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of spindles is generally tended by more operatives than the greaternumber of spindles in the English machines. In Mulhouse 1,390spindles require one spinner and four helpers (two piecers, twofillers); in England , 2,000 spindles require only one spinner andtwo helpers; 2,000 spindles in one of the finest spinning concernsof Saxony require one spinner and four helpers, whereas in tliesmaller spinning-mills of Saxony there are even one spinner andfive helpers needed for a pair of self-actors with only 1,000spindles.
But quite especially is it to be mentioned here that the English spinner does not need overlooking the same as the German. InEngland 60,000 to 80,000 spindles—i.e., the whole spindles of amill—are entrusted to one overlooker (50s. to 60s. per week). InGermany , in favourable cases, there is an overlooker to 15,000spindles; also in this respect is the South-West more favourablyplaced than the East. In England there is one overlooker for60,000 to 80,000 spindles; in Alsace and South Germany there isone for 10,000 to 20,000 spindles; in Saxony there is one over-looker for 10,000 spindles : in a smaller spinning-mill of theSaxon highlands there is one for 3,000 to 4,000 spindles.
In consequence of the development delineated the production ofyarn per operative in England has greatly increased since the“ thirties,” and the cost of labour per given quantity of yam hasconsiderably lessened. Let us compare, for example, the instancegiven by Ilouldsworth, in 1834, before the “Committee on Manu-factures,” with figures which I have found in a spinning-mill inBolton in 1890. They are for 200’s counts: —
Weeklycapacity perspinner.
Weekly hoursof labour.
Cost of labour(spinners and help-ers) per 1,000hanks.
Weeklyearnings ofspinner.
42/-
44/-
Buying-power inflour.
1837..
1891..
3,800 hanks
34,500 ,,
72 hours
54i „
200 pence
23 „
2G7 lb.
40G ,, (28)
28. The price of flour is that of August, 1891. The comparison is ratherin favour of the spinner in 1837, because the price of flour at that timeis according to the invoices of a large hospital, therefore wholesale, whereasthe prices taken for 1891 are retail prices of a co-operative society. Thelatter, in order to pay a dividend of 10 per cent., demands rather higherprices than the shopkeeper,