10(3
oven succeeded in obtaining an advance. Since the old menpossess a monopoly of their hand-labour, tho threat of a strikewas sufficient, as long as old maids still bought their goods.
An astonishing thing is this guild of the cottage weavers, whichonce comprised the whole neighbourhood of Bolton, and hadthousands of members. Even -'30 years ago it had 1,800 mem-bers ; to-day it has only 50. The youngest member, 50 years ofage, is secretary, with whom, apparently, at some time the guildwill die out. Most of them are far older, and to our questionsabout tho trade the answers often went back 50 years. If theircondition is tolerable, it depends upon the almost fanaticallyspoken-out determination to be the last of their trade, and toteach their handicraft to no younger person. Even winding isnot done here by children, but by the oldest of the old. Thegrandchildren work in the factory, where they earn three timesas much—thus solving the hand-weaver problem.
If we compare the conditions of the hand-weavers in Germany with those just delineated, they stand also on about the sameeconomical footing as those of England in the “thirties’’—in themidst of the death-struggles of the cottage industry, whose fatalcharacter is well known to the thinking observer. There are,indeed, also voices not wanting like those of the manufacturers ofBolton who thought the home hand-weaving could only ceasealtogether with English commerce (2). For instance, an advertise-ment lies before me, in which hand-weaving is declared to be ascapable, indeed in many articles superior, to power-weaving. Itill fits in therewith, however, if at the same time the sympathy ofthe public is appealed to, and an advertisement made of thepoverty of the weaver.
Opposed thereto E. Engel (3) deserves special recognition, forin 1855 he already called attention to the fact that there wasonly one remedy for the misery of the hand-workers—the replace-ment of the hand industry by the factory system. So early asthat, Engel spoke with great foresight of a certain “ conservativecalling of centralised industry.” Even at this day this expressionwill appear paradoxical to most people. Where, however, the