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working costs, but also greater wear and tear (31). Add to thisthat in Germany the combining of spinning with weaving in thesame business—clearly only because the difficulties of sellingoccur in this case but once—pays the best, exactly as reported bythe English Commission in the “thirties”; to-day, however, theorganisation of the market in England makes possible that tech-nical separation between weaving and spinning which is preferable(32).
Lastly, without concentration highly capable labour is im-possible, because such demands as an essential the sole employ-ment of a population for generations in the same industry.Further, only in the seat of a concentrated industry is labour alsowith certainty to be met with, whilst German manufacturers oftenon this ground also must work on at a loss, in order that thelaboriously taught labour may not vanish from their grasp, ofwhich instances are supplied from Alsace and other places (33).Especially must South German spinning-mills, mostly situated inisolated places, always attract afresh workers from other branches.Scarcely in working trim, they often leave the mill again in orderto go back to agricultural work, to hand-labour, to house service.This complaint is often repeated in the German Enquete; onlyfew workers t hi nit about devoting their lives to factory labour.In the possession of a permanent operative population exists thegreat advantage of England , where such a frequent change ofoccupation is unknown. The German manufacturers are alsoagreed that it is not want of capacity which makes the German operative less capable than the English , but much rather the lackof tradition, since he adheres to a, decentralised industry. ‘ Suchcircumstances decide,” says one of the skilled witnesses examined,after he had taken into account certain social-political advantagesfor the dispersion, “that we can never have the trained workersof England , where children and children’s children devote thern-
31. “ Protokolle.” p. 387, gives 15 per cent, as the disadvantage whichresults to the manufacturers of Alsace as a consequence of having to spin alarger range of counts than formerly.
32. Compare “Protokolle,” pp. 29, 409, 452.
33. For instance, “ Protokolle,” pp. 360, 387. (A mill which just for themoment wishes to spin fine counts cannot dispense with the thereby unnecessaryoperatives, because if it goes hack to coarse counts, which give employment tomore labour, it would not find the operatives at its call.) Also Grassmann ’s“ Augshurger Industrie,” p. 17G, informs us of a frequent change of operatives,specially pointing out the custom of the younger workers to change their situa-tions in spring. The compulsory military service has also a disturbing influ-ence in this direction.