New-York tribune., 1919-10-14
German Labor
COnditiOnsFair.
Material Low
Famous Liepsic Fair Re.
veals Status of Indus
tries i'll Empire Under
After War Restrictions
BY William G. Dreher
Special Tribune Correspondeat

E1PZ1G, Sept. Al came here sew
IL eral days ago to look over the
famous Leipzig Fair, or "Messe," as
the Germans call it. | wanted to see
what it could tell me about the pres
ent economic situation in Germany.
Especially did l want to find out some
thing of the psychological atmosphere
OF the German manufacturing classes
under the pressure Of threatened So
cialization and greatly disturbed labor
conditions.
In 1885 the fair was held outdoors
on the big public squares Booths
up in long rows, and here buyers from
even then, of foreigners, went about
from booth to booth buying goods.
But some years previous to that date
the transformation mentioned above
had already begun. The manufacturers
of china and pottery had found that
Juggling their goods to Leipzig and
Juggling home again the unsold rem
nants, was a very clumsy and costly
way OF doing business. Therefore
they adopted the practice of carrying
only their samples to the Messe,
which they used in making contracts
for goods to be shipped later from
manufactured in subsequent months.
Only Samples Exhibited
That idea Of the potters took root
and spread to all other industries; !;
and now the great Messe is entirely
an exhibition of samples. And when
that change set in, it began to grow
evident that tho Messe must get
under a permanent ROTOR many
roofs, as the event demonstrated. They
began about twenty-five years ago to
tear down the quaint medieval build
ings in the heart of the old town and
to erect upon their sites, huge Messc
palaces. This process went on from
year to year as the Messc grew and
prospered, until some Of the principal
streets are now almost wholly occupied
with such palaces. There are not less
than thirty eight of these permanent
Messe buildings, and even these did
not suffice for the present fair. The
shoe trade, for example, had to take
possession of the towns fine Turn
halle.
From this it must be evident to the
reader that this Messe is a huge affair.
There are, in fact, about $500 firms
exhibiting here, which is larger num-
ber than ever before There is such
picSSulc LUZ space lIdC Soiut VI luc
smaller exhibitors. as observed,
spread out their wares in the narrow
space left around stair landings. And
the streets! They are Park Row over
again at the home-going hour-only
worse. 1t was wellnigh impossible to
pass through some of them. And we'll
might it be so, for there are not less
than 10000 visitors in the city.
Labor Conditions Fair
One surprise has met me here in re-
gard to labor conditions. While there
is considerable complaint about the un-
satisfactory rate at which workmen
now work, as we'll as the frequent
strikes. / have found that, on the
whole, manufacturers are pretty Wen
satisfied with labor conditions. One
manufacturer of Dresden who makes
counting house trucks and pushcarts
told me that his men are actually pro-
ducing bigger output per man than
before the war; they wished at the
time of the revolution to abolish piece
work, but were persuaded to continue
it. Other manufacturers reported an
increasing willingness to work bv the
piece. In general, it may be said that