THE AMERI CAN-SC AN DIN AVIAN REVIEW 
241 
Denmark 
A press cable of February 16 states that a general lockout was 
declared throughout the country, affecting nearly all industries, and 
considered the biggest labor conflict in the history of Denmark. 
About 150,000 workers were involved. The newspapers and public 
service were not affected and not the seamen, although the dock 
laborers were out in most of the ports. CJWith regard to the events 
leading up to this tremendous struggle, our correspondent in Copen¬ 
hagen writes that employers have been meeting great difficulties in 
effecting agreements with labor regarding the wage scale to go into 
effect this spring. The employers, besides demanding a reduction 
of 30 percent in wages, insisted upon protracting the working day 
beyond the eight hour limit clause embodied in contracts with a ma¬ 
jority of trades. Labor was endeavoring by every means in its pow¬ 
er to maintain the eight hour day while strenuously protesting 
against the proposed wage reduction. A number of threats of strikes 
were met by the employers with threats of a lockout affecting 170,- 
000 men. The recently reconstructed office of the Official Arbitrator 
was working hard to avert the threatened catastrophe, but apparent¬ 
ly without success. In the present state of economic impairment 
which Denmark shares with other European countries, it is vitally 
important that labor conditions be restored to normal. <J The sup¬ 
plementary appropriation bill recently presented to the Folketing 
together with the financial report for the fiscal year 1921-1922 shows 
a deficit of about 190,000,000 kroner. Owing to the rate of ex¬ 
change, only 130,000,000 kroner of this is covered by the State loan 
recently placed in the United States. Within the next few months 
an internal loan will therefore probably be placed to cover the bal¬ 
ance of 60,000,000 kroner. State controlled monopolies, such as 
railroads, telegraphs, and postal service, are largely responsible for 
this financial condition, while contributing to it is the unexpected 
falling off in tax returns, both direct and indirect. The income from 
the direct tax on stock companies alone has decreased from 150,000,- 
000 kroner to 100,000,000 kroner. At the same time necessary 
legislative reforms have proved an added treasury expense. On 
January 24 the minister of the interior brought before the Folketing 
a Bill on Old Age Pensions to replace the existing old age support 
law dating thirty years back. The old law has the disadvantage of 
tempting the deserving and needy who have reached old age to ex¬ 
haust their own small savings in order to benefit to the full extent 
from the law. The new bill is designed to obviate this and stimulate 
saving. It is believed that it will be of economic benefit to the public 
treasury, but for the present it would mean an additional expense of 
20,000,000 kroner, each to the State and the communes. 
