446
STAS SPURT.
system. The number of these small shops is, however, so great that prices are
fairly equal in all parts of Stassfurt and Leopoldshall. There can be little doubt
that the system of paying wages monthly in the salt mines, with an advance
every fortnight, together with the custom of paying rent at the end of the
quarter, makes it difficult for families with very limited means to economise and
to avoid getting into debt. The workman is in the habit of getting an advance
on his wages when the rent falls due, but the grocer, the baker, and the butcher
have to give him credit. In order to protect themselves against the co-operative
society and to check its growth, the tradesmen have combined in two societies
to give a small discount to customers who pay ready money for their purchases.
Each tradesman belonging to this society buys from it a quantity of stamps, each
of the value of 10 pfennig (1J</.), as occasion requires. These are given to his
customers at the rate of two stamps for every shilling spent in the shop, and are
affixed to the pages of a book kept for this purpose. In one case a book may be
taken to the head office as soon as it is filled with stamps and the equivalent be
received at once in cash, while the other society pays these dividends only once
a year. Questioned as to the success attending this movement, tradesmen were
not enthusiastic. Some of them asserted that though their customers insist on
receiving the stamps, there is not much more cash payment than before. The
only change in this respect is, that instead of having their goods booked,
customers now insist on borrowing money from their tradespeople, in order to
get the dividend stamps in return for ready money. It is not surprising that
the co-operative society does not flourish, when it not only competes with
discount tradesmen, but also suffers from the inability or unwillingness of the
working classes to pay ready money for their purchases. The branch shop in
Stassfurt has only about 200 members and the one at Leopoldshall 300, and
their combined turnover in 1905-06 was £8,079, or £16 per member.
The quality of coffee mostly in demand by the working classes is one
selling at lie?, per lb., though there is also a large sale for substitutes,
6\(/., malt coffee sold at 3|e/. per lb., and roasted barley sold at 2\d. per lb.
The sugar almost universally purchased is white granulated at 2|c/. Only
one kind of cheese is sold in any quantity, and it is a soft “ country
cheese” made from milk after the cream has been extracted. It is formed
into small round pats which are sold at : ~d. each. These pats vary
considerably in weight, and the price per lb. of such " country cheese ” thus
varies from 4d. to 5\d. Limburg cheese is sold in only a few shops in workingclass
neighbourhoods and is not much in demand. Its price is 0>\d. per lb.
Fresh or dairy butter is sold at from Is. 2\d. to Is. 2\d. per lb., and margarine,
which is much more largely purchased, at 8§¿7. per lb. for the best quality and
at 7fd. for the second quality, the former price being most usual. Potatoes are
sold by measure, the price per " metze ” (containing 5J English lbs.) being 3d.
for the best quality and 2\d. for the second. Wheaten bread is only eaten at the
“ first breakfast,” which consist of coffee and rolls, before the workman goes to
his employment. These rolls are either in the form of a miniature bun or are
cylindrical in shape, and in October, 1905, were sold at the rate of 4 for 1 \d.,
or about 8|<A per 4 lbs. The staple bread is baked from rye flour in long
loaves, the ends and top of which are rounded whilst the under surface is flat.
The price in October, 1905, was about 4\d. per 4 lbs. The milk trade of
Stassfurt and Leopoldshall is practically in the hands of two large dealers and
a large dairy firm. Only “ full ” or pure milk is bought and the price is
about 2\d. per quart.
For heating purposes briquettes are exclusively used. They are made
from the “ brown ” coal lignite found in the neighbourhood, the heating
power of which is stated to be about one-third that of English pit coal.
The briquettes vary very considerably in quality and price. One firm,
possessing its own mine, supplied them in October, 1905, as low as 7^d. per cwt.
to customers on its own premises, whilst dealers who deliver briquettes charged
from 8d. to 11 \d. per cwt., the usual prices being from 8§d. to 9fc?. The
lignite coke referred to in the remarks on rents is supplied at Is. per cwt. The
paraffin mostly sold is American and the price is about 9\d. per gallon.
Russian petroleum is also sold at about 9d. per gallon.
