138 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES 



If the growth of large plants does not depend on localisation but, subject 

 merely to a minimum degree of localisation, does depend upon the growth 

 of mechanisation ; then judging from the present rapid increase in mechan- 

 isation, the large plant is due to flourish, multiply and expand yet further. 

 Measuring mechanisation only by horse-power per man it has increased 

 steadily in U.S.A. manufactures from 1-25 h.p. per man in 1879 ^^ 4"86 

 h.p. per man in 1929 ; in Germany from 0-82 h.p. per man in 1907 to 

 I -47 h.p. per man in 1925, and in British factories even in the short period 

 between 1924 and 1930, from 2-02 to 2-44 h.p. per man. Many of the 

 other elements in overheads per head can also be shown measurably to 

 have grown. Not least important among them is the proportion of 

 administrative and technical staff per operative worker. In British 

 factories this was 11-7 per cent, in 1924, 13-5 per cent, in 1930. 



The fact that an upward trend in size actually has taken place, whatever 

 the underlying causes, can be seen directly in countries, which unlike 

 Britain, have measured size in more censuses than one. My table shows 

 that in America the proportion of workers in the larger plants (employing 

 over 500) has between 1909 and 1929 risen from 28-0 per cent, to 37-7 

 per cent, for the total of manufactures and out of sixteen individual in- 

 dustries compared, has only fallen (and that but slightly) in the case of 

 three industries. In German productive industry, between the Census 

 of 1907 and 1925 the number of plants increased considerably less than 

 the number of employees. Growth in size applied to all the groups of 

 factory industries ^^ except machine building and rubber. 



What is the prevailing size of plant and the trend of size in industries 

 other than manufacture ? State policy is particularly concerned at present 

 with the size of mining and may in the future, if some planners have their 

 way, limit the number of retail shops by licence. Some countries are 

 also threatening to proceed against the multiple chain store. 



If the size of mines be measured like that of factories by men employed 

 the prevailing size must be classed as large. The British (1930) Census 

 of Production found 87 • per cent, of miners in mines employing over 500 

 men. The corresponding proportion in Germany for 1925 was 82-9 

 per cent., and the trend here seems definitely towards larger mines, since 

 between 1907 and 1925 the number of mines fell by 12-4 per cent, while 

 the number of miners rose by 63 -3 per cent. 



The typical size of shop, on the other hand, is extremely small. It is 

 calculated by Miss Douglas ^^ from the British Occupation Census of 1931 

 that the average shop employs i -4 salesmen and assistants to every 

 I proprietor or manager. Assuming that there is a proprietor or manager 

 to every shop this makes the average persons per shop 2-4. The corre- 

 sponding figure for German retailing is 2 • 3 and for commerce as a whole 

 2-8. Nor does the trend appear upward. In German commerce as a 

 whole between 1907 and 1925 plants increased by 63 -7 per cent., persons 

 occupied by 62-7 per cent. ; and Dr. Ford has shown that for Great 

 Britain between 1901 and 1931 the number of shops has increased, though 

 in most trades not as fast as the population.^* 



-- Statistik des Deutschen Reichs, Band 413, I, pp. 246. 

 2' Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 1935, Part III. 

 -* Economic Journal, September 1935. 



