Dr. Zahn on "Industrial Insurance," and Dr. Rubner on "The Problem of Human Nutrition." Dr. Zahn is recognized as one of the world's greatest authorities on workingman's insurance. Some extracts from his speech are as follows: The people and the people's strength is the greatest asset of the nation. It is not a mass, not a negligible quantity, but organic national capital, whose further meaning represents the foundation of culture and of commercial productivity. Judging of the wealth of a country today depends to a large extent upon the quantitative greatness and also upon the qualitative maturity of the inhabitants. To make the greatest use and to secure the greatest developments of the people it is necessary, therefore, to have a systematic conservation of the organic national capital, and the interest and compound interest of the capital represented by the people must be obtained without diminution of the intrinsic value of this capital. In the course of years the German workingman's insurance has attained the dimension of a gigantic social institution, which is of important influence for the futhering of hygienic and general conditions. In every case there is not only a benefit paid in money for the loss, but at the same time prophylactic measures are followed. This is especially illustrated by the accident-preventive measures, which everywhere are in force. Everywhere is seen the evidence of the higher valuation attached to the laborer's life. The most important thing is not the material compensation, but the maintenance of energy and the activity, which tends to increase the productive power of the working class through abolition of the causes of sickness, injury, and invalidism. The German workingman's insurance, therefore, maintains its equilibrium through a quicker restitution of the working ability of the laboring class, the development of a generation with heightened powers of resistance, and the education of the community in the potent value of sanitary self-defense. In other countries systems of workingmen's insurance either already are established or there are strong movements on foot for their introduction. It is realized everywhere that the money spent for workingmen's insurance is a very good investment, and that it is the technical preliminary necessity to secure an increase in commercial productivity. Dr. Rubner is the successor of the late Dr. Koch of the University of Berlin, called by some the Dr. Wiley of Germany. He declared that: The cost of high living and the high cost of living were both having their effect upon the population of Germany as well as the United States. One of the greatest problems, if not the greatest problem now confronting mankind, is that of providing the race with proper nourishment. It is of much importance that every city should have such a department in its government clothed with plenary power for taking care of this branch of the people's welfare. There has been a distinct backward step in the organism of the working man. This is due to two causes; first, insufficient nourishment, and, second, the fact that the new era of machinery has specialized and confined his physical exertions so that he gets little or no natural or general exercise. Until quite recently meat was an unknown visitor at the working man's table, but with the increase of urban population, the growth of the imitative spirit, the workingman has now come to insist on meat because it is a mark of prosperity. A scientific basis certainly exists for considering that plant foods and foods of vegetable origin contain the principal food elements. Cooking is a lost art so far as most women in this modern age are concerned. They marry and take upon themselves the responsibilities of marriage without having mastered the first principles of food preparation and without even having an idea as to which articles of food are desirable. This condition should not be so, and it is a big factor in the high cost of living. Girls of thirteen and fourteen should be taught cooking. One of the best methods of correcting the terrible deficiencies of race nourishment is to establish a course in housekeeping in our public schools. Malnutrition in children has become so general and has reached such a critical stage in all parts of the civilized world that the nations will be compelled to institute preventive measures if the human race as a whole is to be saved from degeneration. Dr. Rubner's position is in line with that of the American Federation of Labor; repeatedly we have advocated vocational and industrial training together with domestic economy. A bill on that subject, in which Labor is interested, is now pending in Congress. Many new ideas and important discoveries were announced at the Congress. One was the abandonment of the distinction between infectious and contagious diseases on the ground that all disease germs are transmitted by contact direct or indirect. Another, that bone is not dead tissue, but is constantly changing and new bone is constantly forming. Dwarfs can grow no matter how long the stunted condition has existed. The deadly effects from transmitting a racial disease to another race was brought out by the effects. of the African disease, "hook worm," upon the white race, and tuberculosis, a white man's disease, upon negroes and Indians. Sir Thomas Oliver reported he had discovered a chemical that would reduce the number of accidents in mines. Only one statement was allowed to go unchallenged, that of Dr. Yandall Henderson "Soap is the greatest civilizer of mankind." Every discussion, however, was imbued with the spirit of helpfulness and humanity, weighing the relative value of the dollar as contrasted with preventable diseases, human life and welfare. The various previous sessions of the Congress have usually been accompanied by practical results. Municipal hygiene in Italy dates from the fourth International Congress held at Turin in 1855. The foundation of the Federal Bureau of Health for Switzerland followed the Congress meeting at Geneva in 1888. As a result of the discussions of the Sixth Congress, meeting at The Hague in 1887, was inaugurated colonial hygiene. The municipal sanitary system at Vienna was reformed as a result of the discussions of the Seventh Congress meeting in that city. The Ninth Congress, held in London in 1885, prepared the way for legislation better safeguarding the health of wage-earners. The last Congress, held at Berlin, gave tremendous impetus to health and hygienic safeguards throughout Germany. Great results must come from this Fifteenth Congress in the direction of standardizing hygienic procedure in America. It is expected that all of the States will be brought within the Federal registration area so that vital statistics may represent the whole country. As every State had representatives in the Congress and over three hundred American cities, as well as numerous colleges and universities, were represented by delegates, it is expected that the effect of the facts adduced, the discussions and the theories advanced, will be very far-reaching. It was with great gratification we found that the Congress of Hygiene was in accord with the purposes and the principles of organized labor. Some of Labor's economic demands for the furtherance of human welfare are: Free schools, free text-books, and compulsory education. A workday of not more than eight hours. Bathrooms and bathroom attachments in all houses or compartments used for habitation. Release from employment one day in seven. Abolition of the sweat-shop system. Sanitary inspection of factory, workshop, mine and home. Liability of employers, for injury to body or loss of life. Anti-child labor laws. Suitable and plentiful playgrounds for children in all cities. Continued agitation for the public bath system in all cities. National endurance and progress will be determined by the well-being and health of the masses of the people-the workers. Conservation of these human resources is a necessity and an obligation devolving upon all mankind. Prevention is organized labor's first aim; what we fail to prevent we try to alleviate or cure. We are working, struggling to stop the terrible and inhuman waste of health and life by securing for the workers time for rest and recreation so that the monotony and burden of long hours of labor will not dwarf and stultify them; by freeing them from the deadly grind of poverty and the fear of destitution; by securing for them sanitary working conditions and protection for life and limb that our national wealth may not be stained with human blood. A THE HORIZON OF INDUSTRIAL DEMOCRACY. By F. C. THorne. [Continued from November issue.] DDITIONAL summaries of laws enacted for the betterment of the workers, are here published. These summaries may be suggestive of problems and various courses pursued to solve them. One defect is especially prominent-the lack of uniformity in the legislation of the various States, resulting from a failure, to appreciate the scientific nature of legislation involving a study of concrete results and conditions as well as theoretical discussion and the value of previous experience in determining the efficiency of methods. However, the laws enacted indicate progress and power that will gradually develop efficiency. The labor legislation enacted for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the session of 1912, was as follows: Woman and Child Labor.-An amendment was enacted to the law providing seats for women and minors in manufacturing, mechanical, and mercantile establishments, defining its terms more specifically so as to make the law more effective. The word "minor" as applied to compulsory attendance at day school by amendment was made to mean a person under 18 years of age, except in regard to the compulsory attendance of illiterate minors at day or evening school, when the word shall mean a person under the age of 21 years. The act relative to hours of employment of women and minors was amended so that the total number of hours of any child or woman employed in a manufacturing or mechanical establishment shall not exceed fifty-four hours in any one week, except in the case of seasonal work, when the hours in any one week may not exceed fifty-eight. Health and Safety.-An amendment to the factory law provides for the better safeguarding of machinery, more caution in the cleaning of machinery, and more specific standards for sanitary conditions in the factory. An amendment provides that no building hereafter erected shall be occupied or permitted to be occupied until means of egress have been provided in accordance with plans and drawings approved by the building commissioner. Elevators used for the carriage of passengers shall be provided with a suitable seat for the operator. Failure to comply with this requirement, may be punished by fine. The law relative to operation and inspection of steam boilers was amended to provide for better inspection and more safety in their operation. An act for regulating the employment of women in corerooms is intended to safeguard the health and strength of the women workers. A State Board of Labor and Industries, to be composed of five persons appointed by the Governor, was created. One member of the board shall be an employer of labor, one a wage-earner, one a physician or a sanitary engineer, and at least one a woman. The members serve for five years. The board shall select a Commissioner of Labor, who shall devote all his time to the affairs of the board under its direction. The board may investigate conditions existing in any line of industry carried on by the inhabitants of the Commonwealth, and these investigations may be extended outside of the Commonwealth if necessary. The board shall receive all complaints concerning conditions existing in any industry. All powers and duties with reference to the enforcement of law relating to labor and the employment thereof, the inspection and licensing of buildings or parts of buildings used for industrial purposes, the inspection and licensing of the workers therein and of all other industrial employes within the Commonwealth, the enforcement of laws relating to the employment of women and minors, and the institution of proceedings in prosecution of violations of any of the said laws, now conferred or imposed by law upon the State board of health or State inspectors of health, or upon the chief of the district police, the inspectors of factories and public buildings of the district police, or the inspection department of the district police, or the deputy chief of the inspection department of the district police, with the exception of such duties and powers as are now imposed by law upon the chief inspector of boilers or the boiler inspectors of the district police, and with the further exception of such powers and duties as relate to the inspection of buildings under erection, alteration and repair, are hereby transferred to the State Board of Labor and Industries. Hours of Labor.-An act was passed providing a weekly half-holiday for laborers and mechanics of the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board and the Metropolitan Park Commission during the months of June, July, August, and September. The hours of labor of employes of street railway companies were regulated to limit a day's work to approximately nine hours, providing that all platform time above nine hours be paid for in addition, and providing that a day's work for men employed on regular cars be arranged to be performed within twelve consecutive hours. Members of fire departments of every city shall be excused from duty one day out of every five without loss of pay. This act is to be submitted to every city, except Boston and Brockton, and shall take effect upon its ratification by the majority of voters voting thereon. Industrial Education.-Any city or town may establish and maintain separate classes for household and other practical arts. Such classes shall be open to all women over 17 years of age who are employed in any capacity during the day. Injuries and Compensation.-An act amending previous acts relative to the form of notice required, provides that any form of written communication signed by the persons injured, or by any person in his behalf, which contains the information that the person was injured, gives the time, place and cause of the injury or death shall be considered sufficient notice. An act relative to the penalty imposed on railroad corporations for loss of life through their negligence increases the greatest sum to which they may be liable from $5,000 to $10,000. An act relative to reporting accidents was amended to require employers to keep a correct record of any accident occurring to an employe while at work for the employer, whether such accident results in the death of the employe or in such bodily injury as shall prevent him from returning to work within four days. This record shall be open to inspection by the inspector of factories. Any employer who fails to keep such a record or to furnish the report to the chief of the district police shall be punished by fine. Railroad corporations were authorized to issue passes to former employes injured in the service of the corporation issuing the pass. An act relative to payments to employes for personal injuries received during the course of their employment and to the prevention of such injuries, was amended to perfect it in detail. Regulations for the Massachusetts Employes' Insurance Association were also included. Pensions.-The act to establish a retirement system for the employes of the Commonwealth was amended so as to perfect its operation. An act relative to the pensioning of laborers in the employ of cities and towns which accept this act provides pensions for any laborer who has reached the age of 60 years, and has been in such employ for not less than 25 years and has become physically and mentally incapacitated for labor; for any laborer in the employ of the town who has been in such employ not less than 25 years and who has reached the age of 65 years; and also for any laborer who has been in the employ of a city or town for not less than 15 years and has become physically and mentally incapacitated for labor by reason of any injury received in the performance of his duties. Wages. The Minimum Wage Commission was established to investigate conditions wherever the Commission had reason to believe that the average wage paid to employes is inadequate to meet the necessary cost of living and to conserve the health of the worker. The Commission consists of three persons appointed by the Governor. After investigation, the Commission shall report conditions and formulate its recommendations. Its recommendations are not mandatory but rely for their effectiveness upon such publicity as the press can give them. Commissions.-The Homestead Commission was authorized to continue its investigation and to report to the next session of the Legislature. It may also recommend legislation. The Governor was authorized to appoint a commission to study the question of the support of dependent minor children of widowed mothers, and also to appoint a commission to investigate the loss of life and property by fire and the causes of fires within the metropolitan district. The State Labor Commissioner reports that the last session of the Colorado Legislature, in 1911, passed these laws: The Inspection of Factories act provides for the State inspection of factories, workshops, bakeries, laundries, hotels, boarding-houses, etc. It provides that guards for dangerous machinery must be provided; proper ventilation furnished; all openings or hoist-ways safeguarded; fire-escapes, toilet rooms, dressing rooms must be furnished. A Workmen's Compensation Commission consisting of five men is appointed to inquire into the subject of compensation and to prepare and report a bill. The Anti-Coercion act, makes it unlawful for an employer to interfere with an employe's membership in a lawful organization. An adequate Child Labor law was drafted by Judge Lindsey, who agreed to some suggestions and amendments offered by the Labor Department. This law is considered one of the best statutes regulating and preventing child labor in force in any State. The Employers' Liability law passed, is considered one of the most efficient in any State. A companion law to the latter is the Interest on Damages law, making it lawful for the complainant to receive interest on damages from the day the suit is filed, not from the day of final judgment. This law tends to stop employers taking appeals and keeping cases in court for an indefinite length of time, as the damages when awarded draw interest from the day the suit is filed. The Miners' Eight-Hour law is one of the most drastic eight-hour laws, covering miners, open pit workers, smelters, reduction works, stamp mills, concentration mills, chlorination processes, cyanide processes and coke ovens. The corporations, by connivance and paying solicitors to make false statements regarding the nature of petitions, succeeded in getting enough signatures to have this law referred, so that it will not be in effect until passed upon by the people at the coming State election. Amendment to the Factory Inspection law, putting the deputy inspectors upon salary by State appropriation and abolishing the fee system. The Labor Disputes law, is a duplicate of the Illinois statute forbidding the importation of strikebreakers into the State, and compelling employers upon whose works a strike is called, when advertising for men to replace the strikers, to state the fact |