tories in which children under fourteen were employed, or in which children between fourteen and sixteen worked at night, or more than six days a week or more than eight hours a day. This law was declared unconstitutional in 1918 by the U. S. Supreme Court.

Since the enactment of the anti-trust laws, 290 cases have been instituted by the United States charging monopoly, restraint of trade, or other infraction of the law, including suits against the Aluminum Co. of America; Amer. Can Co.; Amer. Sugar Refining Co.; Amer. Tel. & Tel. Co.; Amer. Tobacco Co.; Armour & Co.; Atlas Portland Cement Co.; Burroughs Adding Machine Co.; Coal Dealers Assn.; Corn Products Refining Co.; Cudahy Packing Co.; Du Pont de Nemours & Co.; Eastman Kodak Co.; General Electric Co.; International Harvester Co.; Kellogg Toasted Cornflake Co.; Lehigh Valley Railroad Co.; Missouri Pacific Railroad Co.; National Cash Register Co.; N. Y., New Haven & Hartford R. R. Co.; Northern Securities Co.; Otis Elevator Co.; Southern Pacific Co.; Standard Oil Co.; Swift & Co.; Union Pacific R. R. Co.; U. S. Steel Co.; Victor Talking Machine Co.

Many of the companies have prospered greatly since the legal prosecutions and have continued to dominate prices. On February 28, 1925, the Federal Trade Commission reported that the Standard Oil Company still set the price of oil for the country.

Labor Legislation

Laws have been enacted in various states to better the condition of the workers. The Mechanics Lien law enables the laborer to claim from the owner of the building wages not paid by the contractor. Minimum wage laws in the United States cover only women and children, and even then have been declared unconstitutional in some instances, and in the dozen or more States having such laws the weekly wage varies from $4 to $20. Regulation of hours is in force in many states, but in some the hours for children are as long as eleven. The struggle for regulation of women's working hours was finally won in the courts, and by 1922 all but five states had laws limiting the hours for women to 8, 9 or 10 a day. A few states also limit the hours of men to 10 a day; the constitutionality of statutes

limiting men's hours to 8 being still uncertain. Workmen's Compensation laws have been adopted in most of the states and have been declared constitutional. Instead of being obliged to sue the employer when injured, the law compels the employer to insure against accidents, thus enabling the worker to collect amounts graded according to his pay and the nature of the injury.

See "Labor Problems and Labor Legislation," by John B. Andrews.

The Unemployment Conference

On September 26, 1921, a National Unemployment Conference called by President Harding, met at Washington. The object of the conference was that of advising the President in regard to emergency measures for the unemployment crisis, inquiring into the volume of unemployment and suggesting some permanent remedies. About 100 attended the conference which urged individuals and government bodies to develop repair and construction work and to manufacture for stock as a way of helping the nation over the crisis. The succeeding month the Conference recommended at its meeting a number of general measures, including the limitation of armaments, regularization of industry, the putting aside by governmental bodies of money for use in carrying out construction work in time of depression, etc.

A more comprehensive report on unemployment was later prepared by a Committee on Unemployment and Business Cycles, of the President's Conference on Unemployment. This was published in 1923. The basis of the report was in part an admirable study on "Business Cycles and Unemployment" prepared by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which secured the co-operation of a large number of experts and went into great detail regarding the manner in which industrial conditions could be stabilized in the railroad, textile, clothing, governmental and other industries, and the effects of such measures as unemployment insurance and trade union benefits on the unemployment problem. The report of the committee, however, evaded many of the more fundamental remedies proposed by students of the subject.

HARRY W. Laidler.

William Green, president of the A. F. of L. wrote, in February, 1925: "Recommendations were made, some of them calling for action by the government itself, not in a fraternalistic manner, but in a constructive manner involving the furnishing of legitimate work. The past winter has shown no indication of the materialization of those recommendations."

At the time of the Conference there were 3,500,000 to 5,500,000 workers unemployed. Temporary measures suggested were the establishment of employment agencies, housecleaning of hotels and homes to be done in winter, construction work to be expedited and that manufacturers should provide part time work. Among the permanent proposals for relief were; readjustment of railway rates, reduction of taxes so that more business would be started, settlement of tariff legislation, minimization of the fluctuations in foreign exchange and the elimination of waste.

Conference on the Limitation of Armament

Convened at Washington November 11, 1921, its work was ratified by the U. S. Senate in March, 1922. Agreement was reached upon "a series of six treaties and twelve resolutions which are destined to effect great changes in economic conditions throughout the world. . . . A belief in the pacific intentions of other powers must be substituted for suspicion and apprehension."

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Limitations were placed on the capital ships to be retained by Great Britain, France, Japan, Italy and the United States, and other details regarding warfare were adopted. A merchant vessel must not be attacked by submarines unless it refuse to submit to visit and search after warning, and must not be destroyed until the crew and passengers have been placed in safety. Poisonous gases are not to be used in warfare.

France did not ratify the treaties until July 10, 1925. Industrial Conference

Convened by the President on December 1, 1919. It outlined causes of unrest, recommended employee representation for prevention of disputes and proposed a plan of arbitration for adjustment of controversies that should arise.

See Report of Industrial Conference, March 6, 1920. League of Nations

Senator Borah says that every invasion of territory since the League was created has been by a member of the League,

that every move for disarmament has been opposed by a member.

(See facts on both sides under Articlettes.)

Religion

The discovery that religious people not only considered it consistent to prosecute war but also to persecute those who opposed war, and that organized religion is as often as not a hindrance to progress, have been among the disillusionments of recent years.

Direct Primaries

The direct primary system is a system whereby the registered members of a party nominate the candidates of the party directly, instead of, as heretofore, through the medium of party conventions. The direct primary system has led to a greater participation of the people in the nomination of candidates than under the delegate system. In some states it has weakened boss rule, has eliminated the cumbrous and expensive machinery of delegate conventions, and has made the candidates more receptive to the will of the people. In other states little improvement has been seen. The candidate favored by the party machine has usually by far the best chance of election. The money and energy that must be put into an effective campaign against the machine candidate by an independent candidate makes an independent candidacy in most instances prohibitive, and most candidates put up by the party machine are nominated without a contest. The direct primary in those instances merely transfers the real, though not the official nomination, from the party convention to the party caucus meeting before the primary. It costs the state more money than the convention system. It concentrates attention at times too much on the individual, too little on the issues involved. It certainly has not as yet made any revolutionary change in political control.

Impartial Arbitrators

HARRY W. LAIDLER.

Basil M. Manly wrote in The Survey: "These so-called impartial arbitrators are ordinarily drawn from the professional classes. As a rule they are judges, lawyers, teachers or preachers.... There is a class consciousness on the part of all but a few exceptional individuals which inevitably influences their judgment. . . . Most professional men have investments in in

dustrial enterprises... Nine-tenths of the lawyers are dependent upon corporation practice. Less directly, but none the less inevitably, are the other professions dependent upon the favor of employers and corporations. . . . Both Judge Gary and John D. Rockefeller, Jr., were members of the "public group" in President Wilson's Industrial Conference."

Fair-minded as the arbitrators may be, they are usually men who benefit more from a decrease than an increase in wages.

The Kansas Industrial Court

The Kansas Court of Industrial Relations was created by the Legislature of Kansas in 1920. It was composed of three judges appointed by the Governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The law declared that certain industries, public utilities and common carriers were "affected with a public interest and therefore subject to supervision by the State." These were: the manufacture or preparation of food products; the manufacture of clothing and wearing apparel; the mining or production of any substance used as fuel, and the transportation of all food products and articles or substances entering into wearing apparel or fuel. Further, the law conferred on the Court of Industrial Relations all the powers of the Public Utilities Commission of the State.

It was provided that in case a controversy arose between employers and workers or between groups or crafts of workers engaged in any of the above industries, employments, etc., if it should appear to the Court that the controversy might endanger the continuity or the efficiency of the service of any of the said industries, employments, etc., authority was granted the said Court, upon its own initiative, to summon all necessary parties before it and to investigate said controversy. After such hearings and investigation the Court was empowered to make and serve upon all interested parties, its findings, stating specifically the terms and conditions upon which said industry, employment, etc., should be thereafter conducted insofar as the matters determined by said Court were concerned. It was made the duty of the Court of Industrial Relations to hold such hearings and investigations upon complaint of any ten citizen taxpayers. It was further provided that should any controversy arise between any employer and employee as to wages, hours,