Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family

Title

Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family

Creator

Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958

Identifier

WWP23124

Date

1923 November 16

Description

Letter from Jon Bouman to his family.

Source

Gift of William C. and Evelina Suhler

Subject

Germany--History--1918-1933
Correspondence
Berlin, Germany

Contributor

Rachel Dark
Denise Montgomery

Language

English

Requires

PROOFREADING

Provenance

Evelina Suhler is the granddaughter of Jon Anthony Bouman and inherited the family collection of his letters from the years of World War I. She and her husband gave the letters to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum in 2013.

Text

Inflation!    
See over

Hotel Adlon
Unter den Linden
Berlin 16 Nov. 1923

Dearest;
            This is the day after my arrival here, and getting on for midnight, but I must no longer delay telling you about my trip and first experiences. Well, the sea wasn’t rough at all, just a gentle rolling that didn’t interfere with my comfort a bit, so that was so much to the good. I was told on board that the previous night the boat had rocked and pitched tremendously, as I could well believe from the way it was blowing in town. All was quiet on board and I don’t believe anybody was sick at all. So up bright and early next day, and on the train. It was an ideal day for travelling, bright and sunny and with a pleasant snap in the air. There had been some changes in the arrangements since last time and I had to take my midday meal at half past ten in the morning – rather soon after breakfast at 7, but that was because the frontier was reached at about 12 o’clock and the train was made up afresh for the rest of the journey. In Germany the services have been curtailed, and we were held up at Hanover for an hour waiting for the Cologne train to be hitched on, with another dining car which was already fully booked up for two dinner sessions and I could only get booked into the third, at 830 pm when I was beginning to feel somewhat peckish! The company was nothing to speak about – I got into conversation with a secretary of the German railway service, all blue uniform and gold braid. I gave him a Dutch cigar and he beamed, and insisted on lugging my bags about when I changed carriages at Hanover and was very grateful for shilling I gave him which was worth a billion marks. He said he had wanted to buy his boy a pair of boots but found he couldn’t afford it.

            So it was 10 pm when I arrived at the Friedrichstrasse, cab fare three billions and a hundred milliard tip which I borrowed from the hotel porter, having no such small change on me.

            Enderis and Smith welcomed me with open arms, but very few of the old gang I find are left at the Adlon. As a matter of fact it is a very dead place compared with last time, for Berlin is no longer cheap even for foreigners. They charge here on the gold dollar basis and the hotel is now one of the dearest in Europe I should think.

            My room costs 18 English shillings per day plus 80% for local taxation and I was presented with a bill even before I had had my breakfast this morning because of the varying rate. I have the same room I had the first time I came to Berlin with bath attached. It is very comfortable I must say, but the bills are stupendous. One condition is that the guest must take at least one “principal meal of the day” at the hotel.

            The money situation is absolutely crazy and bewildering. I had a whole fistful of banknotes today, in milliards and billions; I had to sit down and write out everything to see how much it really amounted to and I found I only had eight shillings! Prices in shops are quoted at peace rates which has to be multiplied with an index figure and then turned into paper marks with the most extraordinary results. I bought a piece of soap costing 350 milliard marks and a tube of cream 400 milliards, (of 1000 millions each) these figures dance before your eyes until you get quite dizzy and you don’t know whether they mean millions or billions or milliards --- For a newcomer it’s too utterly bewildering. Even residents have come across notes they have never seen before, and where it will all end the Lord knows.

            Even on street barrows apples are sold at 800 millions for ½ lb. What it means I don’t know. They say in Cologne you get four times the amount in marks for pound 1 that you get in Berlin because the Berlin government fixes the exchange; on the other hand you can get your pounds changed on the quiet at more than twice what the hotel cashier will pay you so you see it leaves one utterly flabbergasted. I daresay I shall get the hang of it presently. The hotel is comparatively empty & the Browns have rented a flat, the Renwicks are holidaying in France, but I have renewed my acquaintance with one or two old stagers.

            Enderis remarked how dear fruit was and I asked him if he ever bought any off those street barrows. He said no, because they were covered with blankets that the dogs and the babies slept on, so he didn’t fancy the fruit! Bill, you laugh here. Roar, you fatheads!

            On my beautifully polished and inlaid writing table there is a lovely morocco leather (genuine) writing case, but no paper. You pay extra for that. This I borrowed from Enderis (some deckle, this?) On the table stands a printed notice that “nothing must be left unlocked”------- another awful nuisance until you get into the routine of turning keys in locks!

            Goodbye darlings, I hope you are all keeping fit. Will write more next time.

           Your loving
            Dad

Original Format

Letter

To

Bouman Family

Files

http://resources.presidentwilson.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1923-11-16.pdf

Citation

Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958, “Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family,” 1923 November 16, WWP23124, Jon Anthony Bouman Collection, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.