REMSCHEID. 
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these men with stones, power, and all material, they work at the list rates, and 
the gross proceeds are divided between the two parties. A “ Halblöhner ” is at 
the disposal of his immediate employer, but he may also work for others. 
When it is said that the factory system is dominant in Remscheid, it is not 
meant that the factories are large. There are a few big works, a number of 
small ones, and a very large number with only a few employees each. The 
Employers’ Union of Remscheid had in 1905-6 225 members, but these had 
together only 9,500 workpeople, or an average of about 42 each. When it is 
remembered that two large firms employ between them about 3,000 persons, and 
that several other firms have over 100 employees each, it is evident that the 
great majority of the works are very small. There are, for example, some 170 
manufacturers ot tiles and rasps in the Union ; the largest firms have about 150 
employees, and the number goes down to 3 or 2. Even where there are ten or 
a dozen workmen, the employer usually works along with them. 
In the large factories a 12 hours’ day, with two hours of intervals, is the 
general rule, but there are variations. In the Alexander werk work begins at 
7 a.m. in winter and 6 a.m. in summer, with intervals from 9 to 9.15 a.m., 12 to 
1.30 p.m., and 4 to 4-15 p.m., except in summer, when the morning break is 
from 8.30 to 8.45. In the Bergische Stahl Industrie the hours are from 7 a.m. 
to 7 p.m., with intervals from 9 to 9.15 a.m., 12 to 1.15 p.m., and 4 to 4.15 p.m. 
The hours of work are thus 10^ per day, but against this the workmen have the 
advantage that the factory closes at 5 p.m. on Saturdays. In the larger file 
manufactories work starts at 7 a.m. all the year round, and there are three 
intervals making together two hours. In those departments of the factories in 
which the nature of the work renders pauses at fixed times impossible, the 
general rule is that pauses up to the fixed amount per day are to be taken as 
opportunity offers. 
It may be added here that the factory rules in force in Remscheid all follow 
a common form, drawn up by the Employers’ Union. Both piece-work and 
time-work are in force, and in some branches there is also the so-called “ Gangen - 
akkord,” or “ Colonnen-akkord,’’ i.e., the men work in gangs, and divide the 
earnings of their combined work. Workmen are engaged subject to a fortnight’s 
notice on either side, and wages are paid twice a month in the large works, but 
elsewhere weekly. 
In the smaller works the hours of labour are often longer, 11 and 12 hours 
being not uncommon. 
The workmen, as a rule, go home to dinner, as the great majority live near 
the factories in which they are employed. The larger works have canteens, in 
which beer and coffee are sold at a low price, and in almost all factories there is 
a supply of hot water to enable the workmen to make their own coffee if they 
choose. In the Bergische Stahl Industrie milk is sold in the canteens, and is 
largely consumed. In some of the large works cold coffee is supplied gratis to 
the men in the various furnace-works during the hot weather. All the larger 
factories give an impression of cleanliness, and a good deal of attention appears 
to have been given to the provision of washing arrangements. 
The working classes of Remscheid are not very strongly organised. The 
local branch of the German Metalworkers’ Union (the Socialist organisation) 
has only about 950 members, and the employers persist in refusing to recognise 
it, on the ground that it is in reality a political association. Apart from this 
the chief unions are those of the file-cutters, the rasp-cutters, and the smiths. 
But the great majority of the Remscheid workers are not within the ranks of 
any trade society. 
The employers on their side have formed a strong association, the 
Employers’ Union for Remscheid and district ; in the general meeting of 
the union each firm has votes according to the amount which it pays yearly in 
wages and salaries. The members of the union are pledged to support any firm 
engaged in a dispute with its employees, il its cause is approved by the union, 
by doing work for it or furnishing it with manufactured goods as long as the 
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