board are to be satisfied that the cost of such temporary accommodation will be supplied by volun. tary contributions.

(6) The distress committee is authorized to accept donations. The accounts of the distress committee are to be audited by an auditor appointed by the local government board with powers of surcharge.

There are provisions enabling the distress committee to borrow money for the purchase of land.

The powers of the distress committee are confined to applicants who are of good character who have not sufficient means of maintaining themselves and their dependents, and who have not during the period of 12 months immediately preceding the date

of their application been in receipt of relief, other than medical relief, at the cost of the poor rate.

It is expected that the operation of the law will add a penny in the pound (equivalent to about four mills on the dollar of assessed value) to local taxation. It is hoped, however, that the brightening trade prospects will tend to ease the committee's work.

General public opinion as heard in current talk is hardly commendatory of the law, passed, it is declared, merely to satisfy a hard-times clamor for relief. In any case, the situation bristles with all sorts of difficulties, and the various distress com. mittees have a perplexing task on their hands.— Consul Mahin, Nottingham, Daily Consular and Trade Reports.

$142,385,563 $92,653,981 149,413,228 101,021,681 154,094,221 98,676,737 161,386,268 105,863,888 166,801,555 106,265,609 171,705,008 115,529,608 181,139,317 122,492,314 187,780,901 131,372,861

196,326,312 134,758,501 207,480,700

- Dun's Review, Jun. 13, 1906.

Estimated.

141,211,483*

The percentage of assets to liabilities in 1905 was 53.41, which compares with 52.69 in 1904.

In 1905, of the 1,352,947 concerns in business in the United States, 9,967, or 0.74 per cent, failed, as compared with 0.72 per cent in 1904. With the exception of the year 1904, this is the smallest percentage of failures since 1880. These figures prove the incorrectness of the tradition that the larger portion of those who enter business fail. The number of concerns in business in 1905 increased by 45,201 over 1904. The net addition of new concerns (35,234) was over three and one-half times the number of those failing, which is evidence of very satisfactory trade conditions. The causes of the failures are classified under 11 headings in the following table, with percentages:

Profits

CAUSES OF FAILURES.

ital

(Deposits)

divided Earnings)

Loans

Number

Percentages

The first eight causes, due to the faults of those failing, constitute 80 per cent of all the failures in 1905, those caused by circumstances beyond the insolvents' control being 20 per cent. Lack of capital, or, what is equivalent, the effort to do too large a volume of business for the capital employed, was the cause assigned for 33 per cent. Incompetence, due to poor selection of vocation, poor judgment or management, or actual unfitness for business entered upon accounted for 24 per cent of the year's failures. Specific conditions, such as financial panic or depression, fires, floods, crop failures, and any other cause beyond the individual's control amounted to 16 per cent of all the failures.

1904; the liabilities were 38.53 per cent greater. Fiftyfive per cent of its failures were due to lack of capital, as compared with 62 per cent in 1904, and 70 per cent in 1903. Incompetence was the cause of 18 per cent of the number, fraud eight per cent, specific conditions seven per cent, and other causes 12 per cent.

Changes in Population in Italy. On July 1, 1903, the population of Italy was esti mated at 33,088,725. During the year 1903 there were reported 237,211 marriages, 1,042,090 births, or 31.49 for each 1,000 inhabitants, and 736,311 deaths. Of the children born 535,635 were male and 506,455 female. Of the deaths reported 179,109 were of children less than one year old, 68,319 of children one year old but under two, 26,510 two years old but under three, 14,688 three years but under four, and 10,079 four years but under five, making an aggregate of 298,705 deaths among children under five years old, or 40.57 per cent of the total number of deaths during the year Movimento della Popolazione nell' Anno 1903, Rome, 1905.

Labor Accidents in Italy.

During the first three months of 1905, 24,360 accidents to workingmen in Italy were reported, all but 98 of these occurring in employments subject to the compulsory insurance law; 132 of the accidents, or 0.54 per cent, resulted in death. The greatest number of accidents in a single industry, 5,851, occurred in the manufacture of metallic goods, machinery, etc, the next highest number being 3,337 in mining. Of the entire number of persons injured 22,962 were males and 1,398 females. Thirty-nine of the victims were under 12 years old, 992 between 12 and 15 years, 5,240 between 15 and 21 years, 6,997 between 21 and 30 years, 5,224 between 30 and 40 years, 4,386 between 40 and 55 years, 1,116 over 55 years, the ages of the remaining 366 persons being unknown.- Bollettino dell' Ufficio del Lavoro, Rome, Italy, November, 1905.

Working Population, Zurich.

The preliminary figures published in October for the occupation census of the Canton of Zürich, Swit zerland, which was taken August 9, 1905, show that there were 63,978 establishments in the Canton giving employment to 220,309 persons, the total population of the Canton, as given by the census of December 1, 1900, being 431,036. Of the whole number of establishments, 22,521 were classified as agricultural, 32,307 as mercantile and manufacturing, and 9,150 as household-industrial establishments. Only 3,430 establishments, or 5.36 per cent of the entire number, were reported as using motors. - Vorläufige Ergebnisse der eidgenössischen Betriebszählung, Canton of Zürich, Aug. 9, 1905.

Industries in Germany.

Industrial establishments in Germany numbered 184,270 in 1903, against 178,936 in 1902, and employed 5,054,468 persons, 4,045,427 being males and 1,009,041

females. Of the female employees 3,528 were under 14 years of age, 106,175 between 14 and 16 years, 328,535 between 16 and 21 years, and 570,803 over 21 years. Of the males 5,391 were under 14 years, 221,759 between 14 and 16 years, and 3,818,277 over 16 years. The single industries having the greatest number of establishments were the preparation of foods, etc., with 58,521 establishments and 514,527 employees, stone and clay work with 24,203 establishments and 592,270 employees, woodworking with 23,358 establishments and 300,315 employees, metal working with 13,823 establishments and 429,248 employees, textile industry with 13,559 establishments and 802,452 employees, manufacture of machinery, etc., with 12,640 establishments and 684,581 employees. The greatest number of employees in a single industry appear in mining, quarrying, etc., 863,083 employees being reported in 4,042 establishments. Statistisches Jahrbuch für das Deutsche Reich, 1905. Berlin.

Strikes and Lockouts in Sweden. During the first six months of 1905, there were 105 strikes and lockouts reported in Sweden; 10 began in January, 15 in February, 12 in March, 16 in April, 42 in May, and 10 in June. They involved about 690 employers and over 28,800 employees. In 32 cases the strikes resulted in success for the employees, in 24 cases in success for the employers, and in 33 cases in compromises; eight strikes were pending at the close of June and in eight cases results were not stated. In 75 strikes, or 71.43 per cent of the entire number, the strikers were wholly or partially organized. Dissat isfaction regarding wages caused 64 strikes, organization 13 strikes, conditions of employment six strikes, various other matters being responsible for the remaining 22 strikes. Fifty one strikes, or 48.57 per cent of the whole number, lasted less than seven days. Meddelanden från K. Kommerskollegii, Afdelning för Arbetsstatistik, 1905, Nos. 2 and 3. Stockholm.

Factory Inspection in Denmark. Factory inspectors in Denmark are charged with the application of labor laws and the inspection of steam boilers The service is conducted by a director, assisted by a secretary and a technical agent. In addition there are 22 inspectors divided among 18 inspection districts.

From April 1, 1904, to March 31, 1905, the inspectors made 14,689 official visits covering 99 per cent of manufacturing establishments and 98 per cent of other establishments. The average length of working day for children, limited by law to 5 hours, was found to be four hours, while the average hours of labor for persons over 18 years of age were 9.83 hours a day.

The following table shows the percentages of persons over 18 years of age employed for a specified number of hours a day during 1903 and 1904:

Mortality in Prussia.

Consul-General Guenther, of Frankfort, writes that during the year 1904, 702,147 persons died in the Kingdom of Prussia, 365,495 males and 336,652 females. Of this number 175,477 (89,375 males and 86,102 females) died of the following diseases: 69,326 of tuberculosis, 54,815 of inflammation of the lungs, 14,162 of diphtheria and croup, 12,051 of whooping cough, 10,202 of scarlet fever, 7,367 of measles, 4,395 of puerperal fever, 2,867 of typhus, 275 of dysentery, and 17 of small-pox. These figures again show the great ravages of tuberculosis. Of each 10,000 persons living January 1, 1904, 19.21 died of this disease Only inflammation of the lungs comes somewhat near to the number of tuberculosis victims, namely, 15.19 of each 10,000 persons. Of diphtheria 3.92, of whooping cough 3.34, of scarlet fever 2.83, of measles 2.04, of puerperal fever 1.22, of typhus 0.79 died of each 10,000 persons. Of dysentery eight and of small-pox less than one in 1,000,000. These figures do not vary materially from those for 1903.Daily Consular and Trade Reports, No. 2437.

Friendly Society, Vienna,

The Friendly Society for apprentice girls and young working-women, in Vienna, Austria, maintains, as its chief activity, a free employment agency. It makes a point of extending advice and protection to the girls and women for whom it finds work, and, to the best of its ability, exercises a generally beneficial influence over them. To this end, representatives of the society visit the girls from time to time at their work and in their homes, and keep the society informed of the conditions under which they work and live. The society maintains also an apprentice girls' retreat, offering the girls a place in which to spend leisure hours, especially Saturday afternoons, and providing lectures and entertainments, educational classes, a library, etc., for their intellectual and moral uplifting. In many cases the society gives clothing to the girls, and has in a few instances paid the fees of girls entering upon or completing apprenticeship.

The twelfth yearly report of the society states that 735 girls frequented the retreat during 1904. More demands are received by the society for help than for employment, so that in 1904 out of 293 applications filed only 141 could be filled. The expenses of the society for the year amounted to about $900 and the assets at the close of the year were over $4,200.- Soziale Rundschau, July, 1905. Vienna.

Vital Statistics of Ireland.

Consul Gunsaulus, of Cork, writes that some valuable and interesting figures are given in the annual report of the registrar-general of Ireland, just issued, covering the fiscal year 1904. According to this report the estimated population of Ireland had fallen, in the middle of the year 1905, to 4,402,192. It appears that during 1904 the marriages registered in Ireland numbered 22,961, the births 103,811, and the deaths 79,513. The marriage rate, which is 5.22 per 1,000 of the estimated population, shows an increase of 0.01 as compared with that for the year 1903, and is 21 per cent above the average rate for the ten years from 1894 to 1903, and the highest rate for any of these years. As to the birth rate (23.5 per 1,000) it shows an increase of 0.5 as compared with that for the preceding year, and is also 0.5 above the average rate for the ten years-1894-1903. The death rate (18.1 per 1,000) is 0.6 above the rate for the preceding year, and 0.1 above the average rate for the ten years from 1894 to 1903. The natural increase of population recorded, or excess of births over deaths, was 24,298; the loss by

emigration amounted to 36,902; a decrease of 12,604 in the population would thus appear to have taken place during the year; but against this decrease there is a set-off in immigration, of which no official record has been obtained. - Daily Consular and Trade Reports, No. 2459.

Race Suicide in England.

England's birth rate is declining. It touched its highest point since registration began in 1838, in 1876. To-day it is at its lowest. The children of the most prolific mothers-those of 1876 are the most unproductive mothers. The reason assigned for the frightful decline is "the decay of the maternal instinct." Only 75 per cent as many little ones see the light now, or remain in it, as saw it 30 years ago. No one factor, however, can account for the entire falling off.

The fact is there are many causes. Notably among the most prominent is the advanced age at which persons marry and the fact that a great many never marry Previous to 1876 the marriage rate was 16 to 171⁄2 per 1,000. To-day it is 15%. The claim made for years by leading economists that population was supposed to vary with the food supply is being doubted. It fails to hold good in England, for at no time in the past was food so cheap or so abundant as it is to-day

Possibly, says one writer, "rent, the rates, and taxes have more to do with the question than has the price of wheat." The fact of the matter is, the question is beyond the best men in the Empire. It baffles everybody from the humblest to the highest. In the fight for first place that is on, it means, or may mean, a great deal to England whether her birth rate is small or large. A short crop of little ones in 1905 and in each succeeding year means a short crop of men for the army, navy, mills, shops, farms, ships, factories, and colonies of England 25 or 30 years hence.Daily Consular and Trade Reports, No. 2437.

Pauperism in the United Kingdom.
England and Wales.

The rise in the total number of paupers which took place in each of the three years 1901-1903 was followed by a much larger increase during 1904, the numbers relieved on January 1, 1905, being 7.3 per cent greater than for the corresponding time in 1904. The average rate of increase in the previous three years was only 2.8 per cent. The mean number, including casual and insane paupers, receiving indoor relief in 1905 was 222,217, while 542,891 persons received outdoor relief. The total mean number relieved during 1905, including casual and insane, aggregated 884,365. In 1904 the number receiving indoor relief was 211,019, and the number of outdoor relief 511,441 (both these classes including casual and insane), while all classes relieved during 1904 (including casual) numbered 837,680.

The aggregate expenditure of poor relief and the rate per head of the population were higher in 1903-04 than in any previous year. The total expenditure for the year ending March 25, 1904, amounted to over thirteen and one-third million pounds (about $65,000,000), each pauper accounting for nearly 16£ ($77.88) on the average, which amounted to 88. ($1.95) per head of the population.

Scotland.

The total number of paupers of all classes in Scotland on May 15, 1904, was 105,624, an increase of 2,608 over the corresponding figure for the previous year. The number of indoor ordinary poor was 12,827, outdoor poor 78,413, lunatic poor 14,384, total poor 105,624.

The total expenditure on poor relief in the year ending May 15, 1904, was 1,300,743 £ ($6,329,415), equivalent to 58. 711⁄2d ($1.37) per head of the population, or 12£ 68.31⁄2d. ($59.92) per person relieved.

Ireland.

The daily average number of all persons in receipt of relief in Ireland for the year ending April 1, 1905, was 101,251, representing nearly 23 per 1,000 of the population. For the year ending March, 1904, the indoor relief included 43,561 persons, the outdoor 56,672, showing a total of 100,233 persons relieved. The number was slightly increased in 1905. The indoor poor numbered 43,586, the outdoor poor 57,665, the aggregate being 101,251 persons. The total expenditure of poor relief in Ireland in the year ending September 30, 1904, was 1,012,970£ ($4,929,112), giving 10£ 28.71⁄4d. ($49.29) per persons relieved, or 48 74d. ($1.12) per head of the population. - Board of Trade Labour Gazette, December, 1905.

Fatal Industrial Accidents and Diseases by Occupations in Great Britain, 1905. During the year ending November 30, 1905, there were reported to the Board of Trade of Great Britain, as killed in the course of their employment. 2,797 workpeople, exclusive of seamen, this number being 159 more than in 1904. The number of fatal accidents to seamen for 1905 was 1,506, an increase of 433 as compared with 1904.

The following table shows the accidents classified by the trades in which they occurred, during the year ending November 30, 1905, with comparative figures for 1904:

The total number of cases of poisoning and of anthrax reported under the Factory and Workshop Act during the year ending November 30, 1905, was 671, consisting of 601 cases of lead poisoning, seven of mercurial poisoning, three of phosphorous poisoning, one of arsenic poisoning, and 59 of anthrax. Fortyfive deaths were reported, 22 of which were due to lead poisoning, one to phosphorous poisoning, and 15 to anthrax. Compared with the year ending November 30, 1904, the reports for 1905 show an increase of 25 cases of poisoning and anthrax, and an increase of 13 deaths from such causes.

Prosperity in Lancashire Cotton Mills, It is estimated that new cotton mills with a capacity of nearly 5,000,000 spindles are now in course of erection in Lancashire. These new English mills have as many spindles as are in the whole of India and twothirds as many as are in our Southern States. This increase in Lancashire is equal to five per cent in the spinning capacity of the world, and is equal to 10 per

cent of the spindles already in England; 20 per cent of those in the United States; two-thirds of the spindles in the South; five-sixths of those in France; or all the spindles in India This remarkable increase is due to a prosperity that has no parallel in the English cotton trade. . . .

This prosperity is due to a combination of conditions. Some are lasting and others transient, and include: Last year's large crop of American cotton which enabled English spinners to stock their mills with cotton at eight to nine cents a pound; a scarcity of cotton goods caused by the short time of 1904 and the reopening of Asiatic markets by the peace of Portsmouth, giving the mills higher prices for goods, and, what is still better, large orders for future delivery on which the machinery could be run at the highest efficiency and lowest cost of production; a plentiful supply of skilled operatives at low wages; a large supply of capital at low rates of interest; and a command of the world's neutral markets for cotton goods.

Some of these conditions which have made possible the large profits noted above have been modified dur. ing the past few months. The cotton operatives of Lancashire have secured an advance of five per cent in wages; and the price of cotton has risen from 8% to 10% cents a pound. Thus the operation of the univer. sal law of compensation has diverted a portion of the abnormal profits of the English cotton manufacturers to their operatives and the cotton planters of the South. Textile World Record, November, 1905.

Census of France.

Consul-General Skinner, of Marseille, furnishes the following based on the report of the Minister of Commerce on births and deaths in France:

The official report of the French minister of commerce, dated November 3, 1905, sets forth that the excess of births over deaths reported in France for the year 1904 is 57,026, as against an excess in 1903 of 73,106. The diminution in the number of births is fairly general, extending to 56 departments out of 87. The increase in the number of deaths as compared with the number reported in 1903 is distributed in 41 departments out of 87. The minister concludes: "The situation of the country as regards increase of population is unsatisfactory, particularly if one compares the results established in France with those obtained in the principal European States." In a total of 818,229 children born in France in 1904, 71,735 were illegitimate, this proportion having been maintained without substantial change since 1894. The last census, in 1901, gave the total population of the country as 38,961,945.

A table is furnished showing the average excess of births over deaths per 10,000 inhabitants of the principal European countries. The following shows the excess of births for the periods 1891-1895, 1896-1900, and 1901-1903:

A table is also furnished showing the amount of population in France for the 10 years ending with 1903. From this table it appears that the annual averages were as follows: Marriages, 292,747; divorces, 7,434; total children born, 846,246, of whom 431,748 were males and 414,498 were females. These figures do not include 40,744 stillborn children. The average annual deaths were 797,001, of which 413,954 were males and 383,047 females. The annual average excess of births was 49.245. For the year 1894 the excess of births was 57,026.

Technical Education in Belgium. Technical, industrial, trade, commercial, and domestic science schools and courses, in Belgium, aided by government grants and subject to government inspection, numbered 602, on December 31, 1904, with an enrollment of 53,959 pupils and 3,228 teachers. All the schools are visited at least once a year by a general inspector of industrial and technical education, and the department of inspection gives advice regarding programs, progress of studies, expenses, and the appointment of teachers for the various institutions For schools in which instruction is purely theoretical the government pays one-third of the expenses allowed, and for trade and manual training schools twofifths. The government also bears one-half the expense for collections and models for the schools and for tools and machinery.

Government grants for technical education in 1904 amounted to about $314,000,

Of the 602 schools and courses considered, 256 were for boys. These included 106 industrial schools and courses, 35 apprenticeship and technical courses in weaving, 24 apprenticeship courses in stone cutting, 59 technical schools and courses, 14 advanced schools, and 18 commercial and scientific courses. The schools and courses have all been established on private initiative as need of them has arisen, the role of the government being to give general supervision of instruction, allowing the promoters to choose the methods, experience having shown that such an arrangement gives excellent results. There are technical schools of all kinds and for all trades according to the necessities of various parts of the country, each suited to local usages and customs. Practical work is the foundation of the course in every case; considerable stress is laid upon mechanical drawing, and almost all the schools give some attention to the theory and technology of the trade taught. Both day and evening sessions are held; some of the courses are free, for others tuition is charged; sometimes the apprentices are paid for the useful work done by them; sometimes work for the pupils is supplied and paid for by associations of employers. The shops and schools do not attempt to produce perfect workmen, skill being acquired only with time and experience. The schools give the general knowledge necessary to the exercise of the trade or calling.

The 346 schools for girls include 282 schools and classes in domestic science, six apprentice shops, and 58 trade schools and courses. To the Belgians belongs the honor of having taken the initiative in practical organization of instruction in domestic science. The institution of schools of housekeeping was recommended by the Labor Commission in 1886 as an important means of bettering conditions of living for workingmen. The first schools of the kind were established in 1889. The housekeeping classes are attended by pupils from 12 to 14 years old; the schools by older girls. The practical work of the schools and classes covers arrangement and care of a house and furnishings; washing and ironing linen; cutting, making, and