THESEGREGAliON ERA
attempt to enforce such laws created a vast class of lawbreakers. In 193 0,
42,000 Africans were convicted for pass law offenses in the Transvaal.I?
Nevertheless, despite the enactment of still tougher curbs in 1937, the
African population of the towns continued to increase.
The gold-mining industry continued to be the backbone of the South
African economy. After 1933, the rise in the price of gold made it practica-
ble to mine a large tonnage of low-grade ore. On the eve of World War II,
the industry was producing one-fifth of the country's net income, contrib-
uting more than two-fifths of the revenue, accounting for three-quarters of
the exports, and providing the nucleus for a rapid growth of manufacturing
industry.
In 1939:,the gold mines employed 364,000 workers: 43,000 Whites and
321,400 A.fricans. After 1910, the industry continued to attract skilled
operatives :fromoverseas, but most of the white miners were South African-
born. The industry drew African workers from a wide region within and
beyond the:borders of 'South Africa and avoided competition among the
mining companies by joining in a monopsony. The Native Recruiting Cor-
poration ran a network of recruiting stations in South Africa, Basutoland,
southern Bechuanaland,