846

MANNHEIM.

costing  nearly  2^d.,  which  works  out  at  Is.  4fd.  per  cwt.  or  28s.  per  ton.  Less
usually  a  large  “  Eimer  ”  of  coal,  containing  a  quarter  of  a  hundredweight,  is  sold
at  a  proportionate  price.  Many  working-class  families,  however,  obtain  their  coal
supplies  in  larger  quantities  and  at  a  cheaper  rate  from  the  factories  at  which  the
bread  winners  are  employed  ;  here  the  cost  is  only  Is.  or  Is.  Id.  per  cwt.  and  the
value  of  the  quantity  supplied  is  deducted  from  the  wages  at  every  settlement.
Coke  is  used  to  a  smaller  extent  and  is  obtained  from  the  municipal  gas  works.
Another  fuel  must  be  named  which  is  peculiar  to  Mannheim  working-class
households,  viz.,  the  shavings  and  saw-dust  which  accumulate  at  the  large  timberyards.
  Sacks  of  this  refuse  are  sold  at  the  rate  of  1  \d.  each,  and  in  many  of
the  poorer  homes  no  other  fuel  ever  enters  the  stoves  save  in  the  cold  seasons
of  the  year.  The  paraffin  oil  mostly  used  is  American  costing  KM  per  gallon.
The  co-operative  movement  has  made  considerable  progress  in  Mannheim  since  its
introduction  a  few  years  ago,  and  between  the  "  stores  ”  of  the  working  classes
and  the  private  businesses  keen  rivalry  exists.  Of  the  3,500  members  of  the
co-operative  society,  over  30  per  cent,  belong  to  the  metal  trades.
The  following  Table  summarises  the  prices  of  groceries,  &c.,  in  October,
1905,  and  also  gives  comparative  prices  at  the  time  of  the  investigator’s  visit  in
August,  1906.  Milk  and  bacon  were  slightly  higher  at  the  later  date,  but
other  prices  showed  no  sensible  change.

Predominant  Priées  paid  by  the  Working  Classes  in  October,  1905,
and  August,  1906.

Commodity.

Coffee
Sugar  :—
Loaf  ...  .  «
White  Granulated
Bacon  :—
Fat
Streaky  ...
Eggs
Cheese  :—
Limburg  ...
Swiss
Butter
Margarine  ...
“Palmin”  ...
“Kokos”
Potatoes
Flour,  Wheaten
Bread  :—
Grey
Black
Milk  ...
Coal  ...
Coke  ...
Paraffin  Oil

per  lb.

per  Is.
per  lb.

per  7  lb.

per  4  lb.
per  quart
per  cwt.
per  gallon

Predominant  Price.

October,  1905.

11  d.  to  Is.  Id.
2hd.,  2|d.
~2&d.

8§d.  to  91d.
9^d.
13

5  \d.
Is.  Id.  to  Is.  3fd.
Is.  3Id.
Id.  to  8fd.
Id.
Id.
3d.
Is.  lfd.
h\d.
5d.
2§d.,  3d.
Is.  4fd.
Is.  3%d.  to  Is.  4|d.
"  lOd.

August,  1906.

lid.  to  Is.  Id.
2#
2\d.

9|d.
9|d.  to  lid.
13

5  \d.
Is  Id.  to  Is.  3£d.
Is.  3\d.
7d.  to  8|d.
7  d.
Id.
3d.
Is.  lfd
5  hd.
5d.
3d.
Is.  4|d.
Is.  3\d.  to  Is  4|d.
lOd.

Meat.
A  large  proportion  of  the  meat  supply  of  Mannheim  comes  from  the  Grand
Duchy  of  Baden.  Wurtemberg  is  next  in  importance,  particularly  as  concerns
beef  ;  Bavaria  also  sends  a  good  deal  of  beef  ;  while  the  pork  comes  chiefly
from  Mecklenburg,  Hanover,  Schleswig  Holstein,  Pomerania,  and  Baden.  The
mutton  comes  for  the  most  part  from  the  neighbourhood,  but  the  consumption
is  not  large.  Of  foreign  countries  only  Austria  is  of  importance,  and  that  in
respect  of  beef.  During  the  last  few  years  the  meat  consumption  of  the  town,
as  estimated  from  the  returns  of  the  municipal  slaughter-house,  has  steadily
decreased  both  quantitatively  and  qualitatively.  In  1902  the  daily  consumption
of  fresh  meat  was  0'363  lb.  per  head,  in  1903  0*372  lb.,  in  1904  0*374  lb.,  and
in  1905,  0*350  lb.  ;  but  in  1901  it  was  0*389  lb.,  in  1900  0*409  lb.,  and