In case of infraction of article 33c, the fine shall be applied as many times as there are persons in respect to whom the provisions of the said article have not been observed; the maximum amount of the fine may, however, not exceed 500 francs ($96.50).

In case of a repeated infraction, the offender shall be prosecuted before the criminal court and be punished with a fine of from 16 to 100 francs ($3.09 to $19.30).

An infraction shall be considered as a repeated infraction if within one year previous to the present prosecution the offender has been condemned for a like infraction.

In case of several infractions punishable as repeated infractions, punishment by a fine shall be applied as many times as the offender has been convicted of new infractions; the maximum amount of these fines may, however, not exceed 3,000 francs ($579).

The criminal courts may apply the provisions of article 463 of the Criminal Code as to mitigating circumstances; in no case may the fine, however, be less than 5 francs (96.5 cents).

Manufacturers, agents, and middlemen are civilly liable for convictions of their representatives.

ART. 107. The factory inspectors, jointly with the officers of the police courts, are charged with the enforcement of articles 33a, 33b, 33c, 75, 76, and 77, and, in so far as commerce and industry are concerned, with that of articles 43, 44, and 45 of this book [of the Code].

NEW LEGISLATION RELATING TO CONVICT LABOR.

The vexed subject of employment of convicts received a considerable amount of attention from the legislatures of the current year, many of the acts and amendments being of minor importance, though a few laws of outstanding interest appear. The States of the West and Middle West continue to make use of prison labor for the manufacture of hemp and jute into binding twine and bags. The Montana Legislature this year provided for a referendum on the subject of a bond issue for the construction and equipment of a binding-twine factory in that State. In Oregon the erection of a flax mill is provided for.

Labor on highways is provided for by the laws of all the States of the Union with the apparent exception of Maryland, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, 18 States having enacted new or amendatory legislation on this particular subject this year. The preparation of road material at prison camps and on State farms is contemplated by several acts, while the Oklahoma Legislature arranges for the establishment of a steel plant for the production of material for bridges and public buildings of the State.

In many of the States wage allowances are to be made to the convicts for regular employment, while in others pay for overtime work is granted, and still others allow extra pay or extra good time for convicts employed outside the prison premises. It is a common provision also that a part, and in some cases all, the earnings allowed

convicts may go to the support of their dependents, if any, either automatically or on the request of the prisoner. Portions not so expended may be retained for the use of the convict when his term expires.

The Iowa statute prescribes the State account, State use, and public works and ways systems, the trades engaged in to be such as will develop the intellectual and moral capacity of the prisoners, and teach them useful trades and callings. The statute of Nebraska was the subject of considerable amendments, the State-use system being indicated as the method of employment, with the general direction that competition with free labor should be avoided. State convicts may also be let out to the counties and cities of the State to be used by them. The tendency to abolish the contract system has not reached its full development in Missouri, this system being allowed for not more than one-half the convicts. A binding-twine plant is to be established at the penitentiary, and other articles are to be made for State use and on public account.

One of the most important laws of this class is that passed by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, establishing a prison-labor commission made up of one member each of the board of prison inspectors of the Eastern Penitentiary and the Western Penitentiary and the board of managers of the industrial reformatory. This commission is authorized to arrange for the installation of machinery chosen by them of an amount, kind, and character suitable for the carrying on of the industries designated in the act. The manufacture and production of the supplies needed for the institutions represented on the commission, and for the State and counties, as well as for any institution owned and controlled by the State, are contemplated; also the preparation and manufacture of building material for the construction or repair of State institutions, and work for purposes of industrial training and instruction. Other work mentioned is the making and preparing of crushed stone, brick, tile, culvert pipe, and other material suitable for draining the roads of the State, or for road building and ballasting. These products and materials are to be disposed of to the State, counties, and public institutions of the State in accordance with arrangements to be made by the prison-labor commission, and an amount of $75,000 is appropriated to establish a manufacturing fund for their use and disposal.

Inmates of the institutions to which the law applies are to be credited with wages for the time actually at work, the rates to be fixed by the commission or by persons designated by them. The law establishes maximum and minimum rates of 50 cents and 10 cents per day, respectively, the differences in rates to be expressive both of the pecuniary value of the work done and of the willingness, industry, and good conduct of the prisoner. Dependents are to receive three-fourths of the earnings, and all if the prisoner desires; where there are no

dependents, earnings are to accumulate to the credit of the prisoner for his benefit at the time of release, and are to be paid to him in installments, one-third on discharge, one-third in three months, and the remainder in six months. Another act fixes a wage allowance of 25 cents daily for convicts engaged on public highways; this act forbids the employment of convicts at building any bridge or other structure of like character, or the doing of any work in connection therewith which requires the employment of skilled labor.

Perhaps the only novel feature in the laws noted is that of the Pennsylvania statute providing for installment payments of personal accumulations. The avoidance of competition with free and skilled labor continues to be a matter on which the legislatures incline to give expression; though on the other hand the idea of such training and instruction as will qualify prisoners for self-support and will better their intellectual and moral status is apparently pressing for recognition with increasing success.

CONFERENCE BOARD OF PHYSICIANS IN INDUSTRIAL PRACTICE.

An organization has recently been formed under the name "Conference Board of Physicians in Industrial Practice," the purpose of which is stated to be "cooperative effort in introducing into industrial establishments the most effective measures for the treatment of injuries or ailments of employees; for promoting sanitary conditions in workshops; and for prevention of industrial diseases." Dr. John J. Moorhead is chairman and Mr. Magnus W. Alexander, General Electric Co., West Lynn, Mass., is executive secretary. The members are:

Dr. T. John Bowes, Philadelphia Electric Co., Philadelphia, Pa.; Dr. W. Irving Clark, Norton Co., Worcester, Mass.; Dr. Royal S. Copeland, Consolidated Gas. Co., New York City; Dr. G. M. Dorrance, Joseph Campbell Co., Camden, N. J.; Dr. E. H. Hanna, Cadillac Motor Car Co., Detroit, Mich.; Dr. G. L. Howe, Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N. Y.; Dr. W. G. Hudson, E. I. DuPont de Nemours Powder Co., New York City; Dr. J. A. Jackson, New York Edison Co., New York City; Dr. Charles A. Lauffer, Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co., East Pittsburgh, Pa.; Dr. Frederic W. Loughram, State Insurance Fund, New York City; Dr. A. C. Marshall, Powers-Weightman-Rosengarten Co., Philadelphia, Pa.; Dr. J. D. McGowan, Commonwealth Edison Co., Chicago, Ill.; Dr. John J. Moorhead, Interborough Rapid Transit Co., New York Railways Co., New York City; Dr. Francis D. Patterson, Harrison Bros. & Co. (Inc.), The J. G. Brill Co., Electric Storage Battery Co., Philadelphia, Pa.; Dr. J. W. Rabe, The B. F. Goodrich Co., Akron, Ohio; Dr. W. E. Ramsay, The American Smelting & Refining Co., Raritan Copper Works, Barber Asphalt Paving Co., Perth Amboy, N. J.; Dr. L. M. Ryan, Hudson & Manhattan R. R. Co., The Foundation Co. of New York, New York City; Dr. F. E. Schubmehl, General Electric Co., West Lynn, Mass.; Dr. John Woodman, New York Edison Co., New York City; Dr. Randall Zimmerman, Westinghouse Air Brake Co., Wilmerding, Pa.

RETAIL PRICES IN VARIOUS FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

The bureau made a study of prices as affected by the war in Bulletin No. 170, and has, from time to time, issued in the MONTHLY REVIEW statements of the movement of current retail prices in those countries. The following table is an attempt to compile the available data of retail prices, based on official sources, and is aimed to show the percentage increase for indicated periods in the retail prices of the more important food articles. The table is necessarily fragmentary, but if used with proper caution may be of some value. The table follows:

PER CENT OF INCREASE IN RETAIL PRICE OF SPECIFIED ARTICLES OF FOOD IN SELECTED COUNTRIES.

It is not possible to secure any statement as to the relative increase in all commodities for any period of time, except in the case of Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. For Great Britain the general increase in prices on October 1, 1915, as compared with July, 1914, is given as 40 per cent; for Australia the increase from July, 1914, to May, 1915, as indicated for 46 articles reported from 30 towns, is 18 per cent; and in New Zealand it was 12 per cent for about 100 food commodities reported from 25 cities.

AUSTRALIA.

Under the heading "Retail prices, house rent, and cost of living," the Labor Bulletin of the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics shows the quarterly and monthly price fluctuations for foodstuffs. The fluctuations are not expressed in actual prices, but in index numbers, the prices for 1912 being taken as the base (1000). Index numbers are compiled for each of the six States of the Commonwealth on the basis of average prices in the five principal towns of each State. The commodities included are 46 in number-groceries (inclusive of bread), 18 commodities; dairy products, 7; and meats, 21. All commodities are weighted in proportion to consumption. The following two tables show the recent increase in food prices:

INDEX NUMBERS OF RETAIL PRICES (GROCERIES, DAIRY PRODUCE, AND MEAT) IN THE CAPITAL AND IN 5 PRINCIPAL TOWNS OF EACH STATE, WITH WEIGHTED AVERAGE FOR THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA (30 TOWNS) FOR THE YEAR 1912, JULY, 1914, AND THE FIRST 5 MONTHS OF 1915.

[Source: Labor Bulletin of the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, No. 9, p. 25. Melbourne, 1915.]