The resources of Krupp's establishment are equal to the production of
guns of any size that can conceivably be required. He has made guns of
one hundred and nineteen tons weight. The portentous development of the
size and power of modern ordnance is exemplified by these guns and the
Armstrong guns of one hundred and eleven tons made at Elswick. Amongst
the class of modern cannon, one of the most powerful is Krupp's
seventy-one-ton gun. This, like all others of his make, is a
breech-loader. Its dimensions are--length, thirty-two feet nine inches;
diameter at breech end, five feet six inches; length of bore,
twenty-eight feet seven inches; diameter of bore, 15.75 inches; diameter
of powder-chamber, 17.32 inches. The internal tube is of two parts,
exactly joined; and over this are four cylinders, shrunk on, and a ring
round the breech. Its rifling has a uniform twist of one in forty-five.
It cannot possibly be fired until the breech is perfectly closed. Its
maximum charge is four hundred and eighty-five pounds of powder, and a
chilled iron shell of seventeen hundred and eight pounds.
[Illustration: Krupp's 15.6 Breech-loading Gun (breech open).]
Krupp did much to promote the welfare and comfort of his workpeople. For
their accommodation, he erected around Essen nearly four thousand family
dwellings, in which more than sixteen thousand persons reside. The
dwellings are in suites of three or four comfortable rooms, with good
water-arrangements; and attached to each building is a garden, large
enough for the children to play in. There are one hundred and fifty
dwellings of a better kind for officials in the service of the firm.
Boarding-houses have also been built for the use of unmarried labourers,
of whom two thousand are thus accommodated. Several churches, Protestant
and Catholic, have also been erected, for the use of his workmen and
their families. There have likewise been provided two hospitals, bathing
establishments, a gymnasium, an unsectarian free school, and six
industrial schools--one for adults, two for females. In the case of the
industrial schools, the fees are about two shillings monthly, but the
poorest are admitted free. A Sick Relief and Pensions Fund has been
instituted, and every foreman and workman is obliged to be a member. The
entrance fee is half a day's pay, the annual payment being proportioned
to the wages of the individual member; but half of each person's
contribution is paid by the firm. There are three large surgeries; and
skilful physicians and surgeons, one of whom is an oculist, are employed
at fixed salaries. For a small additional fee each member can also
secure free medical aid for his wife and children. The advantages to
members are free medical or surgical treatment in case of need, payment
from the fund of funeral expenses at death, pensions to men who have
been permanently disabled by injuries while engaged in the works,
pensions to widows of members, and temporary support to men who are
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