Die Entwicklung der Weißgerberei

Cost of living in German towns

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 883887894

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-6560

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Ebert, Georg

Title:: Die Entwicklung der Weißgerberei

Place of publication:: Leipzig

Publisher:: A. Deichert'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung

Year of publication:: 1913

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (XL, 408 Seiten)

Digitisation:: 2017

Collection:: Economics Books

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446 STAS SPURT. system. The number of these small shops is, however, so great that prices are fairly equal in all parts of Stassfurt and Leopoldshall. There can be little doubt that the system of paying wages monthly in the salt mines, with an advance every fortnight, together with the custom of paying rent at the end of the quarter, makes it difficult for families with very limited means to economise and to avoid getting into debt. The workman is in the habit of getting an advance on his wages when the rent falls due, but the grocer, the baker, and the butcher have to give him credit. In order to protect themselves against the co-operative society and to check its growth, the tradesmen have combined in two societies to give a small discount to customers who pay ready money for their purchases. Each tradesman belonging to this society buys from it a quantity of stamps, each of the value of 10 pfennig (1J</.), as occasion requires. These are given to his customers at the rate of two stamps for every shilling spent in the shop, and are affixed to the pages of a book kept for this purpose. In one case a book may be taken to the head office as soon as it is filled with stamps and the equivalent be received at once in cash, while the other society pays these dividends only once a year. Questioned as to the success attending this movement, tradesmen were not enthusiastic. Some of them asserted that though their customers insist on receiving the stamps, there is not much more cash payment than before. The only change in this respect is, that instead of having their goods booked, customers now insist on borrowing money from their tradespeople, in order to get the dividend stamps in return for ready money. It is not surprising that the co-operative society does not flourish, when it not only competes with discount tradesmen, but also suffers from the inability or unwillingness of the working classes to pay ready money for their purchases. The branch shop in Stassfurt has only about 200 members and the one at Leopoldshall 300, and their combined turnover in 1905-06 was £8,079, or £16 per member. The quality of coffee mostly in demand by the working classes is one selling at lie?, per lb., though there is also a large sale for substitutes, 6\(/., malt coffee sold at 3|e/. per lb., and roasted barley sold at 2\d. per lb. The sugar almost universally purchased is white granulated at 2|c/. Only one kind of cheese is sold in any quantity, and it is a soft “ country cheese” made from milk after the cream has been extracted. It is formed into small round pats which are sold at : ~d. each. These pats vary considerably in weight, and the price per lb. of such " country cheese ” thus varies from 4d. to 5\d. Limburg cheese is sold in only a few shops in working- class neighbourhoods and is not much in demand. Its price is 0>\d. per lb. Fresh or dairy butter is sold at from Is. 2\d. to Is. 2\d. per lb., and margarine, which is much more largely purchased, at 8§¿7. per lb. for the best quality and at 7fd. for the second quality, the former price being most usual. Potatoes are sold by measure, the price per " metze ” (containing 5J English lbs.) being 3d. for the best quality and 2\d. for the second. Wheaten bread is only eaten at the “ first breakfast,” which consist of coffee and rolls, before the workman goes to his employment. These rolls are either in the form of a miniature bun or are cylindrical in shape, and in October, 1905, were sold at the rate of 4 for 1 \d., or about 8|<A per 4 lbs. The staple bread is baked from rye flour in long loaves, the ends and top of which are rounded whilst the under surface is flat. The price in October, 1905, was about 4\d. per 4 lbs. The milk trade of Stassfurt and Leopoldshall is practically in the hands of two large dealers and a large dairy firm. Only “ full ” or pure milk is bought and the price is about 2\d. per quart. For heating purposes briquettes are exclusively used. They are made from the “ brown ” coal lignite found in the neighbourhood, the heating power of which is stated to be about one-third that of English pit coal. The briquettes vary very considerably in quality and price. One firm, possessing its own mine, supplied them in October, 1905, as low as 7^d. per cwt. to customers on its own premises, whilst dealers who deliver briquettes charged from 8d. to 11 \d. per cwt., the usual prices being from 8§d. to 9fc?. The lignite coke referred to in the remarks on rents is supplied at Is. per cwt. The paraffin mostly sold is American and the price is about 9\d. per gallon. Russian petroleum is also sold at about 9d. per gallon.

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