facilities to the public, schemes not covering the whole category of risks were presented by several witnesses. These limited schemes may be divided into three classes: (1) Insurance of small employers only, to be defined either by the number of workmen employed or by the amount of wages paid. (2) Insurance confined to special classes of employment, especially those involving little risk, as domestic servants, shop assistants, clerks, teachers, etc. (3) Insurance in any class of employment against a part only of the liability. While each of these classes of schemes had, no doubt, something to recommend it, the committee were compelled to point out that many of the objections already made to a complete state scheme applied with but little less force to a limited scheme; also, there were certain particular objections made to each of the suggested forms of limitation.

The schemes that have been considered so far have involved the action of the State as principal; but there were other methods suggested whereby the organization of the post-office acting as agent might be utilized for increasing the facilities for transacting insurance business throughout the country.

As a result of the inquiry, the committee felt unable to suggest for immediate adoption any scheme involving post-office action as principal or as agent. However, the committee thought it possible for the post-office to afford assistance toward publicity in two ways: (1) By the exhibition at all post-offices of a notice drawing attention to the liabilities imposed by the act, and the advisibility of insurance against them, to be framed in conjunction with the Home Office. (2) By an offer to distribute at post-office counters an alphabetical list of accident insurance companies, with the definite notification that the list is prepared by the companies and in no way commits the post-office. The present report covers only the first part of the inquiry directed by the postmaster-general; the consideration and report on the second part the committee proposed to defer until a later date.

INDIA.

Report of the Textile Factories Labor Committee Appointed by the Government of India, December, 1906, to Inquire into the Conditions of Factory Labor in India. 1907.

81 pp.

This document consists of the report of the textile factories labor committee appointed December 17, 1906, by the government of India on the recommendation of the secretary of state for India, to inquire into the conditions of factory labor in India.

The investigation was directed, in the first instance, toward ascertaining the actual conditions prevailing in India, and the specific points of inquiry referred to the committee were as follows:

(1) Whether the working hours of adult males should be limited and whether the physique of operatives is affected by long hours; (2) whether before children are allowed to work in factories certificates of age and fitness should be required; (3) whether the minimum age of children should be raised beyond 9; (4) whether as the result of employment as adults of persons between the ages of 12 and 14, there has been physical deterioration requiring the creation by law of a special class of workers known as young persons; (5) whether a separate staff of medical factory inspectors should be entertained.

Though the inquiries to be made by the committee were directed more particularly toward the settlement of the five preceding questions, they were requested to put forward recommendations for the amendment of the existing law or practice, if they were of the opinion "that the present hours of work of operatives are excessive, that the conditions of factory labor are otherwise injurious or oppressive, or that abuses exist in connection with the employment of children or young persons. The homes and surroundings of the mill hands were also given consideration.

This investigation to be made by the committee was intended to be preliminary only in character; but should it establish the existence of abuses which required to be remedied, a representative commission was to be appointed to consider the whole subject comprehensively before any radical changes in the present factory law were made. The committee visited the cities of Bombay, Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Madras, Delhi, Agra, Cawnpore, and Nagpur, where textile mills were inspected and evidence taken from local officials, mill owners, managers, operatives, etc. The report on its inquiries was submitted April 5, 1907.

The report of the work of the committee is classed under the following general heads: Administration of factory laws, system of inspection, certificates of age and physical fitness, minimum age for employment of children, employment of women, adult male labor, physique of operatives, "particulars" of work and wages, proposals for the creation of a new class of workers to be known as "young persons," sanitation of factories and mills, means of escape in case of fire, guarding of machinery, etc.

In the conclusions arrived at by the committee were suggested amendments to the present Indian Factories Act relating to administration, fencing of machinery, holidays, and the "occupier" of factories and workshops.

There were twenty definite suggestions made by the committee

1. That there may be as little delay as possible in giving effect to proposals in contemplation for improving the homes and home surroundings of mill hands.

2. That arrangements be made to secure uniformity of administration of the factory act throughout India.

3. That systems of inspection, the strength and composition of the staff of inspectors should be considered with a view to securing efficiency.

4. That medical inspectors whose whole time should be devoted to their duties under the factories act be appointed.

5. That certificates of age and physical fitness for employment be required prior to half-time employment, and prior to employment as an adult, * * * and that they be the personal property of

the persons to whom they apply.

6. That consideration be given to the suggestion made by many experienced witnesses that elementary teachers to be paid by the mill owners should be appointed for instruction of half-time children in suitable places on the mill premises.

7. That clear and definite laws be made, requiring that half-time children shall be employed only in sets-either on the morning and afternoon set system, or the double-set system largely adopted in Indian mills. That efficient measures be taken to secure that the children work only in their proper sets, and that the prescribed hours of labor are not exceeded.

8. That night work of women be prohibited.

9. That by suitable administrative regulations young children should be prevented from accompanying their parents to rooms in which they incur risk from running machinery or the inhalation of dust or impure vapors.

10. That the period of employment in Indian factories shall be either between the hours of 5.30 a. m. and 6 p. m., or 6 a. m. and 6.30 p. m. That the engine shall cease running for half an hour between the hours of noon and 2 p. m. * *

11. That the names of all persons under the age of 16 years be entered in the prescribed register, but that certificates of age and physical fitness be only required up to the age of 14 years.

12. That samples of air collected under prescribed conditions be taken in works in all parts of India, with a view to hereafter decide upon a suitable standard of ventilation.

13. That wet and dry bulb thermometers be placed in all humid cotton cloth factories, readings taken at fixed times, and returns forwarded monthly; these returns to be eventually considered with a view to deciding the amount of moisture necessary for manufacturing purposes, bearing in mind the health of the operatives.

14. That a standard of purity for water to be used for introducing moisture into the mills and factories be fixed.

15. That the dates of lime washing be entered in a prescribed register.

16. That particular attention be paid to carrying off dust when generated in quantities likely to cause injury to health.

17. That when inquiries now going on are complete, should it be found that workers in woolen mills are liable to contract anthrax, the special precautions framed under the English Factory Act be considered.

18. That the latrine accommodation be increased to one seat for every twenty-five persons and that separate urinal accommodation be provided in all mills.

19. That doors in the various rooms be hung in such a way that they can be immediately opened from inside and be constructed so as to open outward. (This is recommended as a safety measure in case of fire.)

20. That in certain respects-chiefly in ginning mills-more attention be paid to the fencing of dangerous mill gearing and machinery.

ITALY.

Statistica degli scioperi avvenuti in Italia nell' Anno 1904. Ufficio del Lavoro, Ministero di Agricoltura, Industria, e Commercio. 1907. viii, 317 pp.

This is the twelfth of a series of reports on strikes and lockouts published by the Italian Department of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce. The present volume, which is the first report compiled by the Bureau of Labor of that department on this subject, shows in detailed tables and text statements the most important facts in reference to the strikes occurring during the year 1904, the strikes being separated into two categories: (1) Those occurring in industries other than agriculture, and (2) those taking place in agricultural industries alone. The report also contains a summary table showing the number of strikes and strikers for each year of the period 1879 to 1904.

The present volume differs considerably from those previously published by the General Statistical Office of the same department. There are in all nine tables giving information in regard to the strikes, as follows: (1) Number of strikes, establishments, and strikers, and the relation to the industry and labor organization; (2) strikes, by months; (3) strikes and strikers, by size of establishment; (4) women in strikes; (5) children in strikes; (6) duration and results of strikes; (7) causes of strikes; (8) cost of strikes; (9) workingmen discharged after strikes. The data in regard to these subjects are far from complete. The strikes for each of the 44 industries named in the report are treated in a separate chapter, but for many of the industries certain tables are missing. Summary statements are given only partly for several of the tables. The difference between this report and the preceding ones is so great that any effort to compare the data would be futile except in a few cases.

Strikes in 1904.-During the year 1904 there were 840 strikes, of which 208 were agricultural and 632 occurred in other industries. The 208 strikes among agricultural workers involved a total of 94,756 strikers, and the 630 strikes in other industries (data for 2 strikes not being available) involved 118,356, making a total of 213,112 strikers. The number of strikes and strikers by industries is shown in the following table, in which the 44 industries given in the report have been reduced to 17 groups to conform as nearly as possible to the classification of the preceding years.

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a The number of strikers in industries other than agriculture is given in the report as 118,356. This number, although 25 in excess of the sum of the items here shown for those industries, has been used in determining the total strikers for all industries.

The greatest number of strikes occurred among agricultural workers, 24.8 per cent of all strikes and 44.5 per cent of all strikers being found in that industry. In building and engineering work and in mining and quarrying the number of strikers totaled 14.4 per cent and 11.1 per cent, respectively, of the entire number reported. In the textile industries the number of strikes represented 15.5 per cent and the number of strikers 9.4 per cent of the total number. The following table shows, for the agricultural and for the other industries, separately, the results of strikes, arranged according to principal causes:

STRIKES, BY CAUSES AND RESULTS, 1904.

[Strikes due to two or more causes have been tabulated under each cause; hence the totals for this table do not agree with those for the preceding table and the second table on page 573.]

Questions of wages were the most frequent causes of strikes in 1904, in agricultural occupations 43.3 per cent and in other industries 48.4 per cent of all strikes being due wholly or in part to this cause. The demand for reduction of hours occasioned 22.5 per cent of the strikes among agricultural workers and 8.9 per cent of those among employees in other industries. The distribution of causes of strikes among the