INDUSTRIAL NOTES.

CLEARING HOUSE FOR EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES.-The Mayor's Committee of National Defense, New York City, has completed plans to establish a clearing house for the 50 or more free employment agencies dealing with men and boys. It will be administered by Charles B. Barnes, director of State public employment offices. The mayor's committee has appropriated $5,000, and the State has provided $10,000 for the work. All noncommercial bureaus will have access, under proper restrictions, to requests made by employers to all other bureaus, and a man or boy making application to any one bureau will be considered for any opening which comes to the knowledge of others. New York Times, August 20, 1917.

IMPROVED HANDLING OF FREIGHT.-The Railroads' War Board announces that its Commission on Car Service reports that in the month of June, with only 3 per cent more equipment, the railroads of the country rendered nearly 26 per cent more freight service than in June of last year. The actual increased service amounted to about 4.000,000 ton-miles, or 25.7 per cent of the total. The result was attained by intensive loading and by increasing the daily mileage of freight cars 13.6 per cent. New York Times, August 28, 1917.

INCREASED WAGES FOR TEXTILE WORKERS.-Six great textile plants in the vicinity of Passaic, N. J., have notified their 15,000 employees of an increase in wages of 10 per cent, or about a million dollars. Most of these mills are working on Government contracts.

New York Times, September 8, 1917.

SUICIDES AMONG INDUSTRIAL POLICYHOLDERS.-According to a recent study by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. the death rate from suicide among industrial workers is decreasing. Among 4,000,000 insured white males the rate of suicide per 100,000 was 19.6 in 1915 and 15.3 in 1916. Among nearly 5,000,000 insured white females there were 7.5 suicides per 100,000 in 1915 and 6.3 in 1916. The rates among Negro policyholders in 1916 were 8.2 per 100,000 males and 3.4 per 100,000 females. The white male suicide rate increases with each age period, being highest at the ages of 65 to 74, when it is more than 80 per 100,000. Among both male and female policy

holders under 25 years of age the suicide death rate is lower than that of the general population of the registration area, but for each age period after 25 the suicide rate is slightly higher among insured males than for the male population at large.

Press Bulletin Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., August 28, 1917. CURTAILED PRODUCTION IN BRITISH COTTON MILLS.-The Cotton Control Board has published its scheme for conserving supplies of raw cotton, and regulations have been issued which provide for the stoppage of 40 per cent of the spinning and weaving machinery in Lancashire from the beginning of September. On conditions laid down by the board it will be possible for certain firms to run more than 60 per cent of their machinery on the payment of levies. The funds created in this way will be used to supplement the unemployment funds of the trade-unions, and to ameliorate the distress of the temporarily unemployed operatives. In view of these arrangements the trade-union officials have suspended their application for an increase in wages. Economist (London), August 18, 1917.

LARGER PRODUCTION FOR BRITISH WOOLEN MILLS.-The Central Wool Advisory Committee has decided to withdraw the order reducing the working hours in factories where wool is consumed to 45 per week, and to issue another order permitting a 50-hour week. At the same time it is intimated that no guaranty can be given that firms employed principally in civilian manufacture shall have sufficient wool to work 50 hours per week.

Economist (London), August 18, 1917.

INCREASE IN WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION IN GREAT BRITAIN.-The House of Commons has passed the workmen's compensation (war addition) bill, the purpose of which is to increase by 25 per cent, because of the cost of living, all weekly disablement payments under the act of 1906. Economist (London), August 18, 1917.

HIGHER PAY ASKED FOR BRITISH SOLDIERS AND SAILORS.-The question of increasing the pay of soldiers and sailors of Great Britain has been taken up by the General Federation of Trade Unions, because of the fact that there are about 1,250,000 trade-unionists in the army. The management committee proposes that the minimum net allowance to a British soldier shall be 3 shillings (73 cents) a day, and that the Government shall provide and pay all allotments to wives and dependents. It is roughly estimated that this will cost £125,000,000 ($608,312,500) a year, but it will be a diminishing cost. A joint parliamentary committee has been appointed to take the matter under consideration.

Christian Science Monitor (Boston), September 6, 1917.

MINIMUM WAGE FOR BRITISH AGRICULTURAL LABOR.-The corn production bill [which provides among other things for a minimum weekly wage of 25 shillings ($6.08) for farm labor] became law before the adjournment of the British Parliament, August 21.

New Statesman (London), August 25, 1917.

REDUCED FARES FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOR IN FRANCE.-To facilitate the transportation of day laborers-men, women, and children-engaged in grape picking, the Orleans railroad company has reduced to one-half, for the months of September and October, the third-class fare for parties of five or more persons making, for the round trip, a journey of at least 100 kilometers [62 miles]. This rate applies to certain departments only, and the tickets are not good for return under 8 or after 50 days. The same rate is granted in the case of one or more men and women going to and from centers of raisin production between August 25 and November 15, both inclusive.

La République Française (Paris), August 25, 1917.

TURKISH BOYS AT WORK IN GERMANY.-In accordance with an arrangement made between the German and Turkish authorities, 500 Turkish boys have been distributed in twos and threes throughout Germany-300 being apprenticed to various trades and 200 to colliery work. They are shortly to be followed by 500 others, who will devote their attention to agriculture.

Christian Science Monitor (Boston), August 30, 1917.

PUBLICATIONS RELATING TO LABOR.

OFFICIAL UNITED STATES.

CALIFORNIA.—Industrial Accident Commission. Safety News. Volume 1. No. 8. San Francisco, August, 1917. 15 pp.

This issue of the News contains an article on oil-fire flarebacks, and tank and bin accidents, and one on safety as applied to the steam tire mold and tube press.

The first article refers to the accidental death of a night watchman who in starting a fire in a laundry furnace, it is thought, had turned oil into the hot furnace without first having a flame at a point where the oil would come into contact with it and thus avoid the accumulation of explosive gases. Rules and information for the handling and use of fuel oil are given. The article also describes the death of two men and the narrow escape of three additional men who were overcome by hydrogen sulphide gas in a chemical plant. It emphasizes the importance of not permitting men to enter a tank or bin until it has been cleared of gases, of providing forced ventilation, and of tying a rope about the body of a man entering the tank, the other end of this rope being held by a man stationed outside.

OHIO.--Industrial Commission. Decisions in claims arising under the workmen's compensation law considered and determined by the Industrial Commission of Ohio. Columbus, April 2, 1917. 165 pp.

Devoted exclusively to opinions in cases arising under the workmen's compensation act. The preface states that since the elective workmen's compensation act of 1911 went into effect more than 300,000 claims arising out of industrial accidents have been filed by claimants and adjudicated by the Industrial Commission of Ohio and its predecessor, the State liability board of awards. A finding of facts is made in each claim decided by the commission, and the same is made a matter of record, but opinions have been prepared in only a few of the claims determined by the commission. The opinions published in this bulletin deal with some of the more important questions constantly coming before the commission, and they are published with the hope that they may be of service to employers and employees subject to the workmen's compensation act.

Department of Investigation and Statistics. Report No. 28. Rates of wages, hours of labor, and fluctuation of employment in Ohio in 1915. Springfield, 1917. 336 pp.

A review of this report, based upon an advance statement sent out by the industrial commission, appeared in the MONTHLY REVIEW for February, 1917, pages 227 to 230.

PENNSYLVANIA.-Department of Labor and Industry. Monthly Bulletin, February, 1917. 192 pp. March, 1917. 125 pp. Harrisburg,

These bulletins are devoted entirely to articles and discussions as presented at the fourth annual welfare and efficiency conference of the Department of Labor and Industry at Harrisburg in November, 1916. In the February issue the papers relate particularly to workmen's compensation and accident prevention. Statements of the first 10 months of the operation of the workmen's compensation law and of the operation of the law from the viewpoint of the manufacturer, the employee, and the physician are presented. Employment

problems are also given attention. Special subjects are: The accident problem of the steam and electric railways; the evils of railroad trespassing; reducing the labor turnover; organized labor and the State employment bureau; the elimination of labor disputes; standardization of safety committees and safety committee work. Most of the papers published in the March issue were delivered before the medical session and relate chiefly to health insurance, medical supervision of workmen, industrial injuries to the eyes, tuberculosis as it affects the worker, and some hazards of the chemical industry and their prevention. There were also papers on the foreman's duty toward accident prevention, the employee's duty toward accident prevention, and how to reach the non-English-speaking workman.

WISCONSIN.-Industrial Commission. Apprenticeship. First report, year ending December 31, 1916. Madison, 1917. 14 pp.

This report is noted on pages 163 to 166 of this issue of the MONTHLY REVIEW. Electrical safety code. Madison, July 1, 1917. 32 pp.

In pursuance of its authority to fix standards of safety in all places of employment, and to formulate rules and regulations relative to the enforcement of such standards, the industrial commission, in cooperation with the railroad commission, after hearings as to the reasonableness of proposed orders, has issued this safety code which became effective July 1, 1917. It is divided into four parts: Application and definitions; all electrical work; electrical equipment; and electric lines. There is an index.

Hours of labor for women and children. [Madison], August, 1917.

4 pp. This leaflet is a summary of the requirements as to hours of labor for women and children in force in Wisconsin, including provisions of the laws enacted by the last legislature and all of the orders upon this subject issued by the industrial commission.

UNITED STATES.-Department of the Interior. Bureau of Education. Negro education. A study of the private and higher schools for colored people in the United States. Vol. 1, 423 pp. Illustrated. Vol. II, 724 pp. Maps. Washington, 1917.

Volume I contains a chapter on industrial education, setting forth the importance of the Negro to southern industry, the importance of industrial education to the colored people, public and private facilities for industrial education, and means and methods for giving such instruction, including opportunities offered for manual training in the elementary grades, vocational outlook and elementary economics in secondary and higher schools, rural trades in smaller industrial schools, trade schools. The chapter closes with a State program for industrial efficiency. Volume II is devoted almost entirely to opportunities for education offered the colored people in many of the States.

Department of Labor. Children's Bureau. Summary of child welfare laws passed in 1916. Miscellaneous series No. 7, Bureau publication No. 21. Washington, 1917. 74 pp.

The child welfare laws passed in 1916 are here summarized and arranged under the following general heads: Parent and child; offenses against the child; health and sanitation, including recreation; child labor and school attendance; defective, delinquent, and dependent children; miscellaneous provisions affecting children. There is a topical index by political divisions, and an outline for an index of existing legislation affecting child welfare.

Interstate Commerce Commission. Accident Bulletin No. 62. Washington, 1917. 114 pp.

This report is noted on pages 146, 147 of this issue of the MONTHLY REVIEW.