INTERNATIONAL LABOUR
OFFICE
GENEVA

Studies and Documents
Series B
No. i

September ist ig-20.

Coal Production in ihe Ruhr District
(lind

of May,

igzo)

Enquiry by the International Labour Office

CONTENTS

I. — The increase in production during February, 1920 : its causes :
overtime, increase in the number of workers and the building of
dwellings. Will it be of long duration ?
II. — The wages problem in the Ruhr : its origin. What will be its effects
on production ? The Ruhrminers' associations and their programme ;
the consequences of the troubles in the Ruhr, the introduction of
economic democracy in the mines, the reorganisation of the « Coal
Council » and socialisation (nationalisation).
III. — The food question in the Ruhr : the main problem.

The Increase

in

Production

The increase in production of coal in the D o r t m u n d mining
districi notably improved during the m o n t h of February, 1920.
T h e D o r t m u n d District comprises, as is well k n o w n , all the
coal mines of the Rhine-Westphalia basin, on the right b a n k of
the Rhine, that is, all the mines in the Ruhr, with Essen as a
central point.
IL0-SR/B1
ENGL
COP. 2

')

The mining organisations in the Ruhr hope that the results
of the crisis and strike will soon disappear and that the improvement noticed in February will continue to develope normally.
The following figures will give an idea of this improvement.
Coal production in the Dortmund District was as follows : —
Per month

Per day

January 1920 . . . . 6,425,026
February 1920 . . . 6,564,191

254,456
273,508

The last statistics for the month of April give the output
as being from 293,000 to 325,000 tons per day (27th April).
These figures are undoubtedly lower than those of 1914 :
°

January 1914 . . . .
9,252,737
February 1914 . . . 8,603,193

308,268
358,466

but they are considerably higher than the figures for 1919 :
January 1919 . . . .
6,007,441
February 1919 . . . 5,222,168

237,918
217,590

Coal production in the Dortmund mining district was :
for the year 1919 . . . .
»
» 1914 . . . .

67,942,724 tons
110,765,465 »

The difference between pre-war and 1919 figures is therefore 44 million tons.
It is difficult to say if the Ruhr mining organisations will
succeed in maintaining the present improvement and gradually
eliminate this difference of 44 million tons between pre-war
and after-war production.

Overtime
The present improvement is due to an increase in the hours
of work. In 1913, the Ruhr miners worked 8 K- hours, or,
after deducting Lhe time necessary for going up and down,
7 hours of actual work.
In November 1918, after the Revolution, working hours
were reduced to 8 hours, or, after deducting the time necessary for going up and down, 6 Y< hours of actual work.
Finally, in April 1919, after a big strike of the miners, they
adopted a 7 hours day, or after deducting the time necessary
for going up and down, 5 Vi hours of actual work.
At the same time, the German Government promised the
miners that a commission would be appointed for the purpose

— 3—
of applying a 6 hours day or, after deducting the time necessary for going up and down, 4 % hours of actual work, by the
1st of February 1920.
This Commission, presided over by a Berlin Professor,
Herr Francke, sat during the winter of 1919 and adopted a
resolution at the beginning of the year 1920 in which it was
declared that the question of the six hours shift could only be
settled by an International Convention.
During the month of February 1920, the Imperial ChaneelJor, Gustav Bauer went to the Ruhr District, in company with
the Imperial Labour Minister, Alexander Schlicke, ex-president of the Metal "Workers' Union, and the Imperial Postmaster-General Johann Giesberts, the well-known Christian Labour Leader and representative for Essen.
During the meeting at Essen held with the Miners' and
Mine Owners representatives, the Government succeededi in
arriving at an agreement which provided overtime at the rate
of two half workings days per week, that is, an increase of
7 hours per week.
In accordance with the Convention of March 8th 1920,
beginning March 15th 1920, the miners will work overtime
twice a week at the rate of one-half the ordinary working day,
over and above the ordinary working day.
This half-day period of overtime shall be paid for at an
increase of 100 % over the ordinary rate.
The Miners who work overtime as described above shall
receive :—
A broad ration equal to 3125 gr. per week ;
An extra ration of fat equal to 500 gr. per week.
The Convention prescribes that the price of fat and bread
allowed as extra rations shall be the same as the prices fixed
for ordinary rations.
As a matter of fact, the miners pay for the extra ration of
fat at the following rate :—
10 marks 30, that is one half of the current price.
The half-day overtime has been organised as follows, so as
to arive at an effective distribution of the necessary trucks :
« A » mine works the half-day overtime on Monday after
the morning shift, that is, from six a. m. to 1 p. m. plus 3 Vi
hours ; therefore the miners leave the mine at 4,30 p. m.
« B » mine works the half-day overtime on Tuesdays after
the evening shift, that is from 1 p. m. to 8 p. m. plus 3 Y¡
hours ; therefore the miners leave the mine at 11.30 p. m.
« C » mine works half-day overtime on Wednesday after
the morning shift, that is from six a. m. to 1 p. m. plus 3 %
hours ; therefore, that shift comes out of the mine at 4.30 p. m.

_ 4 In addition, « A » mine works the half-day overtime on
Thursdays,
« B n mine works the half-day overtime on
Fridays,
« C » mine works the half-day overtime on
Saturdays, and so on.
At the start, many miners refused to do the half-day overtime; now practically all the miners have accepted it; only
a few tired miners and unconverted objectors come out of the
mine after the regular period of work.
During the meetings of the Essen Conferences, held in
February, the mine owners' representative, Hugo Stinnes, one
of the leading employers, asked that the daily working hours
be increased by one hour and a half. The workers' representatives objected, because this extension of working hours would
appear as a permanent increase in the daily working hours.
The Ruhr miners' unions are still claiming the principle
of the 6 hours day, that is, three shifts working 6 hours a day
each. The Christian Trade-Unionists strongly advocated this
principle at a conference held at Gelsen Kirchen on January
25th, 1920 ; the Socialist Trade Unionists did the same at the
meeting held at Bochum on the same day.
It is important to note that the working hours of the mining regions in Central Germany and Upper Silesia differ from
those of the Ruhr district. Working conditions differ according to the mining regions and' the question of hours must
therefore be settled for each one separately.

The increase in man power and house

building.

The increase in production in the Ruhr, due especially to
the Convention of the 8th. March 1920, results also to some
extent from the increase in man power.
The number of workmen employed in the Mines of the
district of Dortmund is considerably larger than in 1919, and
even 1914 :—
January 1914
February 1914
March 1914
April 1914

412,761
414,857
415,761
420,015

January 1919
February 1919
March 1919
April 1919

409,314
312,891
402,239
406,737

January 1920
February 1920
March 1920
April 1920

This important increase in man power has
in spite of the growing scarcity of skilled miners
of housing accomodation. The Mine Directors
carrying on the instruction of the miners, and

457,771
462,064
463,193
455,426

taken place
and the lack
are actively
at the same

lime are having numbers of houses constructed for the workmen ; at the present time in the whole of the Ruhr District
one can see numbers of miners' red brick houses in course
of construction. The Mine Employers' Association, tli ^
« Zechenverband », bought stocks of building materials which
it has sold to the Mine Directors at very favourable prices.
The scarcity of housing accommodation is particularly felt in
the northern parts of Lhe mining districts, the exploitation of
which has only lately begun, and where consequently houses
are rare. The Ruhr Mining District has, indeed, extended progressively in a northerly direction towards Lippe, and even
as far as the Dutch frontier. Ruhr is now only the southern
limit of the basin, and Lhe Ruhr basin has become in reality
the Emscher basin.
The Government, that is to say, the Prussian Ministry of
Social Welfare, has introduced a draft law designed to further
the establishment in the Ruhr Valley of a still larger
number of miners. The Ruhr Mining Organisations declare
that the staff of the mines must be increased by 150,000 new
workmen. Such an increase will mean, if families of the miners are counted, that 600,000 new inhabitants will have to
be accommodated in the Mining Districts.
The chief problem consists in constructing with the least
possible delay the necessary housing accommodation for all
this population and in developing in an appropriate manner
the means of communication in the mining basin. Beginning
with 1920, it is estimated that in the Ruhr Valley from twenty
to twenty-five thousand new houses will have to be constructed. These houses must not be jerrybuilt, but .must be
comfortable and fit for a permanent population, with a garden
which will allow the miner to increase his means of subsistance.
According to the projected laws, which were voted by the
Prussian Chamber, all the Communes of the Mining District,
including a certain number of Communes on the right bank
(Cleve, Gelder, Crefeld), will constitute a vast association called the « Siedlungsverband Ruhr Kohlenbezirk », which will
have its headquarters at Essen, and whose duty will be to
find the necessary building material, and the ground. The
funds necessary will be provided by a tax of one thousand
million marks on the price of coal and collected by a « Society
of Trustees » constituted by the Association. The Governing
Committee of the Association will be nominated jointly by the
Communes and by the Workers' and Employers' Organisations.
The Government will nominate an official who will be at
the same time Adviser and Controller of the Association. This
official has already been appourted and he will have his Headquarters at Essen. The Councillor Rapport is the person
selected, and he his actively employed in preparing for the
putting into force of the Law on the 15th June next.

-

6—

The new Law has the advantage of abolishing all administrative barriers, in the first place between Communes, in the
second place between Communes and Public Bodies, and
finally, between the Provinces of Westphalia and Prussian
Rhineland. It creates a single body whose functions do not
limit in any way the initiative of certain Communesin constructing cheap houses. Although building materials
(wood, tiles, etc.) are very scarce in the Ruhr, it is not improbable that the new Association will be able to accomplish part
of the mission. The only serious difficulty will be in procuring
building materials at a reasonable price and thus avoiding
the giving of large profits to private entreprises.
The ex-Director of the firm of Thyssen, Alfons Horten, in
his book on Socialisation (Neues Vaterland 1920, Berlin)
estimates that one must count on an expenditure of 60,000
marks per heuse : that is to say for 150,000 houses, nine
thousand million marks. He consider that the Government,
by employing appropriate measures, could have reduced the
expenditure by four or six thousand million marks, which as
it is, will fall into the pockets of private German contractors.

II

The Problem of Wages and the increased cost of Living
Will this increase in production in the Ruhr Valley, due
not so much to the increase in man power as to the increase in
hours of labour, be lasting? Is it the point of departure of
a progressive development which will bring the production of
the Ruhr up to its pre-war figures ? Whilst the « Deutsche
Industrie », the official organ of the League of German Employers, in its number of the 24th April 1920 speaks of the zeal
and the application of the working-classes, the « Bergarbeiter »
(8th May 1920), contains the following grave words :
« The moment is perhaps not so far distant whon the strug« gle will break forth again with redoubled fury ».
The Convention of the 8th March 1920 can be repudiated at
a week's notice. The Wages agreement established on the 1st
April 1920 has been repudiated by the Workers' Organisations
since that date. The situation in the Ruhr is unsettled.

— 7 —

W e are to-day confronted with a serious problem which may be
called the « Wages-Crisis ». The wages of the workers and the
price of coal, undergoing as they do a similar progression, have
increased to an enormous extent since the revolution of November 1918, and especially since the end of 1919. The basis wage
of a miner has increased from 14 marks, the rate established
on the 25th October 1919 — the first established rate in the
Ruhr — to 17 marks on the 2nd February 1920 ; and 22.50
marks on the 1st April 1920. The Ruhr miner earns to-day
about 45.50 marks per day. He used to earn 40 marks on the
established rate of the 2nd February. He is now claiming an
increase of 8 marks per shift, that is to say, a salary of 53.50
marks per shift.
The « Reichsanzeiger » of the 14th April 1920 publishes the
following tabular statement which gives an idea of the increase
in the average salary of the miner per shift, from 1914 to 1919.
1914
2nd half
6 marks 19 pf.
1915
»
»
6
» 66 »
1916
»
»
8
» 05 »
1917
»
t»
10
»
1918
»
»
12
» 61 »
1919
»
»
19
» 53 ,»
1919
»
»
23
» 01 »
1919
»
»
27
» 66 »
If we compare this table with the preceding figures (40
marks, 45 marks' 50 pf., 53 marks 50 pf.), we see that the
miners' wages, after having increased rapidly but gradually
in 1919,rose with a bound in January 1920.
The price of coal in the Ruhr has increased in the same
proportion as the miners' wages, especially since the beginn-«
ing of 1920. There has been an increase in the price of coal
nearly every month for some time past.
(1st March, 1st April, 1st May). A ton of Ruhr coal cost. :
In
»
»
»
»
»

January 1914, from
April
1918, »
October 1919. »
January 1920, »
March 1920, »
April
1920, »
To-day it costs from

12 to 15 marks.
24 marks 30 to 29 marks 40
77
»
90 to 79
»
106
»
90 to 119
»
50
168
»
to 203
»
10
192
»
40 to 232
»
70
194 marks 70 pf. to 238 marks.

pf.
pf.
pf.
pf.

This price represents the price of coal at the pit head ; to
this must be added transport expenses, which have more than
quadrupled since 1914, and the profits of the coal merchant.
Thus, since 1914, the wages of miners have increased almost
10 times (6 marks 19 to 53 marks 50) ; and the price of coal

— 8—
has increased more than 10 times (12marks to 194 marks 70).
This rise in the price of coal has probably contributed to
an important extent to the increase in cost of living in Germany, and particularly in the Ruhr. A miner, with his wage of
45 marks 30, can hardly obtain clothing, lodging and food
necessary for his numerous family. His material situation is
much worse than when he earned six marks a day.
The quanliiy of food which the Commune Administration
or the Mine Management distributes is exceedingly small. The
miner receives per week for each member of his family :
3 lbs. of potatoes : none however has been issued for seven
weeks, and the miners receive 100 grammes of dry vegetables
instead ;
3 lbs. of bread (reduced lately to 2 lbs.).
An insignificant quantity of milk.
A little lard in place of meal, and a little fai.
For himself per supplementary shift :
625 grammes of bread ;
500 grammes of fat (at a cost of 10 marks 30 pf.).
For himself, in return for particularly fatiguing work, 100
grammes of lard per week.
Besides these regulation quantities, which are absolutely
insufficient, certain communes or mine administrations
issue supplementary rations. Certain communes, for example,
have lately been able to distribute a supplement of 200 grammes of minced liver sausage per family per week.
The Krupp factory distributes to each workman every fortnight in return for fatiguing work a supplement of 500 grammes of sausage and pork, and supplementary bread and potatoes. The price of all these rations, normal or supplementary,
has considerably increased during the last few months. The
miner can undoubtedly procure other foodstuffs in the open
market : he can, for example, buy marmalade or honey, the
sale of which is without restriction ; but a pound of marmalade which cost 1.30 marks at the end of 1919 costs now 3.70
marks, and will soon cost 7.50 marks at Essen. Money has
increased also from 0.80 marks Lo 3.70 marks and 7.70 marks.
A pound of butter costs 36 marks at present in the Eessen
market.
The price of housing accommodation has also increased
considerably. At Essen, for example, houses have increased bv
45,3 ';, and even 61,3 '; from 1910 to 1919. A flat of 4 rooms
last year cost at Essen from 585 to 675 marks, whilst in 1910
it was from 402 to 458 marks. It is. however, necessary to state
that the Mine Administrations and the Associations of Public
Utility have not increased the prices of their lodgings in the
same proportion.
What is the position with regard to the price of clothes nad
footwear ? On the 24th January the Socialist Union of Miners
addressed a long letter to the" Minister of Public Economy

— 9—
requesting the Government to take urgent measures for supplying the miners wilh cheap footwear and clothes. The Ministry answered on the 22nd April 1920 that the supply of working clothes and footwear would be attended to with particular
care by the Imperial Departments (Reichsstellen für Textilnotsiandsversorgung und Schuhversorgung), and would continue to be regulated in each mine according to the necessities
of the miners by the Mine Management. Other clothes and
footwear continue to be furnished by communal associations. It
is, however, doubtful if Lhe activities of the public, communal
or private services of supply will be able to remedy the cost
of living in the Ruhr.
Thus the Ruhr miner produces the impression of being in a
vicious circle. The progressive increase in miners wages entails
an increase in the price of coal, and the increase in the prime
oí coal produces an increase in the price of objects of prime
necessity such as lodging, food, clothing. The crisis is serious,
and the miners are aware of it. They hesitate before claiming
another advance of wages, as they do not wish any further
rise in the price of coal. What remedies can they propose for
this deplorable situation ?

The Ruhr Miners' organisations.
The Ruhr miners are organised in a certain number of associations of which the principal arc :
The Socialist Miners Union (Headquarters at Bochum).
The Christian Miners Union (Headquarters at Essen).
The Communist Union of Miners.
The Polish Organisation. (Founded in 1902).
The Liberal Union or Kirsch Duncker. (Founded in 1869).
The mosl important of these groups are the Socialist Union,
the Christian Union, and the Communists Uninon ; in the
recent elections for the Workers' Councils, lhe Socialists
obtained 1212 seats ; the Communists, 517 seats ; the Christians, 381 seats.
The Socialist Union was founded on Lhe 18th August 1889,
but only dates, properly speaking, from the Berlin International Miners Congress in May 1894.
The Christian Union was iounded at Essen by the miner
August Brust in August 1894. The Communist Union dates also
from this period, but has only been really organised since the
revolution of 1918.
It is impossible io know the exact number of members of
the Communist Union, the membership of which is subject to

-

10

-

continual fluctuation. The members of the Union pay a very
small subscription, and may join o leave the Union as they
please. It must be noted that this Union does not consist solely
of Communists but has also a number of indépendant Socialists as members.
The Christian Union increased from 63,129 members in
1913 to 150,000 in January 1920.
The Socialist Union has at present a membership roll of
436,527.
The great mass of the Ruhr miners thus belong to the Socialist Union, whilst the Communist Union and the Christian
Union have smaller but very strong bodies of members. It
must be said that to-day the Rhine miner oscillates between
the Christian Union Movement and the Indépendant Socialist
movement.
What do the members of the Christian Union desire ? They
advocate the organisation in the Mines of an Economic Democracy : that is to say, the reasonable and progressive application of its three great principles :—
« Arbeitsgemeinschaft » or Collaboration with the Employers.
« Gleichberechtigung », or Legal Equality with the Employers.
« Mitbestimmungsée'cht » or the Right of Consultation to be
exercised in agreement with the Employers ; the good functioning of the organs of Economic Democracy — the Arbeitsgemeinschaft on the one hand, and the Workers Concils and
the Imperial Coal Council on the other.
Members of the Indépendant Socialist movement are strongly in favour energetic socialisation measures.
The old Miners' Socialist Union, still directed by trade-unionists of the majority Socialist Party, unites in its programme
the two words « Democracy » and « Socialisation » (« Bergarbeiter », 1st May). In reality, as we have just seen, these two
words indicate two different tendencies.
The problem is not raised in the same terms at Essen as at
Berlin. In Berlin the workers are advised to choose between
the reign of the the « Joint Association » (Arbeitsgemeinschaft)
and the « Dictatorship of the Councils ». In the Ruhr, the miner
has to pronounce for the normal development of economic
democracy or for immediate Socialisation, the partisans of economic democracy being members of the Christian Union, and
the partisans of Socialisation being the Trade Unionists of the
extreme left.

— 11 —

The consequences of the April troubles.
The elements who wished the establishment of a dictatorship of the Councils and who tried to realise it after the Kapp
Coup d'Etat, have now lost, since the failure of their attempt,
a great deal of their influence. The Ruhr miners fought furiously
along the canal from the Rhine to the Ems to oppose the
entrance of the Reichswehr into the Ruhr, and suffered great
losses. The banks of the canal will bear for a long time the
traces of the fierce combats which then took place. But the
miners had the impression that whilst they were fighting
on the canal, a number of strangers had installed
themselves in the town and had pillaged the shops, the railway
stations, and the food depots. Discontented, the Ruhr miner
went back to the mines, whilst the rest of the population welcomed with apparent enthusiasm the arrival of the Reichswehr
which was, however, in reality detested. Irritated1 and deceived,
the miner is now leaving the Communist Union. The organ of
the Miners' Socialist Union (1st May) says that in the Hamm
district, 300 miners returned to that Union in one week. In the
district of Recklinghausen a large number of local groups
returned to the Socialist Organisation. The Communist movement is on the wane.
But does it follow that the Ruhr is resigned to the modest
and patient activity which is offered to him by the .newly
created economic bodies (Chambers of Labour, Joint Association, Workers' Councils) ?

Organisation of economic democracy in the Ruhr.
During Lhe war, that is to say, under the old regime, a legal
organisation was created to enquire into the conditions of
labour of the miners, and put forward proposals to the German Government. This organisation, called the « Arbeitskammer für den Ruhrbezirk », still exists. It is composed of
representatives from the employers and the workers (10
Socialists, 6 Christians, 4 Poles, 10 employees). This Chamber
had not the right to take decisions or have them executed.
Its activity was limited to the proposal of measures to the
Government.
The « Arbeitsgemeinschaft für den Bergbau », or « Joint
Mine Association », which was instituted at the moment of
revolution, after négociation between Unions and Employers
made, on the contrary, immediate arrangements applicable to

-

12

-

the coal industry. The Association is composed on ihe side of
the workers, of the different workers' Unions and the various
associations of employees ; and on the side of the employers,
of the Employers' League of Mine Directors called « Zechenverband », and the old Association for the protection of the
Mining Industry (Verein für die bergbaulichen Inieressen)
founded on the 17th December 1858, a league which has done
a great deal for the development of the coal industry in the
Ruhr since that date. Workers and employers have each 14
representatives. Besides these two organisations there exist today in the Ruhr «Betriebsrate » or Workers' Councils for the
different mines and, at Berlin, a « Reichskohlenrat .^ or Imperial Coal Council.
The Workers' Councils, described by the law establishing
Workers' Councils of the 4th February 1920, were elected recently. They are the successors of the « Workers' Commissions » established after the revolution, bodies which themselves succeeded the « Miners' Commissions » which were constituted in the Ruhr more than 20 years ago. The Miners Workers' Council have the same functions as the other Workers'
Councils created by the law of February 1920.
Whilst in certain parts of the Empire Workers' Councils
are in open warfare with the Unions, the Ruhr Workers' Councils act generally in perfect agreement with the Trade Union
Organisations.
The Imperial Government also created, in conformity with
the law of the 23rd March 1919 on Mines a « Reichskohlenrat »
or Imperial Coal Council.
The Law of the 31st March created, in order to centralise
and regulate the sale of coal, a general Coal Association
(«Reichskohlenverband »), whose function it was io fix, with
the approval of the Ministry of Public Economy, the prices
of coal. It decreed at the same time the organisation of an
Imperial Coal Council to control the work of the Association.
This Council was constituted in 1919 and had two sessions
in November 1919 and in January 1920, and Avas then-re-organised by an ordinance of the 25th March 1920. It held a session
àt Berlin on the 11th and 12th March 1920. The Council is
composed of 60 members from among the workers, the employers and the consumers.
What are we to think of these Controlling Bodies : of the
purely workers' bidies like the Workers' Councils, or of the
joint bodies like the Joint Mine Association or the Imperial Coal
Council ? Alfons Horten in his book on socialisation affirms
that the wages crisis is due essentially to the serious imperfections of this vast machine. The Coal Law of the 23rd
March 1919 created, according to him, a dangerous monopoly
of the sale of coal, which it placed in the hands of the general
Coal Association, a group where the employer element predominates, and this body, can regulate the price of coal
as it wills. The control of its acts is assured neither by the

— 13 —
Joint Mine Association where the workers are in an inferior
position because they have neither the means of investigation
nor the necessary knowledge to judge the prices ; nor by the
Imperial Coal Council, where the group of consumers is
composed principally of merchants who are interested in
making profits on the sale of coal.

Re-organisation of the coal council and socialisation
of the mines.
The German Government is conscious of the defects of the
organs of economic democracy which it tried to create in the
Ruhr, and is now seeking to remodel them. A draft law has
been introduced which widens at once the composition and
the prerogatives of the Coal Council. The group of consumers
will be increased by 15 members. At the same time the Council will be declared to be the only judge competent to fix the
price of coal after consultation with the Miners' Unions.
Will the workers be content with these measures destined
to ensure a better democratic organisation of the coal industry ? At a meeting held on the 10th May the Governing Committee of the Miners' Union 'was chiefly occupied with
the questions of socialisation. It studied in succession the
methods proposed by Wissell and Möllendorf in their famous
economic plan, by Director Horten in his book on Socialisation, by the English Commission of Enquiry on the Nationalisation of Mines and by the German Socialisation Commission
in the report published by it in 1919.
In the resolution which was voted at the end of the meeting the Socialist Unions showed themselves to be extremely
anxious to find means of socialising the mines without
a resultant diminution of coal production. The Socialist Unions
demand socialisation, but only on condition that this socialisation stops the coal crisis instead of increasing it.
The resolution of the Socialist Unions of the 18th April
demanding that the Government should take immediate socialisation measures in reality protests only against the sale of
the Ruhr mines to foreign capitalists, especially that of the
Hermann N° 1 mine to a French company.
The Socialist Trade Unionists are really nearer to the Chris- ,
tian Trade Unionists than to the Trade Unionists of the left.
They wish, above all, to work for the re-establishment of the
economic situation of Germany, and consider that the solution
of the wage crisis is to be found in an all-round decrease of
prices. They wish at the same time to put into practice and to
perfect the organs of economic democracy and in particular

I

— 14

-

to arrive at a closer understanding between the workers' group
and -the consumers. In questions of socialisation they show
themselves to be, if not hostile like the Christian Trade Unionists, at least very reserved and prudent. The Mine Employers' Associations are continually quoting to them the
example of the Hibernia Mine which is owned by the Prussian
Treasury, and which in 1919, for the first time in 47 years, has
not declared a dividend.

Ill

The food supply of the Ruhr
Whilst awaiting a general lowering of prices which will probably not take place for a long time, the Ruhr miners are
very much pre-occupied with the immediate supply of foodstuffs to the Ruhr at low prices. The condition of the Ruhr
from the standpoint of Public Health is lamentable. The Health
Insurance Fund of the Ruhr mining basin has registered :—

1915
1916
1917
1918

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

Cases of illness

Deaths

Deaths from
Tuberculosis

.
.
.
.

2,280
2,867
4,307
5,487

275
352
688
792

165,700
183,360
235,036
391,632

The number of subscribers to the fund has naturally increased during these four years, but not in such proportions :—
1915
1916
1917
1918

.
.
.
!

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

286,671
307,508
347,162
365,300

Dr. Fischer, a physician at Essen, remarks in a report of the
13th February 1920 that a distinction must be made between
, the condition of the Ruhr population as a whole and that of the
miners and their children. The health situation of the population as a whole has improved since 1918 because the inhabitants of the mining districts have been able, since the revolution, to buy freely a larger quantity of foodstuffs in the open
market. The condition of the miners and of the children has,
on the contrary, become worse. The miners do not obtain suf-

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15 —

ficient food and the children do not obtain a large enough
ration of milk. T h e R u h r Miners' W o r k e r s ' Councils have tried
since the beginning of 1920 to find immediate remedies for
the serious situation. They have u n d e r t a k e n to conclude agreements with Holland and with a Coal Company in Belgium to
obtain food supplies (coffee, dripping, pigs), in return for coal.
At the same time they have m a d e several representations to
the E n t e n t e in order to obtain t h e necessary authorisation
(Germany has only the right to export 700,000 tons abroad).
They continue to protest at Cologne and Berlin with a view to
securing that the State Government as well as that of the province should increase the food supply of the Ruhr.
T h e negotiations undertaken with the Entente countries
and the neutral countries will soon have a result. They have
improved to a certain extent the food ration of the miner, but
they do not allow him to have the daily ration that he desires:
that is to say, 2 lbs. of broatì, 1 lb. of potatoes,. 250 grammes of fat, and 100 g r a m m e s of meat.
On the whole it is evident that the serious p r o b l e m of the
cost of living will not receive an immediate solution. W e
must even expect that it will get worse. In such 'circumstances
the danger of serious disorder in the R u h r h a s not yet passed.
This disorder will not necessarily be of a revolutionary character, but it will n o n e t h e less compromise the production of
coal a n d will tend to destroy the good effects of the recent
Conventions on t h e Hours of L a b o u r and on t h e F o o d Supply
o n t h e h a n d , and the wise experiments in economic democracy
on the p a r t of the German Government on the o t h e r 1 .

1

Since the date when this enquiry made, two important events have
occurred ; the négociations at Spa (July 15th 1920), and the Twenty-Fifth
International Miners' Congress (2nd August 1920) at Geneva. These two
events have not, however, had the immediate result of modifying to any
appreciable extent the economic and social situation in the mining basin
of the Ruhr, described in the present Report. The problems remain the
same. It should, however, be mentioned that the Entente Powers have
declared themselves willing, by the Convention signed at Spa, to establish
in agreement with Germany a commission which will have its headquarters at Essen, and will be specially responsible for studying the material
improvements which may be brought about in the conditions of existence
of the miners, particularly with regard to housing and clothing. The International Miners Congress, on the other hand, resolved to entrust a Commission with the study of the questions of the Six-Hour Day and the
creation of an international body responsible for the distribution of coal.
At the same time it requested the International Labour Office to conduct
an enquiry into the latter question.
Since the date when the present enquiry took place in the mining
basin the improvement in production has been maintained. The price of
coal has not increased. The miners' wages have been raised by a further
increase of 7 mk. 50 per day. By a convention of the 21st/ May, ratified
by the collective agreement of the 16th of June. 3 marks must be paid by the

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directors of the mines and 4 ink. 50 by the State under the form of food
vouchers. This provision has just been modified by the convention of the
19th. August. The 4 mk. 50 will henceforth be paid also by the directors
of the mines. In exchange the latter demanded that the system of overtime
shifts should be abandoned and that overtime should be divided over the
working day. By a convention of the 19th. August the miners refused to
make such a concession : they have, however, declared themselves prepared to continue to negotiate on this point.
The food supplies of the miners have recently been somewhat improved
by the efforts of the State. The extra weekly rations per miner mentioned
in our Report are now : 100-200 grms. of lard and 150-500 grms. of sausage. The system of the organisation of coal economy has now been altered
and the Government has just promised that « coal economy is to be organised according to the principles of general economy (gemeinwirtschaft),
and that the miners are to be called upon to take part in the new organisation as responsible participants (mitverantwortliche Träger) ». (Statement of Under-Secretary of State, Herr Hirsch, at Essen, 20th August 1920.)