rechristen this also. And while we are about it we may very possibly feel impelled to rename Franz Joseph Iand; so call- ed, by its discoverer, after the present Emperor of Austria. RE _AA;,P- . Maud--"I see the old Colonel is articles was stopped (British block- ade), aud that the stocks of raw rub-' married again." Tom--*"Indeed! I thought his fighting days were over." of the Fatherland out of my heart." | WITH CANADIANS IN FRANCE we Ee An interesting scene showing Canadian an ousdoqr Hitchen at the Canadian base at BRC preparing meals at St. Cloud, in France. soldiers WONDERFUL WAGES FOR WORF iT WHAT THE WAR HAS DONE FOR BRITISH LABOR. 4 Men Are Making £10 a Week, Office "Boys" Are Seventy . Years Old. and Prophets were two a penny at the beginning of the war; but did any one of them predict that in a short time the workers of this country would be unprecedently prosperous? asks Lon- don Answers. No; the thing was too wildly im- probable. Yet it has come to pass. To-day the toiling millions in Britain's hives of industry are. enjoying a "boom" without a parallel in history. Among the first trades to benefit di- rectly 'by the war was the wholesale manufacturers. Engaged solely on khald, many tailorcs%es at Leeds drew 30s. a week, with as much overtime as they cared to work, and for a short period one group of girls earned 70s. a week each. £50 Since those days dumerous factories have been opened, specrally for the manufacture of munitions, and at most of these remarkably high wages are the rule, and not the exception. certain section of one, situated in the West of London, girls are now earning from £2 10s a week, notwithstoanding that only a few 1nont s ago they were wholly ignorant of the work. Girls engaged in another branch of the same foctory make up to £2 16s. a week. These, too, were "unskilled" when they started. High as their pay is, many of their male fellowworkers fare much better. Some are taking home--or should be taking home--as much as £10 a week and in exceptional circumstances, even { more. When, for instance, four of them went for their pay not long ago, the cashier was short of "small" change, and consequently gave one a note to divide among the let. It was for £50 -- £12 10s. a man! And this amount had ben earned by working merely ten and a half hours a day! ; yen Four! High Wages at Woolwich. In Government and other establish- ments, too, earnings have increased by leaps and bounds The average pay for boys of sixteen at Woolwich Arsenal has now reached 18s. or 20s. a wek, according to whether they are engaged on day or night work; but some of such youthful toilers draw as much as £2 10s. anu now and again even this amount is exceeded. - There is the same story connected with female labor in shell-works. In- credible as it may seem, it is none the les a fact that in one establishment a a few months ago, had never even seen a projectile, are now making nearly £4 a week each. In many cases, girls picked up the work so quickly that after only one month's experience they "knocked up" 10s. a day. And this place is by no means ex- ceptional There is another in which a number of Scottish lasses are mach- ining the copper bands on shells--a task which involves some labor, since every projectile has to be lifted into position and lifted out again. Now, the "champion" of the works has average of 101 an hour, and has earn- ed £5 in a weekThe average earn- ings for this particular shop are 45s. Better Work, But Less Pay. By one of life's little ironies, indeed, the earnings of a novice are some- times more than skilled man whom he or she has dis- placed. This, it is claimed on behalf of organized labor, is most marked on the Clyde, where skilled men have chines and take up work which, though calling for greater skill, is yet paid for at a lower rate. In a number of women and girls, who, only | turned out 1,014 shells in a shift, or an | those of a highly. | taught "outsiders" to run certain ma-/ The new-comers are said to earn £5 or £6 a week, whereas the "top notch" for the skilled man is only £2 2s. 9d. And it is indisputable that there are some cases of this kind. In one a man who was taught only a few months ago has earned as much as £13 in a week. Still more curious is it that machin- ists frequently receive higher pay than those placed in authority over them Some foremen, however, bene- fit largely by the prosperity of their subordinates, who, when they are throwing money about, do not forget them. Last Christmas one received from his "hands" a large number of presents, including an oak tray, a box of cigars a silver cigarette case, a large photograph in silver frame, and a gold watch and chain. Even the manager of the same works got only a silver tea-service! As for real craftsmanship in general engineering shops, it has certainly never been so remunerative as it is now. On the same Saturday two workmen in the same factory drew £15 3s. 23%d. each, the highest ever earned by a journeyman in this par- ticular establishment. In fact, there is hardly any manual <industry ir. which the earnings are not unexeampled. In Bristol anid _cther towns boys of sgeSmteen tan now make from 25s. to 40s. a 'week by working on ho: hoes. Nottingham lace-girls, noted for their high wages and Sei dress, have turned their energies lo munitions, and are revel- ling in pyosperity unequalled in the history of the town. Workers at Shef- field are' spending money right and (left, and their wives can afford cos- | ames costing £4 or £5, guinea hats, 'and umbrellas worth 50s. apiece. 1 ! Boys are Unobtainable. i One of the most curious effects of ithe abounding prosperity of manufac- | tures is the scarcity of boys for office (and similar work. The high wages { obtainable in workshops have drawn | into industry many thousands of boys 1 who formerly ran errands and did odd | jobs, and so far it has been impossible | to replace them. | Many firms are offering hitherto un. { heard-of pay--16s. a week-- to boys who have only just left school, and several actually give such beginners as much ag 20s. a week. Others are obliged to engage '"office girls," whom 'the few "regulars" look upon as "blacklegs." There are, too, a .few office "boys" sixty or seventy years old, who copy letters, lick stamps, make tea for the typists, etc., with exemplary care. me mimi settee a BERLIN PRICES DOUBLE. | Some Have Trebled Since War Start- | ed, Says "Vorwaerts." A comparison by "Vorwaerts" of | Berlin food prices in that city now jand in March, 1914, shows they have i doubled and in many cases trebled i since the war started. Potatoes cost 8 cents for a small sack of ten pounds, as compared with 5 cents in March, 1914. Sausages, which were 22 cents a pound, have (risen to 36 cents, while the hausfrau has now to pay 72 cents a pound for 'ham and 4 cents for a herring which | cost her less than 2 cents before the | war. Almost the gteatesbt rise has been (in fats. Margarine has gone up from 116 cents to 36 cents a pound ;butter (from 34 cents to 61 cents; Dutch i cheeses from 24 to 56 cents; flour is { one-third dearer, porridge costs twice 'as much, and rye flour is half again jos dear. The most astonishing rise {is in cocoa, from 28 to 88 cents a | pound, while chocolate powder has ris- en from 24 to 54 cents. Coffee now costs b6 cents instead of from 32 to $42 cents two years ago. : i Sugar is only about a cent dearer, 'continuing to sell under 6 cents a :pound. That is accounted for by the (fact that Germany, which formerly i exported a large amount. of beets, can no longer do so. FEWER ACCIDENTS IN FARIS. Street Mishaps Reduced With Dis- appearance of Busses. The Prefecture of the Paris Police has issued statistics of street accid- ents in 1914 and 1915, from which it appears that in 1914 there were 77 cases of material damages, a total of 68,492. For 1915 these figures were respectively 89, 16,268 and 28,339, total 45,196. The figures show that accidents have decreased by one-third, the dim- inution being due to the disappear- ance of autobuses from the streets and to the general decrease in the number of vehicles. After the first Zeppelin raid in March, 1915, street lighting was de- creased and when agitation was start- ed to resume normal illumination one argument was that the darkened streets caused more fatalities 1d ac- cidents than Zeppelins were like.y *o cause. The second Zeppelin raid . a sudden and complete stop to this agitation, but official figures seem ta show that reduced illumination meant also a reduced number of ac- cidents. In the last nine months of 1914, with normal lighting, there were 59 killed, 14,851 injured and 38,162 ma- terial damages, while in the corres- ponding time in 1915 the figures were 51, 12,858 and 22,542, each category showing a decrease. Those statistics of course do not prove that decreased illumination is not so deadly as nor- mal, for many fewer vehicles were on the streets, owing to want of light, and the normal life of Paris, which used to continue till 3 a.m., closed at 10 p.m. Strangers on their first visit to Paris often wonder how many per- sons are killed in the streets. In fact they rather seem to wonder that any one escapes death or injury.' The foregoing figures give the deaths and injuries due to tramcars, auto- buses, automobiles, carriages) and bicycles. If the figures for autom- obiles alone are wanted they were in 1914, 36 killed and 7,958 injured; in 1915, 40 killed and 8.316 injured. The automobile causes most accidents, then carriages and carts, then tram- cars. Bicycles caused two deaths each year. ' ok DANGEROUS SMOKERS. Mary Serious Fires Directly Traceable ""we to This Cause. 'Smokers are responsible for many serious fives, along any street, cigar ed matches may be seen aimozh every- where, carelessly thrown aside ba smokers. Similar carelessness occurs in public and office buildings, business places and factories. Men enter of- fice buildings where smoking is not allowed, drop their cigars on the stairs, on the floors of the corridor or possibly in the elevator, where they may roll to the bottom of an ele- vator shaft, into a possible accumula- tion of waste paper, and cause a fire. Others forgetfully throw their cigar the wastepaper basket. is of combustible maberial the smoul- dering stub will eventually burst into flame. Factory smoking is another serious hazard. Whilst most factories have strict rules against smoking, it is a common practice for employees to "light up" before leaving, and drop their lighted matches; these, falling among inflammable materials, later break into flame. Many evening fires in factories and business places may be traced to this cause. : Open gratings and broken prisms in sidewalk lights are other common receptacles for these dangerous fire- starters, pedestrians dropping stubs and matches regardless of results. Since the fire which destroyed the Parliament buildings at Ottawa the Dominion Government has issued an order prohibiting smoking in any building occupied by the public ser- vice. EAT TEN TIMES OWN WEIGHT sumption of Food. PF If a baby had the appetite of a young potato beetle, it would eat from 50 to 100 pounds of food every 24 hours. If a horse ate as much as a caterpillar, in proportion to its size, it would consume a ton of hay every 24 hours. A caterpillar eats twice its weight of leaves every day, but a potato beetle devours day at least five times its weight of foliage, every bit of which repre- sents just so much money to the farmer. The most destructive of all insects, however, is tke grasshopper, which, when in good health, con- sumes in a day ten times its weight of vegetation. EF TA Natural Consequence. "She made a sweeplag attack on him." "And he?" "Oh, he dusted." killed, 20,185 wounded and 48,280 and cigarette stubs, and partly burn. or cigarette stubs and matches into _ If the basket Bugs That Set Amazing Pace in Cons every