REVIEWS
Die deutschen Stddte: Geschildert nach den Ergebnissen der crsten deutschen Stddteausstellung zu Dresden, ipoj. Edited by DR. JUR. ET PHIL. ROBERT WUTTKE, Professor at the Dresden Institute of Technology. Vol. I, Text, pp. xliv -f- 892 (royal 8vo) ; Vol. II, Illustrations, pp. viii-f-455 (827 plates, large 4to). Leipzig: Friedrich Brandstetter, 1904. Mk. 30.
This book is a compilation of studies made at the municipal exposition held at Dresden in 1903, by specialists in the several departments included. Recognizing the great value of the First German Municipal Exposition, and knowing that much of the material there exhibited would become inaccessible, or nearly so, at the end of the exposition, the directors encouraged this work from the beginning. They also devoted a considerable sum toward the cost of publication. The exposition presented the acme of municipal attainment in Germany, and these studies give us the best discussion that we have had of municipal conditions in that country.
The field covered is so large and varied that it would be beyond the power of one person to investigate thoroughly all of the numer- ous departments. The editor, therefore, wisely decided to give full charge of each department to some man especially competent to dis- cuss it. The treatment of each subject has been left to the judgment of the man writing it, so one need not look for relative values. What is hereby lost in sequence and unity is, however, counter- balanced by a gain in accuracy and adequacy.
Some of the material is historical, but the major part is of present, practical value ; for the cities of Germany have had a better organized governmental machinery than have those of almost any other country, and they have gone into the study of their problems systematically. Professor Wuttke gives a short historical sketch of municipal progress in Germany, leading up to an account of the exposition which presented a picture of the last three decades of advance.
Dr. Kuhfahl treats of municipal government and administration, showing the variations in the several German states. He includes
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