New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-12-24
MINISTERIAL FRANCE.
,onvvr p. PORTER, MEMBER OF THE LATE
~ hoDh" TARIFF COMMISSION.
VIII.
y.aFs AND SOCIETY AMONG IRON AND
c1,rpI WORKERS AND SILK WEAVERS.

80, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT THE rRIBUNR]
CT FT1EyyE Noirel, France. Oct. 6.-There are
40 o,v mind. many points Of resemblance between
O. Etienne and Sheffield. Both are elevated a'iiu
hills in the midst of picturesque country; po'n
- h,ilt over extensive coal mines; through each
,neanders a little black river: the atmosphere u
both is filed with vapor and smoke; vegetation II
hlackened and stunted; the streets are narro"tanu
filed with fine dust. The people OF ST. E''enno
and Sheffield especially the miners anu su',,''
have the same dirty celery-white compie1ion' 'no
ling-houses are of the same morley 80,
o,ike wre,ched and unfit for habitation. Az nlen'
tn towns glare with lurid flames, and the hail-
,oked men. manipulating the molten noh an"
81 look more like the weird dwelers Oh announcer
,,or,d than the "puddlers" and drawers" QUO
roads of in the wage tables. The similarity Oh 'o
+,vo towns can be carried still further l"r oneoi
;; situated at the southern extremity OF one Oh Vhe
most important manufacturing counties vi
prgland. while ST. Etienne occupies the same
,osition in one of the great manufacturing depart
ments of France. But Sheffield has more 'nah
donble observation-disclosures OfSt. Etienne. the popuiauoh
&C che latter not exceeding l35OOO. ST. Etlehhe IL
celebrated for its coalmines its STEEL It's nre-aFs
on0 its ribbons. As a Frenchman gracefully puts
:, 90 sontles ateliers de Mars a cots de ceux de
Venus" -.
TIC nearest route to St. Etienne from Lyons was
s,scribea in the first letter from LIE Puy. The
r,nto from LYONS. via rArbresle through Tarare
a. Poanne situated at the northern end OF the
Sa,artment of the Loire takes you up the valley OF
+be oire. which runs through the centre OF the
denartment aud gives an excellent idea "t th'S
;mportant industrial region of France. Tarare Is u
+hrivinr manufacturing town, noted lot l's oo"h-
nnslins. which are of great fineness. IL Is sara
that as many as $4,000 persons are empioye' III
the town and surrounding country on TINS ora"ch
of industry The weavers ply Their traOe ih n''ui!
cellars. which are neither foored nor warmed ny
FIRE in der to keep up the moisture necessary. Io'
weaving the fine webs and TO prevent the breaking
of the thread At one time tae yarn Ior '"'S0
foods was Struggled from England
The situation of Roanne makes 1t important
The Loire is navigable from this point Hence
Roanpe has a great transit trade; the manntac
nres of LYONS the iron and coal OF ienne the
produc ion of the sou hern province OF France ana
fine i,npor Of the Levant, conveyedm her nom th'
Rbone by railway or canal, a-e transported hence
down the Loire to Nantes, OF tn ough i, ana inc
Cana de Broare TO The Seine and Paris But, aided
.eall this, Roanne is an iinpor ant co ton mann
featuring own. and several thousand are there
engaged in he industry
In round figures France annually consumes
30 600 600 ons of coal. Ofthisamoun- looOo'Oo'
tons a impo ed. OF he 20.OOoOoo which SIZE
nrodnees. s, 600 600 cone from the northern Goa
fe ds Depa tments of No and Pas-Ge-Caiaisl and
4 OOO. 600 from his depar ment Thus he Lone
n odnces a ,out One-ff Of he to al coal p 0duci
If ,ance. aud ranks in this pa icEla second {
the grea no the u cOal-felds In he production
of pic-iron he Nearthe-e Nose lie, Sa6ne-et-Lolre
Nord. A ler. Gard and Haute- Marine rank ahead %
the Loire In the production of IRON the Noro
alone outranks it, the value of the iron prodnct o
the Loire reaching annually nearly 2o,OOO,oO'
francs. In the oduction of steel the official sta
tstics place il first the value of the oduction eX
ceed,ng 40, OOO, 600 francs while its neehborinl
denartment lSa6ne-et-LOi el with the enormousstee
works of Creusot-cOmes second with 30,OoOOO'
IN AZ 600 600 francs worth. The Loire is also th'
fourth glass producing department of France
These industries nearl all centre in the vicinlt'
of the st Etienne and 81. Chamond coai-mines
Indeed Mt the latter place the railway and marine
works a among the most famous OF the world
+houch not so la ge as those at Essen, Cncusot o
scrainq At Rive-de-Gier are some most note'
works The demand for rails, locomotives and al
kinds of iron and steel has been great during tn
last decade and the following table, which hav
CAREFUL compiled from official returns, shows tn
nrocress since the war with German