204 



EXPOSITION, PARIS UNIVERSAL. 



trial Property and Copyright, Comparative Law, 

 Inventors' Associations. 



XIV. Literature and the Press, subdivided into 

 Press Associations, Medical Press, Educational 

 Press, Stenography, Librarians. 



XV. Labor and Co-operation, subdivided into 

 Friendly Societies, Young Workmen's Aid Soci- 

 eties, Housing, Workmen's Protection and Com- 



now unanimous in favor of eight hours established 

 by law. From England also came a resolution that 

 all nationalities should seek a minimum wage, 

 which would vary in amount according to local 

 circumstances, but should suffice always for decent 

 existence, the education of the children, and a pro- 

 vision for old age. A minimum wage would fur- 

 ther be useful, as a Belgian delegate explained, in 



operative Productive Associations, Co-operative 

 Societies, Profit Sharing, International Co-opera- 

 tive Alliance. 



XVI. Women, subdivided into Women's Work 

 and Institutions, Women's Rights. 



XYIJ. Philanthropy, subdivided into Housing, 

 Vegetarian, Discharged Prisoners' Aid, Life Saving 

 and First Aid, Poor Relief, Blind, Deaf-Mutes, 

 Antislavery. Red Cross, Abuse of Tobacco, Sun- 

 day Rest. 



XVIII. Peace. 





pensation, People's Credit Banks. Workmen's Co- preventing miners from competing against each 

 ._:*: fi *; other or mine owners from competing at the ex- 

 pense of their workmen. A Scotch delegate moved 

 that employers should be held responsible for all 

 accidents to workmen in their employment, and 

 should be compelled to compensate them from the 

 date of injury. The new English law on accidents 

 had not worked as well as had been anticipated. 

 There were about as many accidents as formerly 

 because the employers insured themselves against 

 risks and were as careless as before. A French 

 delegate, who seconded the motion, declared the 

 French law. which had at last 

 been adopted after traveling 

 back and forth between the 

 Senate and Chamber for seven- 

 teen years, was also unsatisfac- 

 tory, although better than the 

 English law, inasmuch as com- 

 pensation was given after four 

 days of disability instead of 

 two weeks. A German delegate 

 explained the German law, un- 

 der which a workman receives 

 when disabled a pension equal 

 to two thirds of his usual wages 

 without being called upon to 

 contribute to the accident fund, 

 which is collected from the em- 

 ployers by the state, and care- 

 lessness is not recognized as a 

 valid excuse for withholding 

 compensation. A representa- 

 tive of the Yorkshire miners 

 moved that all governments 

 should provide pensions for the 

 poor and aged and for those un- 

 fit to work from the age of 

 fifty-five. All existing pension 

 schemes were condemned as 

 coming too late into operation 

 and giving too little. The 

 French delegate who seconded 

 the motion explained that pen- 

 sions were given in France from 

 the age of fifty-five by the law 

 of 1894, but the amount was not 

 fixed, and varied from 1 franc 

 to 2 francs. A Belgian delegate 

 mentioned that the Belgian 

 miner gets only 10 francs a 

 month, and this only after the 

 age of sixty-five, although a 

 third of the miners of the ' 

 Charleroi coal fields had need 

 of pensions from the age of fif- 



The Miners' International Congress chose Paris praised by the ^an SS^t^ngla^i 

 for its meeting near the end of June. From Eng- German workmen from the bW<, a rv that too often 



dav Zm bank't h ^T^ *"? ^ ^ h !> revails in ther countries, flu confess was 

 day from bank to bank for workers underground tended by .->:> delegates from < I ita 



TIIK rXITK 



and on the surface. The fact that the Northum- 



)2 delegates from Great Britain, repre- 



._ .,..... Besting <>41. ;"><)< I miners; 2 German delegates, rcpre- 



eriana miners, after having obtained a shorter A -'-~ nnn nnn ' -- 



day for the boys in their mines, had been com- 

 pelled to give up this advantage in a period of 



senting 200,000 miners; 11 French delegates repre- 

 senting 160,000 minors; and 8 Belgian delegates. 

 representing 132.000 miners; making a total' of ?:! 

 _.- fe ..... delegates speaking on behalf of 1,133,500 miners. 

 I" day thout legislation it could The annual session of the Inter-Parliamentarv 

 who iSZSS The miners of South Wales, Conference was held at the beginning of August. 

 *ho uere formerly divided on the question, were In addition to proposals for the lore nra 



proposals for the more practical 



