Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-09-16

Ing more than 700 years old, called
the Finnegaarden. one of the count.
ing houses of the league. which has
been preserved intact and Is now a
museum filed wi1u interesting relics
of that celebrated corporation. They
show how its managers and employees
lived and conducted business. The
league owned the harbor and a consid-
cradle portion of the city. and con
trolled not only It's manufacturing.
mercantile trade and foreign com
merce, but also its fisheries, which
have always been its most valuable
industry. Bergen then. as now, was
the greatest fish market In the world
The management OF the business
of the league was intrusted only to
Germans, who We're imported for that
purpose and were not allowed to
marry lest their wives should learn
its secrets. The managers and clerks
We're housed in colonies of fourteen.
each colony having control of certain
interests and keeping separate ac-
counts of its transactions. The men
slept In cupboards built into the walls
In curions manner. They did Their
own cooking. They had their own
church. with priests imported from
Germany. They were pious scound-
rels. as the evidence shows, Tor along
with their crucifixes and prayer
books and pictures of the saints arc
records showing that they kept two
sets of scales, one for buying ard one
for selling, and the attendant will
show you a parchment book IN which
the manager notes ter the ediication
of his employers that he cheated
fisherman out of 2JD vogs of hsh-a
yog being thirty-six pounds-and in
vokes "the blessing of God upon this
small profit" The inscription over
the door of the counting house reads
Without Gods blessing all in vain"
The coat of arms of the league which
is conspicuous upon everything, is
half an eagle. with one wing spread.
and Goldfish hanging beside it. sur
mounted on a coronet and having a
scoll underneath with the motto. BE
always candid; be also vigilant."
The money was kept in an immense
ironbound chest. divided into compart-
ments of various sizes, some of them
holding bushel, In which were de-
posted the various kinds of coin un-
til the collector came to make his per
iodical settlement. AT the bottom and
in the sides of the chest are secret
compartments for concealing con
tracts and other papers of value
When the league was suppressed
in Bergen in 1559-it existed in Ger
many until 17i0-the mechanics in it's
employ, accustomed to the privileges
of monopoly, soon organized into
guilds and continued to control the va
exporting trade and the fisheries un-
til as late as 1899, when the guilds
were dissolved and prohibited by law.
They were fourteen in number, each
exercising exclusive rights in it's own
line, to which. however, It's members
were restricted. In order to become
an artisan a man was compelled to
serve a term of apprenticeship, and
thereafter to serve as journeyman
for certain number of years until he
had become sufficiently competent or
acquired influence enough to secure
an election to the guild. The num-
ber of apprentices was limited and
usually none were admitted except the
sons and other proteges of the mem
bers of the guild.
Even in 1889 the practice of the sew
eral trades was limited, and although
the guilds and corporations were
oh aI t,,1 tctt a,,I 10
not made entirely free until 1866.
Until that date the products of the
country towns and other portions of
the kingdom could not be sold in Ber
gen or exported abroad except by
special permission. and through agen
cies already established under the pro
lection of the guilds. Since 1866,
however. every citizen has been al
lowed 10 engage in any occupation
that pleased him. and trade has been
entirely free. Naturally these re-
strictions served to suppress manu-
featuring and prevent the develop
ment of the city, but OF late years
Bergen has grown rapidly in popula-
tion. and in wealth. and is now one of
the richest, handsomest and most
progressive places of its size. in Eu-
rope.
The Norwegians are not naturally
inclined to indoor pursuits. They
have neither the taste nor the skill
for mechanics. They prefer an out
door life and occupations that call
for the exercise of strength. courage
and endurance. Nevertheless, the
manufacturing Industries continue to
grow, and according to a recent cen
sus more than 20 per cent of the peo-
pie are engaged in mechanical occnpa'
lions. The export of industrial pro
ducts has advanced from million and
a half OF kroner in a quarter of a cen
tury ago TO nearly fifty millions. The
government is carefully fostering the
mechanical industries and the effect
is being felt.
The persons of Independent means
are probably less in number than any
other country OF Europe, being limited
to 2.90 per cent of the population.
These included people who have re-