The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

IL—THE SOCIAL ECONOMY OF CREUSOT. Extent and Capacity of Messrs. Schneider and Co.’s Works.—The establishments of Messrs. Schneider and Co., including workshops, open courts, railway tracks, &c., occupy an area of about 800 acres ; the Creusot workshops themselves extend uninterruptedly for a dis- tance of 2| miles ; an idea of them is given by the general view, see Fig. 7, Plate II. The different sei-vices are con- nectée! with each other, and to the auxiliary establishments of Mazenay, Montchanin, and Bois-Bi'etoux, by a system of railways 190 miles in lengtli, furnished with a rolling stock of 30 locomotives and 1,500 wagons. The port of i Bois-Bretoux, situated on the bank of the Canal du । Centre, is equipped with a very perfect system of machinery for the rapid and cheap transshipment of material. The railway system of the company has a 1 service of from 50 to 60 regulär trains per dav, and | transports daily a load of 7,000 tons for a mean distance of 6.3 miles, representing 13 million mile-tons per annum. j The varions offices, workshops, and courts, as well as the I port of Montchanin, are lighted by electricity, and the dynamos eraployed for this purpose, and for the transmis- sion of electrical energy, which is very extensively employed, represent a total of more than 1,800 horse-power. The subjoined list gives some idea of the importance and varied character of Messrs. Schneider and Co.’s works :— ÀNNUAL CoNSUMITION OF MATERIAL. Tons. Coal and coke ... ... ... ••• 515,000 Cast iron ... ... ... ••• ••• ••• 110,000 Annual Amount of Finished Products. Iron and steel plates ... ... ... 130,000 Arniour-plates ... ... ... ... 6,000 Ship construction, bridges, and ironwork ... 10,000 (The foregoing figures clo not include the output of the varions engineering and artillery departments). Extent or Creusot and its Dependencies. Acres. Area of the varions departments ... ... 800 Land occupied by employés’ houses and gardens ; churches and schools ............... 600 Farm lands ... ... ... ... ... 4,500 Total ... ... 5,900 Employés.—The number of persons of all classes employed by Messrs. Schneider and Co. varies from 14,000 to 15,000. The permanence of this vast personnel is one of the very inter esting features of the great establishment, and speaks eloquently for tlie good relations existing between employers and employed. The diagrams, Figs. 8 and 9, page 7, show, on a total of 13,000, the number of workmen who have been from one to thirty years, and from thirty to sixty-nine years, in the service of the company. One-third of the personnel has had more tlian twenty years of continuai service, one-fourth, more than twenty-five years, and on«-eighth has a record of more than thirty years. These long terms of employment have been without interruption, except for military service, and it is not rare to find families of two or three generations, and numbering six or seven members, or even more, among the staff of Messrs. Schneider and Co. As a natural result, there are many families who, by steady work, have gradually improved tlieir positions, and have become persons of importance in the works. In view of the serions difficulties between employers and employed, unfortunately so common at the present time in all countries, especial interest attaches itself to the relations that exist, and have existed for many years, between Messrs. Schneider and Co. and the great army of workmen in their employ ; and a description of the con- ditions under which a gigantic industry can be carried on to the mutual satisfaction of employers and employed, will be read with interest. Piece-work is the general rule at Creusot; the workman is therefore paid accord- ing to his ability, at a minimum daily wage, to which is added the profit of the piece-work. Diagram, Fig. 10, shows the advances which have been made in wages from 1837 to 1895. In addition to the daily pay, the workman profits from varions subventions, eitlier in kind or in money, which for the most part form an actual inerease, direct or indirect, on the wages paid. The followino- Table gives the statement of these varions subventions paid during the year 1895-96 :— Amounts Paid in Subventions by Messes. Schneider and Co., 1O o 00 Churches ; schools ; municipal taxes ; music ; £ varions societies (clubs, natural history, cycling, gymnastics, sports, &c.); mis- cellaneous subscriptions ... ... ... 13,018 Contributions to the French National Pensions Department ; supplementary pensions to insure a minimum benefit of £12 to super- annuated workmen ... ••• ••• 28,713 Ambulance départaient of Messrs. Schneider and Co. ; medical and pharmaceutical depart- ment and hospital ; special assistance to sick and inj ured workmen ... ... ... ... 14,558 Allowances to men absent on military service ; allowances to fathers of families of over five children less bhan fifteen years old ; losses arising from letting houses and gardens below their value ; fuel allowances ; coffee allowed to workmen during the summer months ... ... ••• ••• 30,280 Total ...........£86,569