company or society the premiums as they become due, during the unexpired period of the contract and in return therefor shall receive all sums which the private society is obligated to pay under the contract, in consequence of the occurrence of industrial accidents.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply only when the employer who has made the insurance contract in question gives notice of its existence within three months after this law goes into effect to the public authority of the first instance of the district where the establishment subject to insurance is located, and at the same time deposits the policy in question.

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS.

ARTICLE 62. The government is authorized to advance the funds necessary at first for the establishment of the insurance institution, according to article 9, and for the conduct of the same until the expiration of the first contribution period, as fixed in the constitution. This money shall be refunded by the insurance institution in question. ART. 63. This law shall go into effect three months after its publication.

The date with which the effectiveness of the insurance designated in article 1 begins, shall be subsequently determined by the Minister of the Interior through administrative order.

The Minister of the Interior is authorized to make all investigations needed for the organization of the insurance institutions designated in article 9, and especially to request from the proprietors of establishments subject to insurance all requisite information.

EXECUTION OF THE LAW.

ARTICLE 64. The minister of the interior and the minister of justice, in agreement with other ministers concerned, are intrusted with the execution of this act.

LAW OF JULY 20, 1894, RELATING TO THE EXTENSION OF ACCIDENT INSURANCE.(a)

ARTICLE I. The enterprises mentioned below, in so far as they are not already subject to insurance under the law of December 28, 1887, on insurance of workingmen against accidents, are subject to such obligation under this act:

1. All railway enterprises regardless of the kind of motive power employed;

2. All other enterprises which have for their object the transportation of persons or merchandise either by land or water, including inland navigation with the exception stated in article 2 of the law aforementioned regarding navigation enterprises which come under the maritime law;

3. Enterprises connected with dredging;

4. Enterprises having for their object the cleaning of streets and buildings (windows, roofs, etc.);

5. Industrial enterprises connected with warehousing-including storage houses and the storage of wood and coal as a wholesale business;

6. Enterprises connected with permanent theatres, whether they are in operation during the whole year or not, as far as concerns the workmen and administrative officials there employed as well as the actors;

7. Paid fire departments;

8. The digging of canals;

9. The sweeping of chimneys;

10. Operations connected with stonecutting, welldigging and construction work in iron and steel and similar classes of enterprises not hitherto included.

ART. II. The obligation of railroad enterprises in Austria (Article I, [1]) and other enterprises for land transportation (Article Î [2]) to insure their workmen against accidents occurring in the course of their employment, shall be extended to include also workmen and administrative officials who are temporarily employed in the territory of the Hungarian crown or who are permanently employed on the connecting lines or in frontier stations; nevertheless this obligation shall not be imposed if the persons mentioned are already insured against industrial accidents in virtue of the legislation of another state.

In enterprises connected with inland navigation subject to the obligation of insurance under Article I, [2], the obligation of insurance shall extend, in conformity with

• Reichsgesetzblatt (August 8, 1894) No. 168.

the following provisions, to all enterprises which have either their seat or a permanent representative within the domain subject to this law, and whose vessels navigate either regularly or occasionally in Austrian territory.

Workmen and administrative officials of these enterprises are insured:

(a) Against consequences of industrial accidents which occur within the domain subject to this law or on boundary waters, and

(b) If they are employed on the vessels which ply between Austria and Hungary or a foreign country, they shall be insured against injuries sustained in accidents occurring outside of the domain subject to this law if the accident occurred in the course of their voyage.

The obligation to insure does not apply to persons designated under b if they are already insured against industrial accidents under the legislation of another state.

The procedure for the determination of the right to compensation for an accident sustained by the insured person, if said accident occurred in the territory of the Hungarian crown or in a foreign country, shall be established by administratíve order. Affiliation with one of the insurance institutions established according to the law of December 28, 1887, is, as far as concerns the enterprises coming under Article I, [1] and [2], determined by the headquarters of the enterprise or of its permanent representative.

In case the law aforementioned provides for the intervention of the public authority of the first instance of the district in which this establishment or its permanent headquarters are located, said public authority of the first instance shall require the insurance of the aforementioned establishments.

ART. III. The delay allowed to proprietors of existing establishments belonging to one of the classes mentioned in Article I, [1] to [10], for the declarations prescribed by article 10 of the law of December 28, 1887, concerning workmen's insurance, as well as the date at which the obligation of insurance begins for these establishments, shall be determined by ordinance issued by the Minister of the Interior.

ART. IV. Contracts concluded before November 1, 1893, between a private insurance company and the proprietor of an establishment subject to insurance under this act, concerning the insurance of persons therein employed against industrial accidents, in case said contract has not expired at the time when the insurance here mentioned goes into effect, shall not be subject to the provisions of article 61, paragraph 2, of the law of December 28, 1887 (Reichsgesetzblatt No. 1 of 1888), provided, however, that within three months after this law goes into effect, the existence of the contract in question is made known and the policy is presented by the proprietor of said establishment, to the public authority of the first instance of the district within which the establishment subject to insurance or the enterprise connected with navigation or the permanent headquarters of the same are located.

ART. V. Proprietors of establishments subject to the obligation of insurance are permitted to insure against accidents according to the provisions of the law of December 28, 1887, with the insurance institutions to which the establishment belongs, themselves, their agents or representatives and persons who, without being subject to insurance are exposed to danger in the establishment.

Whoever makes use of this privilege must, in giving notice to the insurance institution, state approximately for each person insured, an amount of earnings not exceeding 2,400 kronen [$487.20], which shall serve as the basis for calculation of the proprietor's contribution and that of the compensation to be paid by the insurance institution. The right of the employer to charge up against the insured agents, representatives and others not subject to insurance but who are nevertheless insured, a share of the contribution as a part of their wages or salary or to withhold the same from their wages or salary, depends upon the agreement made between the employer and the insured. The provisions of article 17 and of article 22, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, of the law of December 28, 1887 (Reichsgesetzblatt No. 1 of 1888), do not apply to the contributions to be paid for this insurance.

The declarations prescribed by article 18 of the same law, and the accounts which must be forwarded to the insurance institution under article 21, apply as well to persons not subject to insurance who are nevertheless insured.

The insurance commences at the date when the declaration is received by the insurance institution, and ceases at the date of the declaration of withdrawal; nevertheless the period shall not be less than six months.

ART. VI. Proprietors whose establishments are not subject to insurance are authorized to insure against industrial accidents with the insurance institution of the district in which the establishment is located, themselves, their workmen and administrative officers and other persons mentioned in Article V.

An establishment voluntarily insured is subject to all the provisions of the law of December 28, 1887, excepting articles 17, 22 (paragraphs 2, 3 and 4), and 61 (para

graphs 2 and 3), provided that the right of the proprietor to withhold a part of the insurance contribution from the wages or salary of the insured, shall depend upon the private arrangement between the employer and the insured.

The insurance shall be contracted collectively for all the workmen and administrative officers employed in the establishment in question. It shall begin at the date of the receipt of the declaration and shall cease at the date of notice of withdrawal; nevertheless it shall not be for a shorter period than six months.

The employer and persons designated under Article V are subject to the provisions of that article.

The Minister of the Interior is intrusted with defining by ordinance, classes of risk for establishments insured in this manner, and the enrolling of each establishment in a class with indication of the proper percentage within the class shall be attended to by the insurance institution under article 18 of the law aforementioned, subject to appeal as provided for in that law.

For establishments for which a class of risk has not been determined by ordinance, the assignment to a class and grade is made by the competent insurance institution subject to governmental approval.

Associations of volunteer firemen and groups of such associations are authorized to insure their active members collectively against accidents sustained in the service, with the insurance institution of the district where the association or group of associations is located. Volunteer firemen insured in this manner are subject to the provisions with respect to corps of regularly employed firemen (Article I, [7]). The formulation of these provisions and especially the grading of firemen in classes of risk shall be made by the Minister of the Interior through ordinance.

ART. VII. The provisions of article 6, paragraphs 5 and 6, and of article 16 of the law concerning accident insurance in accordance with which for the reckoning of compensation or the insurance contribution respectively, the yearly earnings of a workman or an administrative official are regarded as equal to three hundred times the average daily earnings and are limited to 2,400 kronen [$487.20], do not apply to persons insured by railways under Article I, [1], or under Article V, as the case may be.

These persons shall be insured on the basis of their entire annual earnings, including variable amounts (mileage, hourly rates, etc.), but in case such entire annual earnings are less than the wages assumed as a basis of calculation under the law for accident insurance, they shall be insured on the basis of the last-named sum.

The contributions of the aforementioned persons are to be paid exclusively by the employer.

Railway employees who are insured either under Article I, [1], or Article V, and government employees insured according to Article V, who, under the conditions of the road's charter or other existing regulations, are entitled to free transportation, are not under the application of the provisions of the law of March 5, 1869 (Reichsgesetzblatt No. 27), if under this act they have a right to compensation apart from the provisions of articles 46 and 47, of the law concerning accident insurance.

Nevertheless, in case the aforementioned persons or their survivors have a right to claim compensation under the law of March 5, 1869 (Reichsgesetzblatt No. 27), the pension provided for the injured person by the accident insurance law shall be increased one-half and in case of permanent disability it shall be increased still more according to circumstances; nevertheless it shall not be more than double the amount provided for by the insurance law, that is, 120 per cent of the full annual earnings. The pension allowed to dependents shall be increased two-thirds.

ART. VIII. The application of the provisions of Article I, [1], and Article VII to the Hungarian or foreign railway administrations within the scope of this law shall be regulated by ordinance.

ART. IX. The provisions of article 59, paragraph 2, of the accident insurance law, do not apply to those insurance organizations founded under this act in which more than 50,000 persons are insured.

ART. X. This law shall take effect from the day of its promulgation.

The Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice in agreement with other ministers concerned are intrusted with the execution of this law.

BELGIUM.

ACT OF DECEMBER 24, 1903, RELATING TO COMPENSATION FOR INJURIES CAUSED BY INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS. (a)

CHAPTER I.-Compensation.

ARTICLE 1. Compensation for damages caused by accidents met with by workmen of establishments enumerated in art. 2, in the course of and as a result of fulfilling the labor contract governed by the act of March 10, 1900, shall be regulated according to the provisions of the present act.

Apprentices, even when receiving no wages, as well as salaried employees who are exposed to the same risks as workmen because of direct or indirect participation in the work, and whose annual salary fixed by contract does not exceed 2400 francs [$463.20], shall be iscluded with workmen for the purposes of this law.

Until proven otherwise an accident which has occurred in the course of fulfilling a labor contract is assumed to have been caused through fulfilling it.

ART. 2. The following private or public establishments are subject to this act: I. Mines, surface-mines, quarries, coke-ovens, manufacturing of coal briquets; ovens and workshops for dressing ores and quarry-products;

Blast furnaces, steel works, mills for producing and working over iron and other metals; smelteries;

Machinery construction and metal works, forges, iron foundries, locksmith and stove shops; the working of metals; the manufacture of bolts, nails, screws, chains, wire, cables, fire-arms, knives, and other metal implements or hardware;

Plate-glass, glass, cut glass and hollow glassware factories; the manufacture of ceramic products;

Manufacture of chemical products, gas and its by-products, explosives, matches, oils, candles, soaps, paints and varnishes, india-rubber and paper;

Tanneries and currying plants;

Flour mills; breweries, malt-houses, distilleries; manufacture of artificial mineral waters; sugar factories;

Masonry, carpentry, painting and other branches of the building trades; chimney sweeping, earth-works, well-digging, paving, highway construction and other civil engineering works;

Forestry establishments;

Establishments for land transportation of persons and goods; establishments for inland navigation, tracking, towing and dredging; warehouses for packing, loading and unloading; the operation of telegraphs and telephones;

Establishments, the running of which involves the use of steam, air, gas or electricity, the tension of which exceeds the limit to be fixed by a royal decree;

And, in general, establishments where machinery run by other than human or animal power, is used otherwise than temporarily.

II. Industrial establishments, not comprised under the heads above enumerated, in which at least five workmen are usually employed;

Agricultural establishments in which at least three workmen are usually employed; Mercantile shops in which at least three workmen are employed.

III. Establishments, not above mentioned, which, upon the advice of the Industrial Accident Commission, shall be declared, by a royal decree, as dangerous in character. ART. 3. Heads of the establishments or of branches of the establishments not specified in article 2, are permitted to comply with the provisions of this act.

In such a case they must make a special declaration to that effect for which a receipt will be duly issued to them at the office of the justice of the peace of the locality in

a Annuaire de la Législation du Travail, 1903, pp. 95-112, Publié par l'Office du Travail de Belgique, Bruxelles, 1904.

which the establishment is situated. In case the undertaking consists of several distinct establishments situated in different judicial districts, the declarations shall be made at each of the respective offices of the justices of the peace.

As regards establishments subject to the act of June 15, 1896, concerning shop rules, mention of the declaration shall be inserted in such shop rules worded and posted in compliance with the aforesaid act. Otherwise, the declaration is not valid, unless it be proven that it was known to the workman prior to his being employed. The fact of his knowledge thereof may be proven by all legal methods.

ART. 4. In case the accident has caused temporary total incapacity for work for over a week, the injured person shall be entitled, beginning with the day following the accident, to a daily compensation amounting to 50 per cent of his average daily wage.

In case the temporary disability is or becomes partial, the compensation shall amount to 50 per cent of the difference between the injured person's wages before the accident and those which he is able to earn before complete recovery.

In case the disability is or becomes permanent, an annual allowance of 50 per cent, determined by the degree of disability, as stated above, shall replace the temporary compensation, commencing with the day on which either by the agreement of the parties or by a final decision, the permanent character of the disability has been established. At the expiration of the term of revision provided by article 30, the annual allowance shall be supplanted by a life pension.

ART. 5. During the first six months the employer shall, under the following provisions, meet the cost of medical services and drugs incurred by reason of accidents. In case the employer has established a medical and pharmaceutical service entirely at his own cost and has made mention thereof in a special clause of the shop rules, the injured person shall have no choice of physician and druggist; this shall also apply in case when, in default of shop rules, the parties have agreed by special stipulation in the labor contract to have the service established by the employer.

In other cases the injured person shall have the choice of a physician and druggist, but the employer shall be required to pay only the amount stipulated in the contract at the scale of rates established by royal decree.

The compensation for medical and pharmaceutical expenses may be paid to those who have defrayed them. The persons to whom the amount of these expenses is due have a right of action directly against the employer.

ART. 6. In case an accident has caused the death of the injured person the following compensation shall be granted:

1. The sum of 75 francs [$14.48] for funeral expenses. The last paragraph of art. 5 applies to this compensation.

2. An amount representing the value of a life pension equal to 30 per cent of the annual wages as computed on the basis of the age of the injured person at death. This amount is granted exclusively to the following persons:

A. To a consort, neither divorced nor separated, provided the marriage antedates the accident; a widower, however, is entitled to compensation only in case the deceased was his support.

B. To legitimate children, born or conceived prior to the accident, and to illegitimate children, if acknowledged prior to the accident, provided that they are under sixteen years of age.

C. To grandchildren, under sixteen years of age, and also to relatives in the ascending line who were dependent on the deceased.

D. To brothers and sisters, under sixteen years of age, who were dependent on the

deceased.

A consort shall be entitled to but three-fifths of the amount of compensation in case there are several children; to four-fifths in case either one child or one or several of the beneficiaries of the other classes survive.

Children shall have precedence over the beneficiaries of the classes C and D; beneficiaries of class C shall exclude those of class D. Beneficiaries of the same class shall share in equal parts. In case no consort survives the grandchildren are cobeneficiaries with the children; but the distribution of the total amount shall be per stirpes.

The shares of consort and relatives in the ascending line shall be converted into life pensions.

The shares of other beneficiaries shall be converted into temporary pensions which cease in every case at the age of sixteen years. Upon petition from any interested party, however, the justice may, having first heard or summoned the parties, order another method of investing the capital; he may also, under the same conditions, equitably modify the distribution of the amount among the beneficiaries summoned concurrently.