The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-02-24
The Krupp Works at Essen.

In the beginning of this century only
a town of 3,4S0 souls stood where now
dwell nearly 10000. The surrounding
district has also been made populous,
chiefly by Essen. A wonderful and
impressive scenel Around the many
storied edifices, with their high Chin
neys, that make the iron-works-there
must be at least a hundred such-the
vast plain is dotted as far as the eye can
reach with buildings of the innumerable
iron and coal mines, with chimneys
floating white banners of smoke. The
landscape is variegated with pretty ham,
lets, glimpses of rivers, endless poplar
avenues along white highways, and
everywhere moving lines of shining
cloud where trains of the three great
railways that encompass Essen speed
perpetually and in all directions. Fred
erick Krupp, belonging to an old Essen
family, started his works in 1910, but
he suffered by ten years. lawsuit,
which, though won, burdened him with
debt After his death, in 1926, his
widow barely managed to secure for her
Alfred good education, and when he
was called to the works, in 1S4S, he
found, to use his own words, three
workmen and more debts than fortune"
1t is he, now hale and hearty gentle
man of seventy-three years, who has
built up the Krupp works to their
present immensely. The firm name is
still " Fred. Krupp," but the works do
not belong to company, nor yet, as
some suppose, to the government, but
to this one man, Alfred Krupp, who
thus owns probably the largest bust
ness in the world dependent on an
individual The works within the
town cover more than 500 acres, half
of which are under cover. Accord
ing to a census taken in September,
1881, the number of hands employed by
Mr.. Krupp was 1905, the members OF
their families 45,776, making 65,3S1
persons supported by his works. OF
the laborers, II ,211 were engaged upon
the works in Essen, the rest being en-
ployed in the surrounding mines, the
branch works at Neuweid and Sayn
and the mines in Spain Bilbao, from
which, though less extensive, the finest
ores are brought. Mr.. Krupp owns
SAT iron mines in Germany. He owns
four sea steamers, and there are con.
nected with his Essen works forty-two
miles of railway, employing twenty
eight locomotives and SS3 cars, sixty
nine horses with 191 wagons, and forty
miles of telegraph wires with thirty-fivt
stations and fifty-five Morse apparatuses
The establishment possesses a grand
chemical laboratory, a Photographic
and photographic atelier, printing
Office with three steam and six han(
presses, and book-binding room. The
establishment even runs hotel-an eX
cellent one, as l have good reason Il
KNOWN Essen; and three years ago
for the advantage of the population HI
has gathered, Mr.. Krupp erected {
large central supply store, connectin!
with it many branches, extending it
benefits 10 all parts of the town and t.
the colonies he has built for his work
men in the neighborhood. Of thes,
stores and of the colonies more must b,
said presently. Although rumors hav,
gone through the world of the vast ex
tent of these works, it is difficult from
mere printed statistics to estimate thu
impressiveness of this great industrial
center until one has looked upon i
from some height, and attempted t.
wander through and around it. To tn
general world the name " Krupp ha
almost ceased to be personal; it signi
fies particular implement of destruc
ton. Two-thirds of the works here ar
devoted to things belonging to the art
of peacerall the parts Of steam-engines
locomotives, iron axles, bridges, rails
wheels, tires, switches, springs, shaft
for steamers, mint dies, rudders an
parts of all varieties of iron machiner
are prepared here for manufacturers
That is, they are not combined here
all the iron parts of a locomotive ma
be obtained here, but not locomotive
although nearly all of the locomotive
and engines used in the works are mad
in them. Both Brahma and silva ar
in the employ of Mr.. Krupp, but tn
creative power preponderates, and /
the destroyer is more famous it must b
attributed to the worlds keen interes
in fght.-Hdrper's Magazine.