364 
MÜLHAUSEN. 
best Swiss cheese ; the price of this kind was about Is. to Is. 3d. per lb. There 
is a small consumption of margarine, the price of which was 7(7. per lb., though 
lard is also used as a substitute for butter. 
The predominant price of wheaten flour was Is. 3\d. per 7 lb. 
There is no home baking, and the bread requirements of the town are 
supplied by some 170 public bakers, a co-operative bakery, and a factory 
bakery. The public bakers are organised in a Guild, which nominally 
regulates the price of bread in the town according to the prevailing price of 
flour, raising it or decreasing it by \cl. at once, though in practice changes do 
not take place at more frequent intervals than a year or a year and a 
half. Since the establishment of a co-operative and a factory bakery, keen 
competition has prevailed in this trade, and this competition has been intensified 
by the under-cutting of individual bakers hopeful of making up for small profits 
by a large turnover. The loaf mostly eaten is one of wheat 2\ kilogrammes or 
lb. in weight and sold in October, 1905, at 5J(7. and 6(7. per 4 lb. English. 
The loaves are oval and as much as 18 inches in length with a diameter in the 
centre of 6 or 8 inches. So-called “ Black ” bread is made either of inferior 
wheat or wheat with an admixture of one-quarter rye, the weight of these loaves 
being 3 kilogrammes or 6'6 lb. and the price in October, 1905, 4\d. and 5\d. per 
4 lb. English. In each case the lower price is for the co-operative bakery’s 
bread. An all-rye loaf was sold by Guild bakers at 5J(7. per 4 lb. English. 
Milk is retailed by dealers who draw their small carts through the streets 
with the assistance of large dogs ; the universal price was 2J(7. per quart. The 
police regulations allow milk to be publicly sold in two qualities only—" full- 
milk ” or uncreamed milk, and skimmed milk, the former having a minimum of 
3 2 per cent, of fat. It is required that the vessels in which milk is exposed 
for sale shall contain in bold letters " full-milk ” (red letters) or “ skimmed 
milk ” (blue letters), as the case may be. There are also stringent regulations 
as to the conveyance of milk and its exposure for sale in public places. Besides 
beer, wine of local origin is drunk at meals ; it can be bought very cheaply, 
viz., white wine at from 4\d. to b\d. per quart and red at from 5\d. to Id. 
Mülhausen pays dearly for its coal, a circumstance due to its geographical 
position and distance from the coalfields. Belgian coal cost in October, 1905, 
Is. 9\d. to 2s. per cwt., but Saar and Ruhr coals are largely used by the working 
classes, and cost from Is. 4(7. upwards per cwt., being only slightly dearer than 
coke. The coal is taken round to houses in sacks. Some manufacturers supply 
their workpeople with coal at cost price. Two kinds of petroleum are used, 
American at 10(7. and 11(7. per gallon, and Russian at 8(7. per gallon ; the 
former is mostly bought. 
The co-operative movement has been introduced into Mülhausen, but 
has made little progress. There are two societies, which sell exclusively 
to their members, and in one case the stores are only open on several evenings 
during the week. The larger society has a membership of about 1,200 with 
three shops, and a turnover of £6,000 a year. 
The town still levies octroi, in the old French fashion, upon a large variety 
of commodities which come from the outside. The boundaries of the octroi 
rayon are marked by 21 posts ; and distributed along the line are 25 toll 
houses past which all dutiable goods intended for consumption and sale 
within the town may be introduced between the hours of 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. any 
day of the week ; there are 13 prohibited roads and entrances. A number of 
the most indispensable articles of consumption are exempted from taxation, e.g., 
corn, flour, coffee, sugar (only relieved in 1904), petroleum, coke, butter, milk, 
and other farm produce, and infants’ foods. Coal, coke, oil, colours, pure 
alcohol, and other raw materials used in manufacturing are also exempted. The 
articles taxed, however, are very numerous, and are grouped in 99 classes. 
They include live cattle and pigs (Is. 5(7. per cwt.), live sheep, lambs, calves, 
and goats (2s. per cwt.), beef (2s. 8^(7. per cwt.), pork and bacon (Is. 8^(7.), 
mutton and veal (3s.), cured and smoked flesh and sausage (5s.), game and 
fowl of all kinds (up to 5Jc7. each), fish, preserved meat and fruit, fresh and 
dried fruit, tea (nearly 3(7. per lb.), cocoa and chocolate, beer, wine, &c. ; with 
coal for domestic use, iron and steel goods, and building materials. The octroi 
regulations are severe and are rigidly enforced. Should goods be smuggled into