60 BERLIN t A STUDY OP 



government. A prominent business man of Berlin told 

 me that he had originally been strongly opposed to gov- 

 ernment ownership of the railways, but he now saw that 

 it was the best thing that could have happened. The pub- 

 lic convenience had been vastly increased by better and 

 more frequent train service, cheaper rates, and the avoid- 

 ance of the ruinous competition of private corporations, 

 while every diminution of the evils of stock gambling, such 

 as was occasioned by the withdrawal of the railway ele- 

 ment from the market, was a direct benefit to legitimate 

 business and the public at large. 



In the great cities the stations are mostly on a grand 

 scale and of beautiful architectural design, expressing the 

 character of the building. In England, under private con- 

 trol, the railway stations are almost universally mere 

 sheds, differing only in magnitude, with hardly a rudiment 

 of artistic design, and little attention paid to the comfort 

 of passengers, while their sides are so plastered with ad- 

 vertising that, when a train stops at a way-station, it is 

 with great difficulty that a stranger can detect the name 

 of the place. 



The Stadtbahn, or city railway, in Berlin is a great con- 

 venience. It is an elevated railway traversing the city 

 from east to west, and connecting with the Ringbahn, or 

 belt railway, that surrounds the city. Both belong to the 

 Prussian government, and are of great military value, en- 

 abling the saving of two or three days in the mobilization 

 of troops and their rapid transportation through the city in 

 case of need. The Stadtbahn is built upon substantial 

 brick arches throughout its length, and, instead of occu- 

 pying the streets at the expense of the abuttors, as in New 

 York, the right of way was purchased for it, and the build- 

 ings were demolished to make way for it. The stations 

 are elaborate and handsome affairs, with arching roofs sim- 



