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enabling men to form guilds in small places. The guilds were also made civil bodies, empowered to hold land, to contract obligations, and sue and be sued in their corpo- rate capacity; and the collection of properly imposed dues was made enforcible by law Despite these concessions, the agitation continued through a series of acts until its consummation in the law of July 26, 1897, which, while not creating a general system of compulsory guilds, provided that, where a majority of the persons interested are in favor of it, a compulsory guild, to include all members of a trade in a certain district, can be created by the civil authorities. A compulsory guild, however, can be created only where there are a sufficient number of persons qualified to become members to insure that the guild will have sufficient strength to support the burden of its necessary expenditures. When a compulsory guild is created, all voluntary guilds of the same trades in the district must be dissolved, their property, except in special cases, going to the compulsory guild that replaces them. The boundaries of a guild district must be so fixed that no member will be so far removed from the headquarters that he cannot participate in the corporate life of the guild or benefit by its institutions.
Labor organizations in Germany have not been given the right of becoming legal persons through incorporation or otherwise. They cannot hold property, sue or be sued, or perform other similar acts in a corporate capacity.
The general principle of the German law regarding the labor contract is that the fixing of the relations between employers and employe's, except in so far as it is restricted by the imperial law, is a matter for voluntary agreement. The imperial restrictions refer to the employment of women and children, Sunday and night work, notices of leave, damages for broken contracts, etc.
The first important step in factory legislation was taken by Prussia through the act of March 9, 1839, which prohibited the regular employment of children under nine years of age in mines, factories, stamping-mills, etc., limited the maximum work- ing day for young persons under sixteen years of age to ten hours, and prohibited their employment nights, Sundays, and holidays. The law of June I, 1891, raised the minimum age limit for children employed in industrial establishments to thirteen years. Children under fourteen cannot be employed more than six hours a day, with a half-hour rest at noon ; and those under sixteen not more than ten hours, broken by three intervals of rest, one hour at noon and a half-hour in both forenoon and after- noon. All employe's under eighteen years of age must be permitted to attend technical schools. Employers are required to post conspicuously and according to a prescribed form, in rooms where women and children are employed, an extract of the provisions regarding their employment, besides a list of the names of the children employed, their working days, hours of labor, and periods of rest.
The restriction of Sunday work is difficult. The following classes are excepted from restriction: (i) work which public convenience requires shall be promptly executed; (2) the making of inventories required by law ; (3) the guarding, cleaning, repairing of plants, etc.; (4) work necessary to perform on Sunday in order to pre- serve materials and goods.
Since 1891 shop rules, not contrary to law, must constitute an integral part of the labor contract ; must be dated, signed, and conspicuously posted, and distributed, one copy to each of the employe's. Though employers must afford their employe's an opportunity to be heard in regard to the framing of the factory rules, they are not bound to conform to their wishes in any respect.
Since 1891 also the states are obliged to appoint special industrial councilors and factory inspectors.
Employers are required since that date to reckon wages in the money of the empire and to pay them in cash, generally to the workmen themselves, not to a third party. Payment cannot be made in restaurants or saloons without the permission of the lower administrative authorities.
A general industrial arbitration law for factory employe's proper was enacted July 29, 1890, leaving the creation of arbitration tribunals optional with the local communes or provincial authorities. This law, however, has not been very effective or satisfac- tory. W. F. WILLOUGHBY, " Foreign Labor Laws," in Bulletin of the Department of Labor, No. 27, March, 1900.
