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of Munitions, as well as the Board of Agriculture, were using the exchanges, it was difficult to effect a satisfactory coordination. During the war period the Ministry of Labour exercised the two functions of advising on general labour policy and of preparing for the post-war situation. So far as the first part of the Minis- try's functions was concerned, great difficulties were experienced in effecting control. Not only had the Ministry of Munitions and the Admiralty established large and powerful Labour Depart- ments, but as time went on separate Labour Departments under the Coal Controller of the Board of Trade and the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries were established, to be followed by an attempt to set up a separate department for the Air Ministry.

Each of these departments had its own special and pressing prob- lems. Each was constantly driven by the pressure of circumstances to give decisions, without previous reference to the Ministry of Labour, which seriously affected Government policy as a whole. Thus the Ministry of Munitions made wages orders affecting women and men, which were not necessarily consistent with the awards given by the Committee on Production.

The Coal Controller arrived at a settlement with the miners which had the most unexpected repercussions on every class of miner engaged in non-ferrous mining. Here again there was no previous consultation with the Ministry of Labour. The Board of Agriculture pursued its own policy, and, under the Corn Production Act of 1917, set up Agricultural Wages Boards, which departed from the principles guiding the Trade Boards controlled by the Ministry of Labour in that the agricultural boards were entirely independent of any Government control. Moreover, the Board of Trade in its negotiations with the railway men was often too pressed by cir- cumstances to be able to consult with the Ministry of Labour.

All these difficulties were almost inevitable with a new depart- ment created in the middle of the World War a stranger among long-established departments. But in spite of these handicaps the existence of a single department which had no direct interest in production and could view labour problems from a general point of view was undoubtedly of great service. Of still greater service was the work performed by the Ministry of Labour during the war in preparing for peace conditions. The Ministry of Labour was responsible for drawing up, in conjunction with the War Office, the elaborate schemes for the demobilization of the forces, and was responsible with the Ministry of Recon- struction for drawing up the schemes for demobilization of civilian war workers. In addition the Ministry of Labour, by the creation of Whitley Councils, the extension of the Trade Boards Act and the proposals with regard to the control of wages after the war, was laying the post-war foundations.

Immediately upon the declaration of the Armistice at the end of 1918, it was decided to transfer to the Ministry of Labour the labour departments of the Admiralty and Ministry of Munitions. There was set up, to meet the special emergency created by demobilization, a new department of the Ministry of Labour under a Controller- General of Demobilization and Resettlement. The Ministry was then, for the immediate post- Armistice period, divided into two broad halves. The first half dealt with industrial conditions, and was responsible for the administration of the Wages (Temporary Regulation) Act, conciliation, the administration of the Trade Boards Acts, watching the progress of Joint Industrial Councils, and for the general industrial policy of the Government. This half of the Ministry of Labour was placed under the Permanent Secretary.

The second half of the Ministry of Labour under the post- Armistice scheme, under the Controller-General, divided itself into permanent and temporary departments. The permanent department was the machinery of the employment exchanges. Side by side with this permanent machine there were three temporary departments:

(a) The Training Department, which was set up to provide training for disabled men and for certain classes of women.

(6) The Appointments Department, which dealt with the placing and training of officers and men of similar educational qualifications.

(c) The Civil Liabilities Department, which provided re- settlement grants for ex-servic'e men under certain conditions. 1

1 A separate department for Ireland, under a secretary responsible to the Permanent Secretary, was established early in 1919.

With the enormous accession of work that the Armistice threw upon the Ministry of Labour it was not possible to attempt to plan out the permanent foundations of the department. Consequently at this stage, so far from all questions of labour policy being trans- ferred to the Ministry of Labour, at least one new department deal- ing with labour matters was set up in the Mines Department of the Board of Trade. Moreover, the Board of Agriculture retained its complete control of questions of agricultural labour, though it was rapidly becoming apparent that these questions could not with advantage be considered separately from the general labour ques- tions before the Ministry of Labour.

The difficulties of this grouping of the situation were further ac- centuated by the increasing importance of the handling of interna- tional labour problems. With the establishment, under the Versailles Treaty, of an International Labour Office, it became of even greater importance that there should be one department, speaking for the Government as a whole, on labour topics. It was plain that action taken by the International Labour Office would profoundly affect labour problems in the United Kingdom, but, owing to the heavy burden cast upon the Ministry of Labour, it was not possible defi- nitely to associate the department with the governing body of the International Labour Office.

Post-war Reconstruction. When the first rush of Armistice work was over, an attempt was made to lay down to some extent the permanent lines upon which the Ministry of Labour was to develop. It was recognized that in any event it would be necessary to proceed slowly with the complete centralization in one department of all labour matters, but it was felt that an organization must be devised which would be ultimately capable of taking such a position if this were finally decided upon. Speak- ing generally, the functions of a Ministry of Labour would be:

(a) To advise the Cabinet of the day generally on labour policy.

(6) To administer the Government's labour code; by which is meant, to be responsible for all Acts of Parliament directly affecting the relations of employers and employed.

(c) To act for the Government in respect of international labour problems as a sort of foreign office for labour.

The situation did not permit of the discontinuance of the temporary departments. Apart from these, the Ministry is divided into three main administrative departments with certain common service departments.

The administrative departments are:

(a) The Industrial Relations Department, which deals with arbitra- tion and conciliation relations with the industrial courts set up under the Industrial Courts Act, 1919, the administration of Joint Industrial Councils, the Fair Wages Clause and hours of labour.

(b) The General Department, concerned with administration of the Trade Board Acts, intelligence and statistics, and parliamentary and international work.

(c) The Employment and Insurance Department, responsible for administration of the Unemployment Insurance Acts, control of employment exchanges, employment of ex-service men, and juvenile employment.

The Common Services departments include (i) Finance, (2) Establishment, and (3) Solicitor's Department.

It will be observed that this arrangement tends to divide the work of the departments into two main groups conditions and employment, with a central group which, for the purpose of con- venience, has taken part of the work of conditions of employment in the administration of trade boards. Considerable tracts of work, however, which would be covered by tfre general basis.of the depart- ment suggested above, are not included. Thus the responsibility for the administration of the Factory Acts and the Workmen's Compensation Acts remains with the Home Office, as does the responsibility for the labour policy in respect of merchant seamen with the Board of Trade, for railwaymen with the Ministry of Transport and for agricultural labour with the Ministry of Agricul- ture. Moreover, though the existing arrangements provide for the administration of unemployment insurance by the Ministry of Labour, this is the only degree in which the department has respon- sibility for the treatment of the able-bodied unemployed. So far as international labour is concerned, the position has been made definite by the establishment of an interdepartmental committee under the chairmanship of the Minister of Labour, which is re- sponsible to the Cabinet for handling international labour problems.

(H. WF.)

UNITED STATES. The Department of Labor was created by Act of Congress on March 4 1913. Its chief official, the Secre- tary of Labor, is a member of the President's Cabinet. He is " charged with the duty of fostering, promoting and developing the welfare of the wage-earners of the United States, improving their working conditions and advancing their opportunities for profitable employment." He is authorized to direct the