AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF INDICATED COMMODITIES IN 20 CITIES IN NORWAY, JULY TO DECEMBER, 1914, AND JANUARY TO MARCH, 1915. Following the usual custom, the current prices of 12 articles of prime necessity in the family budget in Spain have been collected and changed to relative prices for a period of 5 years, and presented in two tables: One, as found in the capitals of the Provinces, and one in the various villages and cities, for two half-yearly periods of each year-April to September and October to March (summer and winter prices). The bases for the index numbers are the average prices of the nine periods from October, 1909, to March, 1914. In arriving at the total for all commodities the geometric average has been used. The following table presents relative prices for the villages and cities. Prices given for the capitals vary but slightly from those given for the provincial centers of population. 1 Boletin del Instituto de Reformas Sociales, Madrid, June, 1915. RELATIVE RETAIL PRICES (INDEX NUMBERS) OF 12 FOOD COMMODITIES AS REPORTED FOR THE CITIES AND VILLAGES OF SPAIN, OCTOBER, 1909, TO SEP. TEMBER, 1914. (Relative average prices, October, 1909, to March, 1914,=100.) Although the increase in prices which commenced with the beginning of the year continued in May, the increase was not so great for that month as for April preceding. Out of a total of 56 articles, of which average prices have been calculated, based on returns from 44 localities throughout Sweden, prices of 27 rose during the month of May. Among these were butter, fresh eggs, bread, except wheat bread (soft); meat, except salt mutton, pork; and peat (used for fuel). Prices of 11 commodities fell and those of 18 remained unchanged. Prices in localities in Norrland, one of the northern Provinces of the Kingdom, rose relatively less than prices in other parts of the country. There follows a table which shows the increase (percentage) in retail prices in Sweden over prices of July, 1914, as reported from 44 different localities during the months of August, 1914, to May, 1915. 1 Sociala Meddelanden utgivna av K. Socialstyrelsen. Stockholm, 1915, No. 6. INCREASE IN RETAIL PRICES IN SWEDEN OVER PRICES OF JULY, 1914, AS REPORTED FROM 44 DIFFERENT CENTERS FOR INDICATED MONTHS, AUGUST, 1914, TO MAY, 1915. STRIKES IN SPAIN, MAY, 1915. The monthly bulletin of the Institute of Social Reform in Spain (Instituto de Reformas Sociales) for June, 1915, reports 26 strikes as occurring during May of that year. The most important strike reported, so far as regards the number of employees affected, was that of the seamen. Of the 2,400 persons employed at the port of Barcelona the entire number went on strike, demanding a 10 per cent increase in wages; after remaining out 17 days, the strikers were successful. Of the 1,200 barbers in the city of Barcelona 500 went on strike for increased wages, a 9-hour day, abolition of certain of their duties, and the regulation of Sunday rest. This strike lasted 25 days, but was unsuccessful. The only other strike of great importance, as measured by the number of persons affected and its duration, was that of the makers of electrical adding machines in Barcelona, involving 161 out of 328 employed; it was begun for the reinstatement of 5 discharged workmen. The strike lasted 33 days and was unsuccessful. OFFICIAL REPORTS RELATING TO LABOR, RECEIVED FROM JUNE 1 TO JULY 31, 1915. In the following pages the various State and foreign reports relating to labor have been listed, and a brief note or statement made in regard to the character of the report or its contents, and in certain cases a brief summary of the more important facts presented in the report. It will be the purpose of this REVIEW to present such lists. monthly, adding wherever the material seems to demand it more extended abstracts of the contents. UNITED STATES. California.-Commission of Immigration and Housing. First Annual Report, January 2, 1915. 123 pp. Illustrated. Contains a brief digest of preliminary surveys covering the tenement and lodginghouse problems in San Francisco, naturalization of aliens in California, education of the immigrant, the immigrant and the administration of law, and the immigrant and transportation. A report of the inspection of labor camps and of the activities of the bureau of complaints covers about 55 pages. A chapter is devoted to constructive housing and one to the problem of unemployment, the latter giving conclusions and recommendations and a plan for temporary relief. Scattered throughout the report are tables showing (1) working force and residents at date of inspection in labor camps, (2) general condition of labor camps, (3) sanitary condition of labor camps, (4) nationalities represented in labor camps, (5) summary of reinspection returns on labor camps, (6) complaints received, (7) transcript of complaint register, and (8) bad law violations in tenement houses in San Francisco. Industrial Accident Commission. Tentative Mine Safety Rules, 1915. 66 pp. Prepared by a committee of mining men at the request of the industrial accident commission under authority granted by the State workmen's compensation, insurance, and safety act, and published for the purpose of inviting criticisms or suggestions by employers, employees, and others interested. The list of tentative rules is prefaced by a statement addressed to the California mine operators and employees calling attention to their application and giving the method to be pursued in filing objections. Colorado.-Inspector of Coal Mines. Second Annual Report, 1914. 83 pp. The mines of Colorado produced 1,067,516 fewer tons of coal in 1914 than in 1913, the reasons for the decrease, as given in the report, being the European war, the Mexican war, the Colorado coal strike, and the exceedingly mild fall and winter. The report contains data respecting men employed, production of coal, chronological list of fatal accidents, nonfatal accidents, and ends with a directory of coal mines. A list of shot firers holding certificates issued during 1914 is presented. Of the 75 fatal accidents reported 42 were the result of carelessness or negligence. Five hundred and thirty-eight nonfatal accidents were reported. The important facts contained in the report include: Number of mines in operation. Number of new mines opened... Number of old mines reopened... Number of mines closed or abandoned... Tons of coal produced..... Total number of machines used.. Average number of days worked.. Number of men employed as miners.. Total number of men employed in and about the mines.. Amount of compensation paid for death and injury. 188 13 17 21 8, 201, 423 281 176.9 5, 618 10, 596 8.2 1, 451 666, 458 1,582 $73, 256.53 $440,056. 60 Third Annual Report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1914. Atlanta, 1915. 126 pp. Presents 9 pages of historical matter on the commerce of Georgia, followed by 85 pages devoted to a short history, together with a list of the manufactures, the streams, banks, railroads, and population of each county in the State. The report contains 17 statistical tables relating to the following industries: Textile mills; men's and women's garments; cotton compresses; fertilizer factories; cotton-oil mills; brick, tile, and clay products; foundry, machine, and repair shops; marble and granite quarries; bottlers and brewers; electric power plants; gas plants; buggies, carriages, and wagons; ice factories; and miscellaneous manufactures and utilities. Пlinois [CHICAGO].-First Semiannual Report of the Department of Public Welfare. March 15, 1915. 125 PP. Tells of the creation, organization, and purpose of the new department; gives an account of the activities of the bureau of employment, and of the bureau of social surveys. The bureau of employment investigated unemployment in Chicago, labor agencies in Chicago, vocational education, and city farming. The bureau of social surveys collected data relating to the 12 smaller park districts, 50 cheap lodging houses, housing survey in the Italian district of the seventeenth ward, and the function of a farm colony. On the subject of unemployment it is stated that of 58,204 workers studied, 6,995, or 12 per cent, were found to be unemployed. Of the 5,237 reporting as to length of time unemployed, 707, or 13.5 per cent, stated that they had been out of employment less than 1 month; 1,676, or 32 per cent, between 1 month and 2 months; 733, or 14 per cent, from 2 months to 3 months; 644, or 12.3 per cent, more than 3 months and less than 6 months; 848, or 16.2 per cent, between 6 and 12 months; and 629, or 12 per cent, 1 year and over. Kentucky. Bureau of Agriculture, Labor, and Statistics. Twentieth Biennial Report, 1912 and 1913. 255 pp. Illustrated. Confined largely to work along agricultural and statistical lines, the result of labor inspection having been made in the annual labor report. |