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        <title>Cost of living in German towns</title>
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      <div>DANTZIG.  16Õ
.
too  the  competition  of  the  railway  is  being  felt  more  and  more  every  year.  Of  a
total  of  £746,000  worth  of  timber  brought  to  Dantzig  by  river  and  rail  in  1905
more  than  half  was  exported  to  the  United  Kingdom.
The  staple  manufactures  of  Dantzig  are  most  concerned  with  the  preparation ­
  of  the  products  of  forestry  and  agriculture,  and  are  represented  by
wood-sawing  mills,  corn-grinding  mills,  oil  mills,  sugar  refineries,  breweries  and
distilleries.  But  there  are  also  important  ship-building  yards  (including  an
Imperial  shipyard)  employing  nearly  6,000  men,  together  with  the  machine  shops
and  repairing  works  necessary  for  these  industries.  Lately  a  rail  way-waggon
works  employing  about  400  men,  a  rolling  mill,  and  a  screw,  nut  and  rivet
factory  have  been  established.  The  rolling  mill  and  the  factory  employ  between
them  about  1,000  men.
With  its  activities  as  a  centre  of  trade  and  industry,  Dantzig  combines  those
of  an  important  military  station  (it  has  a  garrison  of  about  10,000  men),  and  in
this  respect  it  resembles  Königsberg.  While,  however,  the  latter  town  is  still
completely  encircled  by  a  ring  of  moated  fortifications,  which  impede  its  natural
expansion  to  meet  the  needs  of  a  growing  population,  Dantzig  has,  within  the
last  12  years,  been  partially  relieved  of  this  artificial  restriction  through  the
purchase  by  the  Municipality  from  the  military  authorities  of  a  portion  of  the  land
on  the  northern  and  western  periphery  previously  occupied  by  the  ramparts.
All  that  is  modern  in  Dantzig  is  therefore  to  be  found  in  that  part  of  the  town.
With  the  ramparts  and  moats  remaining  intact  on  the  south  and  east,  and  with
the  Vistula  on  the  north,  the  town  is  still  surrounded  by  water  to  the  extent  of
about  three-fourths  of  its  circumference.
The  centre  of  the  town  is  traversed  from  south-east  to  north-west  by  two
arms  of  the  Mottlau,  which  form  an  island  about  half  a  mile  in  length  and  250
yards  wide  at  the  centre,  the  shores  of  which  are  lined  with  high-gabled
granaries.  This  part  of  Dantzig,  known  as  the  Warehouse  Island  (Speicherinset),
is  the  centre  of  the  commercial—as  distinct  from  the  industrial—activity  of  the
town  and  its  rough  cobble-paved  streets,  rendered  noisy  by  the  traffic  of  heavy
wagons  and  vans,  have  a  character  distinct  from  that  of  the  streets  of  what  may
be  called  the  mainland,  that  is  to  say,  of  the  Old  Town  or  City  proper,  bordering
on  the  western  side  of  the  left  arm  of  the  Mottlau,  and  of  the  somewhat  more
modern  residential  district  within  the  fortification  on  the  south-east  of  the  right
arm  of  that  river.
The  river-front  on  the  City  side  contrasts  with  that  of  the  opposite
Speicherinsel  in  having  no  "warehouses  but  many  small  shops  especially  of  the
marine  store  kind.  A  feature  of  this  part  of  Dantzig  is  that  it  squays  are  used
as  a  market  place  for  fish,  fruit  and  vegetables,  in  which  the  stalls  are  represented
by  moored  river  craft.  From  the  quays  a  number  of  parallel  streets  run  inland
towards  the  north-west,  and  these  with  their  cross  streets  form  the  City  of
Dantzig  of  mediæval  times.  The  limits  of  the  ancient  town  are  still  indicated
on  the  north  and  south  by  the  names  of  the  streets,  which  have  superseded  the
ancient  moats,  viz.,  the  Altstädtischer  Graben  and  the  Vorstädtischer  Graben
respectively.
The  stream  of  vehicular  traffic  across  the  Old  Town  from  the  western
side  to  the  river  front  is  to  a  certain  extent  impeded  by  ancient  gateways  at
the  waterside  and  of  several  of  the  streets.  In  these  streets,  moreover,  the
space  available  for  vehicles  is  greatly  reduced  by  the  balustraded  stone  terraces
(JSßWZäog)  which  are  peculiar  to  old  Dantzig,  and  which  project  far  into  the
cobbled  madway  from  the  doors  of  the  old  houses  on  either  side.  The  houses
themselves,  formerly  occupied  by  the  families  of  wealthy  merchants,  have  in
the  course  of  time  been  convened  into  tenement  houses,  a  purpose  for  which
the  narrow  frontage  and  relatively  great  depth  of  their  sides  renders  them
peculiarly  unsuitable,  especially  when,  as  frequently  happens,  a  number  of  the
front  rooms  are  let  as  offices.
The  largest  industrial  establishments  of  Dantzig,  including  the  great  Government ­
  and  private  shipbuilding  yards,  are  situated  outside  the  line  of  the
demolished  fortifications  on  the  northern  side  of  the  town  close  to  the  river
Vistula,  and  of  the  industrial  undertakings  inside  the  existing  circumvallation
the  most  important  belong  either  to  the  Stete  or  the  Municipality,  e.g  the
Royal  Small  Arms  Factory  and  Ordnance  Works  on  the  south-east,  and  the</div>
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