DARK GERMANY.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXXXIV, Issue 55, 15 June 1908, Page 2

DARK GERMANY.

HOW TO EXPLOIT THE WILLING WORKER. SONG OF~THE SHIRT. For its size Saxony is certainly the most industrial (State in Germany (writes a London 'Chronicle' correspondent). As a general rule the Saxon workman in factories is fairly well paid. He works two hours a day longer than the British workman, and his weekly earnings are from 3U to 40 per cent less, but he is as well situated as most of his other fellows in other parts of the Fatherland, and his life as a rule is not one of extreme penury. But in addition to these workers with fairly regular employment and well skilled in their particular branches there is an enormous fringe of men and women without any particular skill and with uncertain employment, whose earnings never rise above the lowest point in the scale of wages. These are the undoubted proletariat found in every industrial centre, and it is among these most exclusively that wo must seek the home worker. He and his wife and children eke out their scanty wages by this most wearing of labor. "FANATICALLY INDUSTRIOUS." One of the leading home industries of the little kingdom is the making of linen and cotton underclothing. The large export houses in Saxony, and perhaps to a still greater extent the Berlin wholesale stores, have most of their goods made here. Saxony is selected by the Berlin houses because the Saxon women will work for onehalf of that claimed by her Berlin sister. A Berlin sempstress in the employ of one of these firms is able by a ten to fifteen hours day to earn from 8s to 12s per week, the Saxon women with equal diligence will earn only 6s. This Eittance, added to the scanty wages of er husband, tides the family over w.ant of a too pressing character. In Oberplanitz. Loesnitz, Rodewisch, and numerous other Saxon districts the sewing machine rattles all day long in every poor man's house. In Rodewisch alone there are probably from two to three thousand women and girls working for Berlin houses. All day long the machines are going, and when the nead of the house returns home from work he seats himself at the machine and works while his wife gets the supper. The people are "fanatically industrious." I was informed. The "doing up" and ironing of the underclothing is almost exclusively the work of women. It ought not to be. The irons are heavier than those in ordinary use, and the damp, warm vapor from the goods is exceedingly trying. Their work, in consequence, is much better paid than that of the machinist. With a ten or twelve hours day they can earn from 12s to 15s per week. From this they must deduct about 2s a week for coals and other expenses. A PENNY AN HOUR. The manufacture of men's neckties and scarves is carried on in the same district, and is worse paid even than the white work, for the simple reason that it requires no skill, and can be engaged in by anyone with time on their hands. It often happens that women work a fifty-four hours week for only ss. But the scarf-makers are not so badly off as the women who make aprons and negliges. As a rule the earnings per hour of these unfortunate toilers are from Id to A fully employed week brings in from 5s to 9s. In a trade report on this industry I read: The workwoman sits from earliest morning till the day has sunk. She sews with her machine until her eyes are heavy with fatigue. She is always poverty-stricken, often sickly, and usually works in a room which serves her as well as for bedroom and kitchen. As a consequence of this state of affairs this class of woman is largely affected by nervous disorders, and it is no flight of imagination to say that the color of their white goods is reflected in their gaunt faces. This perpetual staring at white things contributes in a large measure to the prevalence of a number of disorders from which they suffer. One of the most serious of these is a curious affection of the eyes. The stooping position assists the progress of various diseases of the heart, lungs, and stomach, In the report from which I quote there is the case quoted of a woman who makes shirts and petticoats, and has been making theso articles for the past twelve years. She has five children, and consequently can "only" work ten hours a day. She earns 6s a week, and from this sum she must deduct 7d for cotton and Is 6d for instalment for her new sewing machine. This woman suffers severely from rheumatism, and sits in a draughty kitchen. Her husband earns 17s 6d per week as factory worker. In Chemnitz and the neighboring places one of the principal home industries is the manufacture of kid gloves. As carried on in the homes of these Saxon workers, it is a most unhealthy occupation. Dust fills the room where they work—dust composed of talic, flour and animal matter from the raw side of the leather. Here also consumption has its crowds of victims. The work, owing to the minuteness of the stitching, is most trying to the eyes, and nearly every worker who has been at this employment for Borne years wears glasses. In Germany there are about 6000 women and girls employed in the various processes of glove manufacture. Their average wages run from about 3s per week, paid to a girl fresh from school, to 12s earned by the experienced workman. The average price paid for the work on a three-button kid glove is from 6d to 7d. To make a pair of these gloves 4000 stitches are necessary, and these stitches must all be made with a precision entailing infinite caro and patience. SHOES AND SAUSAGES. I have only space for two more industries carried on to a large extent in Germany. In the boot and shoe industry, which is largely distributed all over Central Germany, skilled workers in factories earn fair wages, and have constant employment. The average weekly wages would be about 255. Workers with less skill, who tend sim¥le machinery, earn from 15s to 18s. 'hese men cannot keep a family on this wage, and are driven to home industry. Some of them who have been able to scrape together a little money have bought machines, and their wives and children, if skilled, can earn more than the father's wage. But such instances are extremely rare,

About 30,000 persons are engaged in the shoemaking home industry, working for factories, and, after a careful examination of the figures at my disposal, I reckon that about 25,000 of these earn a weekly sum of less than 15s, 20,000 less than 12s, 15,000 less than Bs, and 12,000 less than 6s. The average week's work is sixty-four hours. In various parts of Saxony, and in Bavaria as well, I sajv many of theso home-working shoemakers and their • women folk. I must describe them as I saw them. They were, as far as physique is concerned, not to be compared with the men of Kettering and Northhampton. They had little interest, apparently, m life. They read nothing but the weekly Socialist sheet, which is handed from man to man. They were not addicted to drink; they were rarely seen intoxicated. Their food was poor, mainly potatoes and sausage. In the town they eat a good deal of horseflesh, but, as there is not a very big difference between the price of the very best cuts of a horse and the worst cuts of a pig, they are driven to horse sausage very often. They say that the horse sausage tastes very good, but its looks are certainly against it. CIGARS AND DIRT. The last home industry I would touch on is the making of cigars. In Saxony there is not so much of this as in Hamburg and other towns of the north. About 130,000 persons are employed in cigar-making, of whom perhaps a quarter work at home. The wages paid in this industry, including factories, are exceedingly low. I have some figures to- illustrate this. The weekly wages of 11.92 per cent, of the cigar-workers is 10s; of 20.4 it is 12s: of 38.51 it is 14s: of 20.17 it is 16s; and only 9.36 of them enjoy a weekly wage of 18s and over. Of 1167 factories, only seventy-one work nine hours a day. In 588 the working day is ten hours, in 508 eleven hours and over. One of the most notable things about the cigar home industry is the dirt and disorder in the homes of the workers, and the insanitary conditions under which most of the work is done. In the vast majority of cases the kitchen is the workroom. The strong odor of tobacco is blended with that of potatoes frying in fat—the usual evening meal. There is also pretty certain to be ft clothes-line full of drying children's clothes. If a few crumbs of potato get into the folds of the cigars it does not much matter, I suppose. In one report of the cigar home industry which lies before me the writer object sto the lady of the house "doing" her own and her children's hair in the same room where the cigars are made. The workers seldom go for a walk, because their clothes are not respectable enough, so they content themselves on Sunday with a glass of schnapps and a game of cards.