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lms been in most oases nu less than formerly with longer hours.Especially known, already quoted by Brassey, is the instance ofDollfus , whose spinning-mill produced in an 11 hours day just asmuch as formerly in 1 2 hours. This experience was repeated inother spinning-mills of Alsace (8).
Karl Grad, before the “ Enquetekommission,’’ laid great stresson the difference between Mulhouse and the smaller factory dis-tricts of the Vosges. The average wage in the Vosges in cotton-spinning mills amounted to I'77 IV. per day ; in Mulhouse , on theother hand, with shorter hours of labour, to 2'd 1 fr. But thiswas balanced by the town operatives producing more. As AugustDollfus has proved, the production costs of tho same articles areless in Mulhouse than in the remainder of Alsace . They amountthere to O'.‘17 fr. for a kilogramme of yarn of average counts,against O' 10 fr. in the Vosges (9).
Between Germany and England the comparison between Mul-house and the valley of the Vosges is forcibly repeated (10).
The Swiss inspector of factories informs us of interesting ex-periences regarding the hours of labour (11). In 1878 a normalworking day of 11 hours was introduced into Switzerland , follow-ing that already introduced in 1872 into the Canton Glams. I tcan already be proved with certainty that the cotton industry ofSwitzerland , one ofjtlie chief industries of the country, has notsuffered in the least by these regulations. By calling into service acorresponding speeding of the machinery, the experience of in-creasing the productive capacity of labour—which in many cases
8. Compare Protokolle of the “ Reichseuquete,” p. 375. Brassey: “Workand Wages,” 2nd ed., pp. 121 and 143.
1). Compare “ Protokolle der Reichsenquete,” p. 37(5.
10. The same relation applies to knitting. A firm I am personallyacquainted with produces curtains in Nottingham. Silesia, and Austria . Themills in the latter places make ordinary goods for home consumption. Goodsfor export can only be successfully produced in England . The same differenceexists in England . The lace trade has at the present day, in many cases, leftNottingham in order to obtain the advantages of lower wages in the countrydistricts. But the finest articles, which require the most expensive machinery,are exclusively made within the Nottingham “ trade-ring,” because only thereis sufficiently capable labour to be found.
11. Compare “ Archiv fur sociale Gesetzgebnng.” vol. IV.. part I.. p. 88.On page 89 particulars are given respecting the weekly wages of the operatives.They are in England twice as high as in Switzerland , in spite of which labourin the English cotton iudustrv is cheaper. Detailed reasons for this aro to beseen above.