| Year | Number of Concerns | Average Number Employed | Quantity 1000 tons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1871–75 | 3,034 | 277,878 | 51,056.0 |
| 1887 | 2,146 | 337,634 | 88,873.0 |
| 1889 | 1,962 | 368,896 | 99,414.0 |
| 1905 | 1,862 | 661,310 | 205,592.6 |
| 1906 | 1,862 | 688,853 | 229,146.1 |
| 1907 | 1,958 | 734,903 | 242,615.2 |
Here the number of concerns has decreased by 35.5 per cent., while the number of wage-workers employed increased by 164.4 per cent., and the output, 374.5 per cent. The number of employers had grown smaller but wealthier, and the number of proletarians had greatly increased.
In the industrial districts of the Rhine and Westphalia there still were 156 mines in 1907, but 34 of these controlled more than 50 per cent. of the output. Although the census enumerates 156 mines, the coal trust, which controls the mines with but a few exceptions, had only 76 members. To such extent the process of concentration has developed. According to the reports of February, 1908, the output of the coal trust amounted to 77.9 million tons of coal.[194]
In 1871 there were 306 blast-furnaces, employing 23,191 laborers and producing 1,563,682 tons of crude iron. In 1907, 303 blast furnaces, employing 45,201 laborers, produced 12,875,200 tons. In 1871 crude iron was produced at the rate of 5,110 tons for every blast-furnace; in 1907 at the rate of 42,491 tons for every blast-furnace. According to a list published in “Steel and Iron,” in March, 1896, only one blast-furnace in Germany was able to produce crude iron at the rate of 820 tons in 24 hours. But in 1907 there were 12 blast-furnaces that could, within 24 hours, produce 1000 tons, and more.[194]
In 1871–1872, 311 factories in the beet sugar industry consumed 2,250,918 tons of beets. In 1907–1908, 365 factories consumed 13,482,750 tons. The average consumption of beets per factory was 7,237 tons during 1871–1872, and 36,939 tons during 1907–1908. This mechanical revolution does not take place in industry alone, but also in commerce and traffic. The following table shows the development of German maritime trade:
| Year | Sailing vessels | Regist’d tonnage | Number of crew |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1871 | 4,372 | 900,361 | 34,739 |
| 1901 | 2,272 | 525,140 | 12,922 |
| 1905 | 2,294 | 493,644 | 12,914 |
| 1908 | 2,345 | 433,749 | 12,800 |
| 1909 | 2,361 | 416,514 | 12,844 |
| Less than in 1871 | 2,011 | less 483,847 | less 21,895 |
Sailing vessels, then, are considerably diminishing, and among those still existing the registered tonnage and the number of the crew is decreasing. In 1871 there were, for each sailing vessel, 205.9 registered tonnage and 7.9 members of the crew. In 1909 each sailing vessel had an average of but 176.4 registered tonnage, and only 5.4 members of the crew German maritime trade by steam navigation presents a different aspect, as the following table shows:
| Year | Ocean-going steamships | Regist’d tonnage | Number of crew |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1871 | 147 | 81,994 | 4,736 |
| 1901 | 1,390 | 1,347,875 | 36,801 |
| 1905 | 1,657 | 1,774,072 | 46,747 |
| 1908 | 1,922 | 2,256,783 | 57,995 |
| 1909 | 1,953 | 2,302,910 | 58,451 |
| More than in 1871 | 1,806 | 2,221,006 | 53,715 |
Not only had the number of steamships greatly increased, their tonnage had increased more still, but, in proportion to this increase the number of the crew had decreased. In 1871 a steamship had an average tonnage of 558 tons and a crew of 32.1 men. In 1909 it had an average freight capacity of 1230 tons and a crew of only 29 men.
The rapid increase of motor power employed is another symptom of capitalistic development. In the territory of the German “Zollverein,” according to Viebahn, 99,761 horse-power were used in 1861.[195] In 1875, in Germany, factories employing more than five persons, used, 1,055,750 horse-power, and in 1895, 2,933,526 horse-power, almost three times the number used in 1875. Railroads, street cars and steamboats are not contained in this list.