Titus Salt is a son of a Yorkshire wool-stapler. In the early part of his life he was a farmer near Bradford, and his inclination for agricultural pursuits was such, that it was thought he would continue to pursue this vocation. Being, however, a partner with his father in the wool business, and observing that manufactures were rapidly extending in the neighbourhood, he withdrew from the partnership, and commenced business at Bradford as a wool-spinner. He was one of the first to observe the uses of Alpaca wool. Large quantities of that material were stored at Liverpool,—imported from the Brazils. But the wool found no purchasers, until at length Mr. Salt bought a quantity, and spun it into an entirely new fabric. He then proceeded to buy up all the Alpaca that was to be found at Liverpool; made arrangements for purchasing all that came into the market; went on spinning Alpaca; and eventually established the manufacture. This was the foundation of Mr. Salt's fortune.
At length, after about twenty years' labour as a manufacturer, Mr. Salt thought of retiring from business, and again betaking himself to his favourite agricultural pursuits. He intended to retire on his fiftieth birthday, but before that time had arrived (having five sons to provide for) he reversed his decision, and resolved to continue in business a little longer, and to remain at the head of the firm. Having come to this determination, he made up his mind to leave Bradford. The borough was already overcrowded, and he did not like to be a party to increasing the population. He looked about for a site suitable for a manufacturing establishment, and at length fixed upon a large piece of ground in the beautiful valley of the Aire. An extension of the Leeds and Bradford Railway was in front, and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal behind it, so that there was every convenience for bringing up the raw materials, and of sending away the manufactured goods. On that spot Saltaire was erected—a noble monument of private enterprise, liberality, and wisdom.
It is not necessary to describe Saltaire. The buildings connected with the new works cover six and a half acres. The principal room is five hundred and fifty feet long. The weaving shed covers two acres. The combing shed occupies one acre. Everything is large, roomy, and substantial. The cost of constructing the factory, and the dwellings for the workpeople, amounted to more than a hundred and forty thousand pounds.
On the opening day, Mr. Salt dined three thousand five hundred persons in the combing shed. At the dinner, he said: "I cannot look around me, and see this vast assemblage of friends and workpeople, without being moved. I feel greatly honoured by the presence of the nobleman at my side. I am especially delighted at the presence of my workpeople…. I hope to draw around me a population that will enjoy the beauties of this neighbourhood,—a population of well-paid, contented, happy operatives. I have given instructions to my architects that nothing is to be spared to render the dwellings of the operatives a pattern to the country; and if my life is spared by Divine Providence, I hope to see satisfaction, contentment, and happiness around me."
This promise has been amply fulfilled. Mr. Salt has been influenced throughout by his sense of duty and responsibility. When he was applied to by the French Government for information as to his factory, he replied: "What has been attempted at Saltaire arose from my own private feeling and judgment, without the most remote idea that it would be made the subject of public interest and inquiry." With respect to the factory itself, little need be said. The object of its construction is to save time in the process of production. Not a minute is lost in pushing the material from one department to another. Every horse-power of steam is made to do its utmost, every moment of time is economized, and the productive capabilities of the factory are thus greatly increased.
We prefer to speak of the immense improvement which Mr. Salt, or rather Sir Titus Salt, has effected in the physical and moral condition of his workpeople. The plan of the works shows that Saltaire has been provided with a church, a Wesleyan chapel, and a Literary and Philosophical Institution. Large schools have been provided for boys, girls, and infants, with abundance of play-ground. For young men as well as old, there is a cricket-ground, bowling-green, and croquet-lawn, surrounded by pleasure-grounds. There is also a large dining-hall, baths and washhouses, a dispensary, and almshouses for pensioners.
About three thousand persons are employed in the works; and seven hundred and fifty-six houses have been erected for their accommodation. The rents run from two and fourpence to seven and sixpence a week, according to the accommodation. Some of the houses are used as boarding-houses. The rents include rates and water supply, and gas is sold at a low price. The cottages are built of stone, lined with brickwork. They contain a parlour or long room, a kitchen or scullery, a pantry and cellar, and three bedrooms. Each house has a separate yard, with the usual offices. The workpeople are well able to pay the rents. Single workmen earn from twenty-four to thirty-five shillings a week. A family, consisting of a father and six children, earn four pounds four shillings a week, or equal to a united income of over two hundred and twenty pounds a year.
The comfortable houses provided for the workpeople have awakened in them that home feeling which has led them to decorate their dwellings neatly and tastefully,—a sure sign of social happiness. Every visitor among the poor knows how such things combine to prevent vice and disease, to elevate the moral tone of working people, and to develope their intellectual powers. A man in a dirty house, says Mr. Rhind, the medical attendant at Saltaire, is like a beggar in miserable clothing. He soon ceases to have self-respect, and when that is gone there is but little hope.
Great attention is paid in Saltaire to education, even of the higher sort. There are day schools, night schools, mutual improvement classes, lectures, and discussions. Music—one of the most humanizing of pleasures—is one of the most favourite studies. "In almost every house in the town some form of musical instrument is found; and indeed, the choral and glee societies, together with the bands, have become household names." There is one full brass band for men, and another drum-and-fife band for boys; and concerts, vocal and instrumental, are regularly given by the workpeople in the dining-hall. The bands have instructors provided by the firm.
Besides taking part in the musical performances, a large number of the skilled workmen devote their leisure hours to various scientific amusements,—such as natural history, taxidermy, the making of philosophical instruments, such as air-pumps, models of working machinery, steam-engines, and articles of domestic comfort,—while some have even manufactured organs and other musical instruments.