Part 19

_Germany._--In Germany the cotton industry is by no means so intensely localized as in England, but three large districts may be distinguished:--

1. The north-west district, which consists of the Rhine Province and Westphalia and contained 1-3/4 million spindles in 1901.

2. The country north of the mountain ranges of northern Bohemia comprises the middle district, which contained 2-1/2 million spindles in 1901. In Saxony the industry has been carried on for four centuries.

3. Alsace, Baden, Wurttemberg and Bavarian Swabia make up the south-west district, to which some 3-1/2 million spindles were assigned. It is in close proximity to the cotton districts of east France, Switzerland and Vorarlberg.

According to Oppel (1902) the German spinning industry is chiefly localized in--

Prussia with 2020 thousand spindles Saxony " 1870 " " Alsace " 1600 " " Bavaria " 1390 " "

The spindles of Wurttemberg, which stands next, do not much exceed half a million. Only sixteen places in Germany (shown in tabular form on p. 169) contained as many as 100,000 spindles in 1901.

+------------------+-------------+---------------+-------------+ | | Spindles in | | Spindles in | | | Thousands. | | Thousands. | +------------------+-------------+---------------+-------------+ | Mulhausen | 471 | Chemnitz | 195 | | Augsburg | 373 | Gebweiler | 187 | | Gronau | 274 | Leipzig | 182 | | Werdau | 249 | Crimmitzschau | 168 | | Rheydt | 248 | Logelbach | 141 | | Munchen-Gladbach | 216 | Bocholt | 128 | | Rheine | 198 | Bamberg | 125 | | Hof | 196 | Bayreuth | 100 | +------------------+-------------+---------------+-------------+

The history of the hand industry in Germany runs back some centuries. At the time when it flourished in the Netherlands we may be sure that it was prosecuted to some extent farther north and east. The start with the machine industry was not long delayed after its economies had been learnt in England. It was fostered by protection against the cheap products of Lancashire, and in the course of time stimulated by every step taken towards the economic unity of the German States which broke down local barriers and therefore enlarged the German market. Duties upon cotton goods, however, were not immoderately high until the measure of 1879, the policy of which was carried to a further stage in 1885. Slight reactions were brought about in 1888 and 1891, largely by the complaints, not only of the consumers of finished goods, but also of manufacturers whose costs of production were kept up by the high prices of home-spun yarns and the tax on imported substitutes. According to the investigations made by the Board of Trade, the general ad valorem impact of German duties on British goods stood somewhat as follows in 1902:--

_Statement showing the Average Incidence_ (ad valorem) _of the Import Duties levied by Germany on British Cotton Goods._

+-------------------------+-----------------+--------------+--------------+ | |Average Value of | | Approximate | | |Exports from the | Rate of Duty | Equivalent | | |United Kingdom to| estimated | Rate of Duty | | | all Countries | Equivalent. | _ad valorem_.| | | in 1902. | | | +-------------------------+-----------------+--------------+--------------+ |Cotton manufactures-- | | | Per Cent. | | Piece goods, unbleached| 2.01d. per yd. |0.87d. per yd.| 43 | | " " bleached | 2.46d. " |1.09d. " | 44 | | " " printed | 2.68d. " |1.31d. " | 49 | | " " dyed, &c. | 3.46d. " |1.31d. " | 38 | |Cotton thread for sewing | 26.89d. per lb. |3.81d. per lb.| 15 | |Cotton yarn-- | | | | | Grey | 10.49d. " |0.98d. " | 9 | | Bleached or dyed | 11.23d. " |1.63d. " | 15 | +-------------------------+-----------------+--------------+--------------+

The duties are not prohibitive--they are much less than those of the United States at the same time--but they are heavy on the classes of goods which come into competition with home-made goods. The general principle of the tariff is to treat easiest commodities which are made with least success at home, or are in the highest degree raw material for a home manufacture. Therefore yarns are not taxed very heavily, and of these the finest counts escape with slight discouragement.

In the cotton industry, as well as in numerous other industries of Germany, almost feverish activity was shown after the Franco-German War. Previously great advance had been made, but it was not until the last quarter of the 19th century that Germany forced herself into the first rank. As measured by the annual consumption of cotton the German industry increased as follows:--

_Metric Tons of Cotton per Annum._

(In Thousands.) 1836-1840 9 1856-1860 46 1876-1880 124 1886-1890 201 1899-1903 324

It must be remembered that the spindles and looms of Alsace and Lorraine were reckoned as German after the war: they amounted in 1895 to one and a half million spindles and nearly forty thousand looms.

In the 'seventies there was no dispute as to England's substantial lead in respect of efficiency. Alexander Redgrave, the chief factory inspector, made inquiries on the continent both in 1873, when Lancashire was anxious as to the comparative cost of production abroad because of the short-time bill then before parliament, and previously, and reported most unfavourably upon the state of the industry in Germany. Hours were long, the skill of the hands was inferior, speeds were low and time was wasted. In several important respects his views were corroborated by M. Taine in his _Notes on England_, and by the evidence adduced before the German commission upon the cotton and linen industries in 1878. A marked contrast is noticeable between the sketches drawn of this period and the careful picture presented by Professor Schulze-Gaevernitz of the early "'nineties," but even in the latter the advantage of England is represented as substantial in every essential respect. The gap which existed has narrowed, but it is still unmistakable. To give one example, according to Dr Huber's figures there were in Saxony at the end of the 19th century 106 spindles to an operative and about as many weavers as looms, whereas in England there were about twice as many spindles to an operative and twice as many looms as persons engaged in weaving sheds.[61] As regards manufacturing, the character of the product may partly explain the difference, but it will not entirely. The reader need hardly be warned that the comparison drawn is exceedingly rough. German cotton operatives taken all round are certainly less efficient than English labour of the same kind. The reason is partly that the proportion of the German workpeople who have been for long specialized to the industry, and look forward to continuing in it all their lives, is not high. Complaint is constantly made of the number of vacancies created in the mills each year by operatives leaving, and of the impossibility of filling them with experienced hands. Many of the vacancies are caused by the return of workpeople to the country parts. Sometimes the mills are in the country, or within easy reach of it, and labour is obtained from the unoccupied members of peasants' families. In these cases the factories do not always succeed in attracting the most capable people, and work in the factory is not infrequently looked upon as a makeshift to supplement a family's earnings. Among Lancashire operatives far more pride of occupation may be met with. In many of the industrial parts of Germany English conditions are evolving, but they are not generally the rule. An American consul may be taken to report to his own country without prejudice as to the rival merits of German and English conditions: one such wrote in 1901:--"The task of educating labour up to a high degree of efficiency is difficult, and many generations are necessary to achieve that result. The English cotton spinners have attained such a degree of skill and intelligence that, for the most part, no supervision is necessary. In Germany the presence of a technical overseer is indispensable. Another advantage which England enjoys is the cheap price of machinery. Germany imports the major part of her machinery from England, and German wholesale dealers in these machines have not been able, by placing large orders, to overcome the difference caused by freight and tariff." Wages reflect the efficiencies of countries, not of course perfectly, but in some degree. They are much higher in Lancashire than in Germany, as is made evident by an article from the pen of Professor Hasbach in _Schmollers Jahrbuch_ (vol. ii., 1903). The author tries to show that Germany is not so far behind England industrially as is generally believed, and the contrast drawn by him, greatly to the advantage of Lancashire, is not likely to exaggerate the superiority of English conditions. It is calculated by Professor Hasbach that the daily wages of spinners are about 5/10 to 6/10 at Oldham, 6/6 at Bolton and 5/6 in Stalybridge and neighbouring places. With these he compares the 3.70 to 3.80 marks paid in the Rhine Province and Leipzig, and the 3 to 3.15 marks paid in the Vogtland, Bavaria and Alsace, and mentions an exceptionally high wage of 4-2/3 marks, which was earned by an operative who worked a new and long doubling mule. The wage paid to the big piecer in England, Dr Hasbach goes on to show, is not much greater than that received by a good assistant in Germany. This comparison as it stands will probably give some readers an idea that English advantages are greater than they actually are, because it may be overlooked that the great difference between wages in the case of English and German spinners is not repeated among the piecers. Taking a spinner and his first assistant as the unit, we should have a joint average daily wage of about 8/6 in England and 6/6 in Germany. In the case of weavers, comparison of wages is more difficult to draw, but the advantage of England would seem to be but little less. However, in instituting a comparison between two countries, as regards the relative efficiency of labour in some industries, we should do well to remind ourselves that efficiency is a somewhat transitory thing, dependent upon education and experience as much as upon aptitude. In respect of the capacity of labour for the task required in the cotton industry, we could not (writing in 1907) make the statement that England leads significantly with the assurance with which we can assert her superiority in respect of present attainments. The cotton industry has not been prosecuted on a large scale in Germany so long as in England, and the Germans have not, therefore, had the same opportunity for developing their latent powers. But the thoughtfulness and carefulness of the German workman are beyond dispute, and these qualities will procure for him a leading place where work is not mechanical. Already in the cotton industry it is said that the operatives are displaying quite striking powers of undertaking a wide range of work and changing easily from one pattern to another. Hence German firms feel little hesitation in taking small orders on special designs; they do not experience any great difficulty in getting their factors accommodated to produce the required articles.

Apart from the efficiency of labour, reasons exist for the lower real cost of production in England in the organization of the industry. The German industry is not only less localized, but, as we might perhaps infer from that circumstance, less specialized. A German factory will turn out scores of patterns where an English firm will confine itself to a few specialities. Time is wasted in accommodating machinery to changes and in accustoming the hands to new work. The German producer suffers from the undeveloped state of the market. In England specialized markets with specialized dealers have greatly assisted producers both in their buying and selling. A German manufacturer may have to find his customers as the English manufacturer need not; at least, so Professor Schulze-Gaevernitz has assured us, and conditions have not been wholly transformed since he made his careful analysis. He wrote:--"But especially disadvantageous is the decentralization in respect to the sale. Here also the German manufacturer stands under the same disadvantages with which the English had to struggle in the 'thirties. The German manufacturer still seeks his customers through travellers and agents, and in many instances through retail sellers, whose financial standing is often questionable, whose necessity for credit is always certain. Hence the complaints about the bad conditions of payment in Germany which crop up continually in the _enquete_. The manufacturers had to wait three, four or six months, and even twelve months and longer for payment. In reality there existed 'termless terms,' a 'complete anarchy in the method of payment.' ... The manufacturer cannot be at the same time commission agent, banker, merchant and retail dealer; he needs sound customers capable of paying. He fares best if the sale is concentrated in one market, and 'change' prices simplify the struggle between buyer and seller. The search for customers, foreign as well as home, and the bearing of all possible risks of disposal, are in any case difficult enough to necessitate the whole strength of a man. The wholesale merchant alone is in a position to pay the manufacturer in cash or on sure, short terms. But especially where export is in question is the dispersal of sales an extreme impediment. The manufacturer cannot follow the fashions in Australia and South America; the foreign buyer cannot travel from mill to mill."

It is the want of commercial development in Germany which accounts for the more frequent combination of weaving and spinning there than in England. But in Germany to-day economic enterprise is flourishing, and commercial development may confidently be looked for together with advance in other directions. It is not many years since the typical German cotton factory was comparatively primitive; now mills can be exhibited which might have been erected recently in Oldham. Between the early 'eighties and the 'nineties the expansion of the German industry was enormous--the imports of cotton-wool rose by nearly 70%--yet the number of spinning-mills was actually reduced from 6750 to 2450, while the number of weaving-sheds fell from 56,200 to 32,750. At the same time the factories devoted to mixed goods declined from 25,200 to less than 16,350. From these figures we may gather how rapidly the average size of mills and weaving-sheds enlarged in the period. One cause, no doubt, was that improved economies in the new businesses forced antiquated factories to shut down and make way for still newer erections. There were recently about twice as many persons engaged in weaving as in spinning, but the largest numbers of all--slightly in excess of those in weaving-sheds--were the persons occupied in the manufacture of cotton-lace, trimmings, &c. As we might imagine, Germany's exports of cotton goods are not high. Including yarns they amounted to L13.7 million per annum in 1899-1903. In order of value their largest exports are (1) coloured goods, (2) hosiery, (3) lace and embroidery, (4) yarns, and (5) trimmings, &c.

_France._--Into the industrial conditions of the two leading rivals of England we have entered in some detail; the state of affairs in the rest of the world must be dealt with more briefly. Of France more ought to be said than we can find place for, though in respect of the magnitude of her cotton industry, as measured by the quantity of spindles, she stands now not fourth, but fifth, Russia taking precedence. But the work of the French is incomparably superior to anything that is turned out from Russia. France suffered a severe blow when the industry of Alsace and Lorraine was lost to Germany, but the inexhaustible originality of French _design_ will always secure for her goods a place in the first rank. As regards _artistic_ results France leads, but the real cost of her spinning and weaving cannot approach in lowness that of Lancashire. After costly strikes the French workmen have succeeded in shortening their hours to ten and a half a day; and here it may be remarked that the International Association of Textile Operatives tends to equate continental industrial conditions to those of England. The French industry has been fostered by tariffs. When the Board of Trade calculation was made, French tariffs were found to bear upon British cotton goods with about the same severity as those of Germany, except that the former treated more hardly yarns and cotton thread for sewing. French protectionism has kept down her exports; such as they are the majority proceed now to her colonies. Normandy, the north and east, in order, are the chief seats of the industry. In Normandy the leading city is Rouen, and Darnetal, Maromme, Sotteville, Havre, Yvetot, Dieppe, Evreux, Gisors, Falaise and Flers are important places. The north contains the important towns of Lille, Tourcoing, Roubaix, St Quentin, Amiens and Hellemmes. The Vosges is the chief district of the east, and the leading towns are Epinal, St Die, Remiremont, Senones, Val d'Ajol, Cornimont and La Bresse. The following towns which are not included in any of the districts mentioned above are also noteworthy:--Troyes, Nantes, Cholet, Laval, Tarare, Roanne, Thizy and Villefranche upon the Saone. Cotton arrives at Havre and Marseilles; at the latter chiefly the product of Egypt and the East. Havre used to be the most important cotton port in continental Europe, but to-day more spindles are fed from Bremen than from Havre. France's consumption of cotton annually in the period 1899-1903 was 215,000 metric tons.

_Russia._--Power-spinning was carried into Russia by Ludwig Knoop, who had learnt the trade in Manchester, and to his efforts its early success was due. The growth, largely the result of very heavy protectionism--according to the Board of Trade report, from 50 to more than 100% more severe than that of Germany,--has been rapid, as the following table bears witness:--

_Average yearly Importation of Cotton wool and Yarn into Russia._

+-----------+----------------+----------------+ | | Raw Cotton in | Cotton Yarn in | | | thousand tons. | thousand tons. | +-----------+----------------+----------------+ | 1824-1826 | .9 | 5.4 | | 1836-1838 | 4.6 | 10.1 | | 1842-1844 | 8.4 | 9.5 | | 1848-1850 | 21.4 | 4.5 | | 1889-1891 | 117.4 | 3.4 | | 1899-1903 | 180.0 | 2.9 | +-----------+----------------+----------------+

_Table showing approximately the Growth of Spindles and Looms in Russia._

+---------+---------------+----------------+ | | Spindles. | Looms. | +---------+---------------+----------------+ | 1857 | 1,000,000 | | | 1877 | | 55,000 | | 1887 | 4,000,000 | 85,000 | | 1900 | 6,000,000 | 146,000 | | 1909 | 7,800,000 | | +---------+---------------+----------------+

The chief districts were the following in 1900:--

+---------------+------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | Government. | Factories. | Spindles | Looms | | | | (in thousands). | (in thousands). | +---------------+------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | Moscow | 56 | 1295 | 33 | | Vladimir | 67 | 1224 | 42 | | Piotrkov | 25 | 745 | 20 | | St Petersburg | 24 | 1074 | 11 | | Jaroslaw | 4 | 347 | 2 | | Kostroma | 25 | 274 | 20 | | Tver | 6 | 348 | 9 | | Esthonia | 1 | 440 | 2 | | Ryazan | 4 | 146 | 3 | | Elsewhere | 15 | 198 | 4 | | +------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | Total | 227 | 6091 | 146 | +---------------+------------+-----------------+-----------------+

Fine spinning has been attempted only recently. Generally speaking 70's used to be the upper limit, but now counts up to 140's are tried, though the bulk of the output is coarse yarn. The inefficiency of the labour was made abundantly plain by Dr Schulze-Gaevernitz in his economic study of Russia, and conditions have not greatly altered for the better since. Roughly, 170,000 operatives worked 6,000,000 spindles in 1900, which means 35 spindles per head as compared with more than 100 in Saxony and more than 200 in England. In weaving the ratio of operatives to machinery worked out at about one loom to each weaver, which is comparatively much less unfavourable to Russia. The proportion in Saxony is about the same, but in England the average approaches two looms to a weaver. The speed of machinery cannot be compared, and we must remember that the above contrasts are rough only, and made without regard to differences of product. Russia is encouraging the growth of cotton at home. It is of very inferior quality, but 100,000 tons from the provinces of central Asia and Trans-Caucasia were used in 1900: her imports in the same year were about 170,000 tons.

_Switzerland._--Swiss spindles advanced until the early "'seventies," but a decline followed. Details are:--

1830 400,000 1850 950,000 1876 1,854,000 1883 1,809,000 1898 1,704,000 1909 (estimated) 1,500,000

The falling off is occasioned mainly by (a) the developing industrialism of the rest of Europe, notably Germany, and (b) the diminishing importance of the natural advantage of water-power with the improvement of steam-engines. Swiss yarns have been kept out of continental markets in the interests of home spinning. Now fancy cotton goods, laces and trimmings are the leading specialities of the Swiss textile workers. About half the Swiss spindles are in the canton of Zurich, between a quarter and a third in Glarus, about the same in St Gall and 9% in Aargau. Figures show that the average size of the Swiss mill is small. The average spindles to a mill were 22,000, and very few mills held more than 50,000 spindles. Some 9000 of the power-looms are in Zurich, some 4500 in Glarus and 4000 in St Gall. Wald in the south-east of the canton of Zurich is an important centre of the muslin manufacture.

_Austria._--Austria contains about 4,200,000 spindles and more yarn is consumed than it produces, as on balance there is an excess of imports of yarn. Bohemia, lower Austria, Tirol and Vorarlberg account for the mass of Austrian spinning. The following details relating to these districts recently are of interest:--

+-----------------------+--------+-----------+-----------+ | | | | Average | | | Mills. | Spindles. | spindles | | | | | to a mill.| +-----------------------+--------+-----------+-----------+ | Bohemia | 82 | 1,870,000 | 22,800 | | Lower Austria | 23 | 460,000 | 20,000 | | Tirol and Vorarlberg | 20 | 435,000 | 21,700 | +-----------------------+--------+-----------+-----------+

Reichenberg and the surrounding district is the chief manufacturing place: here are more than 80,000 looms, nearly a half of which are hand-looms.

_Italy._--Recent industrial growth in Italy is remarkable: statistics of spindles since 1870 are as follows, but the percentage of error is probably high:--

1870 500,000 1888 900,000 1898 2,100,000 1909 4,000,000

The distribution of spindles is roughly as follows:--

Lombardy 1,850,000 Piedmont 1,000,000 Venetia 550,000 Campania 250,000 Liguria 250,000 Tuscany 100,000

The distribution of spindles and power-looms in the chief manufacturing towns in Italy is shown in the following table:--

+-------------+--------------++-------------+--------------+ | | Spindles. || | Spindles. | | Turin | 470,000 || Genoa | 210,000 | | Bergamo | 450,000 || Salerno | 150,000 | | Como | 250,000 || Brescia | 310,000 | | Milan | 660,000 || Naples | 100,000 | | Novara | 410,000 || Udine | 240,000 | +-------------+--------------++-------------+--------------+ | | Power-Looms. || | Power-Looms. | | Milan | 40,000 || Pisa | 2,500 | | Turin | 22,000 || Como | 6,000 | | Novara | 13,000 || Bergamo | 13,000 | | Genoa | 6,000 || Udine | 3,500 | +-------------+--------------++-------------+--------------+