476
STUTTGART.
prepared—and the working classes are not alone in stocking it. It is supposed
to be an unfermented fruit juice, but its taste can be very insipid. A sparkling
perry, to which the name champagne is given, is also made in large quantities
from a small pear.
Coke is the universal fuel at Stuttgart. It is delivered in large panniers
containing a hundredweight, at about from Is. 7^d. to Is. 8§d. per cwt., with a
slight reduction when half a ton is bought. As working-class families often have
cellar storage for fuel such large purchases are common. Coal is hardly used at
all ; the price is Is. 7j¡d. to Is. 8%d. per cwt. for nuts, and 2s. 2^d. for
anthracite. A considerable quantity of wood is burned.
The following Table summarises the prices for the chief commodities other
than meat in October, 1905, and July, 1906, when the town was visited for the
purpose of this inquiry :—
Predominant Prices paid by the Working Classes in October, 1905,
and July, 1906.
Commodity.
Predominant Price.
October, 1905.
July, 1906.
Coffee
Sugar :—
Loaf
White Granulated
Bacon :—
Fat
Streaky
Eggs
Cheese :—
Limburg
Swiss
Butter
Margarine ...
Potatoes
Flour (Household)
Bread :—
Mixed Rye and Wheat
<k Black” Rye
Milk
Coal
Coke
Paraffin Oil ...
per lb.
per Is.
per lb.
per 7 lb.
per 4 lb.
per quart
per cwt.
per gallon
1 Id. to Is. Id.
2\d.
2\d.
8 £(7. to 9£(7.
8£(7. to 9p7.
14 to 15
54(7. to 6^(7.
lid.
Is. 2p7.
8£(7.
2\d.
Is. 1#
5£(7.
4#
2\d.
Is. l\d. to Is. 8£(7.
Is. 74(7. to Is. 8f(7.
10(7.
11(7. to Is. 1(7.
2W.
24(7.
8K.
81(7. to 8f(7.
14 to 17
51» (7. to 6(7.
11(7.
Is. 24(7.
8§(7.
3(7. to 3|(7.
Is. 1|(7. to Is. 2^(7.
5#
4#
2&(7.
Is. 8f(7. to Is. 9j(7.
Is. l\d. to Is. 8|(7.
10(7. to 10^(7.
The co-operative movement has obtained a strong hold in Stuttgart and
the neighbouring small towns, and between the stores and the private traders
very strained relationships exist. The Central Co-operative Society at Stuttgart
has 20 shops, and the Cannstatt Society has seven shops ; the former society has
a membership of 24,000, one half being industrial workpeople, and the latter a
membership of 2,900. The success of the stores has called into existence a
counter-movement on the part of the shopkeepers. Several hundreds of these,
representing 80 branches of business, have united in a Discount Association, the
object of which is to attract the smaller consumer from the stores and large
warehouses of the “ universal provider” type by the offer of a discount on all
cash purchases above a minimum of 20 Pfennige or 2|(7., the return being
roughly 5 per cent. The discount is not given at the time, but takes the form
of stamps whose face value is that of the purchase made. These stamps are
affixed to a book provided for the purpose, and when 1,000 stamps of
20 Pfennige, 200 stamps of 1 mark (100 Pfennige), 20 stamps of 10 marks, or
any combination of these tokens making up the same aggregate, have been
affixed, a discount of 10 marks is paid in cash at the Central Office. Purchases
may be made at the shop of any member of the association, so that the system of
discounts covers the entire range of household needs, and affords consumers a
wide choice of tradespeople. The same system has been introduced in other
towns of Wurtemberg, and the interests of the tradespeople so united are further