Part 4 (2/2)
It is under the sole direction of its own particular governors and overseers, and is carried on at the sole risk of the owner.
The inst.i.tution for the poor, on the other hand, is merely an inst.i.tution of charity, joined to a general direction of the police, as far as it relates to paupers. The committee, or deputation, as it is called, which is at the head of this inst.i.tution, has the sole direction of all funds destined for the relief of the poor in Munich, and the distribution of alms. This deputation has likewise the direction of the kitchen, and bake-house, which are established in the Military Work-house; and of the details relative to the feeding of the poor; for it is from the funds destined for the relief of the poor that these expences are defrayed: the deputation is also in connection with the Military Work-house relative to the clothing of the poor, and the distribution of rewards to those of them who particularly distinguished themselves by their good behaviour and their industry, but this is merely a mercantile correspondence.
The deputation has no right to interfere in any way whatever in the internal management of this establishment, considered as a manufactory. In this respect it is to all intents and purposes a perfectly distinct and independent establishment.
But notwithstanding this, the two establishments are so dependent on each other in many respects, that neither of them could well subsist alone.
The Military Work-house being princ.i.p.ally designed as a manufactory for clothing the army, its capital, which at first consisted in about 150,000 florins, but which has since increased to above 250,000 florins, was advanced by the military chest, and hence it is, that it was called the Military Work-house, and put under the direction of the council of war.
For the internal management of the establishment, a special commission was named, consisting of, one counsellor of war, of the department of military economy, or of the clothing of the army,--one captain, which last is inspector of the house, and has apartments in it, where he lodges; --and the store-keeper of the magazine of military clothing.
These commissioners, who have the magazine of military clothing at the same time under their direction, have, under my immediate superintendence, the sole government and direction of this establishment;--of all the inferior officers;--servants;-- manufacturers;--and workmen, belonging to it; and of all mercantile operations;--contracts;-- purchases;--sales;, etc. And it is with these commissioners that the regiments correspond, in order to be furnished with clothing, and other necessaries; and into their hands they pay the amount of the different articles received.
The cash belonging to this establishment is placed in a chest furnished with three separate locks, of one of which each of the commissioners are jointly, and severally, answerable for the contents of the chest.
These commissioners hold their sessions regularly twice a week, or oftener if circ.u.mstances require it, in a room in the Military Work-house destined for that purpose, where the correspondence, and all accounts and doc.u.ments belonging to the establishment, and other records, are kept; and where the secretary of the commission constantly attends.
When very large contracts are made for the purchase of raw materials, particularly when they are made with foreigners, the conditions are first submitted by the commissioners to the council of war for their approbation; but in all concerns of less moment, and particularly in all the current business of the establishment;--in the ordinary purchases,--sales,--and other mercantile transactions; the commissioners act by their own immediate authority: but all the transactions of the commissioners BEING ENTERED REGULARLY IN THEIR JOURNALS, and the most particular account of all sales, and purchases, and other receipts and expenditures being kept; and inventories being taken every year, of all raw materials;--manufactures upon hand;--and other effects, belonging to the establishment; and an annual account of profit and loss, regularly made out; all peculation, and other abuses, are most effectually prevented.
The steward, or store-keeper of raw materials, as he is called, has the care of all raw materials, and of all finished manufactures destined for private sale. The former are kept in magazines, or store-rooms, of which he alone has the keys,-- the latter are kept in rooms set apart as a store,--or shop,-- where they are exposed for public inspection, and sale.
To prevent abuses in the sales of these manufactures, their prices, which are determined upon a calculation of what they cost, and a certain per cent. added for the profits of the house, are marked upon the goods, and are never altered; and a regular account is kept of all, even of the most inconsiderable articles sold, in which not only the commodity, with its quality, quant.i.ty, an price, is specified; but the name of the purchaser, and the day of the month when the purchase was made, are mentioned.
All articles of clothing destined for the army which are made up in the house; as well as all goods in the piece, destined for military clothing, are lodged in the Military Magazine; which is situated at some distance from the Military Work-house; and is under the care and inspection of the Military store-keeper.
From this Military Magazine, which may be considered as an appendix to the Military Work-house, and is in fact under the same direction, the regiments are supplied with every article of their clothing. But in order that the army accounts may be more simple, and more easily checked, and that the total annual expence of each regiment may be more readily ascertained, the regiments pay, at certain fixed prices, for all the articles they receive from the Military Magazine, and charge such expenditures in the annual account which they send in to the War Office.
The order observed with regard to the delivery of the raw materials by the store-keeper or steward of the Military Work-house to those employed in manufacturing them, is as follows:
In the manufactures of wool, for instance, he delivers to the master-clothier a certain quant.i.ty, commonly 100 pounds, of wool, of a certain quality and description; taken from a certain division, or bin, in the Magazine; bearing a certain number; in order to its being sorted. And as a register is kept of the wool that is put into these bins from time to time, and as the lots of wool are always kept separate, it is perfectly easy at any time to determine when,--and where,--and from whom, the wool delivered to the sorted was purchased; and what was paid for it; and consequently, to trace the wool from the stock where it was grown, to the cloth into which it was formed; and even to the person who wore it. And similar arrangements are adopted with regard to all other raw materials used in the various manufactures.
The advantages arising from this arrangement are too obvious to require being particularly mentioned. It not only prevents numberless abuses on the part of those employed in the various manufactures, but affords a ready method of detecting any frauds on the part of those from whom the raw materials are purchased.
The wool received by the master-clothier is by him delivered to the wool-sorters to be sorted. To prevent frauds on the part of the wool-sorters, not only all the wool-sorters work in the same room, under the immediate inspection of the master wool-sorter, but a certain quant.i.ty of each lot of wool being sorted in the presence of some one of the public officers belonging to the house, it is seen by the experiment how much per cent. is lost by separation of dirt and filth in sorting; and the quant.i.ty of sorted wool of the different qualities, which the sorter is obliged to deliver for each HUNDRED POUNDS weight of wool received from the magazine, is from hence determined.
The great secret of the woollen manufactory is in the sorting of the wool, and if this is not particularly attended to; that is to say, if the different kinds of wool of various qualities which each fleece naturally contains, are not carefully separated; and if each kind of wool is not employed for that purpose, and FOR THAT ALONE, for which it is best calculated, no woollen manufactory can possibly subsist with advantages.
Each fleece is commonly separated into five or six different parcels of wool, of different qualities, by the sorters in the Military Work-house; and of these parcels, some are employed for warp;-- others for wool;--others for combing;--and that which is very coa.r.s.e and indifferent, for coa.r.s.e mittens for the peasants;--for the lists of broad cloths, etc.
The wool, when sorted, is delivered back by the master-clothier to the steward, who now places it in the sorted-wool magazines, where it is kept in separate bins, according to its different qualities and destinations, till it is delivered out to be manufactured. As these bins are all numbered, and as the quality and destination of the wool which is lodged in each bin is always the same, it is sufficient in describing the wool afterwards as it pa.s.ses through the hands of the different manufacturers, merely to mention ITS NUMBER; that is to say, the number of the bin the sorted-wool magazine from whence it was taken.
As a more particular account of these various manipulations, and the means used to prevent frauds, may not only be interesting to all who are curious in these matters, but may also be of real use to such as may engage in similar undertakings, I shall take the liberty to enlarge a little upon this subject.
From the magazine of sorted wool, the master-clothier receives this sorted wool again, in order to its being wolfed,--greased, --carded;--and spun, under his inspection, and then delivered into the store-room of woollen yarn. As woollen yarn he receives it again, and delivers it to the cloth-weaver. --The cloth-weaver returns it in cloth to the steward.--The steward delivers it to the fuller;--the fuller to the cloth-shearer;--the cloth-shearer to the cloth-presser;--and the cloth-presser to the steward;-- and by this last it is delivered into the Military Magazine, if destined for the army; if not, it is placed in the shop for sale.
The master-clothier is answerable for all the sorted wool he receives, till he delivers it to the clerk of the wool-spinners; and all his accounts are settled with the steward once a week.-- The clerk of the spinners is answerable for the carded and combed wool he receives from the master-clothier, till it is delivered in yarn in the store-room; and his accounts are likewise settled with the master-clothier, and with the clerk of the store-room, (who is called the clerk of the control,) once a week.
The spinners wages are paid by the clerk of the control, upon the spin-ticket, signed by the clerk of the spinners; in which ticket, the quant.i.ty, and quality of the yarn spun being specified, together with the name of the spinner, the weekly delivery of yarn by the clerk of the spinners into the store-room, must answer to the spin-tickets received and paid by the clerk of the control. More effectually to prevent frauds, each delivery of yarn to the clerk of the spinners is bound up in a separate bundle, to which is attached an abstract of the spin-ticket, in which abstract is specified, the name of the spinner;--the date of the delivery;--the number of the spin-ticket;--and the quant.i.ty and quality of the yarn. This arrangement not only facilitates the settlement of the weekly account between the clerk of the spinners and the clerk of the control, when the former makes his weekly delivery of yarn into the store-room, but renders it easy also to detect any frauds committed by the spinners.
The wages of the spinners are regulated by the fineness of the yarn; that is, by the number of skains, or rather knots, which they spin from the pound of wool. Each knot is composed of 100 threads, and each thread, or turn of the reel, is two Bavarian yards in length; and to prevent frauds in reeling, clock-reels, proved and sealed, are furnished by the establishment to all the spinners. It is possible, however, notwithstanding this precaution, for the spinners to commit frauds, by binding up knots containing a smaller number of threads than 100.--It is true they have little temptation to do so, for as their wages are in fact paid by the WEIGHT of the yarn delivered, and the number of knots serving merely to determine the price BY THE POUND which they have a right to receive, and advantages they can derive from frauds committed in reeling are very trifling indeed.
But trifling as they are, such frauds would no doubt sometimes be committed, were it not known that it is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for them to escape detection.
Not only the clerk of the spinners examines the yarn when he receives it, and counts the threads in any of the knots which appear to be too small, but the name of the spinner, with a note of the quant.i.ty of knots, accompanies the yarn into the store-room, as was before observed, and from thence to the spooler, by whom it is wound off; any frauds committed in reeling cannot fail to be brought home to the spinner.
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