"The Appointed Members made every effort to secure an agreement between the employers and workers, and made various suggestions with the view of attaining that object. Neither side, however, was able to make any approach to agreement. The employers were unable to agree to any advance on the present minimum rates, while the workers were equally unwilling to accept less than the advance which they proposed. It fell, therefore, to the Appointed Members to bring forward a compromise, and they submitted to the Board a motion that a proposal should be drafted and sent to the District Wages Committees for consideration, to increase the present minimum wage for male workers of 21 years and over in all areas by 4s. The effect of this, if adopted, would be to raise the present minimum for ordinary workers from 42s. to 46s. in 26 areas and in the remaining 13 areas to a higher figure.'

It was remarked, with perfect truth, that this statement did not explain why the figure of 46s., and no other, was adopted. That the cost of living had risen substantially since the former rate was fixed, was obviously a material factor in convincing the Appointed Members that a further increase was necessary, but it was not claimed that this consideration alone influenced them in their decision. The fact is, that the settlement of a fair and reasonable minimum rate of wages is not a matter of mathematics or logic. If it were, it would be comparatively easy instead of being extraordinarily difficult. It is often argued that some scheme should be adopted whereby agricultural wages should rise or fall automatically with the rise or fall either in the cost of living or in the prices of farm produce. Such schemes appear attractive until they are closely examined. The initial difficulty is to fix a datum line. On the cost of living basis, it is evident that it would be illogical to differentiate between workers on a farm, and other workers living in rural districts but employed in other occupations. The agricultural labourer is entitled to claim as high a standard of comfort as his fellowworkers in other industries; but it is obvious, for many reasons, that he cannot secure it, and that the result of attempting to enforce it would, under present conditions, only result in widespread unemployment. To relate wages to the prices of farm produce has often been Vol. 235.-No. 466.

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suggested; but an equitable basis would be very difficult to arrive at. Prices rise or fall from causes over which neither farmers nor labourers have any control, and are, in no sense, a measure either of the profits on the one hand or the value of services on the other.

If any sliding scale for the automatic adjustment of agricultural wages were adopted, probably the most equitable basis would be that of the gross output of the farm. It is true that this also is largely determined by causes beyond human control, the weather being still the dominant factor. But, taking one season with another, the efficiency of labour is probably the greatest of sublunary influences on the amount of produce obtained from the land. If it were possible to devise some means whereby the worker would have a pecuniary interest in securing the maximum output from the land on which he works, the advantages are self-evident. It is for this reason that the application of the principle of profit-sharing or co-partnership to farming attracts many of the wiser and more far-sighted occupiers of land. There will be no stability in British Agriculture, and no contentment among the rural population, until the workers on the land feel a direct interest in its production. Agricultural labourers are the largest class of food-producers in the country; but they have no real consciousness of it. When the farmer and the labourer establish co-operative relations, when each, in his degree, has an equal incentive to make the earth yield her increase, then, and not until then, will the labour problem in agriculture approach solution.

R. HENRY REW.

Art. 11.-THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE.

By establishing the Permanent Labour Organisation as a part of the machinery of the League of Nations, the authors of the Peace Treaty of Versailles were acting in accordance with the oft-repeated wishes of the organised international working-class movement. At international congresses and conferences of both Trade Unionists and Socialists the pressing need for an institution of this kind was frequently urged. Far-seeing and progressive employers had also demanded some form of international regulation and co-ordination of labour legislation; and since 1890, when the first international conference on labour legislation was held at Berlin, most of the industrial countries have been sympathetic to the idea. At the Berlin Conference, which was attended by Government representatives from Germany, AustriaHungary, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and Norway (then united), and Switzerland, standards were adopted concerning the employment of women and children, work in mines, Sunday labour and factory inspection. But no conventions were then drawn up, nor were any further official conferences held for fifteen years. In the mean time, several unofficial conferences had been organised, and a pseudo-official body, the International Association of Labour Legislation, had been created for the purpose of bringing about the regulation of labour conditions by international agreement. This Association, however, carried on its activities in circumstances of great difficulty. Its office at Basel was chiefly supported by small subsidies from certain interested governments. Its total expenditure did not exceed 80,000 francs a year; while the staff consisted only of a Director with five or six assistants. In spite of its limited resources and powers, the Association, however, did excellent work. It issued a periodical Bulletin on Labour Laws in French and German, and, later, also in English, and published from time to time special reports on subjects, such as the systems of factory inspection in the various countries. But there was no driving force behind the Association. At the Official

Conferences it had no representatives, nor were employers or workmen represented. These gatherings lacked interest, and the officials who attended them showed little zeal for the subjects they were called upon to discuss. The results were disappointing. At the outbreak of the war the position, from the point of view of those who believed in international action for the improvement and general levelling-up of the conditions of labour, was entirely unsatisfactory.*

The new organisation brought into existence by the Peace Treaty is built on more solid foundations, and is furnished with a clear and definite mandate, as well as with the means for carrying it into effect. Part XIII of the Treaty, under which the International Labour Organisation is constituted, contains the preamble:

'Whereas the League of Nations has for its object the establishment of universal peace, and such a peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice;

'And whereas conditions of labour exist involving such injustice, hardship, and privation to large numbers of people as to produce unrest so great that the peace and harmony of the world are imperilled; and an improvement of those conditions is urgently required: as, for example, by the regulation of the hours of work, including the establishment of a maximum working day and week, the regulation of the labour supply, the prevention of unemployment, the provision of an adequate living wage, the protection of the worker against sickness, disease, and injury arising out of his employment, the protection of children, young persons and women, provisions for old age and injury, protection of the interests of workers when employed in countries other than their own, recognition of the principle of freedom of association, the organisation of vocational and technical education and other measures;

'Whereas also the failure of any nation to adopt humane conditions of labour is an obstacle in the way of other nations which desire to improve the conditions in their own countries;

"The High Contracting Parties, moved by sentiments of justice and humanity, as well as by the desire to secure the

'The International Labour Organisation: A Comparison,' published by the International Labour Office, Geneva, gives a short account of the International Association for Labour Legislation and its work.

permanent peace of the world, agree to the following:' (here follow the articles establishing a permanent organisation for the promotion of the principles set out in the preamble).

In Article 427 of the Treaty the following methods and principles are laid down as being 'well fitted to guide the policy of the League of Nations' and to 'confer lasting benefits upon the wage-earners of the world':

1. The guiding principle . . . that labour should not be regarded merely as a commodity or article of commerce. 2. The right of association for all lawful purposes by the employed as well as by the employers.

3. The payment to the employed of a wage adequate to maintain a reasonable standard of life as this is understood in their time and country.

4. The adoption of an eight hours' day or a forty-eight hours' week as the standard to be aimed at where it has not already been attained.

5. The adoption of a weekly rest of at least twenty-four hours, which should include Sunday wherever practicable.

'6. The abolition of child labour and the imposition of such limitations on the labour of young persons as shall permit the continuation of their education and assure their proper physical development.

7. The principle that men and women should receive equal remuneration for work of equal value.

'8. The standard set by law in each country with respect to the conditions of labour should have due regard to the equitable economic treatment of all workers lawfully resident therein.

9. Each State should make provision for a system of inspection in which women should take part, in order to ensure the enforcement of the laws and regulations for the protection of the employed.'

This striking declaration of principles and methods obviously required for its execution the institution of an authoritative international body equipped with ample powers and resources. Hence the Treaty set up a Permanent Labour Organisation as a largely autonomous department of the League of Nations. The details of the Organisation, its constitution, powers, and duties are carefully worked out and set forth in forty-one articles