New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-24
INDUSTRIAL GERMANY.
VIII.
,,ospERITY OF TEXTILE TRADES OF
UNCONSTITUTIONAL POLICIES NOT
Undermined NOR REVERSED

al
srs,ery. underwear and glove trades have al
...dv described: but there is a circuit of smaller
So, equally thrifty towns with special industries
- ,,e,r own The most important of these is
Yno,en a city with population of $4,000. which
-, been steadily increasing in commercial i'm
.,,ance since 1879 when the Protective system
e substituted in place OF Free Trade. 1t is
.,ooked by the old castle of Hradschn a
...-v relic of the Middle Ages but 1t is a bus
.,,s factory town. modern in spirit and in the
-, recently built; and it's textile industries are
,sucted with high degree Of technical eff
.a,cy The largest line of manufacture is wool
i, dress goods for which a great foreign trade
has been opened with England and the United
c,a,es in the last fifteen years. Plauen Is
,ow connecting directly with Bradford In dress
sooas as Chemnitz is rivalling the chief English
centres of the hosiery trade. II also has numer-
ops cotton industries of a high grade. Cotton
,ocas embroidered cottons and hosiery are
-, tho most successful manufactures of this
.nosrerous town. in which expert labor trained
:, technical schools is constantly employed.
what NAV be said Of Plauen is true also OF
oil tho Saxon towns In this circuit Iheir Tor
fumes have been transformed by the industrial
rolicjes OF tie last twenty years. by whlch
germany has been converted into commercial
T,n,nire with battles 10 be won In the WORLDS
markets Hof Reichenbach, Zwickau, FreiDerg
Annaberg and Gauchau are hourishng cities
,,,,n ,.o-ied manufactures of rising importance
Twenty years ago they were somnolent towns
..,,ho,,. enterprise and Industrial movement:
and now they are centres of highly organized
,,,o,,factures. in which trained labor is in de-
,nand and wages are gradually rising. Each
town has its special industry such as laces, but
emhrOi1prieS. lin
ens trimmings. gloves or woollens. and is send
,rg its manufactures abroad to Russia, Austria
Italy. England or the United States Between
those towns are villages and railway stations
where large factories have been built Was it NJ
Theirs who said that he was Protectionst be-
cause he liked 10 see the tall cEmneys smoking
when he was travelling about France? Saxony
IS a country where q traveller seems TO see little
else Every mile OF the way as the train trun-
dies along a factory with a tall chimney Is
deserted. and smoke ia always putting out from
the top. OF beautiful scenery there is no lack
especially in the heavily wooded Seerenbach-
thai and the rocky valley Of Weisseritz nanked
with peaceful majestic mountains; but this is
less impressive 70 any one who is interested in
the worli's work than the signs and evidences
q industrial activity and commercial enterprise
which are visible on every side II any one
desires 10 be convinced Of the magnitude Of
the industrial revolution in the Fatherland for
which Protection has opened the way. he should
come to Saxony.
DRESDEN'S LINEN INDUSTRY.
Dresden. the beautiful capital of Saxony. with
its art treasures. palaces and historic churches,
IS also great manufacturing centre. Its chief
industry is not many tourists are apt TO
fancy the reproduction of the Sistire Madonna
in oils. crayons and black and white nor the
manufacture OF artistic porcelain 1t is the linen
trade that imparts commercial Importance to
Dresden in Industrial Germany; and this has
been mainly developed in the last seventeen
years in consequence Of the continued operation
OF the Protective system Irish and Belgian
linens were formerly sold throughout Germany
Since 1870 the home industry has been heavily
protected and foreign importations OF linen ana
jute manufactures have steadily declined Hav-
ing once obtained control of the home market,
the manufacturers have invaded England and
undersold Irish and Scotch goods. With I'M
proved machinery expert labor and an ample
water supply they have been enabled to meet
the domestic demand for linens and jute manu-
features and 10 establish an extensive foreign
trade. About ona-third OF the manufactures ex-
ported from the Dresden district to the United
States are linen goods and this proportion fair
~ represents the supremacy OF the trade In this
quarter Of Saxony. In artistic finish the Ger
man linens have been steadily improving, in
consequence Of the thoroughness Of the techni-
cal education which is furnished 10 workers in
Dresden and in other textile towns.
What is true Of linens applies also TO the new
jute industries which are heavily protected by
the German tariff. Great progress has been
made during the last seventeen years in this line
Of manufactures. In 1879 the German importa-
ton Of the raw material from India was incon-
siderable. but ii has increased by leaps and
bounds until 1t IS now four-hfths great as
the Jute imports Of London. where the demand
for jute has been steadily declining. The manu-
facture Of Jute yarns and textures OF all kinds
has increased with amazing rapidly, and enor-
nous the home demand has been for these
goods the export trade has up in ten years
from 100000 10 over 100000 marks German
jute manufactures are finding their way into
all the markets Of the world. Not only Is Scotch
Dundee rivaed by Saxony and Westphalia In
the coarse grades Of piece goods, but also In the
finest and most artistic manufactures for which
the most expensive machinery and the best ex-
pert labor are required The trimming industry,
in which jute is now used large scale. is
one Of the most profitable trades in Germany,
and is carried on with marked success IN some
Of the mountain towns between Dresden and
Nuremberg. Dundee. without rival in
the jute trade is now suffering from competition
in India. where the lower grades Of manufact-
Ure produced with cheap labor, and also
from German enterprise in all the higher
branches Of the industry. and the English mar
ket itself is invaded from both quarters. The
German jute producers have secured the home
market without a struggle. because the tariff
strongly protects them against foreign rivals,
ard. aided by the superiority of their own meth
DDS Of technical education. they competing
more vigorously year by year for an increasing
share IN he 1Vorld'o trade