ABSTRACT
The year and a half between the Reichstag election of 1877 and that of 1878 brought a worsening of the depression for most branches of industry. Conditions were perhaps worst in coal mining. During the first quarter of 1877 almost exactly 10% of the 27, 509 colliers” in the district lost their jobs. While things were improving somewhat for the iron industry in the Ruhr, they were deteriorating for the hardware and cutlery industries of Remscheid and Solingen. The woollens industry in Lennep and the southern part of the Kreis of Essen continued to be depressed at the mid-point of 1878, as did part but not all of the cotton and half-wool industry in and around Gladbach. For the farmer, the harvest of 1877 was generally a good one. Indeed, from the standpoints of both yield and prices it was the second best during the entire period 1868 to 1877.
