Y. H. KANCYPOLSKI THE GROWTH OF THE SILK INDUSTRY White Bialystok was not a very large city, it remained a vibrant and creative international trade center. It not only manufactured textiles and silks but also processed leather, iron and other commodities. The silk industry in Bialystok came into existence about 150 years ago. The German government, having wrested control of Bialystok from Russia about thirty years before that, sent hundreds of people from its overpopulated country to settle in Bialystok, among them many weavers and artisans. Under the Germans the silk industry gradually developed in Bialystok. The Jews, besting their German teachers, made it the largest industrial center in the northwestern region of Russia. From 1840-1880, Jewish manufacturing was primi- tive; weaving looms were operated by hand. Conse- quently, the manufacturers, lacking technical knowledge, did not stay in business for long. Later, new entrepreneurs like Aron Suraski, Tewja Slonimski, Eliezer Abramowski, Binjomin Amdurski, and Judl Kronenberg had more success; their factories existed for a long time. Although they had to face competiton from the German manufacturers, Jewish industrialists, spurred on by their legendary drive and ambition, distributed their wares in the remote Russian markets through trav- eling salesmen. In 1880 the Jewish contribution to manufacturing in Bialystok was already discernible. Before 1880, circumstances in.the Jewish factories were abysmal. No longer able to tolerate the injustice and extreme poverty, Jewish workers in Aron Suraski’s factory organized a wildcat strike that gradually brought about improved working conditions. In the 1880’s, handwork was largely replaced by steam- powered machines, which were monopolized by the German, Polish and Russian citizens of Bialystok. The Jews still were limited to manual labor but did make advances in silk production. During the war between Russia and Turkey, busi- ness picked up; products were sold at much higher pri- ces. But often factories did close down because of plummeting demand. Workers were laid off and the eight thousand textile employees in Bialystok fell on hard times. Unions did not exist. The government gave no support and workers had no savings. People literally suffered from starvation. Bankruptcies increased and once-successful business people jumped from. their windows. A particularly difficult crisis took place in Bialy- stok in 1899. Throughout Russia poverty prevailed and the average person couldn’t buy clothes. Many of the merchants who bought commodities on credit were 30 unable to sell their merchandise because there were no buyers. Factories had to close. In 1900, conditions improved. New manufacturers moved in, replacing the unsuccessful ones. The Porecki- Gawenski firm introduced new textiles for producing suits, woolen covers, etc. The town expanded, mecha- nized its means of production, and inundated Russia with its products. Realizing it could not compete with their counterparts in other cities, Bialystok manufactured wares from inferior materials, selling them at lower prices. Naturally, these poor-quality products soon wore out and had to be replaced ina short period of time, which spurred demand. In 1907, the silk industry in Bialystok flourished with the mass mechanization of the factories. Jewish manufacturers, motivated by nationalistic ideals, hired Jewish workers to operate the machines, but were thwarted by gentile employees who claimed they had been involved with these machines long before. This provoked many altercations between Jews and Poles. But the matter was settled by a rule mandating that half the operators of the machines were to be Jews and the other half non-Jews. The silk industry became even more sophisticated with the advent of electrification in Bialystok, begin- ning in 1909. Continuing until 1914, electric-powered machines increased productivity threefold. This cheap energy and easy credit enabled many people to pur- chase and operate powered silk looms. With the outbreak of World War I, the silk pro- ducers grew rich from the heavy demand generated by the Russian government. When the German army neared Poland, the Jewish manufacturers transferred their products to the Russian interior: Jeruchem Bril to Klynci, Porecki-Gawenski to the Kiev area, Triling to Moscow. But when the Bolsheviks overthrew the Cza- rist regime, they confiscated many of the goods manu- factured by Bialystok’s industries. When the Jewish industrialists returned to Bialystok under Polish rule, they found the factories dilapidated and neglected.

Under the Polish regime, Bialystok’s industries fared poorly. Later on, the factories formed commercial associations that solicited orders from the government, negotiated with labor unions during strikes and pur- chased raw materials from abroad. Among these were the large factories: Nowick, Porecki-Gawenski, Triling, Szmuel Cytrin and Izaak Pines. The medium-sized com- panies organized a second association. They included Sokol and Zylberfenig, Iser Szapira, Chana Marajn, Amiel Kulikowski, Icze Meir Sokol and Son, and oth- ers. Sometimes individual factories would compete with The Bialystoker Memorial Book