Page:The Labor Laws of Soviet Russia (1920).pdf/15

 law on the subject. The Industrial Code which is a portion of Vol. II, Part 2, of the Compiled Statutes of the Russian Empire, contain provisions relating to labor booklets in Sections 92, 136, 137 and following. Section 137 reads as follows:

"In the booklet of account must be entered, (1) the name, patronymic, and surname of the worker; (2) the term of employment and the term of his passport; (3) the amount of wages, specifying the methods of their computation and terms of payment; (4) the amount of rent for use by the worker of the dwellings, bath, etc., provided by the factory or mill; (5) other terms of employment which the contracting parties may deem necessary to enter in a booklet; (6) entries of the amounts earned, with a statement of the amount of fines imposed upon the worker, and the cause thereof; (7) an extract from the laws and rules of internal administration, defining the rights, duties, and responsibilities of the workers."

The plain object of the labor booklet is to furnish the worker, in case of dispute, with evidence of the work performed and pay received by him. Every one familiar with the labor situation in the United States knows that the calendars of the inferior courts in all industrial centers are crowded with wage cases. Quite frequently the worker is unable to prove his claim "by preponderance of evidence." In the court the employer's word is as good as the wage earner's word. The Russian law has made provision for it, so as to avoid endless litigation.