Evening star., 1921-09-11
kRUPP GUN PLANT
now TRANSFORMED
iTypewriters and Safety
i Razors Produced Instead
H. of Mighty Cannon.
by GEORGE WITTE.

BY GEORGE WITTE
Special Correspondence Of The Star and Chicago
Daily News} ~
BERLIN. Germany August Is
Germany's transition from imperial
ism to democracy was no greater than
the changing of the worlds greatest
gun-making concern -tot one Of the
worlds greatest manufacturers OF
useful iron and steel products for
the firm of Friedrich Krupp in Essen.
Despite the fact that. Krupp's. and
with it the score or more other Ger
man concerns engaged in producing
war material. were forced to abandon
that particular branch of the iron
and steel industry. and switch to the
production of more peaceful articles.
the industry is: thriving; as the few
available figures show. German
manufacturers are carefully guarding
their production and cost figures,
however, and / ffnd 1t difficult to OBJ
tain comprehensive Information. The
secrecy is being maintained as q
measure to protect the German in
dnstry from being accused of unfair
competition In the International mar
kets.
Wage increases Not Real.
The following figures, furnished by
.krupp's. give an idea. of the situa-
ton in one branch of that vast busi-
ness:
The number of workingmen en-
ployed in Krupp's pig iron works in
Essen was $3.50 in 1890. as COM
pared with 35.735 in 1913. the increase
being 10.11 per cent. But as a result
or the introduction of the eight-hour
day the working time decreased 1851
per cent. as against 1919, when the
ten and twelve hour day was still in
effect.
The ayerage.wa of the men rose
S.24 marks In. 1920, if they were on an
hour basis. and from 5,55 marks q
shift in 1913 to 49,97 marks In 1890, II
tney were ON a shift basis. Normally
the wages per hour increased 1I.s
1.-THE mark in 1913 had a value of
z58 cents: in 1920 a value of about
I v cents.l
The iron production Of the Krupp
works In 1924 was 85.5 per cent of
II 1t was only 45.7 per cent. The de-
crease in the production possibilities
OF steel was even more marked, the
production dropping from 100 per
cent In IslSii4 to s6 per cent in the
knapp. Make. No Guns.
From another source these. figures
were amplifed. Before and during
the war. it was pointed out, the
krupp works principally turned out
products that were large and heavy,
steamship shafts and other massive
pieces. Since the peace treaty put q
stop to- this line of production. the
concern has turned to smaller prod
ucts. with the. result that the waste
is far higher than before. Then. too.
the workingmen are not as skilled in
the manufacture of cash registers,
typewriters and fine medical and op-
tical fnstruments-all new work to
IN oeemmes me- fnsy were in the making
and grandfathers. had specialized At
present. Krupp's is not making even
the few guns which. under the peace
treaty, Germany is allowed to have
TOT her army and navy: The Dues
seldorf gun works manufacture those.
Dividends Paid or Passed.
Krupp's last year and the year be-
for 1874 they declared a IL per cent
dividend. This passing of dividends
was possible because all the shares
are held by members of the Krupp
would rather see the profits used for
extension and welfare purposes.
The other big iron and steel COM
pan1es, however. many of which de-
ciared no dividends In 1854, de.
clared dividends averaging 20 per cent
last year. Thus the Rhenish Steel
Company paid IL per cent dividend,
rs against no dividend before the
war: the Bismark Huette declared q
20 per cent dividend as against per
cent in 1913-14; the Laura Huette de-
clared a 20 per cent dividend as
against 4 per cent, and SO on down
the list.
.--1020 Was Poorest Year..
These dividends, though they appear
to be large. are small in reality, If
one compares the value of German
money today with its value before the
war. A report made at a directors
meeting of the Rhenish steel works
says that despite the apparently
large profits, the year 1920 was the
poorest in the history of the company,
barring not even the pre-war years,
when we declared no dividends"
In order to keep going and be able
to buy from time to time the neces-
sary new machines to replace old ones
which are no longer serviceable, the
German industrial leaders have taken
resort in the trust system as the only
way out Of their plight. Thus, for
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