fund by reducing the minimum of deposits, by influencing children from 6 to 14 years of age to join the fund, as well as by appropriations for annual subsidies by the national and provincial governments to mutual aid societies, who induce their members to join the fund. Little success, however, was achieved thru these measures, as far as solving the pressing problem of old age relief.

The law of 1900 was, therefore, enacted which sought to encourage wage-earners to provide annuities for old age, by assisting them thru state contributions and by giving special grants to the needy aged. The law provides that any person over 18 years of age may pay into the fund for himself or for another person. The depositors are not required to make regular payments either at fixed periods or of a fixed amount. Minimum deposits, however, are one franc (19 cents). The law excuded from benefits those classes who pay above a certain minimum amount in taxes or licenses, and state officials who are entitled to old age pensions by virtue of existing laws. The age when annuities are payable is set at 65, and the amounts of the annuity cannot exceed 1,200 francs ($231.60). The government adds its contribution in the form of premiums which are added to the sums paid by the insured. Governmental premiums cease when the sums credited to the insured are sufficient to secure an annuity of 360 francs ($72.00).

Originally the governmental allowances were rather small and did not prove sufficiently attractive to the old people. The amounts were, therefore, increased in 1903, so that the government gave an allowance of one hundred per cent. on the first six francs ($1.16) deposited by a person, who on January 1st, 1903, was between the ages of 40 to 45; for those persons who were between the ages of 45 to 50 on that date, the subsidy rose to 150 per cent. and amounted to 200 per cent. on the first 6 francs ($1.16), to those persons who were 50 years old at the time the law was enacted. The effect of these subsidies may be seen from the following figures. "In 1890 the number of insured was only 10,000 and under the influence of the subsidies began to grow, though slowly, and by 1899 it amounted to 169,000. The systematic granting of subsidies ordered by the act of 1900, in one year doubled the number of depositors. In 1902 it reached half a million. The increase in the rate of subsidies in 1903 brought the number to 636,000, and by 1910 it was well over 1,000,000."*

To meet the immediate problem of old age relief, the Belian gov ernment in addition to subsidizing savings, practically established a system of temporary straight old-age pensions. A straight pension was given to all persons 65 years of age and over, if they were Belgian subjects and had been residents of Belgium for at least one year prior to their application for relief. They must also have been work

*I. M. Rubinow, "Social Insurance," p. 342.

99%

men, which is defined as, "men and women habitually working with their hands for an employer, in consideration of a wage, whether such work be performed on time wage or piece wage, at home or away from home, and whether it be domestic, agricultural, industrial or handicraft work." The applicant must also be in want, which means one whose resources are under ordinary circumstances insufficient to enable him to support himself and his family in accordance with the standard of comfort prevailing among workmen of his trade in the district in which he resides."**

The amount of the straight pension given is very small, namely, 65 prancs ($12.55). The law also provided that persons who were not less than 55 years of age in 1901 were to get a similar pension when reaching the age of 65. But those between the ages of 55 and 58 inclusive, were to get no pension, unless they have paid into the general fund for at least three years a total of not less than 18 francs ($3.47). This was to have ceased on January 1st, 1911, but the law of May 11, 1912, made a further extension to persons who belonged to the last named age group at the time of the passage of the act, which was to have prolonged it to 1914. Altho the experience of the Belgian fund has proved more successful than any other, it was obviously due to the extreme measures undertaken to attract depos itors. The subsidies, in many cases, amounted to practically straight governmental grants. It is also claimed that, in spite of these efforts, the average annual payment per account in Belgium has been steadily decreasing.

CANADA.

In 1908 the Canadian Parliament passed an act authorizing the issuing of government annuities for old age. Amending acts were passed in 1909, in 1910 and in June 1913. The minister of trade and commerce, under this act, is authorized to make contracts with any person domiciled in Canada for the sale of an immediate deferred annuity, as follows: "(1) For the life of the annuitant, (2) for a term of years certain, not exceeding 20 years, provided the annuitant shall so long live, (3) for a term of years certain, not exceeding 20 years, or for the life of the annuitant, whichever period shall be the longer. Also for an immediate or deferred annuity to any two persons domiciled in Canada during their joint lives and with or without continuation to the survivor."

No annuity can be granted on the life of any person other than that of the actual annuitant. It cannot be less than $50 a year and the total amount payable by way of an annuity cannot exceed $1,000 a year. Except in cases of invalidity or disablement, no annuity shall

*Twenty-fourth Annual Report of United States Commission of Labor, Vol. 1, p. 511. **Ibid., p. 512.

be payable before the age of 55 years. If the annuitant dies before the expiration of the specified number of years, the annuity must be paid to his legal representatives for the remaining number of years, unless agreements to the contrary have been made between the State and the annuitant.

The system of government annuities is in charge of a superin. tendent of government annuities in the department of trade and commerce. Payments are made in three forms: weekly payment, yearly payment, and single payment. The rates for females are somewhat higher than those for males. Premiums may be paid to the departent directly or to any postmaster. Any person between the ages of 5 and 85 may purchase an annuity, and any contract providing for the annuity to commence at a greater age than 85, is subject to the same terms of purchase price, as if the age were exactly 85. Plans are also provided by which employers may co-operate with their employes in the purchase of annuities.

In addition to this voluntary insurance system against old age, the government has also provided for the benefit of the employes of the Inter-colonial Railways and Prince Edward Island Railways, a separate fund which was established by the Act of March 27th, 1907, and which was later amended in 1908 and in June 1913. Under this fund, the insured persons and the state contribute equal shares, the latter's contribution, however, cannot exceed $100,000 per annum. The employe's first monthly contribution is fixed at three per cent. of the monthly wage, and the remainder at one and one-half per cent. Pensions are given, (1) to those who have attained the age of 70; (2) to those who have become physically or mentally incapaciated; (3) to persons who have attained the age of 60 and wish to be retired from service (after 15 years of service in all the three cases); (4) to persons permanently disabled, as a result of injuries while at work, and (5) to persons who at the time when the act was passed have already reached the age of seventy and who have been at least ten years in the service. The amount of the pension is based on one and one-half per cent. of the average monthly pay received during the 8 years immediately preceding the granting of the allowance, multiplied by the number of years of service. The maximum, however, is $20 per month, and cannot be more than twothirds of the average monthly wage. It is also provided that before an employe can become entitled to participate in any of the benefits he must serve 6 months on probation, during which period he must contribute to the fund.

ITALY.

The Italian "National Institution For the Insurance of Workers Against Invalidity and Old Age" was establish in 1898. Since then

it has been amended several times. It is a system of voluntary insurance for wage-earners as expressly avowed in its name. Its purpose is to offer protection against old age to manual laborers, and other citizens who pay a tax not exceeding 30 lire ($5.79) per year. Other classes also may insure themselves but have no right to the special subsidies. In the beginning, the government appropriated ten million lire ($2,000,000) and provided, in addition, certain other revenues, for the fund.

The pensionable age is 60 years for men and 55 for women. Men employed in mines, furnaces, glass factories, foundries, railroads, etc., may be pensioned at 55. The pension may also be postponed to 65, in that case, increasing proportionately. The amount to be deposited annually is left to the discretion of the insured, but a minimum of six lire ($1.16) annually is required, no single contribution of which is to be less than 1 lire (19c). For the special industries mentioned, the minimum is nine lire. The government's contribution must not exceed ten lire ($1.93) per annum. Twenty-five years of contributions is required, but this period may be reduced for persons advanced in years; and special subsidies are also provided for those whose acquired pension would be too small. In case of permanent invalidity-which means the reduction to less than one-third of the normal earning capacity-payment of annuities is allowed after five years of contributions to the fund have been made. A special invalidity fund has been created for this purpose, and special benefits are given to invalids.

The amount of annuities range from 120 lire ($23.16) to 360 lire ($69.48). At the end of 1910 the total number of accounts opened was 300,000 amounting to some $5,000,000. The number insured, according to Dr. Rubinow, after twelve years of the fund's operation, constituted only 2 per cent. of the total population gainfully employed in that country. He also claims that "the period of greatest growth for the Italian system seems to have passed. In 1906 over 50,000 new accounts were started, in 1907, 35,000, and in 1908, less than 29,000."*

*The figures presented by Dr. Rubinow, in his book on "Social Insurance, page 343, give the number of new persons insured in 1906 as 150,000. This is, doubtless, a result of a typographical error, as the "Bollettino Dell Ufficio Del Lavoro, 1904 to 1909, and Die Arbeiter-Versicherung im Auslande, Dr. Zacher, (quoted in the Twenty-fourth Annual Report of the United States Commissioner of Labor, Vol. 2, p. 1895, 1909), give the total number of insured during that year as 50,791. The figures given in the same table for the entire period--1899 to 1908-however, do not seem to warrant his conclusions. The table follows:

The Italian system has also a compulsory feature for the employes of the following governmental industries: tobacco, engraving and printing, salt works, railway employes, employes in the shipping industry and sailors. The age of pensioning for these groups is the same as in the voluntary system. The monthly contribution required 2 lire for men and one lire for women. The minimum pension is 480 lire ($92.64) for men and 300 lire ($57.90) for women. The state's annual contribution is 34 lire, ($6.56), for men, and 22 lire, ($4.25), for women.

MASSACHUSETTS SYSTEM OF SAVINGS BANK, LIFE

INSURANCE AND OLD AGE ANNUITIES.

The Massachusetts system of savings bank insurance was devised and sponsored by Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis, and the Massachusetts Savings Insurance League. The system first went into operation in June, 1908. The State law authorizes savings banks to establish insurance departments which may 'issue policies upon the lives of persons, and sell annuities in accordance with the regulations provided by the State Insurance Commissioner. These savings banks have no stockholders and are operated solely for the benefit of the depositors.

The author of the plan stated that the purpose of the act was: (1) "to give Massachusetts wage-earners an opportunity to secure safe life insurance at the lowest possible cost, as a substitute for industrial life insurance; . . (2) To give to Massachusetts wage-earners an opportunity to make provisions for their old age by the purchase, out of current earnings, of annuities at the lowest possible cost. (3) It is also designed to furnish a partial solution of the problem of providing for the superannuated workingman, by making the opportunities for saving the workingman's money as numerous as the opportunities for wasting it."*

Under the savings bank insurance system the following forms of insurance are offered to residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or persons regularly employed therein: (1) Straight Life Insurance; (2) Twenty Payment Life Insurance; (3) Twenty Year En-· dowment Insurance; (4) Old Age Annuities; (5) Combination Insurance and Annuities and (6) Immediate Annuities. The maximum life insurance policy written is $4,000 and the maximum annuity cannot be for more than $800 per year.

The expenses involved in the administration of the savings bank insurance is borne largely by the State. In order to reduce the expenses involved in this form of insurance, banks are not permitted to employ paid solicitors or house-to-house collectors of insurance

*Report of Massachusetts Commission, pp. 191-92, 1910.