68 THE MURDER OF AGRICULTURE 

 the word does not exist under the present conditions of 

 the labour market. There is a demand for labour, not a 

 scarcity; the working classes here are receiving wages 

 which, even if not quite up to our British standard, are 

 not illiberal, and are certainly above the standard we 

 were led to expect they were before we left England." 



" The question of the unemployed does not exist 

 here." 



" The men in this neighbourhood earn good wages, so 

 that it is not necessary for the women to go out to 

 work." 



" We could, however, see no trace of want. There is 

 no lack of emplo3^ment, and all the works here are fully 

 occupied." 



" It cannot be said that the municipality is troubled 

 here with an ' Unemployed ' question on a large 

 scale." 



These few extracts sufficiently emphasise the start- 

 ling fact that poverty, as we know it in this country, is 

 practically unknown in the GeiTnan Empire. 



Another phase of the question which this very practi- 

 cal and intensely interesting Report invests with re- 

 markable significance — the prosperity of the German 

 working classes, as evidenced by the State Savings 

 Banks — is dealt with in an extract from the Report, 

 showing what the German workpeople have been able 

 to do towards making provision for the future : 



" The statistics of the Prussian Savings Banks, just 

 published, bear out all that we have been able to notice 

 concerning the improvement in the condition of the 



