DORTMUND. 
185 
The landlord pays the charge for water, and no rates are included in the 
rent. Rent is high in Dortmund. Of the 33 towns investigated, Berlin, 
Stuttgart, and Düsseldorf were the only towns in which tue rent level was 
found to be higher than here. Representing rents at Berlin by 100, the 
t corresponding figure for Dortmund is 68. The highest rents are found in the 
north-eastern and north-western parts of the town, and the lowest in the Hansch 
and harbour districts. 
There are some other factors of importance in regard to housing at 
Dortmund which must be noticed. The first of these is the work of the 
Savings and Building Society, which at the end of 1905 had 948 dwellings with 
a population of 4,840 persons, and is rapidly extending its operations. The 
society has received loans from the Central (Prussian) Government on 
condition of taking into its dwellings a number of postal employees (letter 
carriers, &c.), and railway servants. Persons desirous of obtaining accommoda 
tion in these dwellings must be shareholders in the society, which is thus of the 
nature of a co-operative undertaking. In the erection of the houses considerable 
attention has been paid to architectural appearance, and care has been taken to 
avoid a barrack-like uniformity. The rooms are large and well-equipped, and 
the use of forecourts round which the buildings are ranged on three sides gives 
them a roomy and attractive appearance. The rents range from £6 IO5. to 
£7 14s. per annum for dwellings of two rooms, from £8 155. to £11 II5. for 
dwellings of three rooms, and from £10 8s. to £13 135. for dwellings of four 
rooms. The rents in the newer blocks are distinctly higher than in those erected 
earlier, though they are still considerably less than the normal rents in the 
town. 
In Dortmund itself there is some housing by employers, but not on any 
very large scale. Reference has already been made to the dwellings erected by 
the two largest undertakings. The dwellings built by the Hoesch works are 
chiefly for foremen and small officials, but the colony of the " Union ” works is 
really for workmen. It accommodates about 260 families, usually in two-family 
houses built in blocks of three together. There are small gardens in front of 
the houses, and a large drying ground for the whole colony. The dwellings 
are well built and equipped, and the rooms large. For three large rooms the 
rent is £7 IO5. a year (2s. 11c?. per week) ; for three small rooms £4 IO5. to 
£5 85. (I5. 9d. to 2s. Id. per week) if on the ground floor, and £4 45. (I5. Id. 
per week) if above (the houses are of only two floors). In a few cases the whole 
of a six-roomed house can be obtained for from £12 to £14 (45. Id. , to 5s. od. per 
week). Many of the coal-mines build houses for their employees, and there are 
a number of such miners’ colonies close to Dortmund. A fairly typical 
example of the best kind is the colony of the “ Minister Stein ” colony, with 
about 140 houses, well-built and well-grouped, with small gardens, and with a 
large and admirably-planned central building containing a library and reading- 
rooms, baths for men and women, laundry, &c. The houses accommodate about 
550 families ; the majority of the houses are for four families, but there are some 
for six and others for only two. The usual rent is os. per room pei month. 
The outward appearance of the houses is often better than the inside, and it is 
noteworthy that the tenants are permitted to take lodgeis. 
The only direct taxes which fall on the working classes are the income tax 
and the church tax. The income tax is a double one, vizState and 
Municipal. The State tax commences with incomes of over £45 a year, and 
does not (as in England) vary from year to year, but is a fixed amount on a 
graduated scale. The tax levied by the town for its own purposes is an 
addition of so much per cent, to the State tax, the rate at Dortmund being 
200 per cent It should be noted, however, that every person with less than 
€150 income is allowed to deduct from his income for taxation purposes £2 IO5. 
for every child up to 14 years of age. But incomes of less than £4o do not 
escape local taxation ; if the local authority so chooses, it may assess them on 
the following basis :-Incomes up to £21, | per cent., 2.,., up to a maximum 
rate of 120 marks (I5. 2'4d.); incomes from £21 to £00 2'4I) marks 
(2& 4-8(7.) - incomes from £33 to £45, 4'00 marks (45.). The full local 
percentage may be levied on each of these three assessment bases. 
2 A 
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