The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1903-12-04
TOY INDUSTRY IN GERMANY.
lncreasinr Nunber of Large Estab-
lishments Forcing Home Work.
ers Into the Factories.


or Ore mountains. which has been de-
veloping for centuries, has been slowly
drifting into economic difficulties. With
the application Of steam power ana
modern machinery to the production OF
toys the house industry has been grad
ually forced to the wall. With an In
crease in the price Of wood and q de-
crease In the price Of the nnisneo
product these people Of the mountains
have been put into q position where II
is necessary to toll night and day Tor
meager existence, which is apparently
becoming more and more severe. re-
ports the Scientific American.
For some years the labor press OF
this part Of the country has busted IT.
self with q portrayal Of the wretched
conditions existing among the peasants
of the mountains, with the result that
an investigation was recently made by
the industrial commission of Freiburg
which largely suEstantiates even the
strong representations of the labor or
cans. The main point of the report OF
this commission may be summarized
as follows:
The number of large establishments
engaged in the manufacture OF toys is
increasing. This might be considered
prima facie as a welcome sign were 1t
not for the fact that the toys are not
manufactured upon the regular factory
plan with hired hands. but are made by
men who have rented space and ma
chimes quite independently OF one an
other. and who form sort OF voluntary
association banded together only foI
the sake of economy in roof and equip
ment, but carrying on their own separ'
ate businesses. A Discrimination Is SAID
to prevail among the young men to en-
ter a factory on the basis OF wage
earners and be subjected to the imme-
diate control, supervision, and direction
of an employer Rather than earn the
higher income afforded by the factory
wage the young men in the hills prefer
q much more meager existence in the In
dependence and freedom of their owl
homes. Because Of the fact that the In
habitants of the mountains make bu,
| few and simple demands upon life, tint
real Indebtedness of their situation Il
said to be but rarely fully appreciated
| The wage conditions existing In thu
| toy industry can be readily observed
from the following figures prepared b!
the commission referred to: The mos
remunerative branch of the trade at
fords a gross income Of from "a to A
marks ($5. II to 50 52) per week, one-hal
of which may be considered as prodt
In other branches the net income is a
low as 6 to marks ($1.42 to $2.1D pc
week. It must be remembered tina
these incomes are not the earnings o
a single person. but represent the labo
Of entire families.
How inconceivably small the pric
paid for certain kinds of toys is can
seen in the cost of pencil boxes OF tn
cheapest quality, for which the make
gets from 48 to So cents per gross.
The daily meals Of these people n
reported by the commission to be cor
fined largely to potatoes. linseed OF
bread and coffee. and, at times. meat o
Sundays.
With the price of wood rising. to
factories increasing in numbers !
other parts Of the country, and tn
price of toys falling. 1t seems that tt
people of the Erzgebirge must, in the
increasing wretchedness. find som
other means of sustenance. Exporter
Of toys who operate large factories
this neighborhood report good bushes
and are Of the opinion that the hou'
industry of the Erzgebirge is doome
and that the peasants will be forced
give up their independent productic
and enter factories.