Gabriel 150 years - Flipbook - Page 25
English worsted cloth was a serious competitor,
and Kjærs Mølle countered this by making its
own worsted fabric. In this period of adversity,
Kjærs Mølle appealed to the national conscience,
and on the first page of the anniversary publication beneath the heading “Think about it!” it says:
“When you buy Danish cloth for making
clothes, you provide work for Danish workers –
Prosperity increases – The worker can again
buy your products. – You benefit Society and
Yourself!”
As equipment in the factory aged and was not
replaced, it naturally became more and more
difficult to live up to the demands of fashion. Women’s fashions, in particular, were changeable,
and it was perhaps for this reason that Kjærs
Mølle apparently changed course in the ±∫≥∞s
and began to place greater emphasis on cloth for
men’s suits and for making uniforms. The factory
maintained a retail outlet in Kjærs Mølles Udsalg
in Nytorv, but in ±∫≥∏, this was sold and became
an independent limited company.
Fewer employees, shorter hours
The bad times also affected employment at Kjærs
Mølle, and the number of employees fell from ±∑∂
in ±∫∞± to about ∂∞ in the ±∫≤∞s. A.P. Wibroe once
again became the town’s largest manufacturer of
textiles, and, after merging with a local weaving
mill, that factory was called De Forenede Tekstilfabrikker and employed almost ≥∞∞ workers.
Those who kept their jobs at Kjærs Mølle were
forced to work shorter hours for long periods of
time, and many of the machines lay idle as deAbove: Fashion-conscious girls and young
scribed in these reminiscences from about ±∫∂±:
women wearing “Kjærs Mølle’s nationally known
“In ±∫≤π, employment had fallen off so
pea-jacket cloth”.
much that only a small part of the spinning
Below: Kjærs Mølle manufactured upholstery
mill was in operation, and only ≤π of the weav-
fabric in the ±∫≤∞s, but this was of secondary
ing mill’s µπ looms, and for a period of about ∫
importance at that time.
months for only µ days a week, and for a long
Both illustrations from the ±∫≤∑ anniversary
time after that for ∂ days.” (A normal working
publication.
week was six days).
1898-1940
26
