KÖNIGSHÜTTE. 
293 
the nature of the work performed by men of a given occupation group in the 
two countries. One finds, for instance, that in Königshütte the work of the 
“ mine-filler ” at a blast-furnace is confined to the pushing of the ore-laden 
trolleys to the hoist at the base of the furnace, the trolley having previously 
been filled for him by a woman. In the United Kingdom the “ mine-filler ” 
has to fill his own trolleys as well as push them up to the blast-furnace. It 
should also be remembered that the figures in the table include earnings tor 
extra shifts. Thus the keeper at a blast-furnace in Königshütte working not 
more than 6 shifts (of 12 hours) in a week would earn 36s., while chargers and 
“ mine-fillers ” earn 27s. and 28s. respectively in 6 shifts of 8 eight hours. 
As indirectly bearing on the subject of working-class earnings in 
Königshütte, the following figures relating to the incomes of the occupied 
population of the town in 1904 may be of interest. For municipal purposes all 
incomes of £21 per annum and upwards are assessed for taxation. The total 
number of persons assessed for this tax in 1904 was 14,602, or approximately 
one person in every four of the population in that year. In the following 
table these 14,602 persons are classified according to ranges of income :— 
Range of Yearly Income. 
£21 and under £33 
£33 ,, £45 
£45 „ £150 
£150 „ £300 
£300 „ £475 
£475 and upwards... 
Total 
Number of persons 
whose incomes fell within 
the ranges stated. 
2,611 
5,708 
5,779 
381 
78 
45 
14,602 
It would appear, therefore, that 8,319, or 57 per cent, of all persons 
assessed, had incomes of less (han £45, while in the whole town there were 
only 504 persons, or about 1 in every 29 assessed, whose incomes reached £150 
a year. 
Housing and Rents. 
The housing conditions of the working-classes of Königshütte cannot be 
regarded as satisfactory, for at the end of 1905 70 per cent, of the total popula 
tion of this town were living in tenements of either one or two rooms, and the 
average number of persons per room was 2*7 for the one-roomed tenements 
and 2"3 for the two-roomed. This is shown by the following statement, in 
which the population of the town is classified according to the size ol the 
dwelling occupied at the end of 1905 :— 
Number of Rooms in Tenement. 
1 room 
2 rooms 
4 „ 
5 or more rooms 
Total 
Number of 
Tenements. 
2,418 
8,482 
2,042 
792 
742 
14,476 
Population housed in such Tenements. 
Total. 
6,508 
39,385 
10,939 
4,178 
4,206 
65,216 
Per cent. 
100 
604 
16-8 
64 
64 
100-0 
Practically the whole working-class population of Königshütte may there 
for be said to live in tenements of one or two rooms. Many of these tenements 
are to be found in detached houses of the cottage type, having no upper floor, 
and dating from the time when the local coal-mining industry was entirely in 
the hands of the State. These houses were purchased by many of the miners 
on the extended payment system with State assistance, and were intended for