4
BERLIN.
has been carried out, the heavy traffic will be still more efficiently handled.
The latest additions to the means of locomotion are overhead and underground
lines intersecting the city in various directions. Nevertheless, the motor bus
and horse bus still play an important part in the transport arrangements of
Berlin.
Home and work often lie far apart, however, and even with excellent
tram wry communication the journey to and fro takes a large slice out of the day’s
leisure. One of the main causes of the agitation for a shorter workday is the
loss of time caused in this way.
A special source of interest to Berlin workmen in the summer time are the
garden allotments which have been provided in increasing numbers during
recent years. On the outskirts of the city and between suburb and suburb it is
usual to let the land still unbuilt on in this way. Each area is known as an
Arbour Colony ( Laubenkolonie) from the fact that the first thing the allotment
holder does is.to build himself a summer-house, and as a rule the Colonies bear
distinctive names.
Very little public drunkenness is seen in Berlin. There is much drinking,
and the licensing facilities are exceptionally numerous, but on the other hand
beer is the principal beverage drunk and it is light. At the same time a fondness
for a spirit known as " Schnaps ” is said to be spreading amongst the lower
grades of the working classes, and it is noteworthy that most factory regulations
strictly prohibit the drinking of " Schnaps ” during work hours, a practice at
one time very common. The " on ” licences for the sale of intoxicating liquors
numbered 12,368 in 1905, equal to one for every 165 inhabitants.
The following table shows the birth and death-rates and the infant
mortality rate for a period of five years :—
Year.
I 1901
! 1902
1903
1901
¡1905
Birth-rate
per-1,000 of mean
Population.
26-7
26-0
24 9
24-9
24 6
Death-rate
per 1.000 of mean
Population.
181
16-2
16-6
17-0
171
Infant Mortality
per 1,000 Births.
224
181
198
203
206
I he birth-rate of 1905. was the lowest yet recorded : in 1895 it was
28'4 per 1,000 : in 1890, 31 8 per 1,000 ; and the highest rate was 45’4 per
1,000 in 1876.
It is interesting to compare the rate of births in working-class with those
in residential districts (stillborn infants, the number of which is about 1 per
1,000 of the population, are here included) :—
District.
Birth-rate per 1,000 of Population.
1905.
Residential.
Registrar's district II.
Registrar’s district III.
Working Glass.
Registrars district VIl.b ...
Registrar’s district XIII. ...
Registrar’s district X.& and c
Registrars district VIII. ...
1211
1527
29-70
3200
3160
28 67
1904.
12-97
1518
3043
32 58
35 96
29-29
1903.
12-65
15-41
31-49
3210
3603
29 30
1902.
12-20
1568
3250
34-62
34-87
3157
