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was, I think, the philanthropist Dollfus, of Mulhouse, who in his 

 Cite Ouvriere — which, attracting the attention of our Prince Consort, 

 became the starting point for our modern housing movement — 

 who began such utilisation of sub-divided and hired out " power," 

 such as has now been long familiar to us from its application, above 

 all things, in Sheffield cutlery workshops. It was capital, rather, 

 and economical production on a large scale, to supply a demand 

 growing annually as if by inflation, which came in to crowd out the 

 small industry of olden time. 



It is quite true that among ourselves factory employment, advanc- 

 ing by giant strides, has wrought sad havoc among small industries 

 that we once possessed. Where are the nail-makers, the straw- 

 plaiters, the handloom weavers of old time ? 



However, people who have judged, or now judge, small industry 

 to be hopelessly doomed by the advance of its larger competitor are 

 just a little over-quick in their conclusions. Small industry is by 

 no means " played out." Statistical inquiries instituted, not very 

 long ago, at about the same time, in countries so far apart as the 

 United States, Belgium, France and Switzerland, have disclosed 

 the fact that, rapidly as large industry is advancing, juggernauting 

 in its progress much of its older rival's forces, small industry, the 

 industry carried on, according to a conventional standard, in work- 

 shops — or out of them — employing not more than five persons, is 

 likewise advancing, cleverly dodging its mere powerful rival and 

 discovering new openings for itself. We must not here speak of 

 more or less primitive countries like Russia, India, China or Japan, 

 in which small industry — in these cases entirely manual — is still 

 indispensable and holding its own very well. In what substantial 

 way handloom weaving has come to the rescue of Russian supply, 

 when Soviet rule ruthlessly suppressed power work, has already 

 been told. In Japan the promotion of small industry has been 

 carefully studied and pursued with excellent effect — as the 

 " Japanese Departments " in our great trading bazaars plainly 

 show. In India Sir Alfred Chatterton, an authority above others 

 on this subject, confidently assigns to small industry a prosperous 

 future. But much nearer home, small industry likewise still 

 maintains its place. Nail-making is still in vogue in Germany, 

 more particularly the hand manufacture of the long nails required 

 for shipbuilding. Belgium likewise still rejoices in a prosperous 

 clouterie. Hand-weaving still holds its own in Belgium, and there is 

 not a little of it still to be met with also in various parts of Germany, 

 Austria, Hungary, and, of course, in the more backward countries 



