BRANDENBURG 



894 



BRANDES 



was born in Louisville, Ky., but since his grad- 

 uation from the Harvard Law School in 1877 has 

 made Boston his home. He began the practice 

 of his profession in 1879, and in few years be- 

 came one of the leaders of the local bar. His 

 advanced political and sociological tendencies, 

 however, grew with his practice, and eventually 

 cost him many powerful clients, who discour- 

 aged his activities against "vested interests." 

 Socially he was later made unwelcome in many 

 homes which were at first open to him. But 

 no ostracism, social or otherwise, made him 

 swerve in the course of conduct he believed to 

 be right. 



He was one of the earliest advocates of con- 

 servation and in 1910 was legal adviser of 

 Glavis in the Ballinger-Pinchot controversy 

 (see ALASKA, subhead History). In the same 

 year he appeared before the Interstate Com- 

 merce Commission as counsel for several asso- 

 ciations of shippers, and made the startling 

 claim that the railways of the United States 

 were wasting SI ,000 ,000 a day by retaining 

 methods in management which up-to-date 

 manufacturers discarded long ago in favor of 

 more scientific systems. Railroad managers 

 vigorously denied such a possibility, but at 

 once began to effect economies that seemed 

 in large measure to have justified the charge. 

 He has frequently appeared in trials and public 

 hearings involving such subjects of reform as 

 a minimum wage and shorter hours for working 

 women and children, and in 1910 was chairman 

 of the arbitration board which settled the strike 

 of the New York garment workers. Brandeis 

 was for many years a bitter critic of the New 

 York, New Haven & Hartford Railway, and he 

 foretold the difficulties which beset that com- 

 pany in 1912 and 1913 long before the general 

 public had any warning of disaster. His ap- 

 pointment in January, 1916, to membership in 

 the Supreme Court was contested for nearly 

 five months before confirmation was won in the 

 Senate. See SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED 

 STATES, for illustration. 



BRAN'DENBURG, the central province of 

 Prussia, which was the greatest kingdom of the 

 former German Empire. It has Berlin as its 

 capital, and that city is now the capital of the 

 new republic. Brandenburg covers an area of 

 15,381 square miles. The surface is flat and 

 well watered, and the industries and resources 

 of the province are most highly developed. 

 Internal communications by road, railway, 

 river and canal are excellent ; the railroads are 

 owned by the state. Agricultural pursuits 



have suffered during recent years owing to 

 the inclination of rural inhabitants to move 

 to the cities. The principal crops are barley, 

 rye, potatoes, tobacco, hemp, flax, hops and 

 sugar beets. Cattle raising also gives employ- 

 ment to a large number of people. 



As a manufacturing center the province is 

 of the greatest importance. Wool, silk, linen, 



BRANDENBURG 



In the heart of Prussia, with Berlin as its 

 center. 



paper and leather goods form the bulk of the 

 products, and there are numerous breweries and 

 distilleries. The principal towns, next to the 

 capital, are Potsdam, Konigsberg, Brandenburg 

 and Frankfort-on-the-Oder. The famous Bran- 

 denburg Gate, described in the article BERLIN, 

 is named after the province. Brandenburg's 

 industrial life suffered severely during the War 

 of the Nations; situated near the center of 

 Germany and containing the capital city, it 

 was keenly alive to every phase of the tre- 

 mendous conflict. Population in 1910, exclusive 

 of Berlin, 4,092,616. 



BRANDES, brahn'des, GEORG MORRIS COHEN 

 (1842- ), the greatest Danish literary critic 

 of his day and one of the greatest of modern 

 times. He was born in Copenhagen, of Jewish 

 parents, and was educated at the university in 

 that city. After extensive travel in Europe 

 he taught for five years in the University of 

 Copenhagen and then removed to Berlin. Since 

 1882 he has made his home in his native city, 

 devoting himself to study and lecturing. In 

 1914 he visited the chief cities of the United 

 States, everywhere arousing keen interest by 

 his lectures and his personality. 



Brandes has not only brought new life to 

 Danish letters, but he is a stimulating critic 

 of the world's literature To him, literature 

 itself is a "criticism of life," and his viewpoint 



