llenz" with his title; Referendar, Assessor,
Justizrat, Geheimer Justizrat, Gerichts-Assessor, Amtsrichter,
Amtsgerichtrat, Oberamtsrichter, Landgerichtsdirector,
Amtsgerichtspraesident, Geheimer Finanzrat, Wirklicher Geheimer Ober
Finanzrat, Legationsrat, Wirklicher Geheimer Legationsrat, Vice Konsul,
Konsul, General Konsul, Commercienrat, Wirklichercommercienrat,
Staatsanwalt, Staatsanwaltschaftsrat, Herr Erster Staatsanwalt, where
the "Herr" is a legal part of the title; of those who must be addressed
as "Excellenz," and in addition military and naval titles, and the horde
of handles to names of those in the railway, postal, telegraph, street-
cleaning, forestry, and other departments, one must merely throw up
one's hands in despair, and bow to the inevitable disgrace of being
quite unable to name this Noah's-ark procession of petty dignitaries.

In the department of post and telegraph a new order has gone forth,
issued during the last few months, by which, after passing certain
examinations, the employees may take the title of Ober-Postschaffner
and Ober-Leitungsaufseher. After thirty years' service the postman is
dignified with the title of Ober-Brieftraeger. It is difficult to
understand the type of mind which is flattered by such infantile
honors. At any rate, it is a cheap system of rewards, and so long as
men will work for such trumpery ends the state profits by playing upon
their childish vanity. During the year 1912 more than 7,000
decorations were distributed, and some 1,500 of these were of the
three classes of the Order of the Red Eagle. On the twenty-fifth
anniversary of the reign of the present Emperor, in 1913, still
another medal is to be struck, to be given to worthy officials and
officers.

All the professions and all the trades, too, have their pharmacopoeia
of tags and titles, and you will go far afield to find a German woman
who is not Frau Something-or-other Schmidt, or Fischer,
or Miller. Every day one hears women greeting one another as Frau
Oberforstmeister, Frau Superintendent, Frau Medicinalrat, Frau
Oberbergrat, Frau Apothekar, Frau Stadt-Musikdirektor, Frau Doktor
Rechtsanwalt, Frau Geschaeftsfuehrer, and the like. All these titles,
too, appear in the hotel registers and in all announcements in the
newspapers. Even when a man dies, his title follows him to the grave,
and even beyond it, in the speech of those left behind.

These uniforms and titles and small formalities do make, I admit