Full text: Cost of living in German towns

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
	        
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