KRUPP GOING DOWN HILL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 17153, 1 October 1926, Page 3

KRUPP GOING DOWN HIL L

FEWER WORKERS EMPLOYED. FAMOUS ESSEN FACORIES. BERLIN, August 21. Is there anything seriously wrong with the Vast and world-famous firm of Krupp! That is certainly a staggering question to ask, especially if it is recalled what “Krupp of Essen” meant before the Great War. » The concern was a “national institution;” the name of Ivrupp was “bracketed equal,” it may almost lie said, with that of Hohenzollern in prewar imperial Germany. The chief of the firm, Fraulein Bertha Krupp, Hie “girl cannon-queen,” had the biggest fortune in the fatherland, and a larger income than her Kaiser. Messrs Krupp employed no fewer than 75,000 men. After the struggle of 1914-13, Messrs. Ivrupp had to turn their attention ex clusively to products of peace. At first it looked as though this vast and difficult change would be accomplished successfully; But now the number of Krupp’s enl ployees has shrunk to 17,000, and JB the loebmotivje department there jfln only 500 men, engaged almost 'on repair work.

i 'The question of getting » strong man to deal with the difficult situation had to be faced, and Germany lost an ambassador so that 'Krupps might have a saviour. The man was the late Herr WiedD fold, who had Been ori the Krupp directorate, but who had left it to become the German Republic’s first ambassador in the United States. Representations were made to the German Government, and Herr Wiedtfeld came back to Germauy for the purpose of reforming, Krupps. It is said that. he-found.strpng opposition on the part" of the board to any changes in the timC-honored way of. doing things. Then his health broke down. He died, and Krupps are ‘still without the one strong man needful. Then lvrupps decided not to amalgamate with the recently-founded steel trust. -n By standing out of that vast concern, of course, the Krupp firm! finds itself up against a opponent with gigan- , t ie recources. ! The production of coal from the Krupp mine is, for thte time being, quite good, and so is the turnout of high-quality steel. But iir the machine •and implement shop business is very shad., ■ Trie Worst thing about this birpich ■■the firm’s business has been the al-

most complete failure to do anything in the Kussian market.