the provisions of the law, after due notification or summary hearing, and the decree must appoint one or more persons to act as receivers. Thereafter it exists only for the purpose of winding up its affairs, and after the payment of its debts its property is disposed of by returning the amount of gifts and legacies to the donors or their heirs and devote the net assets remaining to work similar to that of the union dissolved.

SWISS LAW.

Full freedom of association is guaranteed all citizens of Switzerland by their constitution of 1874. Article 56 of this document reads: "The citizens shall have the right to form associations so far as they are not either in their purpose or methods illegal or dangerous to the State. The abuse of this right may be prevented by cantonal legislation." The Federal Government thus can not enact laws restricting the right of association for legal purposes. The right of the Cantons to regulate abuses of this right has been but seldom, if ever, exercised.

GERMANY.

In Germany the law of September 7, 1811, while maintaining the old trade guilds as institutions necessary to unite persons engaged in the same trade, provided that membership in them should not be compulsory, and persons not members were permitted to employ labor and have apprentices, while the Government reserved to itself the right to unite in guilds persons exercising the same trade if it was believed that the public interests would be served thereby.

The law of January 17, 1845, maintained the guilds in so far as they preserved the apprenticeship system, but from 1860 to 1865 a large number of the German States enacted laws having for their purpose the freeing of industry.

The recent tendency has been to give the trade guilds in Germany still greater powers. By the law of 1869 it was made no longer necessary that each guild should embrace only members of the same trade, a restriction which had prevented the formation of guilds in small places. The guilds were made civil bodies and given the power to hold land, to contract obligations, and to sue and be sued, and the collection of their dues was made enforceable by law. In 1884 the law provided that a journeyman not a member of a guild could not have an apprentice. The law of 1877 enabled the guilds to compel contributions for their expenses from persons outside the guild. All these laws relating to trade guilds were consolidated in the general law of July 26, 1897. Under this law a compulsory guild may be created where the majority of all the persons interested are in favor of it, this guild to include all members of a trade in a certain district. Under the labor code of 1869 workingmen have full right to form trade unions that is, unions for the purpose of jointly attempting to raise their wages or to improve their condition in other respects, with provisions similar to those of the United States against intimidation. The formation of technical trade unions by workingmen is still left to the laws or the individual States of the German Empire.

The whole system of the legal regulation of trade guilds and apprenticeship, as has been said, is now set forth in the law of July 26, 1897.

The essential features of this system are fully shown in the following paragraphs:

Persons carrying on trades on their own account can form guilds for the advancement of their common trade interests. The objects of these guilds shall be: (1) The cultivation of esprit de corps and professional pride among the members of a trade; (2) the maintenance of amicable relations between employers and their employees, the securing of work for unemployed journeymen, and their shelter during the period of their nonemployment; (3) the detailed regulation of the conditions of apprenticeship and the care for the technical and moral education of apprentices; (4) the adjustment of disputes between guild members and their apprentices, as contemplated by the law of July 29, 1890, concerning industrial arbitration.

In carrying out these purposes the following lines of action are specifically recommended by the law to the guilds: (1) The creation of institutions for the development of the industrial and moral character of masters, journeymen, and apprentices, and notably the maintenance of technical schools and the promulgation of orders for their administration; (2) the determination of the conditions under which persons may become masters or journeymen and the granting of certificates to that effect; (3) the establishment of funds to aid guild members and their families, journeymen, apprentices, and helpers in cases of sickness, invalidity, death, or other trouble; (4) the organization of arbitration tribunals to take the place of the ordinary arbitration authorities for the adjustment of disputes between members and their employees; (5) the creation of a general business organization for the purpose of advancing the trades for which the guilds are created.

In general the jurisdiction of a guild is limited to that of the administrative district in which it is located. Exceptions, however, can be authorized by the central authorities.

Each guild must have its individual constitution, setting forth the rules for its government, the rights of members, and its own obligations. This constitution must contain provisions concerning: (1) The name, location, and district of the guild, and the branch of industry for which it was created; (2) the objects of the guild and the permanent institutions, especially those for the benefit of apprentices, that it intends to create; (3) the conditions of admission, resignation, and expulsion of members; (4) the rights and duties of members, and especially the basis upon which dues will be assessed; (5) the appointment of a board of managers and the determination of its powers, the composition and powers of the guild assembly, the manner of voting, the verification of accounts, and generally the provision of a scheme. of government for the guild; (6) the establishment and attributes of a journeyman's commission; (7) the enforcement of regulations concerning the employment of journeymen, apprentices, and helpers, and the attendance upon schools by apprentices; (8) the creation and fixing of the mode of procedure of arbitration tribunals between members and their employees; (9) the levying and enforcement of fines; (10) the manner in which the constitution can be amended or the guild dissolved.

The constitution must not contain any provisions which do not relate to the duties of the guilds as determined by the present law, or which contravene any legal provisions. It must be approved by the superior administrative authorities of the district in which the guild is located. This approval can only be refused when the constitution

does not conform to legal requirements, or when there is already in existence in the district a guild for the same industry or industries. When any of the institutions enumerated above, such as aid funds, arbitration tribunals, etc., are organized by a guild, special regulations for their administration must be prepared, which must also be submitted to the authorities for approval. These officers can exercise their discretion in granting or refusing their approval, but must give their reasons when adverse action is taken. An appeal from this decision can be taken to the central government.

Separate accounts must be kept of the receipts and expenditures of each institution, and the funds of each must be kept separate from the general funds of the guild.

Guilds are corporate bodies, and can acquire property, make contracts, and sue and be sued in their corporate capacity. Their creditors have recourse only against the corporate funds of the guilds.

Membership in guilds is limited to the following classes of persons: Those who exercise on their own account in the district the trade for which the guild is created; those who hold the position of foreman or a similar office in a large establishment; those who fulfill the conditions of the above two classes, but have ceased to work without taking up any other trade, and handicraftsmen (Handwerker) working for wages in agricultural and industrial pursuits. Other persons, however, may be admitted as honorary members.

The admission of members can only be made subject to such examinations as are prescribed by the constitution, and this examination can only relate to the test of the capacity of the applicants to carry on their trades. Membership can not be refused to anyone fulfilling the legal and statutory requirements, nor can anyone be admitted without fulfilling these conditions.

Members can resign at the end of any official year, provided a prior notice is not required by the constitution. This notice can not be for a longer period than 6 months. Members upon resigning lose all right to a share in the property of the guild, and, unless it is otherwise specifically provided in their constitutions, in the funds of the subsidiary institutions. Upon the death of a member his interest devolves upon his widow or heirs, and the latter can be permitted by the constitution to vote in his stead in the guild assembly.

No member can be required by his guild to do anything or to pay any dues not having reference to the objects of the guild, nor can the funds of the guild be diverted to other purposes. Dues properly levied for the support of the guild or its subsidiary institutions, and fines, can be compulsorily collected in the same way as communal taxes. Disputes concerning dues are decided in the final instance by the superior administrative authorities.

Guild funds must be invested in the manner provided by the civil code in the case of orphan funds, and an accurate account must be kept of all receipts and expenditures. The approval of the supervising authorities is required for all important financial transactions, such as the purchase, encumbrance, or sale of real estate, or the alienation of property having an historical, scientific, or artistic value.

The guilds are given the power to create sick funds, through which the obligations imposed by the sick insurance law may be fulfilled. The administration of these funds may be intrusted exclusively to the journeymen and helpers, but if the guild members consent to pay half

the dues required, the president and half the committee of administration can be named by the guild.

Arbitration tribunals. The arbitration tribunals organized by the guilds must be composed of a president, designated by the supervising authorities and not necessarily a member of the guild, and at least two members, chosen half from among the guild members and half from among the journeymen and other employees of the guild members. The representatives of the guild members are elected by the guild and those representing the workingmen by the workingmen themselves. Their expenses and an indemnity for loss of time are paid to members for each meeting they attend. The amount of this indemnity and the payment to the president are fixed by the special regulations for the arbitration tribunal.

Whenever a request is made for the intervention of this body it must convene within at least 8 days thereafter and must give its decision as soon as possible. If the decision is that something must be done, the defendant shall, if the plaintiff demands it, be ordered to pay a fixed sum in case he fails to obey the order within the time fixed by the tribunal. This penalty can be collected by a civil action. Decisions must be in writing. They acquire an executory force, unless an appeal is taken to the ordinary arbitration authorities within one. month. In certain cases, as where an irreparable damage may result and the matter in dispute does not exceed 100 marks ($23.80) in value, the decision can be declared immediately executory. This can be avoided, however, by the person obligated giving a suitable guaranty. The decision can be enforced by the police authorities, or in conformity with the procedure for enforcing civil judgments.

Government. The administration of the affairs of the guild is intrusted to a guild assembly, a board of managers, and commissions for the management of the subsidiary institutions that may be created within the guild. The assembly is either composed of all the guild members or of a certain number of representatives, as may be provided by the constitution of each guild. The board of managers is elected by secret ballot by the assembly or by acclamation, if there is no objection. A record must be kept of all elections.

The law sets forth in considerable detail the respective spheres of action of the assembly and the board of managers. Without entering into these particulars, it is sufficient to say that all the more important acts, such as the voting of the budget, the acquisition of property, etc., must be approved by the assembly, while those of less importance may be settled by the board of managers.

The guilds have the right to supervise by delegates the execution of the laws concerning industrial work in their trades, and to examine the places of work and rooms destined for apprentices. If this power is availed of, the delegates must report their action to the inspectors of factories whenever requested to do so by those officers.

The journeymen employed by the guild members are permitted to participate in the management of the guild affairs within certain limits as prescribed by law and by the constitutions of the guilds. This they do through a journeymen's commission (Gesellenausschuss), whose mission is to participate in the regulation of the conditions of apprenticeship, the examination for journeymen's certificates, and the establishment and administration of all institutions in which the journeymen participate, or for the support of which they are required to

pay dues. The manner in which this participation is exercised must be regulated in detail by the constitution of each guild upon the following basis: At least one member of the journeymen's commission must take part in the deliberations of the board of managers; all members of the commission must take part in the work of the guild assembly; and, in all bodies for the administration of institutions for the support of which the journeymen contribute, the commission must elect members equal in number to those elected by the guild, not including the president.

Administrative control.-All guilds are subject to the oversight of the superior administrative authorities of the districts in which they are located. This oversight consists especially in the duty of the authorities to see that all legal and statutory requirements are fulfilled by the guilds. Compliance with these obligations can be compelled by the imposition of fines. The authorities adjust disputes relative to the admission or exclusion of members and elections. They have the right to have a representative present at examinations. They convoke and direct guild assemblies when the board of directors of a guild refuses or neglects to summon them. The presence of a representative of the authorities is necessary at all deliberations at which the subjects of the modification of the constitution of the guild, or of the regulations of any of its institutions, or the dissolution of the guild are under consideration. The authorities can dissolve a guild whenever it refuses to comply with the legal requirements, does not properly perform its duties, or becomes so reduced in membership as no longer to be able effectively to accomplish its mission. The method to be pursued in bringing about the dissolution of a guild is carefully stated in the law, but is not of sufficient importance to be here reproduced.

Compulsory guilds.-As has already been pointed out, the German Parliament, while desiring to foster the growth of trade guilds, was unwilling to take the radical step of making the creation of such institutions compulsory upon employers and journeymen. Instead it adopted the compromise measure by which compulsory guilds shall be created only under certain circumstances and when the persons interested seem to be in favor of their establishment.

The law thus provides that when the majority of the interested parties in a certain district consent to the introduction of the principle of compulsory guilds, the superior administrative authorities can create such an institution. When this is done membership is compulsory upon all persons carrying on the trade to which the guild relates on their own account, whether they were in favor of a compulsory guild or not. Exception is made in favor of those persons who are at the head of large industrial establishments (factories) and those who do not employ journeymen or apprentices. These persons, however, can become members if they desire to do so. The constitution of each guild will determine, subject to the approval of the higher administrative authorities, the extent to which handicraftsmen (Handwerker) who are employed in agricultural and industrial pursuits for wages and as a regular thing employ journeymen or apprentices, and persons conducting a household industry, shall be members of the guilds.

The boundaries of a guild district must be so fixed that no member will be so far removed from the guild headquarters that he can not