The report of the New York Committee on Stabilization of Industry includes a recommendation for the adoption by industry of insurance schemes to help stabilize wage earners' incomes during periods of unemployment. Full and impartial investigation of the question by a properly constituted national body is also recommended to determine what steps can be taken to supplement the efforts of private industrialists and workers to protect the working people of the United States against the effects of unemployment too great to be offset by individual resources. Page 61.

Although railroad employment during the period October, 1929, to October, 1930, declined almost 17 per cent, the decline was not at all uniform as between the different classes of employees. Thus, among the executives, officials, and staff assistants the decline was only 4.6 per cent and among the clerical staff, about 10 per cent; the maintenance-of-way men were reduced by more than 25 per cent and the maintenance-of-equipment employees by some 17 per cent. Page 54.

The number of 14 and 15 year old children entering industry for the first time showed an increase in 1929 over 1928, according to the annual report of the Chief of the United States Children's Bureau, whereas 1928, as compared with 1927, had shown a decrease. The changes varied from place to place. Page 102.

The power laundry business has increased very greatly within the last two decades, and this growth has been accompanied by an increased regularity in hours, according to a report on woman workers in laundries recently issued by the United States Women's Bureau. The age level of the workers is rather high, and women who are or have been married far exceed the single in number. Page 96.

Certain kinds of coal tar and coal-tar products have strong cancerproducing properties. Studies of the effects of different kinds of coal tars which differ in their chemical composition have shown that blast-furnace tar is probably harmless but that gas-works tar, especially the high-temperature, horizontal-retort tar, has strong cancerproducing qualities. Coke-oven tar has caused a number of cases of cancer, as have also a number of the tar-distillation products such as creosote oil, green oil, anthracene, and pitch. Pitch is said to be undoubtedly the most harmful substance among tar products. Page 111.

The 5-day week gained ground in England during 1929, according to the report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops, who states that in general it is approved by employers who have tried it, on the ground that it means a larger output with lower costs. Page 189.

IN the varied

SEVERAL countries of Europe attempts have been made in

interests of the country, as well as to bring into play the specialized knowledge of various groups and individuals, through the formation of councils with advisory and consultative powers. These councils, which are in close relation with the chief officials and the parliaments of the different countries, serve largely as advisory and investigative bodies as regards proposed legislation or other questions affecting the social or economic welfare of the people.

The present article gives a brief description of the national council system in France, Great Britain, Germany, and Italy. In France the National Economic Council organized in 1925 has functioned successfully, particularly in regard to the comprehensive plan for coordinating and putting upon an efficient basis all the elements entering into the economic life of that country. In England and Italy the establishment of such councils is more recent while in Germany although a provisional economic council was organized in 1920 a bill providing for a permanent council which has been pending before Parliament for several years is not yet enacted into law.

Other countries in which such councils have been formed include Czechoslovakia, Spain, and Japan. In Czechoslovakia a consultative commission composed of 150 members chosen by the Government and representing employers' and workers' organizations and economists gives its opinion either on its own initiative or at the request of the Government, upon questions of general economic. importance. A Council for the National Economy was appointed in Spain by royal decree in 1924. This organization, which acts entirely in a consultative capacity, is composed of 24 members representing the various commercial and producers' organizations of the country. In Japan the Imperial Economic Council is presided over by the Prime Minister and has for vice presidents the Ministers of Finance, Agriculture, and Commerce, the other members being designated by the cabinet and chosen among public officials and representatives of producers' organizations. The scope of the activities of the council are very wide, embracing economic subjects, protection of the workers, and the general industrial development of the country. In still other Countries, notably Norway, Hungary, Poland, and Portugal, some attempts at the constitution of similar organizations have been made.

while in Russia the Superior Council of National Economy forms one of the basic institutions of that Government.

A national economic council was recently established in Belgium to study and advise on problems connected with the economic welfare of the country. Unlike the councils in other countries, however, it will not have the character of a body representing the various economic interests of the country. The council will serve to coordinate the work of existing institutions and will, to a certain extent, be superimposed on these institutions. The members will be chosen for their knowledge and personal authority and the Prime Minister and the governmental departments concerned with the economic policy of the country will be represented so that contact will be insured with those departments which will ultimately be required to give effect to the proposals made by the council.

1 National Economic Council, France 1

THE French National Economic Council (Conseil National Economique) was established by a decree dated January 16, 1925. The organization of such a council, having for its purpose the orientation of the political and social development of the country, had been urged by the General Confederation of Labor (Confédération Générale du Travail) since the close of the war. As a result of this demand by organized labor for the establishment of an economic council with executive powers the commission was appointed in 1924 to study the matter and after a series of meetings in which the scheme for the organization was drawn up, the cabinet took up the matter, making such changes in the plan as were necessary to bring it into line with the constitutional and legislative organization of the country. The plan adopted provided that the National Economic Council should not be subordinate to any particular ministry but should be attached to the Prime Minister's Department, although the money for its administration would be paid from the budget of the Ministry of Labor, it having been found impossible to satisfy the demand of the committee that the council should be a financially independent office with its own budget. The practical independence of the council is secured through its freedom to decide upon questions to be studied and because its members are not chosen by the Government but are merely appointed by it on the nomination of the different interests represented.

Although the proponents of the plan considered that the council should be given large powers of initiative and the right to lay its opinions and proposals before the chambers of Parliament, the Government felt that such a procedure might be unconstitutional and that the freedom of the Government might be lessened if it were required to introduce bills dictated by the National Economic Council. The decree, therefore, specified that the recommendations of the council should be transmitted to the Prime Minister who should, within one month, inform the council of the action taken or refer the question back to the council for further consideration. While the actual power of the council was therefore limited, the risk of rivalry

1 This section is based upon Ministère du Travail, Bulletin, Paris, Jan.-Feb.-Mar., 1925, pp. 30*-33*; Revue d'Économie Politique, Paris, Juillet-Aôut, 1930, pp. 1172-1191; dan Le Perfectionnement de L'Outillage National, by Roger Francq.

This Issue In Brief

The formation of a national economic council to advise on questions affecting the social and economic welfare of the people of the country as a whole has been undertaken in a number of countries in the past several years. These councils are in close relationship with the chief officials and the parliaments in the countries in which they are set up and serve as advisory and investigative bodies as regards proposed legislation, and also assist in coordinating and rendering efficient the economic activities of the country. Page 1.

Twenty-four State departments of labor or industrial commissions and the United States Department of Labor operate 151 free employment offices permanently as part of their regular duties. The organization and machinery through which placement work is carried on by these agencies are shown in an article on page 10.

A sharp increase in unemployment in Buffalo occurred between November, 1929, and November, 1930, according to a recent survey. In 1929, for each 1,000 males enumerated, 59 were unable to secure work as against 165 per 1,000 in 1930. This represents an increase of over 150 per cent. The proportion of females unable to find work also increased more than 150 per cent. The least unemployment among males was found among those from 35 to 45 years of age. Page 33.

Thus far cooperative housing has had a very limited development in the United States, there being only some 45 societies in this field at the end of 1929. Of these, 43 were organizations owning apartment buildings, while 2 were operating residential hotels. Two other housing projects have been inaugurated since the beginning of 1930. The 25 societies furnishing data for the general study of cooperative associations recently made by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics control property valued at more than $8,000,000. They have provided living quarters for 2,300 householders and nearly 650 single persons. Page 47.

The fact that employment may be stabilized is graphically illustrated in an article which compares over a period of years the experience of one shoe plant, which maintained almost complete stability, with that of another plant where employment fluctuated widely and with the experience of the industry as a whole. Page 52.

Full-time working hours in the hosiery and underwear industries declined 7.1 per cent between 1913 and 1930 and earnings per hour increased 173.8 per cent, according to the latest survey of wages and hours in these industries by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Between 1928, the date of the bureau's previous survey, and 1930, however, there was a slight increase in hours, the full-time weekly hours in 1930 being 51.6 as compared with 51.3 in 1928. Average earnings per hour increased from 44.4 cents in 1928 to 45.5 cents in 1930, and average full-time weekly earnings from $22.78 in 1928 to $23.48 in 1930. Page 166.

The report of the New York Committee on Stabilization of Industry includes a recommendation for the adoption by industry of insurance schemes to help stabilize wage earners' incomes during periods of unemployment. Full and impartial investigation of the question by a properly constituted national body is also recommended to determine what steps can be taken to supplement the efforts of private industrialists and workers to protect the working people of the United States against the effects of unemployment too great to be offset by individual resources. Page 61.

Although railroad employment during the period October, 1929, to October, 1930, declined almost 17 per cent, the decline was not at all uniform as between the different classes of employees. Thus, among the executives, officials, and staff assistants the decline was only 4.6 per cent and among the clerical staff, about 10 per cent; the maintenance-of-way men were reduced by more than 25 per cent and the maintenance-of-equipment employees by some 17 per cent. Page 54.

The number of 14 and 15 year old children entering industry for the first time showed an increase in 1929 over 1928, according to the annual report of the Chief of the United States Children's Bureau, whereas 1928, as compared with 1927, had shown a decrease. The changes varied from place to place. Page 102.

The power laundry business has increased very greatly within the last two decades, and this growth has been accompanied by an increased regularity in hours, according to a report on woman workers in laundries recently issued by the United States Women's Bureau. The age level of the workers is rather high, and women who are or have been married far exceed the single in number. Page 96.

Certain kinds of coal tar and coal-tar products have strong cancerproducing properties. Studies of the effects of different kinds of coal tars which differ in their chemical composition have shown that blast-furnace tar is probably harmless but that gas-works tar, especially the high-temperature, horizontal-retort tar, has strong cancerproducing qualities. Coke-oven tar has caused a number of cases of cancer, as have also a number of the tar-distillation products such as creosote oil, green oil, anthracene, and pitch. Pitch is said to be undoubtedly the most harmful substance among tar products. Page 111.

The 5-day week gained ground in England during 1929, according to the report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops, who states that in general it is approved by employers who have tried it, on the ground that it means a larger output with lower costs. Page 189.