994 FRANCE 



without the worker's consent, to deduct the amount of insurance payable by the work- 

 man from his wages, and to pay it over together with his own contribution to the clerk 

 (greffier) of the justice dc la paix. Employers stood out against this contention, and 

 won a case on appeal in the Court of Cassation, December n, 1911. 



Among other legal enactments may be mentioned the Law of April 30, 1909, forbidding 

 the employment of women and children in certain trades; the Law of July 20, 1909, pro- 

 hibiting the use of ceruse (white lead paint); the Law of November 27, 1909, which secures 

 women from dismissal from employment on account of child-birth; the Law of March 25, 

 1910, suppressing the truck system (economats) and prohibiting employers from selling food 

 or merchandise to their men; the Law of December 28, 1910, which codified the texts of 

 various labour enactments; the Law of August 5, 1911, regulating the financial operations 

 of authorized trade unions; and the Law of March 30, 1912, regulating hours in mines. 



Many strikes have arisen out of disputes about the conditions of work. Besides the 

 great railway strike (see below), much the most serious of them all, mention may be 

 made of the strike on the Southern Railways (Chemin de Per du Sud), a local affair in 

 May-June 1910; and the strike of inscrits maritimes in April and May 1910, which at 

 one time seriously interrupted trade and communications between the mother country 

 and Algeria and Corsica. This latter trouble broke out afresh in June 1912, spreading 

 from Marseilles to Havre and Dunkerque; at Marseilles the strike lasted for seventy-six 

 days. There was a taxi-cab-drivers strike at Paris from February to April 1912. 



Stale Purchase of the Western Railway (Chemin de Per de I'Ouest). By virtue of an 

 agreement dated October 28, 1909, the Government bought up the Western Railway, 

 and took over the management, thus greatly extending the scope of state railway admin- 

 istration. The agreement was ratified by Parliament (Law of Dec. 21, 1909). 

 It was not long, however, before the management of the " Ouest-fitat " was subjected 

 to sharp criticism. An interpellation in the Chamber (Dec. 1910) called atten- 

 tion to the irregularity and insecurity of the service. The Courville accident (March 

 1911) unhappily showed the complaints to be well founded. The disorganization of the 

 Western suburban service, by which large numbers of people travel to and from Paris 

 daily, called forth vigorous protests and even led to something like riots. As time went 

 on, the " Ouest-tat " succeeded in getting the train services into better working order, 

 but from a financial point of view considerable scope for criticism remains. In 1911 the 

 deficit on the line had risen to 2,960,000; the net receipts fell to 1,180,000 (under the 

 company they used to vary from 2,600,000 and 3,200,000), while the proportion of 

 working expenses rose to 87 per cent (about 55 per cent in the companies). The esti- 

 mated deficit for 1912 was 3,280,000. Advocates for the purchase are of course able to 

 say that the company handed over the line in poor condition; but their opponents re- 

 tort that the largest part of the increase in expenditure is due to the higher salaries 

 paid, and to an ill-considered increase in the staff (5,280 additions were made in 1911). 

 A statute regulating promotions, and prohibiting political recommendations, was issued 

 to the State Railways' agents in September 1912. 



Justice. Children's Courts (Tribunaux pour enfants) were established by the Law 

 of July 25, 1912, which asserted that no penal responsibility rests upon children under 

 the age of thirteen. They are removed from the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts, 

 and made amenable to the civil tribunal sitting in chambre du conseil. Publicity is 

 restricted, and considerable latitude is allowed in the methods to be adopted. Minors 

 between the ages of 13 and 18 are left under the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts, but 

 will be dealt with in future by special magistrates, cases being heard privately, the public 

 admitted under restrictions, and no reporting allowed. 



Education. Higher ec4ucation, stimulated by the universities, which are now con- 

 stituted as corporate self-governing bodies, is in a flourishing condition. Secondary 

 education, under the system of 1902 by which students are permitted to choose their 

 own course of study, into which the classical languages and literature may enter partially 

 or not at all, gives results which are a good deal discussed. The charges of neglecting 

 the study of French, and of squandering the pupils' attention over too many subjects, 

 are brought against the system. Primary education is passing through a critical period. 



