Evening star., 1903-08-22
TWO CENTS AN HOUR
Work and Wages in the Great
Russian Empire.
THE HOUSE INDUSTRY
NETS THE FARMERS MANY MIL
LIONS EVERY YEAR.
How the Laboring People Live-Long
Hours and Small Pay-In
the Factories.
THE HOUSE INDUSTRY
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence OF Inc Evening Stdr
Copyright. 1908, by Frank G. Carpenter)
MINI NOVGOROD.
Sooner or later the Russians will be our
chief competitors in the markets of Europe
and Asia. They have greater material re-
sources than any other country outside the
United States and by far the largest num-
ber of white laborers. They are naturally
skillful and will work for less than any
people except the Chinese, Japanese and
East Indians. There are now 10000, 900 of
them in the Russian empire. and of these
more than 100000, 600 belong to the laboring
classes. The factory hands are steadily in
creasing, and there are tens of millions who
work at their homes.
An enormous amount of house industry is
done here. Hundreds of articles now sold
at the Mini Novgorod fair were made In
matched huts. Many of the staple prod
ucts are turned out by the farmers, who
till the land in the summer, and devote
themselves to their trades in the winter.
Our farmers lie idle six months of the year.
More than 1000 600 Russian farmers devote
the cold weather to outside work, making
things to SELL which bring them in
nual profit of $3.50, 100000 without leaving
their homes or neglecting their farms.
These figures are given me by the govern
ment officials and may be relied upon as
correct.
This work has been going on for years
and it has resulted in building up a class
of skilled laborerS who can turn out
better product for the same money than
any other people in Europe. They can COM
pete with and beat American machinery.
Take our shoes, for instance In some dis
tricts here calfskin shoes are made so
cheaply that they can be sold at wholesale
for 45 cents a pair figure which crowds
out forever our 50 article.
They Do Everything.
The work done in the houses is of every
description. In some districts they make
razors, knives, locks and all kinds of hard
ware. Each cabin has its little blacksmith
shop, and the man works away manufac-
turing a small product each day. Here in
Mimi Novgorod thousands of peasants are
making wooden spoons, which are sold in
Europe and in different parts of Asia. They
enamel the spoons, and also carve and
paint them from designs furnished by the
Russian government. Altogether, they make
more than 1O0.OO0,OO0 spoons year. and
GO, 600, 600 of these are exported to China
and to south and west Asia.
In six provinces of European Russia there
are something like 10000 lace makers, who
make more than 800 GOO yards of lace
every year. Some of the lace Is very fine
and other kinds exceedingly coarse. The
peasants use lace of different colors for
trimming their dresses and aprons, and
every mans Sunday shirt has more or less
lace stitched down the front. The output
of this kind amounts to something like
81, ,OOO,OOO a year.
wish could show you some shawls that
are for sale here at the Mini fair. They
are made of the finest wool. SO fine and
soft that you can draw a shawl as big
as a bed quilt through finger ring. Don't
laugh! l have done this myself, and 1
bought such a shawl the other day for
less than s.. These shawls are made by
the women OF Orenburg and are sold all
over the empire.
In the Kimri district the people make
boots and shoes. They turn out three
is estimated that there are twenty thou
sand persons engaged in that industry. In
another government there are twenty thou
sand more. and in Tobolsk the annual
value of the leather made is more than
a million dollars There are ten thousand
peasants in Vladimir and Moscow who
spend the winter weaving silk and some
thing like two hundred thousand who are
engaged in making carriages and wagons
Cooperative Associations.
Many of these farmers and farm hands
have cooperative associations. They club
together and build little factories In their
villages. which they fit up with lathes,
engines and other machines. Sometimes
they borrow the money, putting in a few
dollars each at the start, and sometimes
go away to work for It, After the factory
Is established they will labor there during
the winter months and at the close divide
the profits
In some such establishments along the