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 ITALY

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ITALY

volving a larger sum of money, has not produced the results desired, because the cost of construction in Italian yards is higher than those in other countries, and consequently the Government's compensation is without practical effect. According to a new bill, the direct protection of the State would assist the mercan- tile marine by a compensation of equipment for a du- ration of not less than ten months per ton burden and by compensation for velocity, for every half mile above a 14-knot speed, as well as per ton. For ships constructed in foreign yards, the bill provides that these compensations be one-half of those granted in the case of ships that are built at home. It grants a great many reimbursements of taxes and other com- pensations to the thirty-one shipyards of the kingdom, if they use the home metallurgical products. This bill continues the former policy of uniting the metallur- gical, the shipyard, antl the navigation interests. The sum total of merchandise that was shipped or un- loaded in 1906 amounted to 2:5,287,916 tons, of which less than half (10,- 503,815 tons) was carried on Italian bottoms; this is worthy of consider- ation, in view of the fact that 75 % of the value of Italian com- merce with foreign powers is trans- ported by sea. There are 302,296 persons bearing certificates of matriculation or whose names appear on the registers of seafaring people. On 31 Dec, 1907, 4981 sailing ships, with a tonnage of 503,260, and 548 steamships with a tonnage of 497 ,537, had received certificates of nation- alization.

(6) Coinage. — ^The metrical system is in force in Italy for the measure of objects and of value; the lira is the unit of value; its nominal worth is 20 cents. Italy, France, Belgium, Greece, and Switzerland form the Latin Monetary Union, having a bimetallic basis, which is imperfect, however, because since 1879, suspicion has attached to the coinage of the pieces of five lire ; the fractional coins were nationalized. From 1862 to 1907 the State coined, in all denominations, a sum total of .?220,000,000 and a sum total of .$154,000,- 000 were withdrawn from circulation, with a loss of 7-2 per cent on their nominal value. On 31 December. 1907, the treasury resources were: gold, 303,313,673 lire; silver, 71,862,419 lire; nickel. 2.537,285 lire; cop- per, 2,595,212 lire; total. 3S,:;9, 12! Uire (.576,061,826).

The Bank of Italv, the Bank of Xaples, and the Bank of Sicily are tlie only financial establishments that are authorized by law to issue bank-notes that are legal currency; this authorization is for a limited time and upon condition of financijil compensation to the State ; the bank-notes are for values of 50, 100, 500, and 1000 lire respectively (law of 9 October, 1900). The Treasury also issues state notes of 5, of 10, and of 25 lire, all legal currency, and to some extent, legal ten- der, because, although they are de jure convertible into metallic money, the treasury de facto does not redeem them. This kind of paper circulation is lim- ited by law to 467, .500. 000 lire, and on 31 December, 1907, it actually amounted to 437.518,410 lire, being 268 per cent of the gold security. The amount of the bank-notes in circulation on the same date was 1,851,- 541,950 hre, being 72-4 per ceat of the gold reserve.

In sum, the paper circulation on 31 December, 1907, amounted to 2,289,060,360 lire, or 68 lire per head of the population.

(7) Labour Organization. — The highest wages for workmen in the manufacturing industries and in com- merce is of slightly more than a dollar a day, and the lowest is 30 cents, for men; and the salaries for women vary from 60 to 10 cents a day. According to the census of 1901, there were 2,471,672 wage-earning women, above the age of 9 years, as compared with 5,662,672 men; and according to the declaration made by employers conformably with the law of 19 June, 1902, concerning the work of women and of children, there were, in 14,510 establishments, 414,915 work- men and 414,975 working women. The laws of 17 May, 1898, and of 29 June, 1903, compel the employer, in some trades, to insure his workmen against acci- dents in work, and by the law of 8 July, 1883, the Cassa Nazionale was established for that purpose, without, however, prohibiting such insurance in pri- vate companies or in syndicates of mutual insurance. Accord- ing to the statistics of the Ufficio del La voro, working men and women, in- sured and non-in- sured, who suffered through accident, in 1906, numbered 1116,561, of whom 'I'JiiU were women; I li'TC were 398 cases nt death and 259 accidents in which many workmen suf- feretl. It should be noted that the great increase in the num- ber of accidents is not to be ascribed to a noteworthy in- crease of industrial activity, or to less prudence, but rather to the malice of the work- men, and it is extremely doubtful whether there does not exist a medical criminal school, established for the purpose of encouraging the men to simulate seri- ous injuries. Recently a bill has been introduced into the Legislature to remove the.se evils, which cause high insurance premiums and are otherwise detrimental to industry and to insurance societies. The statistics compiled by the "Ispettorato generale del Credito e dclla Previdenza" in 1906 show that there w^ere 63,369 accidents for which financial compensation to the amount of 8120,900 was paid. In 1905 there were 540,850 workmen insured m the Cassa Nazionale di a.ssicurazione: the number of injured among them amounted to 14o-50 per 1000, and the indemnities paid to .SS30,000. In the third quarter of the year 1908 there were 48,621 accidents.

Regarding the organization of workmen, on 1 Jan- uary, 190S, there were 4477 leagues, having a mem- bership of 612,804 industrial workmen; on 1 January, 1909, there were 98 camcre del lavoro, liaving 3834 sections with 501,220 members; 43 of these cnrnfre be- longed to the Confederazione del Lavoro; there were 22 fedcrazioni of trades, on 1 January, 1908, with 2550 sections and 191,599 members. There were 2814 leagues registered in the camcre del lavoro, and 1324 in the federazioni of trades, while 339 were indepen- dent. In 1906 there were 1302 strikes, affecting 257,- 809 workmen; in 1907 there were 1963 strikes, affect- ing 276.535 workmen, and in 1908 there were 1543 strikes in which 218,289 workmen participated. The year 1907 developed the greatest number of strikes,