178
DORTMUND.
The rapidity with which the town has grown makes the municipal
administration a task of very considerable difficulty ; there are outlying districts
with large industrial populations which practically form one town with Dortmund
and should be included within its boundaries, but the municipal government
does not care to take upon itself the additional responsibility.
The town possesses its own water and electric-light works, and (like
almost all large German towns) a municipal cattle market and slaughterhouse.
The sanitary system appears to be good and well administered ; and there are
large public baths. There is a small municipal museum, and recently a large
and handsome municipal opera-house and theatre has been erected, and is at
present leased. The town also possesses a pleasant park and an extensive
" Stadtwald." There are no market-halls, and public markets are held in the
various squares and other open spaces. The tramway service has recently
passed from a private company to the municipality ; it is well organised, and
appears to give general satisfaction. A Labour Bureau and a House Agency
are also conducted by the municipality. Attached to the Labour Bureau there
is a writing-room, which undertakes copying, addressing, &c., and in this way
manages to provide some temporary occupation for unemployed clerks.
One other enterprise of great importance in which the municipality has
taken an active part is the Dortmund-Ems Canal, which has unquestionably
rendered substantial aid to the industrial development of the town ; the
municipality maintains the Dortmund “ harbour,” which does not yet pay its
way, but is making rapid progress.
Occupations, Wages and Hours oe Labour.
Dortmund is concerned chiefly with coal-mining and with the manufacture
of iron and steel, and manufactures thereof. The brewing industry is important,
but it occupies,
of workmen.
relatively to the other industries mentioned, only a small number
The following is an enumeration of the industrial undertakings in the town
subject to inspection in 1906 :—
Group of Trades.
Building
Mining and smelting
Metalworking
Machine, implement and apparatus
making.
Textiles
Clothing and cleaning
Printing, lithography, bookbinding, &c....
Paper
Woodworking and carving
Chemicals
Resins, varnishes, oil, soap, candles, &c.
¡Stone and earth
Food, drink and tobacco ...
Leather
Other... ... ... ... ... ...
Total
Number
of
Number of Workpeople.
Establishments.
Male.
Female.
Total.
63
6
65
66
737 —
9,772 : —
1,423 [ —
6,438 , 1
737
9,772
1,423
6,439
4
121
34
14
76
24 i 33
106 1,062
542 ! 197
56 ; 74
1,024 36
6
13
49
383
6
9
434 :
264 :
1,110 I
2,012 I
71
54 g
86
26
205
14
915
24,067 1,734
57
1,168
739
130
1,060
434
350
1,136
2,217
71
68
25,801
Thus 37*9 per cent, of all enumerated workpeople fell to the mining and
smelting industry and 30*5 per cent, to the machine and metal-working industries.
It should be noted that the small figure given under the heading “ Building "
is due to the fact that only works connected with the building trades which
rank as factories, are embraced in this return, so that the great majority of
workpeople employed in these trades are excluded. The "same limitation
excludes the handicrafts and a large part of the clothing trade.
Two great firms in Dortmund dwarf all the others. The first of these is
the Union Company, which manufactures iron and steel, steel rails, steel bodies
for tramcars, railway waggons, steel bridges and roofs, &c. In 1905 it
employed 5,750 officials and workmen in the works proper, and 4,610 in its
