Supposing then that a convention has been duly ratified by a number of states, what guarantee is there that it will be enforced? Clearly unequal enforcement would largely destroy its value, and would penalise the countries which had acted up to their obliga- tions. To meet this contingency the Treaty provided that where a state failed to carry out its obligations after having its attention drawn to the matter, the governing body of the International Labour Office might, if it saw fit, appoint a commission of in- quiry. If the commission's report was unfavourable and the state in question still refused to remove the cause of complaint, the matter could be referred to the Permanent Court of Inter- national Justice, who would issue a final judgment and might suggest the adoption of the appropriate economic penalties against the defaulting country. In practice it may be held highly improbable that it would ever be necessary to go to such lengths, but this attempt to provide an effective sanction for international engagements is not without interest.
Washington Conference, ipip. The first International Labour Conference was held in Washington in Oct. 1919 as fixed by the Treaty. The fact of President Wilson's illness and of the failure of the United States to ratify the Treaty clouded the atmosphere. Moreover, the prevailing industrial strife in America did not make a favourable setting for the first attempt at cooperation between Capital, Labour and the governments on an international scale. Nevertheless, 123 delegates, drawn from 39 countries, assembled: 73 representing governments, 25 the employers and 25 the workers. They were accompanied by about 150 advisers, a good proportion of whom were women. The conference sat for a month and, once it had found its feet, worked with astonishing purpose and enthusiasm. It dis- persed with the feeling that its work had not been in vain. Six draft conventions and six recommendations had been adopted by the necessary two-thirds majority, most of them almost unanimously. It must suffice here to enumerate them, calling attention to one or two points of special interest. The first draft convention provided for the 8-hour day and the 48-hour week in industrial undertakings, with a number of modifications and exceptions which are indispen- sable to meet the special needs of particular industries or particular countries. Particularly notable were the articles dealing with Japan and India, which, though not bringing them up to the western stand- ard at one bound, contain very considerable reductions in the hours of labour hitherto permitted in those countries. Further draft conventions provided for the establishment of employment ex- changes and other measures for combating unemployment, for the prohibition of the industrial employment of children under 14, for the assistance of women in industry before and after childbirth, and for the prohibition of the employment of women and young persons at night. In addition, recommendations were adopted dealing with the treatment of emigrants, the establishment of medical inspection of factories, the prevention of anthrax and lead poisoning, etc.
These results of a month's work on the part of such a hetero- geneous and polyglot assembly meeting for the first time were cer- tainly noteworthy. They were not reached without a great deal of keen discussion. Employers and workers stated their views with freedom and force, but at the same time with restraint, and not infrequently it was the r61e of the government delegates to construct a bridge between them. But for all the differences of standpoint, mentality, language and interest, which made the conference such a fascinating microcosm, there was a spirit of good-will and a general common-sense, which enabled it to arrive at solid and workmanlike agreements. The foundation was laid for a real system of inter- national labour legislation immeasurably in advance of anything which had been contemplated before the war. The pioneer work of the International Association for Labour Legislation, which suc- ceeded in bringing together an official conference at Berne in 1906, resulting in a convention for the prohibition of the use of white phosphorus in matches, found its consummation at Washington in 1919, when the beginnings were made of a comprehensive inter- national labour code.
The Washington conference completed its work by laying the foundations of the International Labour Office, the other branch of the permanent organization. The conference elected the govern- ing body, which under the Treaty is charged with the control of the office, and which consists of 24 members. Of these 12 are appointed by governments, eight by those of the eight states of chief industrial importance, the remaining four being selected by the government delegates of the conference. There was some contention as to which were the eight chief industrial states, but finally, under protest from India, the following list was accepted: the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, 1 Japan, Belgium and Switzerland. As the first named had not ratified the Treaty, and was therefore not a member of the organization, a fifth place was pro- visionally thrown open for election, and the following countries were
1 Germany and Austria were admitted to the organization at one of. the first sitt ngs by 71 votes to I.
chosen to complete the number: Spam, Argentina, Canada, Poland and Denmark. In addition to the government members, six em- ployers' and six workers' representatives were chosen by the em- ployers' and workers' groups, which guided their selection by the industrial importance of the organizations which they contained rather than by considerations of nationality. The result was some- what ill-balanced, as 20 out of the 24 members were from Europe, though the equilibrium would have been better preserved had America been able to fill the three places allotted to her. The con- ference felt the position to be unsatisfactory and passed a resolution in this sense, which led to the reconsideration of the constitution of the governing body.
When elected, the governing body proceeded to appoint the first director of the International Labour Office in the person of M. Albert Thomas, the French Socialist leader, who had created the French Ministry of Munitions during the war, a man of great energy, capacity and enthusiasm. He quickly set to work, and the office took up its quarters in London in Jan. 1920. Its functions as de- fined by the Treaty fall into two broad divisions. On the one hand, it carries out all the preparatory and complementary work connected with the conference. It prepares the agenda, presents a report on each item containing all the information available on the subject, it performs the secretarial duties, and conducts all the correspond- ence arising in connexion with the ratification, interpretation and enforcement of the conventions and recommendations adopted. It also undertakes any inquiries which the conference may order. These may be termed the diplomatic functions of the office, which are performed by one of its main branches known as the "diplo- matic division." The other main branch is the "scientific division," which, as its name implies, is engaged in the work of investigation and research. The Treaty imposes upon the office " the collection and distribution of information on all subjects relating to the inter- national adjustment of conditions of industrial life and labour," together with the publication in French and English of " a periodical paper dealing with problems of industry and employment of inter- national interest." It is easy to see how huge a field the office is thus expected to cover. There are few, if any, industrial problems which have not their international bearing. If the war and the economic chaos resulting from it had brought home one truth to the world, it was that economically all the nations are to a greater or lesser degree interdependent. And when the importance of labour as an element in production, whether industrial or agricul- tural, is considered, it may readily be seen that almost all labour problems have their international aspect. It is unnecessary to insist upon a point which is demonstrated on the one side by the tendency of capital to create amalgamations and working agree- ments, which take no account of national frontiers, and on the other by the movement of the trade unions in almost every important industry, including agriculture, towards the formation of inter- national federations for the protection of their interests. Neither international strikes nor international collective agreements are outside the realm of practical politics.
Genoa Conference, 1920. The first big task of the International Labour Office was the preparation of the second annual conference, which was held at Genoa in June 1920. It was exclusively concerned with the conditions of employment at sea. Of all industries the shipping industry is the most essentially international, and of all callings the seaman's has perhaps received the least attention from the social legislator. The Genoa conference was more specialist in character than its predecessor, and its results necessarily less impressive, because they were less universal in their scope. Never- theless, they are likely to produce considerable practical improve- ments in the sailor's lot. The conference adopted three draft con- ventions. The first suppresses the " crimp," who made his living by fleecing the seaman under the pretext of finding him employ- ment. The convention requires the abolition of all private employ- ment agencies carried on for purposes of gain, or where they are allowed to continue temporarily, their supervision by the govern- ment. Moreover, each government undertakes to establish free public employment agencies conducted either by the State or by the joint effort of shipowners and seamen. The second convention provides for the payment to seamen of compensation for unem- ployment in the event of the loss of their vessel. Finally, a third convention prohibits the employment of boys under 14 on board ship. In addition to these conventions, recommendations were adopted in favour of unemployment insurance for seamen, and in favour of the establishment of national maritime codes. This last measure was regarded as the prelude to the drafting of an inter- national code, which would enable sailors of all countries to serve under uniform conditions, under whatever flag they sailed. The International Labour Office was in 1921 engaged in collecting the material on which the joint maritime commission appointed by the conference might begin the work of framing such a code for submis- sion to a future conference. Finally, two further recommendations were passed dealing with the hours of work on fishing vessels and in inland navigation, but on the difficult question of hours of work in seagoing ships, the conference failed to reach agreement. There were long and vigorous debates on this subject, the main point at issue being whether the French system of a 48-hour week with unlimited overtime compensated either by extra wages or by time off in port,
