Zeitschrift Für Die Gesamte Staatswissenschaft
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Sonderdruck aus: ZEITSCHRIFT FÜR DIE GESAMTE STAATSWISSENSCHAFT Herausgegeben von FRANZ BÖHM, WILHELM GREWE, WALTHER HOFFMANN, HEINZ SAUERMANN 119. Band / 2. Heft April 1963 Dieser Beitrag ist W.G. HOFFMANN zur Vollendung seines 60. Lebensjahres gewidmet 1963 J.C.B.MOHR (PAUL SIEBECK) TÜBINGEN Dieser Sonderdruck ist im Buchhandel nicht erhältlich 4f4r 3D/S~o J. C. FISCHER A SWISS INDUSTRIAL PIONEER1) by W. O. HENDERSON Manchester I. Industrial Switzerland It was surprising that so small and so remote a country as Switzerland should hâve played an important part in the industrial révolution on the Continent in the nineteenth Century. Nature had not endowed her with the resources that appeared to be essential for the development of manufactures on a large scale. Important basic raw materials were lacking since Switzerland had no coal2 and little iron. Her population was too small - only 1.687.000 in 1817 - to provide a substantial home market for mass produced goods. Her centres of trade were far from the ports that linked the Continent with those parts of the world from which “colonial goods” could be obtained. Communications between different parts of Switzerland were difficult, particularly in the winter, owing to 1 For the industrial development of Switzerland see: Swiss Board of Trade, Volkswirtschaft, Arbeitsrecht und Sozialversicherung der Schweiz, Einsiedeln 1925; British Iron and Steel Federation, The Swiss Iron and Steel Industry, 1953; John Bowring, Report on the Commerce and Manufactures of Switzerland, "Parlia- mentary Papers”, XCV, 1836, p. 60 ; Emil Frey, Die schweizerische Handelspolitik der letzten Jahrzehnte. In: Die Handelspolitik der wichtigeren Kulturstaaten, Vol XLIX of the ‘‘Schriften des Vereins für Socialpolitik”, 1892; Bernard de Cérenville, Le système continentale et la Suisse, 1906; T. Geering and R. Hotz, Wirt¬ schaftskunde der Schweiz, 1910; A. Jenny-Trümpy, Die schweizerische Bau mwoll- industrie, Ï909; W. E. Rappard, La révolution industrielle et les origines delà protection légale du travail en Suisse, 1914; H. Nabholz, L. von Murait, R. Feiler and E. Bonjour, Geschichte der Schweiz, Vol. II, 1938, Book IV, ch. 9 and Book VI, ch. 11; W. Waldvogel, Les relations économiques entre Grande Bretagne et la Suisse, 1922; Albert Hauser, Schweizerische Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart, 1961. 2 In the middle of the nineteenth Century J. C. Fischer was paying £3 - 10s a ton for coal imported from St. Etienne. 362 W. 0. Henderson the mountainous nature of the country and the poor roads. In the 1780s for example Basel and Schaffhausen were linked only by narrow lanes badly in need of repair and there were no bridges across the Wutach and the Steinach1. The mutual jealousies of the 25 territorial units into which the little country was divided seriously hampered the exchange of goods between one part of Switzerland and another. Prior to the civil war of 1847 there existed numerous internai customs barriers as well as vexatious tolls on the roads, bridges and rivers 2. It was not until the introduction of a new constitution in 1848 that Switzerland had a central government which possessed the administrative apparatus and the financial resources which were needed to foster the expansion of manufactures. And the high tariffs of Switzerland’s neighbours made it difficult for her to develop her export trade. On the other hand there were factors which promoted industrial expansion in Switzerland. The people were hardworking and thrifty. High standards of workmanship had been attained in the eighteenth Century by such craftsmen as the watchmakers of Geneva and the silk- weavers of Zürich. Since three languages were spoken in the country the Swiss had close cultural ties with their German, French, and Italian neighbours. Circumstances encouraged the Swiss to become proficient linguists. The central location of Switzerland on the highways of Europe attracted transit trade. The valleys of the Rhine and the Rhône linked Switzerland with France and Germany, while Napoleon’s road over the Simplon facilitated commerce with Italy. Certain frontier towns, such as Geneva, Basel and Schaffhausen, were favourably located from the point of view of developing trade with France and Germany. Before the outbreakof the French révolution, Switzerland had for many years been at peace, while her neighbours had been at war. F oreign funds were attrac¬ ted to Switzerland which had a well developed banking System in the eighteenth Century. By 1790 the City of Bern had invested over £ 440.000 in London while the city of Zurich held £ 50.000 of Bank of England stock. Some of the capital held by Swiss bankers was later made available to industry. And the Continental System gave Swiss industries - particularly textiles - a breathing space free from English compétition in which to introduce modem machinery. The Swiss made the most of their limited industrial resources and commercial opportunities and exploited to the füll the factors favourable to the expansion of manufactures. Since their homeland was so small they travelled abroad to gain expérience and they studied industrial developments in Britain and on the Continent. They built up industries 1 Karl Schib (editor), Johann Conrad Fischer 1773 - 1854: Tagebücher (1954), P 677- 2 ‘‘Previous to the new constitution obtained by Switzerland in 1848 . the cantons were harassed by the multitude of federal and local tolls and régula¬ tions, partly arising out of the last general concordat of 1821 and partly arising out of the mutual jealousy of the cantons” Tooke and Newmarch, History of Pri¬ ées, édition of 1928, V, p 463. J. C. Fischer A Swiss Industrial Pioneer 363 capable of exporting goods to neighbouring countries. Swiss costs were often high since raw materials had frequently to be imported and finished goods had to be exported. To make up for this the Swiss concentrated on the manufacture of products requiring a high degree of skill such as watchmaking, machine making, précision engineering and Chemicals1. In such products the “value added” to the raw materials by the manu- facturing process was considérable. In the absence of coal the Swiss made the most of their resources of water power 2. The Swiss took füll advan- tage of the location of their industries near the frontiers of France, Ger- many, Italy and Austria so as to sell their products abroad. And when high tariffs had to be surmounted on the Continent the Swiss showed initiative and energy in opening up more distant markets overseas. F. C. Zellweger observed in 1825 that circumstances were forcing Swiss merchants to widen their horizons. “Nos commerçants se voient obligés d’élargir leurs horizons... Nos relations directes avec les pays immenses du Nord et du Sud de l’Amérique sont déjà si étendues, que la diminu¬ tion de nos exportations en Europe nous touche à peine.”3 When John Bowring visited Switzerland in 1836 a well informed Swiss told him that the success of his countrymen in industry was due to “(a) Free trade, which enables us to buy all that we want in the cheapest markets without import duty worth mentioning, (b) our light taxes which affect but very slightly the working classes, (c) the low price of labour..., (d) efficient capitals and the low rate of interest (3 to 3 % per cent) resulting from the simplicity and efficiency of the laws relating to mortgages and credit, (e) the intelligence, prudence and economy of our manufacturers, who although they do not hastily and without reflection undertake new enterprises, pursue their object with energy and persé¬ vérance, (f ) the aptitude of our population for manufacturing occupation, and their laborious habits of which the higher classes set the example”4. A number of Swiss entrepreneurs built up great businesses in the nineteenth Century. Many of them started from small beginnings and saved their own initial capital or borrowed money from relatives. The versatility of some of the early Swiss entrepreneurs was remarkable. Philipp Suchard not only established a great chocolaté concern but operated steamers on Lake Neuchâtel and the Rhine, exploited asphalt 1 “A mesure que les marchés voisins nous ont été fermés, nous avons vu s’accroî¬ tre chez nous la fabrication des articles de qualité supérieure qui, travaillés avec plus de soin, et en même temps d’un poids plus léger, se prêtaient que d’autres à frayer au loin de nouvelles voies au commerce” Rapport de la commission fédérale d’experts en matière de commerce, 1844, p. 177, quoted by W. E. Rappard, loc. cit. p. 199. 2 As early as 1798 J. C. Escher told the Swiss Grand Council that ‘‘in the water- falls of its many streams Switzerland possesses sources of power of incalculable value. If we can harness this source of power to industry our achievements will be prodigious and will be greater than those of other nations however many steam engines they may possess” W. E. Rappard, loc. cit. p. 159). 3 W. E. Rappard, loc. cit. p 198. 4 W. O. Henderson, Britainand Industrial Europe, 1750-1870, 1954, p. 201. 364 W. O. Henderson in the Val de Travers, and took a leading part in establishing Swiss settlers in New York State. Alfred Escher promoted railways and found- ed insurance Companies. Hans Caspar Escher and Salomon von IFyss began as cotton Spinners and ended as builders of textile maschinery. /. C. Fischer was, in some respects, typical of the entrepreneurs who laid the foundations of Switzerland’s industrial prosperity1. II. The Craftsman Johann Conrad Fischer was born in 1773 in Schaffhausen, a market town of some 5.000 inhabitans. It was Protestant and German speaking. The picturesque little town lay on the right bank of the Rhine, above the falls, while the canton of Schaffhausen was a rural area to the north of the river, surrounded on three sides by German territrioes.