lish and German spinners is not
repeated among the piecers. Taking a spinner and his first assistant
as the unit, we should have a joint average daily wage of about 8/6 in
England and 6/6 in Germany. In the case of weavers, comparison of wages
is more difficult to draw, but the advantage of England would seem to
be but little less. However, in instituting a comparison between two
countries, as regards the relative efficiency of labour in some
industries, we should do well to remind ourselves that efficiency is a
somewhat transitory thing, dependent upon education and experience as
much as upon aptitude. In respect of the capacity of labour for the
task required in the cotton industry, we could not (writing in 1907)
make the statement that England leads significantly with the assurance
with which we can assert her superiority in respect of present
attainments. The cotton industry has not been prosecuted on a large
scale in Germany so long as in England, and the Germans have not,
therefore, had the same opportunity for developing their latent
powers. But the thoughtfulness and carefulness of the German workman
are beyond dispute, and these qualities will procure for him a leading
place where work is not mechanical. Already in the cotton industry it
is said that the operatives are displaying quite striking powers of
undertaking a wide range of work and changing easily from one pattern
to another. Hence German firms feel little hesitation in taking small
orders on special designs; they do not experience any great difficulty
in getting their factors accommodated to produce the required
articles.

Apart from the efficiency of labour, reasons exist for the lower real
cost of production in England in the organization of the industry. The
German industry is not only less localized, but, as we might perhaps
infer from that circumstance, less specialized. A German factory will
turn out scores of patterns where an English firm will confine itself
to a few specialities. Time is wasted in accommodating machinery to
changes and in accustoming the hands to new work. The German producer
suffers from the undeveloped state of the market. In England
specialized markets with specialized dealers have greatly assisted
producers both in their buying and selling. A German manufacturer may
have to find his customers as the English manufacturer need not; at
least, so Professo