ELBERFELD.
229
less than 240 square yards at least 120 square yards must be unoccupied ; but
corner sites may be built upon to the extent of one-half. Where in the inner
zone a street is 26 feet wide, the front of a building may have a height of
47 feet 6 inches ; where the street is more than 26 feet wide the height may
increase to the same extent ; and where the street is narrower it must be to the
same extent reduced. The highest number of stories permissible is five, including
the basement. The height of back buildings is similarly regulated, except that
the courtyard instead of the street is here the basis of measurement. In the
outer district the shell of a building may not exceed 52 feet in height, and no
dwelling house may have more than three stories in addition to the cellar and
attic stories. The minimum permissible height of rooms in new buildings is
9 feet 9 inches, except in the case of attic rooms, which are allowed to have a
mean height of only 8 feet 1^ inches. In addition, it is stipulated that in certain
of the higher portions of the town the “ open ” plan of building must be followed ;
here only detached houses of the villa type are allowed to be built, and industrial
buildings of every kind are excluded. Coming to the internal arrangement of
dwelling houses, it is required by the police regulations that bedrooms shall
contain at least 353 cubic feet of space for each person above ten years belonging
to the household using them, and for each child under ten years at least 176|
cubic feet, infants under one year not counted. Where this condition as to
space is not met, a room is held to be over-crowded. Single persons above
14 years of age must be able to sleep in separate bedrooms or compartments in
the same, while every married couple must have a separate room or compartment
for themselves and their children under 14 years of age. Every bedroom must
have a window, opening outside, and not less in area than one-twelfth of the
floor space ; but this provision does not apply to living-rooms. Attic rooms
may only be used as bedrooms when they have completely plastered or boarded
walls. Every house (not dwelling) must be provided with at least one privy,
accessible to all residents. These regulations apply to all new buildings.
Retail Prices.
Groceries and other Commodities.
Elberfeld is abundantly provided with shops for the sale of groceries. This
appears to be particularly true of the working-class streets, in every one of
which are to be found several such shops, all doing business in a very modest
way and all apparently conducted by women. The only grocery enterprise of
the “ multiple” sort is that carried on by the “Befreiung” Co-operative Society,
which has 16 branch shops in the town, all selling at the same prices. This
society numbers between 5,000 and 6,000 members in the town, and claims to
be the regulator of retail grocery prices. There appear to be good grounds for
the claim, for it happens not infrequently that a grocer on being questioned
about prices will refer his questioner to the Co-operative Society as the most
trustworthy authority on the subject.
With regard to the quality of the articles consumed the following points
may be noted. For coffee 11¿/. per lb. was the price almost invariably paid by
workpeople in October, 1905, the kind sold being Santos. Along with the
coffee it is usual to buy either roasted barley or rye, or prepared malt, which is
mixed with the coffee in equal proportions. The prices were, for roasted
barley 1Jd., for roasted rye 2d., and for prepared malt 2\d. per lb., the latter
being the most in demand. There is little demand in Elberfeld for sugar-glazed
coffee, the glazing being regarded as a device for concealing inferiority of
quality. The Co-operative Society already named sold in the year 1904-5
33,100 lb. of malt coffee, against 73,952 lb. of bean coffee.
White granulated sugar (Stampfzucker) is the only quality consumed,
the price usually paid being a fraction under 2\d. per lb. I here is a large
consumption of bacon, both fresh and cured, and the remarks made on this head
in respect of Düsseldorf apply also to Elberfeld ; 9\d. per lb. was the price
most generally paid both for fat and lean bacon. Austrian and Russian eggs
are usually bought by the poorer classes in the winter months (including
