Contagious diseases, and primarily syphilis and tuberculosis; and general noncontagious diseases, especially general disarrangements of nutrition because of chronic lead, alcohol, or other poisoning; tumors, malignant or benign; all mental diseases; organic or functional diseases of the central nervous system, organic heart diseases, knotty dilations of veins and varicose ulcers; such diseases of the respiratory ducts as interfere with respiration or speech, chronic pneumonia and pleurisy; purulent bronchitis and emphysema; such digestive diseases as have produced evident disturbances of nutrition; irreducible hernia, or such as can not be supported by a truss; genito-urinary diseases which threaten to cause early working disability; diseases of the bones, muscles, joints; chronic contagious eruptions, lupus of the face; such scars, or unhealed ulcers, as limit the mobility of members, blennorheic eye infections; trachoma and conjunctival scars; decrease of the power of sight; everted or inverted eyelids; purulent otitis media; considerable decrease of sense of hearing. While the list is comprehensive, in the majority of diseases the addition of the qualifying phrase "when interfering with the performance of duties" greatly reduces the stringency of the regulations and simply establishes the rule that only men physically able to perform the work satisfactorily, and not likely to lose their working ability in the near future, may be given employment.

While the general law includes, in addition to workmen, the technical employees only, all laws in regard to government establishments include all civil employees receiving a remuneration at a rate of not more than 1,500 rubles ($772.50) per annum.

A change of some importance consists in granting to orphans who, through illness or deformity, are incapacitated from earning a living, pensions for life instead of to the completion of the sixteenth year.

Payment of pensions for permanent disability is discontinued during the time the injured is reemployed in the same establishment if the wages paid him are not smaller than before. When such wages are smaller, the pension is equal to only two-thirds of the difference.

The pensions granted are paid irrespective of any subsidies or pensions which the pensioner may receive from the Government or anyone else.

The substitution of a lump-sum payment for the pensions is not permitted when the pension exceeds 24 rubles ($12.36) per annum. It is the practice in private industrial establishments to agree upon lump-sum payments, but these are not considered to be in the best interests of the workmen.

The methods of administration of the laws have been considerably changed, since the government establishments are not subject to the jurisdiction of the factory or mine inspectors to whom the larger share

in the administration of the law of 1903 is intrusted. These functions are intrusted to the administrative officers of the establishments; a committee of three members is organized for this purpose with the superintendent of the establishment as chairman, who acts independently in case of emergency. Thus, notice of accident must be given and also application for pensions or allowances made to him. He also grants allowances for temporary disability, the cost of medical treatment, or the funeral expenses, unless he prefers to refer them to the committee. Cases of permanent pensions for death or permanent disability, accompanied by all documentary evidence, must be referred to the committee, which renders a written decision, giving reasons for such, and the superintendent acts upon this decision. The procedure is different from that of the law of 1903, which requires friendly agreements between both parties, while here a purely administrative order takes its place. The claimant can file objections to the decision within two months from the day of receiving notice and demand reconsideration of the case. The committee must act upon receiving such an objection, and must give an independent consideration of the case within thirty days. If still dissatisfied, the claimant may choose one of two ways: He may either carry the case to the head of the ministry in whose department he is employed or enter a suit against the Government. The use of one of these two methods prevents the employee from taking advantage of the other. Suits are entered against the Government in the name of the superintendent of the establishment. The essential feature of this system is the decentralization of the administration, with a right of appeal to the head of the department.

STATISTICS OF THE OPERATION OF THE LAW.

The statistical information as to the application of the law of 1903 is limited to the establishments subject to factory inspection, and then including only the cases resulting fatally or in permanent disability. These data are presented in the following six tables.

In the following table the cases wherein settlements have been effected in accordance with the law and have been certified by the factory inspectors are compared with the total number of cases registered. The percentage has increased from 37.7 per cent in 1904, to 78.8 per cent in 1905, and 90.6 per cent in 1906. This indicates a growing frequency of peaceful settlements in the office of the factory inspectors-i. e., out of courts-though the low percentage of the year 1904 may be explained by the delay in settlements, which has carried many cases over into 1905. The cases of partial disability involving small compensation, are most frequently settled peacefully and the fatal cases least frequently.

NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS REGISTERED AND NUMBER AND PER CENT OF CASES CERTIFIED BY INSPECTORS, BY RESULT OF INJURY, 1904 TO 1906.

[Source: Ministerstvo Torgovli i Promyshlennosti. Statistiches kia Svedenia o Resultatakh Primenenia Zakona 2 iunia 1903 goda.]

In the following table are shown the number of cases for which annual pensions are actually granted and those for which the capitalized value is paid instead of annual pensions. In the vast majority of cases settled (all but 8 per cent in 1906) the annual pensions have been capitalized. Such capitalization of the annual pensions is found to be particularly common in cases of partial disability (93 per cent in 1905 and 93.4 per cent in 1906) where the computed annual pension is often very low; it is agreed to in about half of the fatal cases, and in comparatively few cases of total permanent disability (31.1 per cent in 1905 and 28.3 per cent in 1906). This frequent capitalization of the pension into a lump-sum payment is considered an evil by most Russian authorities on the subject, especially in fatal cases. When the degree of partial disability is low, and the pension therefore amounts to only a few rubles a year, such capitalization is justified, but in grave or fatal cases the employer may often force the employee to agree to a capitalization by refusing a peaceful settlement on any other conditions, for such capitalization at a sum equal to ten annual payments is often very advantageous to the employer. Within recent years, however, a considerable increase in the proportion of cases leading to pensions, rather than to lump-sum payments, has been noticed. From 7.9 per cent in 1906, it has increased to 12.5 per cent in 1907 and to 17.8 per cent in 1908. This may be explained by a gradual increase in the workmen's familiarity with the provisions of the law.

The table also shows that in a great majority of cases (about twothirds in round numbers) temporary disability allowances are granted before the degree of disability can be established.

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF CASES IN WHICH WERE GRANTED ANNUAL PENSIONS, CAPITALIZED PENSIONS, AND ALLOWANCE FOR TEMPORARY DISABILITY, 1904 TO 1908.

[Source: Ministerstvo Torgovli i Promyshlennosti. Statisticheskia Svedenia o Resultatakh Primenenia Zakona 2 iunia 1903 goda. "Svod otchotov fabrichnykh inspectorov za 1908 god.]

a In 1907 in 12 cases and in 1908 in 4 cases some dependent relatives accepted pensions and some lump sums. For this reason the additions of pension rewards and capitalized rewards gives a larger total than the number of cases. The larger total was used in computing the percentages.

b No data available.

In the following table are computed the average annual earnings, the total and average amount of computed pensions, and the average proportion of the pension to the wages. The legal rate of compensation in cases of total permanent disability is two-thirds of the annual earnings, and this proportion is upheld in practically all cases. In the fatal cases the maximum compensation allowed is two-thirds, but this maximum is evidently not reached in a great number of cases, for the average proportion is less than one-half the annual earnings.

The average pension is very low in cases of partial permanent disability. It was only 8.1 per cent of the earnings in 1906, 7.8 per cent in 1907, and 8.8 per cent in 1908. The fact that the number of cases of partial disability in 1906 was more than four times what it was in 1904 would seem to indicate that lighter injuries are being

compensated. The average is nevertheless remarkably low, when it is remembered that the minimum degree of disability practically used in the medical certificates is 5 per cent, which would correspond to a pension of 3,3 per cent, and that in the vast majority of permanent injuries the degree of disability is much higher. In fact, out of 189 classes of injuries contained in the table prepared for the guidance of the certifying physicians, only 65 were less than 25 per cent and 76 classes were 50 per cent or over.

Because of the great predominance of cases of partial disability over those of complete disability or death the grand average rate of pension in 1907 was only 8.4 per cent of the annual earnings, and in 1908 only 9.8 per cent. The average computed pension in 1908 was $79.23 for fatal cases, $129.72 in cases of total permanent disability, and $14.87 for cases of partial permanent disability, the average pension for all cases being $16.66 in 1908 as against $15.03 in 1907 and $15.49 in 1906.

NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS CERTIFIED, ANNUAL EARNINGS, AND COMPUTED AMOUNT OF PENSIONS, IN CLAIMS CERTIFIED BY FACTORY INSPECTORS, BY RESULT OF INJURY, 1904 TO 1908.

[Source: Ministerstvo Torgovli i Promyshlennosti. Statisticheskia Svedenia o Resultatakh Primenenia Zakona 2 junia 1903 goda. Svod otchotov fabrichnykh inspectorov za 1908 god.]