296

KÖNIGS  HÜTTE.

away  many  of  their  customers.  This  cause  of  complaint,  it  seems,  is  gradually
disappearing,  partly  because  the  novelty  of  easy  access  to  the  other  towns  has
worn  off,  and  partly  owing  to  the  increasing  population  of  Königshütte  and  the
establishment  there  of  more  attractive  shops,  including  establishments  of  the
universal  provider  type.  Apart  from  such  large  concerns  the  numerous  body  of
small  shopkeepers  in  Königshütte  have  a  competitor  in  the  co-operative  stores  for
the  sale  of  household  provisions,  instituted  by  the  leading  coal  and  iron  producing
firm  of  the  place,  with  the  avowed  object  of  "  influencing  and  controlling  the
open  market  ”  in  the  interests  of  its  workpeople,  the  latter  being  the  shareholders ­
  of  the  societies  which  own  the  stores.  The  same  firm  has  also  established ­
  a  meat  salting  business  (which  it  conducts  itself)  for  the  purpose  of
"  regulating  the  price  charged  by  private  butchers  and  supplying  good  meat  and
sausages  at  reasonable  prices.”  In  both  respects  the  firm  claims  to  be  successful,
but  not  without  a  certain  sacrifice,  owing  to  the  cost  of  management  being  greater
than  that  of  private  butchers,  and  to  the  fact  that  only  the  very  best  qualities  of
meat  are  supplied.  Thus,  on  sales  amounting  to  £20,600  in  1905,  there  was  a
loss  of  £1,300,  which  the  firm  made  good  out  of  its  own  resources.
A  custom  which  appears  to  be  more  general  in  Königshütte  than  in  the
industrial  towns  of  the  west,  so  far  as  the  working-classes  are  concerned,  is  that
of  laying  in,  on  pay  day,  a  supply  of  provisions  sufficient  to  last  at  least  a
fortnight,  that  is,  until  the  next  pay  day,  and  the  opinion  exists  locally  that,
in  adopting  this  course,  the  housewives  are  influenced  less  by  the  advantage
of  paying  a  lower  price  for  the  larger  quantity  than  by  their  anxiety  to  avert
the  risk  of  seeing  a  large  part  of  the  family  income  spent  on  spirits.  The
existence  of  this  risk  would  appear  to  have  been  recognised  by  the  municipality,
which  has  found  it  expedient  to  require  all  spirit  shops  to  be  closed  at
4  p.m.  every  alternate  Friday,—the  day  on  which  most  of  the  men  in  Königshütte
draw  their  wages.
Groceries  and  other  Commodities.
The  following  Table  shows  the  predominant  retail  prices  charged  in
Königshütte  for  the  various  kinds  of  household  provisions  of  the  quality  usually
consumed  by  the  working-classes.  The  price  for  each  article  is  based  on  the
statements  of  several  private  retail  dealers  in  that  article  doing  business  in
different  parts  of  the  town.  These  prices  relate  to  two  different  dates,  the  one
being  the  month  of  October,  1905,  and  the  other  August,  1906,  the  time  of  the
visit  to  Königshütte  for  the  purposes  of  this  Report.

Predominant  Prices  paid  by  the  Working  Classes  in  October,  1905,  and
August,  19Ò6.

Commodity.

Predominant  Price.

October,  1905.

August,  1906.

Coffee  (Java)  ...
Sugar  (broken  loaf)
Bacon  :—
1  at  ...  ...
Streaky
Eggs  (Austrian)
Cheese  j  otoüteer
Butter  ...
Margarine
Potatoes
Flour,  Wheat  ...
„  Rye
Bread  (of  Rye)
Milk
Coal  (Nuts)
Paraffin  (American)

per  lb.

No.  per  Is.
per  lb.

per  7  lbs.

per  4  lbs.
per  qt.
per  cwt.
per  gal.

lid.  to  Is.  Id.
2d,  „  2id,
9#
9#
14  to  17

Is.  Id,  to  Is.  2\d.
9#
1  #  to  1#
10#

11#

9#
4-#.
2#  to  2#
7#
11  id,

lid.  to  Is.  Ic7.
2d.  „  2  id,
9#
9#.
17  to  20
5#
‘“'if  d.
Is.  Id.  to  Is.  2#

9#.

11#

2d.  to  2#
10#
9#
4#.
2#  to  2#
7#
11#

*  As  the  cheese  pats  had  to  be  weighed  it  was  impossible  to  ascertain  the  prices
according  to  weight  for  October,  1905,