ESSEN.

235

steel  and  iron,  tool  steel,  steel  bars,  and  special  steel  to  be  used  in  the  manufacture ­
  of  motor-cars.  In  addition  there  are  the  firm's  large  private  gas-works,
electric  light  and  power  works,  and  large  coal  mines  engaged  solely  in  the
supply  of  the  works.
The  normal  working  day  (as  in  all  Essen  iron  and  steel  works)  is  of
10  hours—from  6  a.m.  to  6  p.m.,  with  intervals  from  8  to  8.15  a.m.,  12  to
1.30  p.m.,  and  4  to  4.15  p.m.  ;  but  there  are  a  number  of  modifications.  Thus
in  a  large  number  of  departments  in  which  operations  are  continuous  (like
smelting,  puddling,  hammer-works,  Bessemer  works,  smithing,  rollingmills,
  etc.),  the  shift  is  12  hours  with  intervals  taken  at  such  times  as  the  work
permits,  subject  to  the  general  rule  of  half  an  hour’s  pause  in  every  three  hours.
For  the  men  in  the  iron  and  gun  foundries,  and  the  gun  turners,  the  hours  are
from  6  a.m.  to  5  p.m.,  with  only  one  half-hour’s  pause.  Wages  are  paid
fortnightly.
The  Krupp  works  are  divided  into  two  parts  by  a  long  road,  into  which
most  of  the  factory  gates  open.  This  road  presents  a  remarkable  sight  when
the  day  shift  ends  at  6  o’clock,  with  the  thousands  of  workmen  who  pour  along
it.  The  spectator  cannot  but  notice  the  generally  clean  and  neat  appearance  of
the  workmen.
To  the  supremacy  of  Krupp  in  Essen,  and  to  the  numerous  philanthropic
or  semi-philanthropic  institutions  which  the  firm  maintains,  must  probably  be
ascribed  the  comparative  weakness  of  the  trade  unions  for  the  iron  and  steel
workers.  Neither  the  local  branch  of  the  Social-Democratic  Metal-Workers’
Association  nor  the  branch  of  the  “  Christian  ”  Union  is  strong  ;  and  the  union
officials  themselves  admit  that  their  progress  is  very  slow.  This  is  due  to  the
facts  that  the  Krupp  firm  declines  to  '  recognise  the  unions  in  anyway;  that
the  majority  (or  at  least  a  considerable  proportion)  of  its  workmen  have  been
long  in  the  service  of  the  firm  ;  and,  finally,  that  the  conditions  of  employment
are  good,  though  there  are  inevitably  complaints  from  time  to  time.  The  attacks
of  the  Socialist  Press  upon  the  firm,  and  its  hostile  attitude  to  the  firm’s  benevolent
institutions,  houses  and  co-operative  stores—which  the  Socialists  regard  as  so
much  bribery  of  the  workmen,  or  as  attempts  to  enhance  their  dependence—-seem
  so  far  to  have  borne  little  fruit.
The  conditions  in  the  coal  mines  of  Essen  are  the  same  as  those  of  the
whole  district  ;  they  have  recently  been  modified  by  the  great  coal  strike  of  1905
and  the  legislation  which  that  evoked,  though  the  alterations  were  comparatively
slight.  The  hewers,  trammers,  and  other  underground  workers  have  (normally)
an  eight  hours’  shift  with  such  pauses  as  the  workers  choose.  These  eight  hours
include  all  the  time  spent  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft,  but  not  the  time  occupied
in  the  ascent  and  descent  ;  if,  however,  these  take  more  than  half-an-hour,  the
excess  is  now  (since  August,  1905)  to  be  included  in  the  eight  hours  ;  the
employers  are  endeavouring  to  prevent  any  such  possible  reduction  of  the  actual
hours  of  work  by  quickening  the  pace  of  the  ascent  and  descent.  For  the
-  surface  men  a  twelve  hours’  day,  with  two  hours  of  intervals,  is  the  universal
rule.  No  women  are  employed  about  the  collieries  in  this  district,  and
no  youths  under  16.  For  the  underground  workers  overtime  («.g.,  continuation
of  shifts  beyond  eight  hours)  and  extra  shifts  are  permitted,  subject  to  the
restriction  that  the  miner  must  have  at  least  an  eight  hours’  interval  between  his
shifts.  Wages  are  paid  monthly  ;  but  advances  are  made  half-monthly,  and
these  sometimes  amount  to  50  per  cent,  of  the  wages.  These  are  for  piece-work,
either  for  the  individual  workman  or  for  a  gang  ( u  Kameradschaft  ”).
The  following  table  shows  the  districts  from  which  the  miners  are  recruited
in  the  three  colliery  areas  around  Essen  :—•

Area,

East  Essen...
West  Essen
South  Essen

Number  of  Miners,
190“»..

14,884
19,307
14,956

Percentage  from
lour  Eastern  Provinces ­
  of  Prussia.*

P re r mTinTr f of IU  1  Percentage  from
German  Empire.  other  Countries.

40*64
43*52
20*71

55*65
49*39
72*05

3*71
7*09
724

"  i.e.,  East  Prussia,  West  Prussia,  Posen  and  Silesia.

29088

2  G  2