PART FIVE. 



INDUSTRY. 

 I. Type and Scope of Syrian Industries. 



The industries of Syria do not play nearly so important a part 

 in economic life as agriculture. While 60-70 per cent of the popu- 

 lation live from agriculture, only 10-15 per cent live from indus- 

 tries and trades, about the same percentage from commerce, and 

 10 per cent from other callings. The existing industries consist 

 almost exclusively of home industries and trades. In all Syria 

 there are not 100 industrial enterprises employing more than 50 

 laborers in a single factory, hardly a dozen employing more than 

 100, and not one employing more than 300. Only a very few mills, 

 machine factories, and silk spinning establishments may be con- 

 sidered factories in the technical sense. 



Many of the chief industries are in the hands of Europeans, 

 especially machine factories and mechanical workshops (Germans, 

 Jews), silk spinning establishments (French), and mills (Germans, 

 Levantines). The trades and the peculiarly Syrian industries are 

 almost exclusively in the hands of natives. 



So far the only existing vocational organizations are those of 

 several kinds of artisans, for instance that of the shoemakers of 

 Damascus. There is no protection for workmen, nor is there any 

 system of apprenticeship. Children are employed in the domestic 

 industries. Trade marks and patents were regulated by laws 

 passed in 1880 and 1888. 



II. The Main Branches of Industry. 

 A. Textile Industries and Dyeing. 



The chief industry of Syria is the textile industry, including 

 the following branches : 



(1) Silk spinning; 



(2) Silk, half -silk, and cotton weaving; 



(3) Carpet and stocking weaving; 



(4) Dyeing. 



These industries are engaged in principally in Aleppo, Horns, 

 Damascus, the Lebanon, etc. In Gaza and Me j del, however, cotton 

 goods are woven and dyed for the use of the native population. 



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