296 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. I., No. 11. 



up a set of local governments in the shape of 

 corporations, which hold their employees with 

 a sovereign hand. Thej' are not to blame for 

 the despotism thej* exercise : that is in the 

 nature of things ; nevertheless, this necessary 

 power brings its measure of duties with it. If 

 they will only see, that among those duties 

 which thej- owe to their subjects is that of 

 giving them help in escaping the evil conse- 

 quences of their position as far as is consistent 

 with their necessary labor, thej' will do much 

 to secure their best interests in the future. 

 Considered in a large waj-, there is no doubt 

 that such efforts as this of President Garratt 

 would prove so immediately profitable, that they 

 could fairlj' find their way into the balance- 

 sheet of a corporation. The good-will of the 

 dependents of such a principality as a great 

 railwaj' is reallj^ a part of its assets ; as an 

 insurance against the portentous dangers of 

 grave discontent, it is of inestimable value. 



Let us hope that our great corporations will 

 follow this good example, and that in time 

 thej- will become as powerful agents of intel- 

 lectual as they have been of economic progress. 



THE WATCHMAKING INDUSTRY IN 

 SWITZERLAND. 



I HAVE taken advantage of a short stay in 

 this countrj'- to learn something of the watch- 

 making industry. The importance of this 

 branch of manufacture to Switzerland is famil- 

 iar to all, but not every one has an idea of the 

 national character which it assumes. Locle and 

 Chaux-de-Fonds are two cities an hour's walk 

 apart, containing together between 30,000 and 

 35,000 inhabitants, with whom watchmaking 

 — or, rather, making the different parts of a 

 watch — is almost the sole business. The 

 business directory is classified into occupations 

 so minute as cutting the figures on watch-faces. 

 The catalogue of individuals or firms who make 

 hands of watches contains, like our own direc- 

 tories, occasional notices of specialties in the 

 manufacture of hands. Special schools of ho- 

 rologj' are established by the state, in order 

 that nothing may be left undone to save the 

 national supremacj^ which has been so endan- 

 gered by American competition. The result 

 of this competition on the Swiss watch manu- 

 facture is a subject worthy of attention from 

 all who are interested in accurate horologj*. 



The general depression produced ten years 

 ago by the competition of the machine-made 

 watclies of Waltham and Elgin is well known ; 

 but the statements of it were either somewhat 

 exaggerated, or there has been a great recov- 

 ery. It must be remembered that these Swiss 

 watchmakers were not the unfortunate, half- 

 starved paupers described by some of our 

 American economists, but men, who, by he- 

 reditary skill and careful training, had ac- 

 quired a remarkable proficiency in their art. 

 I have been assured that the best workmen in 

 some of the branches were able to earn as 

 much as a hundred francs a day ; and thi^ in 

 a country of most economical habits. Here 

 was a wide margin for retrenchment when the 

 storm came. It was, of course, necessary for 

 the Swiss to cheapen their products ; but policy 

 and national pride also urged the better course 

 of improving the quality of their work. Among 

 us, twentj' or thirty j^ears ago, Swiss watches 

 were noted for their cheapness rather than 

 their excellence ; and, when an American want- 

 ed the best kind of a time-keeper, he sent 

 to London or Copenhagen. The Swiss saw 

 that the best way to recover their lost advan- 

 tage was to apply their skill in doing what 

 machinery could not do, — making a finer finish 

 and more delicate adjustments. In this they 

 claim to have been so successful as to defy 

 competition, having repeatedly won prizes at 

 exhibitions where American watches and their 

 own were placed on trial. How far this claim 

 may be well founded I am unable to saj' ; but 

 the data for judging of the character of the im- 

 provement are fortunately at hand, in a state 

 which readilj' admits of presentation. The, 

 observator}' of Neuchatel was established, and 

 an able astronomer (Dr. Hirsch) placed in 

 charge, for the especial benefit of the watch- 

 makers. The best watches and chronometers, 

 to the number of several hundred per year, are 

 here tested, the results published, and prizes 

 awarded to those which fulfil certain conditions. 

 The principal data on which the judgment is 

 based are, — 



1. The average difference between the daily 

 rate of the watch on one da}' and on the day 

 following. 



2. The changes of daily rate produced by 

 changes of position. In the severer tests the 

 watch is tried in four positions, — lying flat, 

 suspended in the usual way, handle to the 

 right, handle to the left. The large majority 

 are tested onlj' in the first two positions. 



The mean results for some years, in the fol- 

 lowing table, show how great the improvement 

 which has been made : — 



