INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA WENDEL 1 1 THE EVOLUTION OF INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA 1845-1849 THE EVOLUTION OF INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA, 1845 - 1849 By HUGO C. M. WENDEL Ph.D. (U. of P.); Assistant Professor of history in New fork University THE NEW YORK. UNIVERSITY PRESS jz WAVERLY PLACE, NEW YORK CITY 1921 Copyright 1918, by HTTOO C. M. WENDM, Copyright 1921, by THI NEW YOBK UNIVEBSITY PBESS COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION ABTHUB HUNTINGTON NASON, PH.D., Chairman Director of the Press EAELE BEOWNELL BABCOCK, PH.D. HAEOLD DICKINSON SENIOE, M.D., Sc.D., F.B.C.S. KENNEBEC JOTIENAL PEE88, AUGUSTA, MAINE PREFACE BETWEEN the German revolution of 1848 and that of 1918, the parallel is interesting: in both, the laboring-classes played a prominent part; and, in both, the industrial problem came up for solution. During the recent revolution, the employees gave ex- pression to their belief that the industrial freedom of the factory system was making them slaves of the capital- ists. Seventy years ago the mastercraftsmen of Prussia our study is confined to this state opposed the liberal Prussian law of 1845, because they believed that it was demoralizing industry. They could think of high stand- ards only in terms of the guild system. Journeymen and apprentices, however, were in favor of retaining in- dustrial freedom. Factory-employees and day-laborers, though inadequately organized, were surprisingly unan- imous in their demands for regulation. Obviously there was discontent among the working classes of Prussia in 1848. This discontent was largely due to the fact that Prussian industry was passing through a transitional stage. To show the degree of industrial freedom introduced into Prussia by the law of 1845, to note the reaction of the various classes of workingmen, and to trace the policy of the Government, resulting from the petitions and protests of 1847 ano< 1848, is the purpose of this monograph. In making this study, I have received assistance from numerous sources which I gratefully acknowledge. Professor William E. Lingelbach, under whose super- vision this work was begun and completed, and Professor vi INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA Edward P. Cheyney and Professor Arthur Rowland have favored me with constructive criticism. Professor Edwin R. A. Seligman granted me the use of his private library. Professor Carl Becker and Professor Carlton J. H. Hayes have given me expert advice. Of the librarians, those of the University of Penn- sylvania, Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Syracuse (Leopold von Ranke's library) and the New York Public Library have granted me many privileges. Dr. Henry J. Harris, Director of the Division of Documents, Library of Con- gress, has been especially helpful. I must also acknowledge the careful editorial super- vision of the Director of the New York University Press, Professor Arthur Huntington Nason. H. C. M. W. University Heights, New York October 14, 1920 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. (1731-1845) 1. General Survey I 2. The Restrictive System (Prussian Code 1794) 3 3. Transition to Industrial Freedom 8 4. Establishment of Industrial Freedom II 5. Industrial Freedom Restricted to Five Provinces...... 16 6. Need of a Uniform System of Industry 16 CHAPTER I INDUSTRIAL LAW OF 1845 1. Restrictions Abolished and Compensation 17 2. Itinerant Trades 22 3. Fixed Trades 26 4. Markets and Fairs 28 5. Price and Wage Regulation 30 6. Guilds 31 7. Adaptation to Social Conditions 40 CHAPTER II DISCONTENT AMONG THE WORKING CLASSES 1. The Agricultural Situation 42 2. The Industrial Situation 46 3. Industrial Organizations 52 CHAPTER III THE INDUSTRIAL PROBLEM AND THE GOVERNMENT 1. Petitions of Provincial Diets Prior to 1847 58 2. First United Diet 59 3. Second United Diet 67 4. Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Public Works.. 70 5. Prussian National Assembly 72 viii CONTENTS 6. Truck System 78 7. Law of February 9, 1849 78 Conclusion 80 ABBREVIATIONS 82 BIBUOGRAPHY 83 INDEX 105 THE EVOLUTION OF INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA 1845-1849 INTRODUCTION THE INTRODUCTION OF INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM INTO PRUSSIA 1731-1845 THE craft guilds, although a product of mediaeval social and economic conditions, maintained them- selves far down into recent times. L,ong before the French Revolution, however, the growing individ- ualistic conception of life and the new forms of industry had made them an antiquated institution. Their purpose was, furthermore, vitiated by the introduction of numer- ous abuses. As early as 1731, therefore, the German Imperial Diet had resolved upon reform. In the fol- lowing year, this resolution resulted in a law for the provinces of Prussia within the Holy Roman Empire. East Prussia received a new code in 1733 ; West Prussia, in 1774. * Aside from the latter, no new industrial statutes of importance were promulgated in Prussia until after the humiliating defeat at Jena in 1806. Some years before, however, in 1794, the legal principles pertaining to trade and industry, as embodied in the existing laws, had been codified and published as a part of the new Prussian Code (Allgemeines Landrecht}. This codification was in every way in harmony with the spirit of the age, and reflected the influence of rationalism as it was inter- preted in the light of benevolent absolutism. 2 The industrial reorganization of the Prussian state under the ministers Stein and Hardenburg reached its 1 Rohrscheidt, Von Zunftzwang zwr Gewerbefreiheit, 96. 2 Roehl, Beitraege zur Preuss. Handwerkerpolitik, in Schmoller's St. su'. Fgn., v. 17, Heft 4, 22. 2 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA culmination in the introduction of industrial freedom (Gewerbefreiheif). This was embodied in three meas- ures of the years 1810, 1811, and 1820, respectively. 3 Naturally, the guilds disliked the new freedom, for it infringed upon their time-honored monopolies. They exerted all the influence at their command against the new laws. As a result, the state felt called upon to reopen the question. The Council of State was ordered in 1824 to discuss the advisability of revision. 4 In 1845, 5 after twenty-one years of deliberation, a new measure was promulgated. Although this new law tried to establish a compromise between industrial freedom and state control, it failed to meet with the approval of those whose condition it sought to ameliorate. By 1848, craftsman and laborer alike demanded reform. The government again took the matter under consideration, but reached a decision decidedly favorable to the guilds.' In 1869, however, the North German Confederation adopted a more enlightened policy, and freed the indus- tries of North Germany from the trammels of an eco- nomic organization long since antiquated. 7 Three years later, the law of 1869 was introduced into Baden, Wuerttemberg, and Bavaria, and thus became the law of the newly formed German Empire. 8 Although this law has undergone various amendments in more recent times, its main features still survive. 9 The history of craft guild legislation in Prussia from the middle of the eighteenth century to 1845 has already been written. The law of 1869 an< i subsequent amend- See P. G. S. for the respective years. 4 Roehl, ibid., 190. P. G. S. 1845, 41 ff. Law of Feb. 9, 1849. P. O. S. 1849, 93 ff. 7 Law of June 21. B. Gbl. 1869, 245 ff. R. Gbl. 1871, 392, and 1872, 170. *R. Gbl 1881, 233; 1897, 663; 1900, 321; 1908, 667. INTRODUCTION 3 ments have likewise been adequately analyzed. 10 The purpose of this study, therefore, is to discuss the law of 1845 m i ts relation to the evolution of industrial free- dom in Prussia and to relate it to the events of 1848. In order to appreciate the degree of industrial free- dom retained in 1845, i* w ^ De necessary to outline briefly its gradual introduction at the close of the eight- eenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century. The first fact of importance in this connection is the Prus- sian Code of 1794 (Allgemeines Landrecht} referred to above. As previously stated, it contains the laws per- taining to craft guilds and factories. u The general principles there laid down distinguished between trades over which guilds had a monopoly and those open to any one. Two kinds of craft organizations were recog- nized as legal, those of limited and those of unlimited membership. The exclusiveness of the former could be invaded by the right of the crown to create free-masters (Freimeister) , i.e., masters not obliged to join the guild, while the latter could be prevented from becoming monopolistic by the king's refusal to limit their mem- bership. As new guilds could be established only by royal charter, and as the state reserved the right of amendment, the whole system was well under the con- trol of the central authorities. 12 Government control was made even more effective by placing the guilds directly under the jurisdiction of the 10 In a work entitled Vom Zimftzwang zur Gewerbefreiheit, Kurt von Rohrscheidt has treated the subject down to 1823, and also the law of 1897. It is based largely on material in the Koenigsberg archives. Subse- quently, he published an annotated edition of the law of 1869. Hugo Boehl in Beitraege zur Preussitchen Handwerkerpolitik, based primarily on documents in the archives in Berlin, discusses the question from 1780 to 1845. The amendment of 1881 has been analyzed by Johannes Jacobi in an article entitled Die Innungabewegung in Deutschland und die Novelle zur Reichs-Geu-erbeordung vom 18 Juli 1881. (Jhb. f. G. V. V., 1883, 1197- 1233). VA.L.R., pt. II, title 8, ch. 3-4. "A. L. R., pt. II, title 8, ch. 3, 179-189, 192, 207. 4 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA municipal administrative board. A representative ap- pointed by the board attended all meetings of the guild. He was keeper of the seal and had to affix his signature to all orders and documents. He was expected to pre- vent the fixing of prices and the collection of dues and fines not prescribed by the charter. He supervised the administration of funds. It was the administrative board, not the guilds, that dealt with free-masters, who, by exceeding the terms of their grant, might infringe upon the rights of guilds. But this fact, as well as the obligation of rural craftsmen to join a guild of the near- est town, and the limitation upon all craftsmen to finish only so much of an article as the privileges of their guild permitted, clearly indicate that, although subject to state and town authorities, the guilds still held a unique posi- tion in the industrial system of the period. 13 The advance toward a more liberal industrial policy is clearly seen in the regulations regarding promotion from journeyman to master- workman. The rule that no one should attain the highest rank in the system without first acquiring burghership, was retained ; but restrictions made by the guilds to limit the number of masters were abolished. 14 Thus a journeyman could not be prevented from advancing to the next stage for reasons of caprice or extortion, or because he was married; nor could he be required to make a masterpiece unusually costly or unsalable. He was allowed two re-examinations and guaranteed the right of appeal to the municipal admin- istrative board for an investigation of the causes of the rejection of his work. After satisfactory examination and formal acceptance into the guild, a master desiring u Ibid., 185, 190-246. The privileges of this system were extended to widows of deceased master- workmen, unless otherwise specified, so long as they did not marry, and provided they contributed to the guild. " Rohrscheidt, ibid., 142 S. INTRODUCTION 5 to change his place of residence, could establish himself in any city without being required to submit to a new test. This, however, did not apply to rural craftsmen who moved to town. They might be asked to make a masterpiece in accordance with the more difficult speci- fications of the town-guild. 15 In harmony with the increasing elasticity of this guild economy, masters, although forbidden to sell their wares outside of their guild-district, were permitted to make them "to order" for those living beyond it, and free- masters, 16 as well as guild-masters, could employ ap- prentices and journeymen the only restriction upon free-masters being that they must "accept" and "free" their apprentices through the guild. 17 Guilds could not refuse to accept as apprentices illegitimate children duly legitimatized. Nor was previous employment, except that of flayer, a bar to admission. 18 Subjects, however, were permitted to learn an urban handicraft only by con- sent of their lord, the general rule prevailing that chil- dren shall follow their father's occupation. 19 The rights of master and apprentice were protected by the fact that the relationship was contractual. Heavy fines, indecent customs, and costly banquets in connection with an apprentice's promotion were prohibited. 20 In the regulations pertaining to journeymen, however, the rigid features of the old system were preserved. Thus a journeyman was obliged to travel and to confine his Wander schajt to his own country. Permission to visit a foreign state could be obtained only from the police authorities. His credentials were deposited in 15 A. L. R., ibid., 247-262. 18 I.e., masters not obliged to join a guild. Cf . p. 3. 17 A. L. R., ibid., 263-277. 18 Cf. Rohrscheidt, ibid., 122 ff. 18 A. L. R., pt. II, title 7, ch. 4, 171-172; title 8, ch. 3, 282. 20 A. L. R., pt. II, title 8, ch. 3, 278-324. 6 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA the guild-chest as long as he was employed in a town. If no work could be found for him, he was obliged to leave. He might remain, however, if he hired himself out as a servant an act which did not affect his social standing. His wages, as craftsman, were determined by the guild under the direction of the local government. In case of illness, he was entitled to assistance from the journeymen's fund (Gesellenlade) and, eventually, from the guild treasury (Gewerkslade) and the municipal charity fund. He had to work on all days except legal holidays, and could be imprisoned for disobeying this rule. Under ordinary circumstances, both master and journeyman were bound to give two weeks' notice before terminating their agreement. But the master could re- fuse to let his journeyman go, even after proper notice had been given, if the day on which he was entitled to leave fell within two weeks of a fair or an annual market. Failure to leave town after the return of his credentials made the journeyman a vagabond. Unlike the master-craftsmen, journeymen did not form an organization. They were not allowed to hold meetings unless especially permitted by the guild-charter or the police laws, and then only after informing the guild- elders of their intention. They could, however, elect an Altgeselle to supervise the benefit-fund. But he, too, was under the ultimate supervision of the elders and the representative of the municipal administrative board. 21 More significant than the rules concerning guilds are those relating to factory employees and artificers (Kuenstler). 22 The date of the Prussian Code (1794) A.L.B., ibid., 325-400. 1 "Lamprecht (Kriegs-und Domaenenrat at the close of the eighteenth century) unterschied .... Handwerker nnd Kuenstler im Sinne des Landrechts so, dass er unter Kuensten 'mehrere neu eintrefuehrte Gewerbe' verstand, 'zu deren Ausfuehrung vorzueglich viel Genie und wissenschaftliche Kenntnisse erforderlich sind unter welchen die sehoenen Kuenste nur die erste Stelle einnehmen, die sich hauptsaechlich mit der INTRODUCTION 7 falls within the early period of the Industrial Revo- lution. With the introduction of machinery and new processes of production, there appear two factors des- tined to create a new social group and a new system of manufacture: the proletariat and the factory. The early stage of this new social and economic creative process is clearly reflected in the Code. It has, for ex- ample, only ^seventeen sections dealing with factories as compared with two hundred and twenty-two on craft guilds. 23 It distinguishes between a master-workman employed in a factory and an ordinary factory-hand. Moreover, it defines a Fabrikant as one who works in a factory, and states that craftsmen engaged in a busi- ness of their own, although popularly known as Fabri- kanten, shall be subject to the rules of their respective guilds. Factory employees were not subject to Zunft- zwang, 24 and, consequently, did not share in the privi- leges reserved to the guilds. Nor did those who learned their trade under them enjoy the rights of guild appren- tices and guild journeymen. It was, however, permis- sible for anyone belonging to a craft organization to accept employment in a factory without forfeiting his rights. Factories were not to be established without state per- mission. Before granting a permit for the manufacture of goods reserved to a particular guild, the state agreed to consult with the nearest guild concerned. The rela- Nachahmung der Natur beschaeftigen.' " (Quoted by Roehl in Beitraegc zur Preuss. Handwerkerpolitik in St. sw. Fgn., v. 17, Heft. 4, p. 36, foot- note No. 1.) "Artificer" is used here as one who makes & work of art. Dieterici enumerates the mechanische Euenstler as follows : "Mechanic! fuer mathematische Instrumente, Mechanic! fuer musikalische Instrument*, Uhrmacher, Gold-Silber-Arbeiter, Steinschneider, Gold-Silberschlaeger, Buch- binder, Atrappen-Goldbortenmacher, Verfertiger von Gypsfiguren, Bildhauer, Bilder-Blumen-u. Porzellan-Maler." (Handbuch der Statistik des preus- sischen Stoats, Berlin, 1861, 387.) 23 A. L. R., pt. II, title 8, ch. 4, 407-423; and ch. 3, 179-400. 24 I.e., were not obliged to join a guild. 8 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA tion between employer and employee was determined by contract. The manufacturer was given all the rights of members of merchant guilds, except the right of retail- ing. 25 Artificers were subject to regulations identical with those pertaining to ordinary craftsmen. If their trade was the exclusive privilege of a guild, they were obliged to join it; if it was not, anyone could engage in the trade and enjoy the same right of selling his wares, both inside and outside of his house, as did members of a guild. Those artificers who were members of the Acad- emy of Arts might ply their trade anywhere within the confines of the state, without interference from any guild whatsoever. 2e Two other features of the Prussian Code, of import- ance here, are the right of banliene (Bannmeile) and the market-right. The former permitted certain cities to exclude all extra-mural trades from a specified dis- trict outside the walls. Its purpose was to keep away from the immediate environs of the city all crafts likely to compete with the urban craftsmen for the city trade. Rural craftsmen indispensable to agriculture formed an exception to this rule. 27 The only point regarding the right to hold fairs and markets that needs to be referred to here is that strangers must be permitted to sell their wares freely. 28 Not long did the Prussian Code of 1794 represent advanced opinion concerning the guilds. As early as 1790, the Bromberg Chamber had declared the guilds an evil. In 1798, the East Prussian Diet took a hostile attitude toward them. It believed Zunftzwang 29 to be 28 A. L. R., pt. II, title 8, ch. 4, 407-423. 7bW., 401-406. "A. L. R., pt. II, title 8, ch. 2, 90-102. 28 76t as has been pointed out, to establish a uniform sys- tem of industry in all the provinces of Prussia. By de- claring this law to be supplementary to the Edict of 1811, the government indicated the relationship between the latter and the liberal legislation of the early part of the century. x The preliminary discussion and the final draft of the Industrial Law and of the Act of Com- pensation have been treated extensively by Roehl. 2 A glance at his bibliography, however, will show that only in three instances has he used government material dated later than 1845. 3 I n view of this, it will not be mere repetition to restate the provisions of both Acts, and to 1 Order of Jan. 29. Min.-Bl. 1847, 20. The Edict of Sept. 7, 1811, must not be confused with the Polizeigesetz of Sept. 7, 1811. The latter dealt with the regulation of industry; the former was concerned with taxation. The following extract from the introduction to the edict will show the prin- ciples upon which it was based: "Die Grundlagen auf welchen das im vorigen Jahre ausgesprochene Abgaben-System und die neuere Gesetzgebung beruhen : Gleichheit vor dem Getsetz, Eigenthum des Grund und Bodens, freie Benutzung desselben und Disposition ueber solchen, Gewerbefreiheit, Aufhoeren der Zwangs- und Bann-Gerechtigkeiten und Monopole, Tragung der Abgaben nach gleichen Grundsaetzen von Jedermann, Vereinfachung derselben und freie Erhebung, wollen Wir keineswegs verlassen, Wir wollen vielmehr fortwaehrend auf solche bauen, da Wir sie als die heilsamsten fuer die Uns anvertrauten Unterthanen aller Klassen halten ;...." 2 Roehl, Beitraege, etc., in Schmoller's St. u. sw. Fgn., Bd. 17, Heft. 4, 189-271. 8 "Acta betr. die Massregeln zur Emporbringung der Febriken Ein- und Ausfuhr der Fabrikate, Beschwerden dagegen u. s. to." (1823-48.) "Acta betr. die Realberechtigungen im Grossherzogtum Posen, ingleichen die Aufhebung aller gewerblichen Zwangs- und Bannrechte daselbst." (1825-47.) "Acta betr. den Entwurf einer Verodnung fuer naehere Erklaerung der Bestimmungen in SO des Qewerbesteuergesetzes vom XI. 1810" (1829-47). jg INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA indicate the modifications made between 1845 an d 1849.* The first question to be taken up by the new legisla- tion was the abolition of restrictions upon industry still prevalent in various parts of the kingdom. These re- strictions may be divided into five classes. The first comprised all rights and privileges to exclude a person from a trade or to restrict him in the pursuit thereof (ausschliessliche Gewerbeberechtigungen). The amount of compensation for these rights was determined by their value at the time of abolition. Each case was to be decided upon its merits. If these rights pertained to fixed trades (stehende Gewerbe), 5 their value was computed by taking the average price for which they were sold or leased. If that was impossible, owing to the fact that these rights had not been leased or sold for many years, their value was calculated on the basis of the tax register, or by some other method. In all cases in which the net returns were used as the basis of compensation, the value of the right was obtained by multiplying the amount of the returns by twenty-five. The next step was the conversion of the right into a certificate (Entschaedigungsanerkenntnis) 6 bearing $% interest and payable by those who were engaged in the trade in a particular town or district. Should the crafts- 4 The new material used is : ''Ministeri-al-Blatt fuer die gesamte innere Verwaltwng in den Koenig- lich Preussisclien Staaten" (1846-48). "Central-Blatt der Abgdben, Gewerbe und Handelsgesetzgebwng und Verwaltung in den Koeniglich Preussischen Staaten" (1845-49). "Amts-Blatt der Koeniglichen Regierung zu Potsdam und der Stadt Berlin" (1845-49). 8 Cf. p. 26. Form of EntschaedigungsanerJcenntnis: "Auf Grund der Verhandhingen ueber den Entschaedigungsanspruch des N. zu N. in Betreff des mit seiner Gewerbeberechtigung verbunden gewesenen durch die Allgemeine Gewerbeordnung von 17 Januar 1845 auf- gehobenen Rechts Andern den Betrieb des . . . Gewerbes in N. zu nntersagen, wird hierdurch dem 11 des Entschaedigungsgesetzes vom 17 Januar 1845 gemaess bescheinigt, dass die dem N. fuer den Verlust jener Berechtigung zu gewaehrende Entschaedigung durch Beschluss der Koenig- lichen Regierung zu N. (der unterzeichneten Koeniglichen Regierung) auf Thlr. Sgr. Pf. geschrieben festgesetzt 1st." (Mm.-Bl. 1847, 263.) INDUSTRIAL LAW OF 1845 ! 9 men not be able to pay all of the interest, the com- munity was obliged to make up the deficit. A sinking fund was established by assessments levied upon the craftsmen and the community. Money left over after a dissolved guild had met all its obligations was also deposited in this fund. Persons holding certificates which represented con- verted perpetual and exclusive trade rights and privi- leges, were permitted to dispose of them by will, or otherwise. These certificates bore interest until re- deemed. Those, however, whose claim represented rights and privileges for life or some other specified period, were entitled to an annuity only for the duration of the claim. A sum equal to twenty-five times the annuity was taken to be a fair compensation. Urban bakers, brewers, and butchers, possessing exclusive trade privileges, even if connected with coercive rights (Zwangs- und Bannrechte) were to receive compensa- tion according to this schedule. Compensation for exclusive industrial privileges per- taining to itinerant trades (Gewerbebetrieb im Umher- ziehen) was not granted to the lessee unless the privi- lege had been acquired by the payment of a fixed sum. The lessor, however, was entitled to an annuity calcu- lated on the basis of the average net income derived from 1817 to 1836 inclusive. This annuity was redeem- able by the payment of a sum twenty-five times the amount. All compensations for the abolition of privi- leges of this type were payable by the state treasury. T The second class of restrictions abolished by the law of 1845 consisted of rights to grant concessions to en- gage in particular trades. The regulations concerning 7 Gewerbeordnung 1. P. G. S. 1845, 41. Entschaedigungsgesetz 1, 724. P. G. S. 1845, 79 ff. Cf. pp. 14 and 22. 20 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA compensation were identical with those pertaining to itinerant trades. 8 The third class comprised all rights to collect duties for granting permission to carry on a trade. Only the duties stipulated in the trade tax law of 1820 were retained. In case of doubt as to whether a duty rested on a trade or on land, the latter was presumed, and the duty had to be paid. Compensation was provided accord- ing to the rules pertaining to itinerant trades. 9 The fourth class included all coercive rights (Zwangs- und Bannrechte) belonging to the exchequer of the state or of a municipality, or to a corporation of craftsmen, provided the craft corporation possessed those rights on the day on which the Industrial Law was published (January 17, 1845) or na d transferred them not later than December 31, 1836. These rights were abolished without compensation. 10 Other rights in this class were those which, according to their charter, might be revoked without compensation, 11 and the rights of millers, bakers, butchers, distillers, and brewers to force consumers to trade exclusively with them in so far as these rights were not included in the first two classes, and provided that they were not based on an agreement between the parties concerned. The value of the coercive right of millers (Mahlzwang} was calculated by allowing one- half peck of rye per capita for the population in the coercive district (Zwangsbezirk) and by multiplying the amount of rye thus obtained by the average market price prevailing between 1815 and 1844 at the nearest market town. The result was the annuity, which, if multiplied by twenty-five, represented the amount of compensation 8 Gewerbeordnung 2; Entschaedigungsgesetz 25-27. ' Gewerbeordnung 3 ; Entschaedigungsgesetz 25-27. 10 Gewerbeordnung 4 (1); Entscnaedigungsgesetz 2. u Gewerbeordnung 4 (2). INDUSTRIAL LAW OF 1845 21 payable by the state treasury. Compensation for the other rights of this group (bakers, butchers, distillers, and brewers) was determined solely on the basis of the net returns. 12 Coercive industrial privileges not included in class four might be redeemed at the option of the individual corporation or community obligated. Their value was determined by their recent selling or renting price, or, if they had not changed hands recently, by the net income derived from them. An annuity was paid by those subject to coercion (Zwang). The obligation could be liquidated by the payment of a sum equal to twenty-five times the annuity. 13 The fifth class included those restrictions which set up a distinct line of demarkation between urban and rural communities for limiting certain trades to towns. The abolition of these restrictions did not involve compen- sation. 14 State monopolies, patent, flayer, and ferry-rights were not included in the list of abolished or of redeemable rights and privileges. In so far, however, as ferry- rights were exclusive, they might be abolished with due compensation by the ministry. 15 To prevent the re-introduction of exclusive and co- ercive rights declared null and void, the law provided that, in the future, they could not be acquired by pre- scription. Nor could similar rights be obtained by con- tract, or otherwise, for more than ten years. Any agreement of indemnification, in case the contract or other arrangement were not renewed, was void. Another feature of the Industrial Law of 1845, bound to operate 12 Qewerbeordnung 4 (3) ; Entschaedigungsgesetz 29-33. 18 Gewerbeordnung 5; Entschaedigungsgesetz 34-36. 14 Gewerbeordnung 12. Ibid., 6-9. 22 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA against the re-introduction of monopoly privileges, was the rule that any one might engage in several trades simultaneously, unless otherwise provided by law. 18 In the development of economic liberalism in Prussia, the general abolition and redemption of time-honored monopolies restrictive of industrial intercourse is no mean step forward. The advance upon similar legis- lation under Stein and Hardenberg is evidenced by the general character of the regulations of the new law and the extension of its provisions to the whole monarchy, as constituted after the Congress of Vienna (1815)." Presumably, the granting of compensation was due to respect for personal rights. After disposing of the question of special privilege, the Industrial Law of 1845 proceeds to prescribe the rules for engaging in trades. It distinguishes between itinerant and fixed trades. With regard to itinerant trades (Gewerbebetrieb im Umherziehen}, it provides that previous regulations shall remain in force, except in so far as they are affected by the abolition of exclu- sive and coercive privileges and by the abrogation of restrictions upon Jews. 18 The regulations referred to are primarily those of 1824 and 1836. The former, issued because of diver- gent opinions concerning the trade tax law of 1820, takes up in detail the whole question of itinerant trades. It defines them as trades in the pursuit of which wares are carried about and offered for sale on the street, in public inns, and in private houses, and as enterprises consisting either in the purchase of articles at the afore- said places for the purpose of reselling them, or in the seeking of orders for goods. Merchants, manufacturers, ., 11 and 13. 17 Cf. p. 9 ff; also p. 16, footnotes No. 53 and 54. 18 Gewerbeordnung, 14; also 1-4 and 60. INDUSTRIAL LAW OF 1845 23 and craftsmen taking their wares to annual markets for the purpose of selling them from booths, and those who take to weekly markets such goods as the local authori- ties permit strangers to sell there, are not included in this category. Nor does it pertain to nationals or their agents who travel about the country in quest of raw material for their factories. 19 Foreigners are restricted in the kinds of articles they may peddle and in the nature of the services they may offer. They may, however, go about in quest of orders. 20 Persons desiring to engage in an itinerant trade were obliged to procure a trade license. If they remained within the police jurisdiction of their town, a permit from the local police authorities was sufficient. Glaziers and chimney-sweepers, who, by the very nature of their work, were restricted to a specific district, were not required to obtain a license. This applied also to their apprentices and journeymen. Two years after the pro- mulgation of the Industrial Law, licenses could be issued to foreigners by the local authorities, without obtaining the approval of the ministry. The tendency was to be- come more liberal in the requirements regarding trade licenses with respect to both nationals and foreigners. 21 Originally, the trade license allowed the holder to ped- dle his wares only within the district of the province that granted it. This privilege, however, could be extended to other districts if the license were viseed by the authorities of the several districts. The ruling of later orders, that this privilege was not to be refused, except in special cases, was sustained in 1846. 22 A per- son possessing a license was permitted to ply his trade "Law of April 28, 1824, 1-5, P. G. S. 1884, 126-127; Cabinet Order of March 27, 1828, P. G. S. 1828, 49. 20 Law of 1824, 12. 21 Ibid., | 2-4, 6-7. Min.-Bl. 1847, 25-26. Central-Bl. 1847, 164-165. **Min.-Bl. 1846, 146. 24 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA within the district or districts specified during the period of annual and weekly markets, and at non-market peri- ods from one to eight days, according to the size of the town. At least four weeks must have elapsed before he might return to the same place. This did not apply, however, to venders of farm and dairy products, fruit- sellers, or fishmongers. 23 As early as 1826, it was de- creed that merchants and their assistants travelling about the country in quest of orders or for the purpose of buying goods to resell provided they did not carry these goods with them, but sent them by freight were entitled to go anywhere in the monarchy on the basis of their trade license. 4 The kinds of wares for the peddling of which licenses might be issued were: products of garden, dairy, field, forest, and river ; 25 wastes of trades ; iron, steel and earthen wares; linen, cotton, and hempen goods. The following persons were permitted to offer their services from place to place : repairers of various articles, bas- ket-weavers, wood-clock makers, rat-catchers, players, and musicians. 26 In addition to the law of 1824 retained by the Indus- Law of 1824, 21-22. 24 P. G. S. 1828, 61-62. 28 An order of April 20, 1845, is interesting in this connection. It permits trustworthy persons to sell food and drink to railway laborers, nd allows them to advance with the progress of construction. This order shows the effect of railway building upon itinerant trading. (Central-Si. 1845, 154-155). * Law of 1824, 14, 17-18. The general attitude of the government toward itinerant trading is perhaps best illustrated by the following order: "Die Bestimmung des Cirkular-Rescripts vom 10 Maerz 1838, wonaeh der Hausirhandel mit Druckschriften verboten ist, findet auch auf Noten, denen der Liedertext beigedruckt ist, gleichmaesige Anwendung, da der- gleichen Noten zu den Druckschriften mit zu rechnen sind. "Aber auch der Hausirhandel mit anderen Musikalien kann, da ein Beduerfnis zu einem solchen Handel nicht vorliegt, die Gestattung des- selben auch leicht zur gleichzeitigen Verbreitung von Drnckschriften gemissbraucht werden kann, nicht fuer zulaessig erachtet werden, nnd wird die Koenigliche Regierung daher angewiesen, zu einem solchen Handel unter keinen Umstaenden ferner Gewerbescheine zu ertheilen." (Central-Bl. 184S, 244). INDUSTRIAL LAW OF 1845 25 trial Law, 27 there were in operation in 1845 trade tax regulations of 1836. These provided for a more equit- able taxation of itinerant trades than was possible under the law of 1820. Later an eightfold increase of the tax was permitted upon foreigners whose states discrimin- ated against Prussians. 28 After a treaty of reciprocity had been concluded between the Customs Union and Belgium, Prussia decreed that Belgian manufacturers and tradesmen engaging in itinerant pursuits in Prussia should be exempt from payment of the trade tax, if they had paid it at home. 29 The growing liberalism in industry was manifest in the increasing recognition of the right of Jews to en- gage in itinerant trades. Until 1845, tnev were wholly excluded from these trades. 30 The Industrial Law al- lowed them or their agents to go about the country in quest of orders or to purchase wares with a view to reselling them. 31 Two years later the remaining restric- tions were removed in all provinces except Posen. In this province, a distinction was made between natural- ized and unnaturalized Jews. The former were accorded the same itinerant trade privileges as their co-religionists in other parts of the monarchy. The latter were ex- cluded from itinerant trades. 32 The evolution of industrial freedom in Prussia with respect to itinerant trades is marked, as shown above, by a wider operation of the principle of reciprocity toward foreigners, a growing tendency to recognize the trade license in every part of the monarchy, irrespective of the place where it was issued, and an almost complete 27 Cf. p. 22. 28 P. a. S. 1837, 14-16; 1843, 301. 29 Min.-Bl. 1847, 104. 30 P. G. S. 1812, 21; 1833, 71. 81 Gewerbeordnung, 60. S2 P. G. S. 1847, 264, 268, 269. 26 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA removal of Jewish disabilities. In the matter of wares and services, hardly any progress is observable. In addition to the regulations concerning itinerant trades, the Industrial Law of 1845 a l so provides for the establishment of fixed trades (stehende Gewerbe). After defining fixed trades as trades that are not carried on by travelling about, it specifies who may engage in them and what the manner of establishing them shall be. In the interest of the orderly progress of industry, the law permitted persons who conducted a trade before 1845 to continue therein, even though they did not sat- isfy the new rules. 33 The qualifications for establishing a fixed trade were possession of the legal right to dispose of one's property and a permanent domicile in the state. 3 * As women were allowed to engage in a trade with the consent of their husbands, a bankrupt could continue his trade in his wife's name. A ministerial order of a later date interpreted the Industrial Law to mean that any woman properly qualified might establish a fixed trade in her own name. 35 Although foreigners could engage in fixed trades only by permission of the ministry, unless otherwise specified by treaty, the nationals of states belonging to the Customs Union were permitted the full enjoyment of industrial freedom because of the treaties of reciprocity forming the Union. 3Min.-Bl. 1848, 102-115 (Order of Feb. 4). 58 Gewerbeordnung, 85 118-119. w/btd., 120-124. INDUSTRIAL LAW OF 1845 35 ing" apprentices. For a number of trades the right to "accept" depended upon joining an old or a new guild and proving one's proficiency. 60 The number of these trades could be increased or diminished by the provincial governments according to the necessities of the locality. Craftsmen not permitted to employ appren- tices, according to these regulations, could neither "ac- cept" new ones, nor retain those they already employed. 61 The relation of journeymen, assistants, and apprentices to craftsmen employing them was based on an agree- ment between the parties concerned. In the absence of an agreement, the relationship was determined by the rules of the guild to which the craftsman belonged. If the craftsman was not a member of a guild, the pro- visions of the Industrial Law, as outlined below, deter- mined the relationship. The local government was obliged to protect the health and morals of a craftsman's employees. If the secular and religious education of these employees was inadequate, opportunity had to be given them to perfect themselves in the studies in which they were deficient. Difficulties arising between a crafts- man and his employees were to be settled by the special committees provided for the purpose. Where such committees did not exist, this duty devolved upon the president of the guild to which the craftsman belonged. The president, however, could exercise this power only in the presence of the representative of the local admin- 80 The trades in question are : Gerber aller Art, Lederbereiter, Ledertauer, Korduaner, Perga- menter, Schuhmacher, Handschuhmacher, Beutler, Kuerschner, Riemer, Sattler, Seller, Reifschlaeger, Schneider, Hutmacher, Tischler, Rademacher, Stellmacher, Boettcher, Drechsler in Holz und Horn, Toepfer, Grob- schmiede, Hnfschmiede, Waffensehmiede, Schlosser, Zirkelschmiede, Zeug- schmiedc, Bohrschmiede, Saegeschmiede, Messerschmiede, Buechsenschmiede, Sporer, Feilenhauer, Kupferschmiede, Rothgiesser, Gelbgiesser, Glocken- giesser, Gnertler, Zinngiesser, Klempner, Buchbinder, Faerber." (Gewer- beordnwng, 131). According to a ministerial announcement of 1847, "Tapezierer" were not to be included in this group. (Min.-Bl. 1847, 24-25). ^Gewerbeordnung, 125-133. 36 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA istrative board. Cases involving craftsmen who were not members of a guild, were settled by the local police de- partment. e2 Journeymen and assistants, although obliged to observe the rules and customs of the craftsman's home, could not be forced to perform the duties of servants. Their rela- tions with their master could be severed by giving notice two weeks in advance. But if they were guilty of theft, disobedience, careless use of fire, or calumniation of their employer, or if they became unfit, they could be dismissed without notice. On the other hand, they might leave without giving notice, if they became unfit for service, if their master violently laid hands on them or tempted them to perform illegal or immoral acts, or if he withheld their wages. On leaving, journeymen and assistants could demand a certificate indicating the nature and period of their employment. This certificate, to be valid, had to be confirmed by the local authorities. There was no compulsory migration (Wanderschaft}. Migrating journeymen and assistants could, therefore, not claim assistance of craftsmen. After revolutionary disturbances had broken out in Germany in 1848, the Diet of the Confederation annulled its decree of 1835 whereby the right of journeymen to wander from one place to another was curtailed. It was in harmony with this action that Prussia rescinded 63 her order requiring the consent of the ministry for the issuing of passports to travellers going to countries beyond the confines of the Confederation, and forbidding foreign journeymen that had sojourned in Switzerland to come to Prussia. The order forbidding Prussian journeymen to go to Swit- zerland was also withdrawn. The authorities in charge 93 Ibid., | 134-137. "June 30, 1848. INDUSTRIAL LAW OF 1845 37 of passports were instructed to issue them for any state to which the applicant desired to go, and to insert in all passports already issued a statement regarding the aboli- tion of restrictions. 6 * Journeymen and assistants were permitted to retain their old and to form new benefit associations. The fact that an assistant or a journeyman did not work for a member of a guild did not debar him from joining such an organization. All that has been said about journeymen and assist- ants applies to factory employees as well. None of these three groups of employees was permitted to form unions without the permission of the police. Nor could any one of them arbitrarily leave his work or be grossly disobedient or persistently intractable without incurring fine or imprisonment. 65 According to the Industrial Law, only those persons were to be regarded as apprentices who worked under an accredited craftsman for the purpose of becoming journeymen. The craftsman might agree to teach them his craft for a specified sum of money or in considera- tion of gratuitous assistance. Formal "acceptance" took place in the presence of the guild, if the apprentice entered the employment of a guild member; otherwise, before the local authorities. The ability to read and write and a fair amount of religious knowledge were indispensable. Deficiency in any one of these had to be remedied during the period of technical instruction. It was the duty of the craftsman properly to instruct his apprentice in the rudiments of his craft and to supervise his morals. >. On the other hand, the apprentice was <"Mim.-Bl. 1848, 224-225. 68 Gewerbeordnung, 138-145, 183-184. It should be noted that Meigter does not occur in the Industrial Law. Selbstaendiger Oewerbetreibender is substituted for it. 3 8 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA subject to the parental discipline of his master (Lehr- herr) . In his absence, the apprentice was obliged to obey the journeyman or the assistant acting as his substitute. Apprentices could form unions only by permission of the police. The rules governing the dismissal and withdrawal of journeymen and assistants applied also to apprentices. If the apprentice desired to transfer to another trade before the expiration of his term of instruction, he could do so. He had, however, unless otherwise specified, to pay tuition for one-half year after the close of the quarter in which he left. If the agreement was dis- solved, the apprentice could demand a certificate show- ing the nature of his conduct, time of service, and amount of knowledge acquired. Upon completing his course of training, he might demand a journeyman's examination and formal dismissal. These took place before the guild or the local authorities, depending on whether he was trained by a member of a guild or by a non-guild crafts- man. In the latter case, the local examining board, a guild institution, could be called upon to examine the applicant. Moreover, the apprentice that learned his trade under a non-guild member might request an exam- ination by this board, and, if successful, a certificate of proficiency. The only charges permissible in formally accepting and dismissing an apprentice were those cover- ing the actual cost of the procedure. Persons who were not to be considered apprentices because of the nature of their agreement, and those who learned their trade in a manner other than under an independent craftsman might be examined by a guild or by the local authorities, according to the status of the person who taught them. In either case, they received a certificate upon passing the examination. What has been said of assistants and INDUSTRIAL LAW OF 1845 39 apprentices of ordinary craftsmen did not apply to those of apothecaries or merchants, or to foremen in factories. Their relations to their employers were determined by the regulations previously in force. ee In order to conduct the examinations provided for by the Industrial Law, local and district boards were insti- tuted. These were composed of the representative crafts- men of a town or a district. They were appointed by the local authorities, preference being given to members of guilds. A member of the local government who was not a craftsman, acted as presiding officer. The board was put under the jurisdiction of the local authorities. 67 For the purpose of settling differences of opinion re- garding these boards, the government issued supple- mentary information. According to this, it was the duty of the board to examine craftsmen desiring to join either an old guild or a new one that required a test of proficiency. This applied also to craftsmen who qualified to "accept" apprentices. Old guilds were per- mitted to retain their rules regarding masterpieces, pend- ing the revision of their constitution and by-laws. The examination fee for those who learned their trade under a non-guild craftsman was three Thaler; for all others, five Thaler. 68 The examination was conducted under the direction of the president by a committee of from two to six crafts- men, only one-half of whom were to be members of the board. This committee was at first appointed by the board; later, by the president. In appointing the committee, preference was given to members of guilds. 66 Ibid., 146-161, 183. For an account of factory legislation see Geschiclite der preussiftchen Fabrikgesetzgebung bis zu ihrer Aufnahme du-rch die Reichsgeu'erbeordnung by Guenther K. Anton. Leipzic, 1891, in Schmoller's St. u. sw. Fgn., XI. Heft. 2. Covers period 1818-69. w Gewerbeordnung, 162. ^Min.-Bl. 1847, 160-162, 166, 167. (Order of Dec. 31). 1 Thaler approximately 75 cents. 4 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA Requests for examination could not be postponed longer than three months after payment of the fee. The examination consisted of an oral test and a prac- tical demonstration of skill. The oral examination tested the applicant's knowledge of materials, technical terms, police regulations, and construction and use of tools and workshop. The candidate, moreover, had to compute the cost of an article in the presence of the committee, and had to make any drawings that might be required in the pursuit of the craft. 69 The practical demonstration of skill tested his ability to make an article. The expense of providing materials, tools, and workshop, was borne by the applicant. If he lived in the town in which the board lived, his examination was supervised by two members of the committee, who vis- ited the workshop from time to time to see that he re- ceived no aid. If he lived elsewhere, arrangements had to be made for him either to come to the place where the board resided or to take the examination in the town in which he lived. After the applicant finished his work, the committee met to examine it. A majority vote determined the opinion of the committee. 70 The candi- date that passed the examination received a certificate of proficiency. This certificate admitted him to guilds and permitted him to "accept" apprentices. A repetition of the examination could not be required of him even after he had changed his domicile. The candidate that failed could not be re-examined within six months. 71 In order to make the Industrial Law as flexible as pos- sible, local governments were permitted to make minor changes with the approval of the ministry. No changes were permitted, however, that curtailed the liberty to "Gewerbeordnung, 163; Min.-Bl. 1847, 163 ( 8-10). Geiverbeordnung, 164-165; Min.-Bl. 1847, 164-165 ( 12-14). 71 Gewerbeordnuny, 166; Min.-Bl. 1847, 165. INDUSTRIAL LAW OF 1845 41 engage in a trade, that introduced Zunftzwang, or that limited the membership of guilds. 72 The evolution of industrial freedom in Prussia between 1845 and 1849 is marked by the extension of the indus- trial legislation of Stein and Hardenberg to all the prov- inces and the introduction of additional liberal features. The chief old privileges now granted to the whole mon- archy were: the restriction of trade licenses to itinerant trades ; the abolition of Zunftzwang; the nullification of price and wage regulations; the contractual relationship between a craftsman and his journeymen, assistants, and apprentices ; the simultaneous pursuit of several trades ; and the recognition of the fact that the system of the "store" (Magazin) had come to stay. Trade unions were still illegal, and the test of proficiency for certain trades was retained. Among the new features introduced were: (i) the principle of reciprocity regarding foreign trades; (2) the admission of women and Jews to practically all trades; (3) the virtual relaxation of the burghership requirement ; (4) the remodeling of old and the organiza- tion of new guilds in harmony with the new spirit in industry; (5) the abolition of compulsory Wanderschaft; (6) the unrestricted issuance of passports; (7) the formation of local and district examining boards; (8) the tendency to extend the district trade licenses to all the provinces; and (9) the abolition of exclusive and coercive trade rights and privileges. 72 Gewerbeordnung, 168-170. CHAPTER II DISCONTENT AMONG THE WORKING CLASSES THE Industrial Law and the ministerial orders have indicated the degree of industrial liberal- ism legalized in all the provinces of Prussia between 1845 an( ^ 1849. The men m power appear to have realized the demands made by the new social and economic order. The laws they promulgated were, per- haps, as liberal as could be expected, short of revolu- tion. Under normal conditions these laws might have provided an orderly transition from a system of guild economy to one of factory economy. But the period from 1845 to 1849 was not normal. The condition of agriculture and the social dissatisfaction culminating in the disturbances of 1848 put the times out of joint. Un- der such circumstances it was impossible for the new law to effect an orderly change. The weather conditions during the period under dis- cussion were by no means conducive to the normal progress of social and economic life. Unseasonable vari- ations in temperature and heavy rains caused the rivers to overflow repeatedly. The destruction of crops, espe- cially in the central and eastern parts of the kingdom, created such hardship among the people that the govern- ment and private individuals had to come to their assist- ance. In many instances, cattle, forced to take refuge on the hills, were isolated and without fodder. Whole villages were partially submerged, so that foodstuffs could be taken to the inhabitants only with great diffi- culty. 1 ^Archiv fuer vaterlaend. Interessen, 1845, 160-163. AUg. Ztg. (A.) 1845, Apr. 14, et passim; 1847, June 27, et passim. vi f> * * f ' I/O \ I/O /Of 1 \ /OS /oo I \ 100 9f j \ V 1" 1 t * ! I 70 Jl W 4 / / \ / 1 \ / / Average market price per Scheffel in Silbergroschen in Prussia. Based on "Mittheilungren des statischen Bureaus in Berlin, 1855." wheat barley rye oats Potatoes 1 Silbergroschen = $ .0235 1 Scheffel = 1.55 bushels INDUSTRIAL DISCONTENT 43 The damage done to crops by unfavorable climatic conditions and floods was increased by the potato blight. This disease appeared in August, 1845, an d continued throughout the period. Newspaper reports indicate that it was most destructive in Silesia and the Province of Prussia. 2 By destroying the chief article of food of the lower classes, it put the lives of many in jeopardy. The recurrence of the blight induced ingenious spirits to seek for antidotes. After discovering what purported to be such, they took the public into their confidence. One man, seemingly of unusual ability, agreed to divulge the secret of his discovery to any person sending him 5 Thaler ($3.75) before March 15, 1848. It was under- stood, however, that if the number of subscribers was not sufficient to warrant the disclosure, the money would be refunded. 3 Grain also suffered from the unfavorable weather conditions prevailing between 1845 anQl 1849. Harvests were almost uniformly poor. The only year that could boast of a moderately fair grain crop was 1847. 4 High prices are an almost unavoidable concomitant of poor harvests. To what extent the high prices in Prussia were due to the failure of crops and how far to speculation in foodstuffs is difficult to ascertain. The fact is, that the price of food was high. This is shown by the monthly reports of the Berlin market. In the period from 1845 an d 1847, tne average price of rye in- creased 250 per cent ; of wheat and barley, 200 per cent ; of peas and oats, 150 per cent; of potatoes, 100 per The Provinces of East and West Prnssia were united from 1824 to 1878, and called the Province of Prussia. 'Schles. Ztg., 1848, Jan. 5 (2te Beilage). Buelow-Cummerow states that potatoes formed four-fifths of the food of the lower classes. (Preuesen i. J. 1847, vs. d. Patent v 3, Feb. 27). 4 Dieterici, Mittheilgen d. statist. Bureaus, 8ter Jahrg., 187. Weser Ztg., 1847, July 22 et passim. Attg. Ztg. (A.), 1845, April 17, et passim. Die- terici was director of the Bureau of Statistics in Berlin. 44 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA cent. Dieterici states that, for the period from 1816 to 1854, the price of rye, barley, and potatoes reached its maximum in 1847. 5 The reaction of the people to these prices found ex- pression in assaults upon markets and individual bakers in all parts of the monarchy. In several towns in eastern Silesia, wagons carrying grain and bread to the local market were seized. The owners were forced to sell the contents at a price fixed by the mob. Refusal re- sulted in confiscation. Similar occurrences were reported from Posen and the Province of Prussia, from the Rhine and the middle provinces. In Halle, the munici- pal authorities fixed the price of bread to protect the public against unscrupulous bakers. 8 The greatest disturbances appear to have occurred in Berlin. On April 21, 1847, a woman selling potatoes near the Gendarmenmarkt insulted a number of pur- chasers for objecting to high prices. Upon being mal- treated by them, she sought refuge in a baker's shop. The attempt of the baker to protect her infuriated the crowd. They plundered his shop and moved on to others. For two days, rioting continued. It subsided when the local authorities found ways and means to force down the price of potatoes. 7 The province which seems most to have felt the evils of poor harvests and high prices, was Silesia. In the southern part, the suffering was intense. Food, especial- ly potatoes, was so scarce that the working classes had to resort to bran and grass. Hunger-typhus soon devel- oped, sparing neither rich nor poor. The newspapers reported that the famished were dying on the streets. *Amts-Blatt 1845-47 (Potsdam tind Berlin). Dieterici, MittheUgen d. statist. Bureaus in Berlin, 8 Jahrg., 179-180. *AUg. Ztg. (A.), 1847, May 11 et passim. Weser Ztg., 1847, Aug. 24. 7 Attg. Ztg. (A.), 1847, Apr. 26. Varnhagen v. Ense, Tegebuecher, IV, 71. Meyer, D., Das oeffentl. Leben in Berlin, 86 ff. INDUSTRIAL DISCONTENT 45 The report of the Governor of Silesia to the Minister of the Interior, making conditions appear more favorable than they were, is obviously biased. His attempt to shift responsibility to the laboring classes by charging them with carelessness and indolence is as despicable as it is evident. 8 Work in Silesia was as scarce as food. The wage per day for a man was from six to seven cents, for a woman from two and one-half to three and one-half cents. Obviously, neither man nor woman, weakened by the famine, could hope to earn sufficient money to buy food at the abnormal prices. The inhab- itants of Posen and East Prussia also suffered from hunger-typhus, though not to the same degree. From 1846 to 1848 inclusive, the number of deaths in these provinces and in Silesia exceeded the number of births. In the following year, the situation was reversed. 9 Not even Berlin was spared the hardship and discontent of poverty. But Berlin was granted the privilege of for- getting them for a brief moment, through the enchant- ing art of Jenny Lind. The poor, who could not hear her, benefited by the concerts she gave for charitable purposes. 10 The state as well as private individuals came to the assistance of the distressed. The former, between 1845 and 1847, appropriated over two million dollars for their relief ; the latter knitted, gave concerts, and formed asso- ciations to aid them. Newspapers called for subscrip- tions to charity- funds. The "Committee for the Alle- viation of Poverty in Upper Silesia" announced, under date of February 28, 1848, receipts amounting to almost 8 The only copy of this report accessible was found in Allg. Ztg. (A.), 1848, Feb. 28. 8 Tabetten u. amtl. NachricMen ueber d. preuss. Stoat f. d. J. 1849, I, 288-290. 10 AUff. Ztg. (A.), 1845, Mar. 14 et passim; 1847, July 28 et passim; 1848, Feb. 6 et passim. Weaer Ztg., 1847, July 14. Schles. Ztg., 1848, Jan. 27 et passim. 46 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA seventy-five thousand dollars. In Cologne, the Chamber of Commerce appointed a committee to collect funds for the poor. 1X Not only the distressing agricultural situation, but also the discontent of the laboring classes, made it impossible for the Industrial Law of 1845 to effect an orderly transition from the guild to the factory system. The Industrial Law was promulgated at a time when there were unmistakable indications that a new industrial sys- tem and a new industrial class had come to stay. Thus the existence of the "Maritime Trading Company," a corporation engaging in commerce and manufacture, showed that there was no such line of demarkation be- tween merchant and manufacturer or craftsman as the existence of craft and merchant guilds implied, while the rapid rise to prominence of men like Borsig 12 and Egells, the great iron magnates of Berlin, proved that production on a large scale was highly profitable. The formation of industrial organizations outside the pale of the guilds indicated that society was beginning to appreciate the permanence of the proletariat, and that all classes of producers were realizing the necessity of indus- trial education as a means of keeping abreast of the times. A further indication of the new era was the, changing appearance of cities favorably located for in- dustrial purposes. Thus, in Berlin, the sections to the north were rapidly becoming the centre of the local iron industry, while those in the south and east were supply- ing the sites for textile factories. 1S ^Erster Ver. Landtag, pt. I, 119, 152-157. Schles. Ztg., 1848, Mar. 10, Attg. Ztg. (A.), 1845, Mar. 12 et passim; 1848, Mar. 1 et passim. "A. Borsig was born in Breslau in 1804. His father was a carpenter. In 1848, Borsig employed 1200 men in his foundry and machine shop. Wages varied from $1.00 to $2.25 per day, according to the Illustrirte Zeitung (Leipzic). Another account gives 37% cents as the lowest wage per day. The annual output of locomotives with tenders varied from 70-80. Cf. p. 48, note 16. 13 Bernstein, Gesch. d. Berliner Arbeiter-Bewegung, I, 1-2. Meus, "Untemehmgen d. Kgl. Seehandlgs-Instituts, passim. INDUSTRIAL DISCONTENT 47 That the workingman was not contented is evidenced by numerous petitions and disturbances. In 1846, the railway laborers near Brandenburg struck because their wages were decreased. The next year, eight hundred calico-printers in Berlin, declaring that the introduction of machinery deprived them of the means of earning a livelihood and demanding that their branch of industry be placed under state control, petitioned the United Diet to provide them work. In the early part of March, 1848, the citizens of Berlin, fearing that poor food and bad labor conditions would cause serious disturbances among the workingmen, petitioned the Town Council to appoint a standing committee to look after the welfare of the laborer. This committee was to collect funds for the construction of public works. After some debate as to whether the state or the city should be the first to take cognizance of the situation, the council referred the whole question to an advisory committee for immediate consideration. Shortly after the distress of the lower classes had thus been brought to the attention of the Town Council, the workingmen of Berlin held a large meeting in the Thiergarten. Speeches were made and circulars distrib- uted. The circulars contained a petition to the king for the formation of a ministry of labor. This ministry, according to the petition, was to consist only of em- ployers and employees. 14 While the meeting was in progress, the chief of police appeared on horseback. A workingman complained to him that his family was suffering because he was out of work. The chief of police promised to do all in his power to better condi- tions, and asked the people to remain quiet. This called 14 A meeting of workingmen held at the Exercirplatz on Mar. 27th, re- solved to send the petition to the king. The king received it on the 29th. 48 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA forth a H och for the chief. Unfortunately, the military appeared in the evening. In the confusion that followed, several persons were wounded. In trying to determine the cause of this unrest, the Berlin correspondent of the Weser Zeitung reported that, upon making inquiry among the working people, he was told that some wanted work, that others objected to the work assigned them by the employment bureau, that a third group refused to pay the tax on house rents, and that all desired a ministry of labor. 15 When the news of the February Revolution in Paris reached Berlin, the pent up discontent sought expression in general opposition to the existing social order. Crafts- men and workingmen assisted in the erection of barri- cades. Many of them were killed in the fighting of March i8th and igth. In the funeral procession on the 22nd, held in honor of the civilians that had fallen in defense of the barricades, there were delegations from the guilds of Berlin, Potsdam, and Magdeburg, and from the machine shops of Borsig and Egells. Two days later, when the soldiers were buried, the workmen from Borsig's and from Egells', as an indication of their con- ciliatory spirit, sent a large delegation to attend the funeral. 18 The March uprising in Berlin in 1848 was the pre- cursor of similar outbursts during the remainder of the year. Many industries were at a standstill, owing to the refusal of employees to work, unless wages were increased and working conditions improved. In April, a crowd of journeymen and other workingmen surged u AUg. Ztg. (A.), 1848, Mar. 13 et passim. Weser Ztg., 1847, July 7; 1848, Mar. 19 et passim. Lasker u. Gerhard, Des deutschen Volkea Erhe- burtg. 490. Adler, (resell, d. ersten social-polit. Arbeiter-Bewegung, 135. 19 Weser Ztg., 1848, Mar. 30; AXLg. Ztg. (A.), 1848, Mar. 25 et passim. The reason for this spirit of conciliation toward the soldiers was the fact that the wage of these workmen had been increased to S7s cents per day. Cf. p. 46, note 12. INDUSTRIAL DISCONTENT 49 through the streets of the capital. They threatened to destroy stores and factories, especially those engaged in making and selling cotton and woolen goods, unless employers promised not to employ women and children. Several leading manufacturers granted their demands before any real damage could be done. The grievances of the calico-printers were satisfied by an increase of six cents per day and a shortening of the working day by two hours. Their protest against the introduction of machinery went unheeded. Several book-printers' assist- ants quit their work because they were refused a wage increase of 33 1-3 per cent, and free holidays. Their endeavor to foment a general strike failed. A similar attempt of the assistants in August to cripple the book printing trade also proved futile. 17 The increasing dissatisfaction among the working classes in Berlin was due chiefly to two causes : first, the increasing number of unemployed; secondly, the resolu- tion of both state and city to reduce the wages of those employed at public expense. It was with respect to the first of these causes that the police department for- bade non-residents in quest of work to settle in Berlin, and advised journeymen on the Wander schaft to avoid the city. 18 In regard to the second cause, both city and 17 Weser Ztg., 1848, Mar. 29, Apr. 9, May 4, Aug. 4. Adler, Gesch d. ersten social-polit. Arbeiter-Bewegtmg, 159. 18 The following report of May 15, 1848, of the Curatorium of the Staedtische Arbeiter-Nachweisungs-Anstalt in Berlin speaks for itself. "Im April dieses Jahres suchten bei der Staedtischen Arbeiter- Nachweisungs-Anstalt 4290 hierorts angehoerige Personen Arbeit nach. A. Bei dem Bureau fuer die maennlichen Arbeiter meldeten sich 3842, von welchen 2829 durch die Vermittelung der Anstalt Arbeit nachgewiesen wurde, und zwar erhielten Beschaeftigung bei Privatpersonen 103, auf den Koeniglichen Bauplaetzen 768, von der Commune Berlin 1958. Von den letzteren wurden angestellt 625 bei der Staedtischen Strassenreinigung, 285 bei den Staedtischen Chausseearbeiten hinter Treptow, 170 bei denselben nach und hinter Rummelsburg, 772 bei den Staedtischen Culturarbeiten auf dem Wedding, 12 bei den Staedtischen Bauarbeiten an der Wein- und Bar- minstrassen-Ecke, 94 wurden verwendet als Huelfsboten bei der Leitung der Urwahlen. B. Bei dem Bureau fuer Personen meldeten sich 448, von wel- chen leider nur 60 Arbeiterinnen Beschaeftigung erhielten, und zwar: 23 zur Aufwartung, 1 zum Waschen, 2 zum Scheuern und Waschen, 5 zu 50 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA state found it necessary to discontinue the payment of 37^ cents per day to the workingmen employed on public works. As many of them did very little work, it was decided to substitute piece work for the daily wage sys- tem. But this change required the dismissal of a num- ber of workmen. The consequence was that all agreed to stop. Disturbances in the city began immediately. On one occasion, a group of rioters surrounded the house of von Patow, Acting Minister of Commerce and Trade, and could be persuaded to move on only after every member of the delegation, which had forced its way into his presence, had been given twenty-five cents as part payment of worlc soon to be provided. The next serious rioting in Berlin occurred in Octo- ber (1848). It was precipitated by the installation of an hydraulic pump in the Koepenik Field, just beyond the city, where workmen were digging a canal. Fearing that they might lose their jobs, they proceeded to destroy the pump. When the citizen-guard appeared, laborers, working near by, came to the assistance of their fellow- workmen. In the encounter that followed, several men were killed. Incensed by this conflict, the workmen marched to Berlin, where they engaged the military for two days. After the declaration of martial law in Berlin in Nov- ember, the workmen that had participated in the riot of the previous month assured the magistracy that they were not unruly citizens at the mercy of demagogues. Those employed in the Koepenik Field cheered General feiner Naeherei, 4 zu grober Naeherei, 2 zum Zimmerreinigen, 7 zum Kinderwarten, 3 zum Spuelen, 5 zur Hausarbeit, 2 zum Stricken, 1 zum Verkauf von Backwaaren, 2 zur Gartenarbeit, 3 zur Schneiderei. Seit der Eroeffnung der staedtischen Arbeiter-Nachweisungs-Anstalt bis zum ersten dieses Monats haben sich ueberhaupt 7689 Personen gemeldet, von \velchen 6750 maennlich, 930 weiblich waren. Arbeit aber ist nachge- wiesen \vorden: 4626 Personen, unter welchen sich nur 160 Arbeiterin- nen befanden." (ZeitwngsJiatte, May 23, 1848). Cf. also Amts-Blatt 1848, (Potsdam and Berlin) 167. iiiuimitmmnti Annual average price per Scheffel of wheat in SilbergToschen, 181ti-1853. This chart was made by Ad. Soetbeer in 1854. England Belgium 1 Silbergroschen = $ .0235 France . Prussia Hamburg 1 Scheffel = 1.55 bushels INDUSTRIAL DISCONTENT 51 Wrangel, the commander of the military forces in Berlin, as he rode by. As a token of appreciation, he sent them thirty Thaler for their sick-fund. The workmen, thank- ing him for the favor and informing him that they would use the money for the purchase of Christmas presents for the families of the men killed in the October disturb- ances, requested permission to continue their work. Upon receiving this request, General Wrangel went to the Koe- penik Field to assure them that they would be permitted to work as long as the weather remained favorable. This promise was received with great applause for Wrangel and with three cheers for the king. With this outburst of enthusiasm for the forces of reaction, the unsuccess- ful labor disturbances of 1848 in Berlin came to a singu- lar conclusion. 19 It must not be assumed that only the central part of Prussia was disturbed in 1848 by discontented work- men; the western and eastern provinces suffered like- wise. The cessation of industry in these provinces threw many people out of work and left them without the means of subsistence. In Cologne, workmen marched to the city hall to ask for work (March I5th). A month later the Rhine boatmen demanded compensation for losses sustained through the introduction of steam navigation. By shooting at steamboats and by terror- izing pilots, they tried to force the company to return to the old forms of propulsion. The general discontent spread also to the workmen removing the island of Rheinau in the harbor of Cologne. They demanded 37^ cents per day instead of 27^. In Elberfeld and Solingen, mobs of angry workmen destroyed several factories. In the eastern part of the monarchy, Breslau seems to have been the centre of disturbances. Suspicious activity vAllg. Ztg. (A.), 1848, Oct. 20-21, Dec. 25. 52 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA among discontented craftsmen resulted in the arrest of a number of them. On another occasion, a group of workmen sent delegates to several factories to persuade the men to stop work. But this attempt at a general strike was only partially successful. An attack upon the arsenal was repulsed by the military. 20 To calculate the proportion of workmen that took part in the disturbances of 1848 or that expressed, by less violent means, their disapproval of the social and economic order, is impossible. One can, however, classify the workingmen and estimate their number. There were three industrial classes: craftsmen and artificers (in- cluding journeymen and apprentices), factory employees, and laborers. According to the census of 1846, the first of these classes comprised nearly 850,000 men and boys, of whom about one-half were master-craftsmen; the second about 550,000 men, women, and children; the third about 900,000 persons. Thus, of the sixteen million Prussians in 1846, 2,300,000 belonged to the industrial class. 21 Another sign of the new economic order in Prussia was the formation of new kinds of industrial organiza- tions. 22 The significance of the movement lay in the recognition of the inadequacy of the guilds, the need of keeping abreast of the times by acquiring information as to new methods of production and distribution, and the necessity of organizing for mutual protection. Organiza- tions of the new type were formed among all classes of society. Thus, the "Society for the Advancement of Industry in Prussia," with headquarters in Berlin, had on its roll the names of prominent manufacturers and *>Attff. Ztg. (A.), 1848, Jan. 28, Feb. 19 et passim. Weser Ztg., 1848, Mar. 21 et passim. n Central-Bl. 1848, 156. Mittheilg. d. CentraJvereins, 1848-49, 155-157. Jahrb. f. d. Amtt. Statietik d. Preuss. Staates, 1867, 238. Cf. p. 46. INDUSTRIAL DISCONTENT 53 members of the royal family. It was primarily interested in new inventions and new processes of manufacture. In the "Craftsmen's Association of Berlin," it was cus- tomary for masterworkmen, journeymen, and apprentices of ail crafts to meet for education and recreation. By 1848, this organization is said to have had five thousand members. Similar organizations were formed in other parts of the kingdom. The "Craftsmen's Association of Gross Glogau" (Silesia), whose regular members were restricted to mastercraftsmen, admitted professional men to special membership. 23 The contractual relationship between master and jour- neyman, and the disappearance of the custom whereby the master exercised a sort of parental supervision over his journeyman, made the latter a man without a home. The cold, dark garret in which he lived was but an inducement to spend the evening in the public inn. This situation gave rise to a new problem. The Protestant and Catholic Churches were the first to take steps to solve it. It is said that Protestants formed an organiza- tion devoted to the welfare of journeymen and factory- workers in Elberfeld as early as the twenties. By 1848, the number of western Protestant societies was large enough to encourage them to hold a convention and to form the "Rhenish- Westphalian Young Men's League." In 1859, this league had about two thousand members. A similar organization, known as the "East German Young Men's League," was established in eastern Prus- sia. It had about eleven hundred members in 1859. The first Catholic "Journeyman's Society" was founded in 28 VerhandJffen d. V. z: Befoederg. d. Gfl., 1845-49. Gewer'be- und Gesel- lenvereine in Deutschland, TJnsere Zeit, III, 549-551. Mittheilff. d. Central- vereine, 1848-49, 168. Jllustr. Ztg., (Leipzic), 1848, Mar. 18. AUg. Ztg. (A.), 1845, Apr. 30. Ansorge Collection of Pamphlets, No. 102. Die HandwerJcer-Arleiter- u. Aehnl. Vereine in Preussen, Arbeiterfreund, 1866, 48 . 54 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA 1846 in Elberfeld. Unlike the Protestant societies, the Catholic did not begin to flourish until after 1849. 2 * The lamentable condition of the workingman 25 called forth two types of organization. One of them consisted of societies formed by benevolent persons devoted to the welfare of the proletariat. The most important or- ganization of this kind was established in Berlin, and was called the "Central Society for the Welfare of the Working Classes." A general invitation to participate in its formation was issued October 7, 1844, by Borne- man, Patow, Reden, Roenne, and others. 2<$ The stimulus was given by the Industrial Exhibition of the Customs Union held in Berlin. Its purpose was announced to be the amelioration of the moral and social condition of the workingmen. The plan provided for the forma- tion of local societies in all parts of Prussia. Working- men were to be encouraged to become members. The activity of the local societies, according to the plan, was to be directed toward the establishment of savings and benefit (sick, death, and pension) funds, the founding of schools for the education of children employed in factories, the institution of day nurseries for children of employees, and the dissemination of useful informa- tion. The services of workingmen not members of the society were to be enlisted in the administration of the various funds. The money for these funds was to be obtained by dues and subscriptions from private indi- viduals and from municipalities. If the money thus M Oewerl>- u. Gesellenvereine in Deutschland, TJnsere Zeit, III, 558-561. Mitihettg. d. Centralvereins, 1848-49, 209. 28 The difference between a workingman (Arbeiter) and a craftsman (Handwerker) is that the former is unskilled, the latter skilled. ^Bornemann was Prussian Minister of Justice March to June, 1848, and a member of the Prussian National Assembly. Patow directed the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Public Works for a brief period. Ee- den represented Prussia at the Frankfurt Parliament. Roenne was chair- man of the "Committee on Economic Conditions" of the Frankfurt Par- liament. INDUSTRIAL DISCONTENT 55 obtained was insufficient to meet the needs of the local society, the provincial organizations and the Central Society were to make contributions. Local societies, moreover, were to report to the central organization. These reports were to be published so that all branches might profit by them. The general plan also provided for the formation of similar organizations in the other states of the Germanic Confederation and for general conventions during the period of industrial exhibitions. On October 24, 1844, the king approved the plan and promised the Central Society 15,000 Thaler ($11,250.00). A local society was formed in Berlin. By January, 1845, it had three hundred members. In the following year, the constitution of the Central Society was approved by the government. But in spite of government author- ization, the organization was opposed by high officials. Provincial and local societies, as at first planned, were not established. By 1847, the Central Society had lost many of its members. It was saved from utter collapse only by the March Revolution (1848). On March 3ist, twelve days after the fight on the barricades, the king granted it corporate rights and ordered that the 15,000 Thaler be given to it. On April I2th, its constitution was approved anew. Two days later a second invitation to join the Society was issued. This invitation, contain- ing the Society's attitude toward the current economic issues, advised the workingmen to employ peaceful means to obtain their ends, and advocated the formation of unions of master-craftsmen and manufacturers on the one hand, and of journeymen and workingmen on the other; or, if advisable, a union of all employees of a particular factory. It also recommended the organization of industrial courts on which workingmen should be represented. 56 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA This rejuvenated Central Society flourished almost immediately. By the first of June (1848) it had 340 members in Prussia, 2 in Baden, and i in Hamburg. Its receipts to that date, including one-half of the king's gift, amounted to $7,855.00; its expenditures to $7,589.00. Its executive committee met eleven times in 1848. It published the "Communications of the Central Society." Thirty-one local and provincial societies were soon organ- ized in all parts of Prussia. The "Local Society of Ber- lin," after experiencing the same vicissitudes as the Cen- tral Society, succeeded in 1848 in carrying out, in a large measure, the plan announced four years before. 2T Independent organizations doing similar work sprang up in all parts of Prussia. 28 The second type of organization called forth by the lamentable condition of the proletariat was formed by the workingmen themselves. At a large meeting held in Berlin in April, 1848, they established a local asso- ciation. This association called a "Workmen's Con- gress" to convene in Berlin in August. The direct result of this Congress was the formation of local branches of the association in all parts of Germany and the trans- fer of the "Central Committee" from Berlin to Leipzic. This Committee published a bulletin called "The Brother- hood." The work of the association was directed toward securing equal opportunity for the workingman. A sub- committee devoted itself to the interests of women workers. 29 From a study of conditions in Prussia between 1845 and 1849, three things are obvious: first, that the un- 27 Cf. p. 54. * Mittheilg. d. Centralvereins, 1848-49 and 1849-50. Archiv f. vater- laend. Interessen, 1845, 480. AUg. Ztg. (A.), 1845, Feb. 1. ^Mittheilg. d. Centralvereins 1849-50, 5te Lieferg. 88-89. Adler, Gesch. d. ersten social-polit. Arbeiterbewegg., 157-158. Biermann, W. E., Karl Georg Winkelblech, II, 206-270. INDUSTRIAL DISCONTENT 57 favorable agricultural situation and the new industrial era created discontent among skilled and unskilled work- men; secondly, that, owing to this situation, the Indus- trial Law of 1845 hardly had a fair chance to effect an orderly transition from an antiquated guild economy to a modern factory economy; and thirdly, that the formation of benevolent and protective organizations, independent of guild control, indicated that the proleta- riat had become an important part of the population. CHAPTER III THE; INDUSTRIAL PROBLEM AND THE GOVERNMENT THE discontent among the working classes and the promulgation of the Industrial Law of 1845 are sufficient evidence that the industrial problem was one of the paramount issues of the day. The attention of the state was repeatedly called to it in unprecedented ways. For it was during the period from 1845 to *849 that the press was freed from the inquisitorial investigations of the censor, that the right of holding meetings and forming associations was granted, that the privilege of petitioning the govern- ment was extended, and that the advance toward parlia- mentary government afforded an opportunity for the dis- cussion of public questions by representatives chosen by the people. We are here concerned, however, primarily with the way in which the government and the parlia- mentary bodies sought to solve the industrial problem. The nearest approach to parliamentary government in Prussia prior to 1847 is to De found in the periodic assembly of the Estates, known as Provincial Diets. These Diets had received the right to petition the king on questions relating to the welfare of their respective provinces. It was in the exercise of this right that they presented their grievances regarding the industrial situation. In their petitions they asked for a new indus- trial law, * for the formation of a ministry of commerce and industry, for the institution of charitable funds for handworkers and journeymen, for the amelioration of 1 Granted 1845. RESPONSE OF THE GOVERNMENT 59 the conditions of the weavers of Westphalia, and for the abolition of the truck system. 2 The Pomeranian Diet of 1845 requested the gradual withdrawal of the "Mari- time Trading Company" from industrial enterprises, the abolition of the tax on the grinding of grain (Mahl- steuer) and on the slaughtering of cattle (Schlacht- steuer), and the partial remission of the class tax levied upon the lower classes. 3 These requests were repeated in 1847 an d 1848. Many of them were granted before the Revolution had spent its force. The first opportunity for a general discussion of these requests was afforded by the First United Diet. It was called by a royal proclamation of February 3, 1847, to meet in Berlin. On April nth, the king opened the new assembly in person. In his speech from the throne, he called attention to the assistance rendered by the state in alleviating the distress resulting from heavy rains and poor harvests, and expressed great pleas- ure in being able to present $1,500,000 to the provinces for the benefit of their charitable funds. He stated, furthermore, that roads and canals were being built and other improvements made on a scale hitherto unprece- dented, and that industry and commerce, although suffer- ing from the general depression, were as flourishing as circumstances permitted. Strange to say, he made no reference to the dissatisfaction of the master-craftsmen with industrial freedom, or to the hardships suffered by the workingmen because of the growth of the factory system. 4 In accordance with the rules of order laid down by the king, a number of royal propositions were presented 2 Nauwerck, K., Hauptergebnisse d. Landtagsabschiede in Preussen, 1841, 1843, 1S45. 29 et passim. 8 Verhandlungen d. neunten Prov. Landtags im Herzogthum Pommern, 1845, 72. Attg. Ztg. (A.), 1845, Jan. 22, Mar. 14; 1846, Apr. 1. * Verhandlungen d. ersten Ver. Landtags, pt. I, 20 ff. 60 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA to the Diet for discussion. Those of particular import- ance were the introduction of an income tax (as a sub- stitute for the tax on the grinding of grain, and on the slaughtering of cattle, and the class tax) ; the establish- ment of charitable funds in every province ; and the aboli- tion of certain industrial restrictions upon Jews. 5 The royal proposition recommending an income tax, together with the draft of the proposed law and the peti- tions from the provinces, was referred to a committee. The draft provided for a tax of 3% on incomes over $300 derived from investments, and of 2% on the same incomes if derived from trades, or if obtained in the form of salaries or pensions. Persons with incomes of less than $300 were divided into six classes and taxed from six dollars to thirty-seven cents. The reasons for proposing this tax and for urging the abolition of the Mahlsteuer and the Schlachtsteuer are stated as fol- lows: (i) the desire to abolish within the monarchy the tariff barriers necessary for the collection of these taxes; (2) the high rate of taxation; (3) the injustice of making persons subject to the class tax but living near towns in which the Mahlsteuer and the Schlacht- steuer are collected, pay both kinds of taxes; and (4) the burden placed upon the lower classes by taxing their food. 6 On June roth, the committee reported to the Diet. It recommended the rejection of the king's proposal because the determination of a person's income required an investigation of his private affairs, and because of *rbid., 28. 8 The tax on the grinding of grain and the slaughtering of cattle was introduced in 1820. It was restricted to 132 towns at the time of its in- troduction. By 1847 this number was greatly reduced. The tax amounted to 40 cents per cwt. on wheat, and 10 cents per cwt. on rye, barley, and other grain. Meat was taxed at the rate of 75 cents per cwt. The class tax varied from 30 cents to $12. P. O. S. 1820, 133-147. Terhand- lungen d. erst. Ver. Landtags, pt. I, 29-54. Beckerath, E., Die preuss- Klaasensteuer, 1 ff. RESPONSE OF THE GOVERNMENT 6l the premium the new tax would put on deception. In the debate that followed, Hansemann, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Aix-la-Chapelle, supported the committee, while Camphausen, president of the Cologne Chamber, favored the royal proposition. Von Duesberg, Minister of Finance, defended the measure on the ground that the introduction of an income tax would be a step in the right direction and would distribute the burden of taxation more equitably. The Diet adopted the report of the committee by a vote of 390 to 141. In order, however, that the Diet might not appear oblivious to the lamentable condition of the lower classes and that it might avoid the charge of refusing to tax persons in proportion to their ability to pay, it resolved that the king be requested to take the matter under advise- ment and to submit a new proposal to the next Diet. This motion was carried by a vote of 248 to 232. 7 The king, however, was not bound by vote of the Diet. His independence in matters of taxation is seen as early as December, 1846, when he suspended the tax on the grinding of rye purchased by municipalities and private organizations if the bread made from it were sold to the poor at a nominal sum. In January, 1847, tne tax on the grinding of all other grain but wheat was sus- pended. In April, the king declared that, in view of the high price of food, the grinding of all grain would be free from taxation until August ist; and, in July, the opposition of the United Diet to the abolition of the Mahlsteuer and the Schlachtsteuer and the introduction of an income tax was announced in the official gazette of the Ministry of the Interior. 8 In regard to the class tax, the king decreed (April 7th) that it be suspended iVerh. d. erat. Ver. Landtags, pt. II, 1576-1593, 1659, 1693-1694. Beckerath, E., ibid., 27-52. 8 Central-Bl. 1847, 3, 28, 46. Min.-Bl. 1847, 186. 62 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA for three months; and the Minister of Finance, on August 4th, advised the governors of the provinces to apply a lower rate of taxation to the poorer classes than the law provided, and to show them every consideration in collecting the tax. 9 The second royal proposition of interest in connection with the industrial problem, dealt with the institution of charitable funds in all the provinces. In all probability, the king got the idea of such funds from the one insti- tuted in Westphalia in 1831, which was used to provide loans to communities for the construction of public works and the alleviation of distress, and to enterpris- ing business men for the introduction of new industries. While the specific objects of the new funds were not expressly stated, they may be assumed to be similar to, if not identical with, those of the Westphalian fund. To enable the provinces to start these funds, the king promised them a loan of $1,875,000 without interest, to be apportioned among them according to population, area, and amount of direct taxes raised. 10 The commit- tee to which this proposition was referred recommended that the Diet accept it, and that a Committee of Thirty- two be elected, eight from the House of Lords and twenty-four from the Chamber of the Three Estates, each of the four Estates 1X of every province electing one member. This Committee of Thirty-two was to confer with the Ministry of the Interior in regard to Central-Bl. 1847, 149. 10 The apportionment was as follows : Prussia $300,000 Silesia $337,500 Pomerania $150,000 Saxony $225,000 Brandenburg $240,000 Westphalia $165,000 Posen $157,000 Rhine Prov $300,000 The difference between the $1.875,000 promised in the royal propo- sition and the $1,500,000 referred to in the speech from the throne is doubtless owing to the fact that, in the interval, the necessity for a larger amount became apparent. 11 The four Estates represented in the United Diet were: noblemen, knights, cities, and rural communities. RESPONSE OF THE GOVERNMENT 63 the use and administration of the funds and to make definite proposals to the Provincial Diets, so that the funds might be established as soon as possible. The Diet accepted this report by a great majority, and the king promised to submit the proposals of the Committee of Thirty-two to the next Provincial Diets. 12 The third royal proposition referred to the status of Jews. It explained the privileges granted to them by the Industrial Law of 1845, an ^ submitted the draft of a new law. After considerable discussion by the Diet, the new law was promulgated July 23, 1847. I ts contribution to industrial freedom was discussed in con- nection with the Law of 1845. 13 In addition to the royal propositions, the rules of order regulating the procedure of the United Diet permitted also the presentation of petitions. The result was, that many requests were made regarding a multiplicity of subjects. Twenty-six of these requests advised the adop- tion of various means to alleviate the poverty of the masses. They suggested the construction of public works, the prohibition of the use of potatoes for dis- tilling whiskey, the closing of distilleries, an embargo on the exportation of grain and potatoes, the prohibi- tion of the hoarding of grain, the sale of any surplus grain over twice the amount necessary until the next harvest, and the prohibition of dealing in futures. 14 These twenty-six petitions were referred to a com- mittee for consideration. The committee reported un- favorably on all but three. One of the three dealt with the question of providing work for the poor. With respect to it, the committee recommended that the gov- Verh. d. erst. Ver. Landtags, pt. I, 748; pt. II, 132-136, 1576. 18 Cf. p. 25. Verh. d. erst. Ver. Landtags, pt. I, 281. P. G. S. 1847, 263, ff., "Terft. etc., pt. I, 585 S.; pt. II, 97 ff. 64 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA ernment be urged to provide employment by constructing public works, and that the formation of private organ- izations for similar purposes be encouraged. This recom- mendation was adopted by both Houses and sent to the king. In his reply, the king called attention to the money put at the disposal of the Minister of Finance for the relief of the poor, and promised to encourage the building of roads by corporations receiving state subsidies. A survey of the official collection of Prussian laws will show that, in 1847 an ^ 1848, more than fifty cabinet orders were issued granting permission to build and repair roads in all parts of the monarchy, and that twenty orders granted the right to build railways. 15 The second petition, regarding which the committee gave a favorable report, requested an embargo on the export of grain and potatoes. While refusing to include grain in the embargo, the committee did advocate the prohibition of the exportation of potatoes to countries not in the Customs Union. This embargo was to remain in force until the next harvest, and was to apply espe- cially to Brandenburg, Posen, and Saxony, and to the other provinces provided the several governors thought it advisable to enforce it. This report, amended so as to extend the embargo to all the provinces alike, was adopted by both Houses. The royal decree of May ist added grain and forbade the exportation of both until November I, 1847. 18 The third petition requested that the distilling of whis- key from grain and potatoes be prohibited from May first to August fifteenth. The committee recommended that this prohibition apply only to potatoes, but the Lower House included grain. After the Upper House Ibid., pt. II, 736-761; 1055-1058; 1317-1318. P. G. S. 1847-48. 19 Verh. d. erst. Ver. Landtags, pt. II, 100 ff. 169. P. G. S. 1847, 194. RESPONSE OF THE GOVERNMENT 65 adopted the measure without amendment, the king or- dered its enforcement. 17 Other petitions relating to the welfare of the masses and the industrial situation, requested a change in the tariff system, the abolition of the state's monopoly of salt, the organization of a ministry of industry and com- merce, and amendments to the Industrial Law of 1845. 18 With regard to the first of these petitions, the Diet could not come to an agreement. Consequently, it merely requested that the king, after consulting with experts, submit the question to the next Customs Conference. The abolition of the salt monopoly was advocated by the Upper House, but not by the Lower. There the matter rested. 19 The formation of a ministry of indus- try and commerce was discussed only in the Chamber of the Three Estates. A petition to the king in favor of such a ministry was drawn up. But it was not until April 17, 1848 one month after the Revolution in Ber- lin that the king consented to the formation of a "Min- istry of Commerce, Industry, and Public Works." 20 The committee reporting on the petitions asking for changes in the Industrial Law refused to consider the question because the government was already giving the matter its attention. 21 On June 26, 1847, tne fi rst United Diet was formally closed. 22 From this survey of the action taken by the king and the consultative diets previous to 1848, it is obvious that the industrial problem was pressing for solution. Two of Frederick William's suggestions were accepted by the United Diet, namely, the establishment of charit- 17 Verh. d. erst. Ver. Landtags, pt. IT, 100, 120, 177. P. id., 1849, p. 110, 1-13. CONCLUSION The evolution of industrial freedom in Prussia shows a gradual development from the resolution of the Impe- rial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire to reform the guilds (1731) to the re-introduction of restrictive indus- trial measures in 1849. I n tne course of this develop- ment, the Prussian Code of 1794 marked the advance to a system of industry still mediaeval in character. Under Stein and Hardenberg, however, this restrictive system gave way to complete industrial freedom. At first introduced only into the remnant of Prussia left to Frederick William III by Napoleon, this freedom was, ultimately, extended by the Industrial Law of 1845 to the provinces acquired at the Congress of Vienna. Advanced as this new system was, it, nevertheless, met with a great deal of opposition. The chief objec- tion came from the master-craftsmen. Owing to the increase of competition, the high cost of subsistence, and the contraction of credit between 1845 an d 1849, these craftsmen suffered greatly. Many of them failed in business and were obliged to seek employment as day- laborers. It is not surprising, therefore, that while favoring the introduction of free political institutions, they opposed the retention of industrial freedom. In their opinion, this freedom was the cause of their mis- fortune. In view of their opposition, the government, mindful of the March Revolution, took steps to remove the cause of their grievance. The result was a return in 1849 to a guild system practically identical with that of the Prussian Code of 1794. CONCLUSION 81 But the restrictive industrial laws of 1849 favored the interests of only a small part of the industrial pop- ulation of Prussia. The demands of the journeymen that industrial freedom be only slightly modified were ig- nored. Although their interests were best served by a system that freed them from the monopolistic control of the guilds, and enabled them to engage in as many dif- ferent crafts as their ability permitted, they were again subjected to the specialization of craft-guild production. Apprentices also had to submit to restrictions in favor of the guilds. Perhaps the absence of any noticeable participation on their part in the industrial movement of 1845 to 1849 is due to the fact that they were too young to exert a definite influence. Similarly, factory employees and day-laborers, although three times as numerous as master-craftsmen, were not sufficiently organized to make their demands effective, and, consequently, received scant recognition in the legislation of 1849. The large manufacturers seem to have concerned themselves very little with the question of industrial freedom. Perhaps their lack of interest is to be ascribed to the realization of the fact that any modification of the industrial system that discouraged large scale pro- duction would be only temporary. So far as the chief features of industrial freedom are concerned, they are to be found in the removal of the restrictions of the guilds upon the choice of occupation, the methods of production, and the manner of retailing. The subjection, in 1849, f these important factors of industrial progress to guild control abolished industrial freedom and re-introduced the restrictive system of the eighteenth century. ABBREVIATIONS Allg. Ztg. (A.) A. I,. R. B. Gbl. Central-BL Jhb. G. V. V. Min.-BL P. G. S. R. Gbl. Schles. Ztg. St. sw. Fgn. Verb. d. V. z. Bef. d. Gfl. Allgemeine Zeitung (Augs- burg). Allegemeines Landrecht. Bundes-Gesetzblatt. Central-Blatt. Jahrbuch f u e r Gesetzge- bung, Verwaltung und V o 1 k s w i rthschaft im Deutschen Reich. Ministerial-Blatt. Gesetz-Sammlung (Preus- sische). Reichs-Gesetzblatt. Schlesische Zeitung Staats- und socialwissen- schaftliche Forschungen. Verhandlungen des Vereins Zur Befoerderung des Gewerbefleisses in Preus- sen. BIBLIOGRAPHY It seemed advisable to classify the bibliographical material as contemporary and non-contemporary, instead of following the common practice of distinguishing be- tween sources and secondary works. "Contemporary" is construed to mean the period from 1845 to 1849. "Source material" may be defined as material basic for the determination of facts. By applying this defini- tion to the contents of the works listed below, their character, according to the current method of classifica- tion, can readily be determined. I. CONTEMPORARY MATERIAL A. OFFICIAL i. Government Documents Officially Published Gesetz-Sammlung fuer die Koeniglichen Preussischen Staaten. Berlin, 1806-49. A collection of laws, cabinet orders, treaties, and budgets. Amts-Blatt der Koeniglichen Regierung zu Potsdam und der Stadt Berlin. Berlin, 1845-59. Contains decrees, orders, and statistics relative to the admin- istration of Berlin and Potsdam. Central-Blatt der Abgaben-, Gewerbe- und Handelsge- setzgebung und Verwaltung in den Koeniglichen Preus- sischen Staaten. Berlin, 1845-49. A collection of regulations, treaties, and statistics pertain- ing to taxation, industry, and commerce. Ministerial-Blatt fuer die gesamte innere Verwaltung in den Koeniglichen Preussischen Staaten. Berlin, 1846-48. The official organ of the Department of the Interior. 84 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA Verhandlungen des neunten Provinzial-Landtages im Herzogthum Pommern und Fuerstenthum Ruegen, ange- fangen zu Stettin den 9 Februar 1845, geschlossen den 16 Maerz 1845, nebst der allerhoechsten Landtags- Abschiede, d.d. Berlin den 27 Dezember, 1845. Stettin, 1846. Contains the royal propositions, memorials of the Estates to those propositions and to their own petitions, and the grants of the king. Der erste Vereinigte Landtag in Berlin 1847. Heraus- gegeben unter Aufsicht des Vorstehers des Central- Bureaus im Ministerium des Innern und des Bureaus des Vereinigten Landtags Koeniglichen Kanzlei Raths Eduard Bleich. Mit einem geographisch statistischen Tableau : Preussens Erster Vereinigte Landtag. Nach amtlichen Quellen bearbeitet von Hauptmann C.v. Stock- hausen. 4 vols. Berlin, 1847. A collection of documents and stenographic reports. Stenographische Berichte ueber die Verhandlungen der zur Vereinbarung der preussischen Staats-Verfassung berufenen Versammlung. 3 vols. Berlin, 1848. These reports were published as supplements to the "Preus- sischer Staats-Anzeiger," the official government gazette. Verhandlungen des Deutschen Parlaments. Officielle Ausgabe. Mit einer geschichtlichen Einleitung ueber die Entstehung der Vertretung des ganzen deutschen Volkes. 2 vols. Frankfurt a.M., 1848. "Erste Lief erung" contains : "Verzeichnis der Mitglieder des vorberathenden Parlaments, des fuenfziger Ausschusses, und der XVII Vertrauensmaenner am Bundestag ; Verhandlungen des vorberathenden Parlaments ; Namentliche Abstimmung; Zusammenstellung der Beschluesse." "Zweite Lief erung" contains : "Die Verhandlungen des fuenfziger Ausschusses, der Bundes- versammlung und der XVII Vertrauensmaenner, bis zum Zusam- mentritt der constituirenden deutschen Nationalversammlung." BIBLIOGRAPHY 85 "Bericht ueber die Wirksamkeit des Fuenfziger Aus- schusses, 1848." This is the official report of the Committee of Fifty and its various sub-committees. The circumstances leading to the draft- ing of this report are given as follows : "In der Sitzung vom I Mai beschloss der Ausschuss einen Bericht ueber seine Wirk- samkeit durch eine Commission ausarbeiten zu lassen, damit der constituirenden Nationalversammlung . . . ein uebersicht- liches Bild des Geschehenen, . . . vorgelegt werden koenne." This report is one of the pamphlets of the "Hohenzollern Collection of Pamphlets" at Harvard University. Stenographischer Bericht ueber die Verhandlungen der deutschen constituirenden Nationalversammlung zu Frankfurt am Main. Herausgegeben auf Beschluss der Nationalversammlung durch die Redactions-Commission und in deren Auftrag von Professor Franz Wigard. 9 vols. Leipzic and Frankfurt a.M., 1848-49. A complete report of the proceedings. Vefhandlungen der deutschen verfassunggebenden Reichsversammlung zu Frankfurt am Main. Herausge- geben auf Beschluss der Nationalversammlung durch die Redactions-Commission und in deren Auftrag von dem Abgeordneten Professor Dr. K. D. Haszler. 6 vols. Frankfurt a.M., 1848-49. Contains protocols and reports of committees. Mittheilungen des statistischen Bureaus in Berlin. 8 ter Jahrgang. Herausgegeben von C. F. W. Dieterici, Berlin, 1855. Valuable for its tables showing variations in food prices from 1816-54. Tabellen und amtliche Nachrichten ueber den preus- sischen Staat fuer das Jahr 1849. Herausgegeben von dem statistischen Bureau zu Berlin. 6 vols. Berlin, 1851-55- Vols. 4-6 treat especially of commerce and industry. 86 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA Zeitschrift des Koeniglich Preussischen Statistischen Bureaus. Redigirt von dessen Direktor, Dr. Ernst Engel. Erster Jahrgang. Berlin, 1861. Contains valuable tables on all phases of Prussian life begin- ning with 1816. It is the official organ of the bureau. 2. Government Documents Privately Edited Bleich, E., Verhandlungen des zum 2 April 1848 zusammenberufenen Vereinigten Landtags. Berlin, 1848. A collection of stenographic reports, documents, and laws resulting from the deliberations of the Landtag. The compiler was "Koeniglicher-Kanzlei Rath und Bureau-Vorsteher beim Vereinigten Landtage." Bleich, E., Verhandlungen des im Jahre 1848 zusam- menberufenen Vereinigten Staendischen Ausschusses. 4 vols. Berlin, 1848. A report of the proceedings. The Committee dealt only with the new penal code. Brandenburg, Erich, Koenig Friedrich Wilhelms IV Briefwechsel mit Ludolf Camphausen. Berlin, 1906. Contains the correspondence between March 28, 1848, and Jan. 17, 1850. Koch, C. F., Allgemeines Landrecht fuer die Preus- sischen Staaten. 4 vols. Berlin and Leipzic, 1886. A complete copy of the Prussian Common Law of 1794. The paragraphs in force in 1886 form the main part of the book; the obsolete paragraphs are added as footnotes. Roenne, Ludwig v., Die Gewerbe-Polizei des Preus- sischen Staates. 2 vols. Breslau, 1851. A collection of industrial laws with comments. These vol- umes form a part of Part VII of the author's "Die Verfassung und Verwaltung des Preussischen Staates." 3. Publications of Private Organisations "An alle gross jaehrigen Arbeiter, als da sind Gesellen, Haushaelter, Tageloehner und allerhand ehrliche Leute. BIBLIOGRAPHY 87 Breslau, den 23 April, 1848." Ansorge Collection of Pamphlets No. 132. (Harvard University.) This is an appeal to the workingmen of Breslau to vote for certain men to represent them in Berlin and Frankfurt a.M. It is signed: "Der Arbeiter-Verein. In seinem Auftrage der Vorstand." Central-Blatt fuer die Kundgebungen des patriotischen Vereins zu Berlin und die mit demselben verbundenen Zweig und verwandten Vereine in den Provinzen. Ber- lin, July 6, 1848 April n, 1850. After Jan. i, 1849, the name was changed to "Central-Blatt der verbundenen monarchisch-constitutionellen Vereine, heraus- gegeben vom patriotischen Vereine zu Berlin." It is the official organ of the constitutional-monarchists. The accounts of the "Arbeiter-Excesse" reflect their attitude toward the Revolution. Die Forderungen des Gewerbestandes in Deutschland. Eine Denkschrift an den deutschen Reichstag in Frank- furt a. M. Von dem Gewerbeverein in Heidelberg und Genossen. Heidelberg, 1848. It is opposed to industrial freedom for Germany. Entwurf einer allgemeinen Handwerker- und Gewerbe- Ordnung fuer Deutschland. Berathen und beschlossen von dem deutschen Handwerker und Gewerbe-Congress zu Frankfurt a. M. in den Monaten Juli und August 1848. The preface contains a protest against industrial freedom, and a demand that it be abolished. Mittheilungen des Centralvereins fuer das Wohl der arbeitenden Klassen. Erster und zweiter Jahrgang. Ber- lin, 1848-50. The official organ of an organization devoted to the welfare of the proletariat. The purpose of this publication is given as follows: "Die Mittheilungen etc. haben den Zweck, Licht ueber die ihm vor- liegende grosse Aufgabe zu verbreiten, die Stimmen ueber ihre Loesung zu sammeln, Nachricht ueber gelungene oder doch mit 88 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA Aussicht auf Gelingen versuchte Veranstaltungen in diesem Be- reiche zu geben, entlich ueber die Wirksamkeit unseres Vereins und die mit ihm in Verbindung stehenden Vereine aus dem ganzen deutschen Vaterlande zu berichten." Verhandlungen des Vereins zur Befoederung des Ge- werbefleisses in Preussen. Berlin, 1845-49. It contains the minutes of the meetings, and articles and drawings illustrating the latest inventions and the newest meth- ods of manufacture. "Beleuchtung der Gewerbegestze vom 7 Februar, 1849." Ansorge Collection of Pamphlets No. 118. (Harvard University.) It is signed by "Die Commission der Gesellen und der demo- kratisch-sociale Arbeiter-Verein," and expresses the dissatis- faction of journeymen and workmen with the laws of Feb. 7, 1849, because these laws favor the "Handwerker" to the detri- ment of journeymen and factory employees. "Kreis Handwerkerverein zu Gross Glogau, 1849." Ansorge Collection of Pamphlets No. 102. This pamphlet contains the constitution and by-laws of the organization. B. I. Newspapers Allgemeine Zeitung. (Augsburg). 1845-49. A liberal newspaper with a reliable correspondent in Berlin. Breslauer Zeitung. 1848. A liberal newspaper of eastern Prussia. Deutsche Gewerbe-Zeitung und Saechsisches Gewerbe- Blatt. 1845-49. A semi-weekly paper published in Leipzic, devoted to the industrial advancement of Germany. Its policy is stated as follows : "Die Aufgabe, w. bei unsern Bestrebungen sich alle andern unterordnen muessen, ist und wird d. sein, was in unsern Kraef- ten steht, dazu beizutragen, dass unser Vaterland, * * * unter BIBLIOGRAPHY 89 d. Staaten d. Erde, in d. Wettkampfe d. Gegenwart u. naechsten Zukunf t nach d. geistigen u. materiellen Guetern, w. d. Mensch- heit ihrer Bestimmung naeher fuehren, d. seiner wuerdige Stellung einnehmen, dass d. deutsche Volk, erloest v. d. laehmen- den Drucke d. Mundlosigkeit, zum Bewusstsein u. Gefuehl seiner Kraft erwache, u. seine innere u. aeussere Wuerde durch d. thatsaechl. Beweis seiner Reife u. Selbstaendigkeit wahre u. schirme." Kladderadatsch. (Berlin), 1848-49. An illustrated comic weekly with national-liberal tendencies. It was established May 7, 1848. Schlesische Zeitung. (Breslau), 1848. A liberal daily. Weser-Zeitung. (Bremen), 1847-48. Liberal. Zeitungshalle. (Berlin), May 23, 1848. A radical democratic daily espousing the cause of the work- ingman. 2. Periodicals Archiv der politischen Oekonomie und Polizeiwissen- schaft : C. G. Kries, "Ueber die Mahl und Schlachtsteuer, die Einkommen- und Klassen-Steuer in Preussen." Neue Folge, vol. 8, Heidelberg, 1849. A discussion of the difficulties involved in introducing an in- come tax. Archiv fuer vaterlaendische Interessen, oder Preuss. Provinzial-Blaetter. Herausgegeben v. O. W. L,. Rich- ter, Marienwerder, 1845. Contains articles on climatic conditions in eastern Prussia. F. G. Schulze, "Die Arbeiterfrage nach den Grund- saetzen der deutschen Nationaloekonomie, mit Beziehung auf die aus Frankreich nach Deutschland verpflanzten Systeme des Feudalismus, Merkantilismus, Physiokratis- 90 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA mus, Socialismus, Communismus und Republikanismus," in Deutsche Blaetter fuer Landwirthschaft, Nationaloek- onomie und Politik, vol. 2, Heft 1-2. Jena, 1849. A scholarly discussion. Deutsche Vierteljahrschrift: (1) "Gedanken zur Begruendung einer neuen Ver- fassung des Gewerbewesens." 3tes Heft. Stuttgart, 1847. A discussion of the principle? of a new industrial law. Favors freedom. (2) "Versuch ueber die Moeglichkeit und die geeig- neten Mittel einer Abhuelfe der Theuerung und Hungers- noth." 4tes Heft. Stuttgart, 1847. A discussion of causes, development and relief. (3) "Das Vorparlament in Frankfurt." 2tes Heft. Stuttgart, 1848. An objective account. Illustrirte Zeitung. (Leipzic). "Das Zunftwesen." Jan. 9, Feb. 6, and 20, 1847. An illustrated description of guild customs. Rheinische Jahrbuecher zur gesellschaftlichen Reform, herausgegeben unter Mitwirkung v. Hermann Puett- mann. vols. 1-2. Darmstadt, 1845-46. Contain articles on social conditions. Zeitschrift des Vereins fuer deutsche Statistik, heraus- gegeben v. Dr. Freiherr v. Reden. 2 vols. Berlin, 1847- 48. An invaluable collection of essays on the agricultural, com- mercial and industrial situation. 3. Pamphlets (a) Ansorge Collection. (Harvard University}. "Aufruf an alle Gesellen Breslaus." No. 50. Breslau, BIBLIOGRAPHY 91 An appeal to all journeymen of Breslau to stand by the agreement regarding an industrial law made with the master- workmen at Frankfurt a. M. "Gesellen, Brueder !" No. 75. Breslau, 1848. A pamphlet issued by the "Gesellen" of Breslau objecting to the committee of the "Handwerkerverein" sent to von der Heydt, Prussian Minister of Industry and Commerce. (b) Hohenzollern Collection (Harvard University) "Hauptergebnisse der Landtags-Abschiede in Preus- sen, 1841, 1843, I ^>45'" Uebersichtlich von Karl Nau- werck. Berlin, 1846. A calendar of motions. "Die Zustaende Berlins seit dem iSten Maerz 1848." Berlin, 1848. An appeal not to proceed to destruction, but to remain within the limits of civil liberty. "Hochwichtiges der Gegenwart in Sieben Bildern betreffend die gegenwaertigen gedrueckten Verhaeltnisse des Mittelstandes, naemlich: der Handwerker und Ar- beiter, so wie des Handels und aller Gewerbe in Deutsch- land und wie diesem wichtigen Stand des deutschen Volks geholfen werden kann, zusammengestellt und vor- getragen von Einem Mitglied des Gewerbe- Vereins zu Dresden." Dresden and Leipzic, 1848. Advises workingmen not to expect too much from present disturbances. "Offene Darlegung der Gefahren, welche mit den vor- geschlagenen kuenstlichen Finanz-Operationen, dem Mo- bilmachen der Capitalien verbunden sind, und der Prin- zipien nach denen der Kampf zwischen Arbeit und Capital zu beurtheilen und zu loesen sei." Berlin, 1848. Recognizes social principles as primary. 92 INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM IN PRUSSIA "Thatsachen der Gegenwart, insbesondere Judenver- folgungen und Excesse gegen Guts- und Fabrikherren, erklaert durch Thatsachen der Vergangenheit nebst eini- gen Vorschlaegen zur Heilung socialer Nebel fuer die Zukunft, von einem Kopfarbeiter." Berlin, 1848. The author regards the formation of trade organizations, without any modification of industrial freedom, as a possible means of helping the workingman. "Zur Preussischen Verfassungsfrage." Berlin, 1848. Insists that present disturbances are primarily social in char- acter and only secondarily political. It requests that workmen be given the right to form associations. 4. Diary Varnhagen v. Ense, K. A., Tagebuecher, 14 vols. Leip- zig Zuerich and Hamburg, 1861-70. Vols. 3-6 cover period 1845-49. Von Ense was well informed. He was a constitutional-monarchist and Berlin correspondent of the Allgemeine Zeitung (Augsburg) . His Diary is full of intelli- gent opinions on current events. 5 Special Studies Stirner, Max Der Einzige und sein Eigenthum. L,eip- zic, 1845. Advocates social liberalism. Dieterici, C. F. W. Der Volkswohlstand im Preuss. Staat. In Vergleichung aus den Jahren vor 1806 und von 1828 bis 1832, so wie aus der neuesten Zeit, nach statistischen Ermittelungen und dem Gange der Gesetzge- bung aus amtlichen Quellen dargestellt. Berlin, 1846. Describes conditions in Prussia before and after the forma- tion of the Customs Union to 1845 inclusive. Dieterici was director of the Statistical Bureau in Berlin. Biedermann, Karl Geschichte des ersten preuss. Reichstags. Leipzic, 1847. An objective account of the Landtag, with reflections. BIBLIOGRAPHY 93 Dieterici, C. F. W. Ueber Preussische Zustaende, ueber Arbeit und Kapital. Ein politisches Selbstgespraech seinen lieben Mitbuergern gewidmet. Berlin, 1848. An excellent resume of the demands made by the craftsmen for industrial reform. Lasker, I. und Gerhard, F. Des deutschen Volkes Erhebung im Jahr 1848, sein Kampf um freie Institu- tionen und sein Sieges jubel. An account of the revolution by two persons heartily in sym- pathy with it. "Die Kartoffeln." Die Gegenwart, vol. I. Leipzic, 1848. A discussion of the potato blight of 1845. "Die Gegenwart" (1848-56) is the annual supplement to Brock- haus' Konversations-I/exikon. "Berlin in der Bewegung von 1848." Die Gegenwart, vol. 2. Leipzic, 1849. An analysis of the big issues involved. "Das deutsche Vorparlament." Die Gegenwart, vol. 2. Leipzic, 1849. An objective account. "Ludolf Camphausen." Die Gegenwart, vol. 2. Leip- zic, 1849. A well written biography of one of the champions of liberal- ism. "Preussen vor dem Februar-Patent von 1847." Die Gegenwart, vol. 2. Leipzic, 1849. A summary of the leading facts. "Preussen und der Vereinigte Landtag im Jahre 1847." Die Gegenwart, vol. 3. Leipzic, 1849. A detailed account of the Diet. Lengerke, Alex. V. Die laendliche Arbeiterfrage. Beantwortet durch d. bei d. Kgl. Landes-Oeconomie- Collegium atis alien Gegenden d. preuss. Monarchic =* IXDUSTRIAI. FREEDOM J3S PRUSSIA anf d. pbttcn lande. Berim, 1849. A.