The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1912-08-16
CENTENARY OF THE KRUPPS To
BE OBSERVED BY GERMAN
ROYALTY

ion Of the centenary of the great firm
of Krupps, for which preparation
have been going forward for nearl
: two years, began to-day at Essen
The celebration is attended by tn,
Emperor William at the head of :
brilliant galaxy of his fellow-Germal
, sovereigns, generals, admirals an(
civic dignitaries.
The celebration will last an entire
week and will be of a most IMPOSING
and memorable character. The chic
feature will be great pageant which
will symbolic the substitution of fire
arms or the old weapons of the mid
die ages. The principle scene of the
pageant will be an episode from the
life of the Emperor Macmillan l, and
250 retired officers of the German
army are to play the parts of knights
During the period of the celebration
the emperor and other royal guests
are quartered at the Villa Hugel, the
splendid country house of Herr Krupp
Won Bohlen-Halbach, who by marry
ing the elder daughter of the late
Herr Krupp became the head of the
firm. The villa is located just out
side Essen. The other notable guests
at the celebration are being accommo
dated at the hotel in Essen maintain
ed by the Krupp company exclusively
| for the accommodation of foreign buy
ers of their guns, armor and ships,
who are always at Essen in large mum
bers.
Emperor Shows Interest.
The strong personal interest that
the emperor is manifesting in the
celebration is not surprising in view
of the fact that the firm of Krupp is
almost a government institution. The
armament branch of it's business is
in direct touch with the German army
and navy and studies their interests
before anything else. The firm is in
short an integral part of the German
empire and during the past decade
or two it has done more for the mil
itary power of the empire than any
commercial firm has ever before been
able to do for it's government. It's
patriotism needs no better proof than
the fact that the firm, while making
guns and armor for nearly all the
leading nations of the world, has
steadfastly refused to do any business
with France since the Franco-Prus-
sian war.
The foundation of the world-re-
nowned firm was laid in 1912 by the
first Alfred Krupp. But it was his
son, the second of the name, who
gave the works their international
character. This he succeeded in doing
only after seemingly insurmountable |
difficulties had been overcome. Ac-
cording to his own statements Alfred |
Krupp's profits for Is years We're no
more than enough to pay the wages
of his workmen, and frequently he
was at a loss to pay the postage of
his correspondence.
Exposition of 1851
Alfred Krupp saw the possibilities
of the great exposition to open in
London in 1851 and decided to take
of it. He had made i'm
portant discoveries in the casting of
large masses of Bessemer steel, which
had been an insurmountable task pre-
vious to his time. The exhibit he sent
to London fairly astonished his rep
utatior. Orders began to pour in and
soon there was plenty of work to do
at the Essen boundaries.
The making of heavy ornance,
which has made the name of these
works famous the world over, was I
not then prominent part of the bust
ness. One of the first large orders
Herr Krupp got for firearms was four
years later, when Prussia gave him {
he contract for her new breechload-
RS Soon general boundary work and
he making of small arms began to '
axe second place at Essen, as heavy
teel siege guns and armor plate de- {
handed more and more attention.
In 1882, after the second Alfred Y
lrupp had been at the helm six years 9
here were but 10 men employed at t
he boundary. But after he fairly got !
tarted Herr Krupp extended his bust |
ess rapidly borrowing large sums of Q
apital for the purpose and adding
ew workmen by thousands to his
Employees by the stroke of pen.
To-day the firm employs upward of :
5000 workmen. More than 10000 :
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