The Portland daily press., 1892-01-02
A CURIOUS OLD LABOR SYSTEM


Against Each Other for Laborers.
The British consul at Stettin, in the
course of a very interesting report on
Pomerania generally, describes an Old
World system of labor still to some ex-
tent prevailing there. There are two
classes of laborers-the permanent for
Instleute) and the free laborers. The
former, for the most part, are those who,
having been born ON the estate, remain
on it all their lives, their contract with
their employer being, however, renew
nble from year to year. Each family
receives free dwelling, consisting Of
two rooms, a kitchen, a loft and cellar,
also outhouses for pigs, goats, poultry,
etc.
In land they receive / ,O20 square yards
for garden, 1850 square yards for pota-
to and rye growing, "a shillings yearly
for firing and free carriage of fuel. In
wages q healthy man receives is. Sd.
daily from April to Sept. 80, and 1 shil-
ling daily from Oct. to March 81. Each
family is obliged ito provide one "Hof-
ganger," eitker boy or girl, TO assist in
work on the estate. They receive from
their employer as wages from pence to
pence per day, according to age.
The wife is not obliged to work in the
fields, but she is expected to milk the
COWS, for which she receives from one to
two quarts of milk per day. If she does
work on the estate she receives shilling
per day from May to Nov so, and is
generally paid according to her value as
o worker. The Instleute have oppor-
tunities of increasing their yearly wages
by taking job work.
For example, in spring there is hoe
work, in the summer harvesting and
moving, and in autumn gathering roots
and fruit. For job work a man can
sometimes earn as much as shillings to
4 shillings extra per day; the wife and
''hofganger" together, from Q shillings
to shillings extra, or they may be paid
In kind, as in wheat, hay, etc.
Should family bring more laborers.
these are paid and treated as free labor
ers. This system now only remains on
few of the larger estates. Free labor
ers are those who do not live on or be-
long to an estate and are under no obi
cations whatever to the estate holders.
Their engagement during busy, times
is occasionally subject to keen competi-
ton between the various employers, and
it is both interesting and amusing to see
the agents (the wages on the various
estates are often announced by the police
officer stationed in the village) of various
estate holders ringing their bells in the
principal street of village and de-
claring that they viii give so much a
day, and opposition agents Overlooking
each other, the laborers calmly awaiting
results. But railway communication SO
rapidly extending, laborers from the
south are able to finish work at the ear
lier crops in their own districts and vet
be in ample time for the later harvesting
in the north.
Thus the local laborer is now becoming
of less value and this has had tendency
to lower wages to such an extent during
winter and spring months that the village
laborer is constantly seeking employ
ment in the towns. Indeed, so difficult
has it become to obtain laborers at har-
vesting times that some of the estate
holders engage railway wagons to bring
laborers from distant parts. These
gangs of men and women are generally
led by head worker or 'svorarbeiter, !"
who receives the orders and the wages
for the whole of his or her gang.
They are usually employed by the Job.
For wedding and potato gathering
women are alone needed, and therefore
gangs of women are often engaged
separately. During the potato gathering
season the little town of Rallies, in
Pomerania, which is estimated to contain.
from three thousand to four thousand in
habitants, and where the people are
celebrated as potato workers, is COM
pletely deserted, only the mayor and
bellringer being left in the town. The
people, who are all of tho laboring class,
go out to the harvest and potato gather
ing and are scattered all over Pomerania
leaving their houses locked and the KEYS
in the hands of the mayor, as they often
do not return for months. -London
Times.