A.—sc.

Ninth.—Eacli State should make provision for a system of inspection, in which women should take part, in order to ensure the enforcement of the laws and regulations for the protection of the employed. THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE. The International Labour Office is situated at Geneva. It is controlled by the governing body (see page 24) which appoints the Director, determines the expenditure of the Office out of a budget appropriated for the purpose by the League of Nations, fixes the agenda of the conference, and exercises other duties. The Director is aided by Assistant Directors. The staff of the Office is appointed by the Director, and consists of officials of over forty nationalities, who are not dependent on the authorities in their countries of origin, but are immediately and solely responsible to the Director. The work of the International Labour Office falls into four main groups : — (1) It prepares the agenda of the governing body and the Conference, and attends to the execution of their decisions. (2) It conducts research into a wide field of industrial and economic problems, including conditions of work (contracts, hours, wages, &c.), unemployment, migration, health and safety, social insurance, agricultural work, technical education, labour statistics, &c. (3) It maintains relations with associations and institutions concerned with industrial and social affairs, collects information with regard to current events and movements in the world of labour, and supplies such information to inquirers. (4) It issues a series of periodical and other publications containing information on social and industrial affairs, including comparative studies on various questions in this field. The Office has two official languages, English and French, but a number of other languages, including German, Spanish, and Italian, are in constant use. The standard of training and ability required in the Office interpreters is an exacting one. It is not sufficient in these officers for them to be competent to make leisurely written translations of printed papers. They must have the academic training and technical knowledge to make rapid and accurate oral translations before a large and critical audience at the same speed as that at which the speaker is proceeding. This is done by them with remarkable facility. One officer is able to translate from the Albanian, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, and Swedish languages. The Director of the Office is Mr. Harold Butler. After a career in the British Civil Service, Mr. Butler took an active part in the work preparatory to the creation of the Organization, and acted as Secretary-General of the first International Labour Conference in Washington. He was then appointed Deputy-Director. In 1932 he succeeded the first Director, the late Mr. Albert Thomas. A monument to the memory of Albert Thomas was unveiled on Sunday morning, 20th June, 1937. The monument, which stands opposite the main entrance of the International Labour Office, is the work of Mr. Paul Landowsky. It consists of a lofty pedestal, on which stand four sculptured figures, representing the principal races of mankind, with the tools of their trades. The pedestal itself bears four bas-reliefs, one being a portrait of Albert Thomas in a characteristic attitude, the others representing three great divisions of labour —agriculture, mining, and navigation. On the pedestal are also inscribed some of the sayings of' Albert Thomas. The ceremony was attended by the delegates to the International Labour Conference, representatives of the Government of the Republic and Canton of Geneva, the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, and many others. Brief speeches were given by Mr. Ernest Mahaim, Belgian Government delegate to the International Labour Conference and member of the Governing Body ; Mr. Adrien Lachenal, President of the Council of State of Geneva ; Mr. Chardin, Mayor of Champigny-sur-Marne, where Albert Thomas was born ; Mr. Necas, Chairman of the governing body ; Mr. H. C. Oersted, Vice-Chairman of the governing body and Danish employers' delegate, speaking on behalf of the employers' group ; Mr. Leon Jouhaux, Vice-Chairman of the governing body and French workers' delegate, speaking on behalf of the workers' group ; Mr. Joseph Avenol, Secretary-General of the League of Nations ; Mr. Harold Butler, Director of the International Labour Office, on behalf of the staff of the Office ; Mr. Paul Faure, French Minister of State, who apologized for'the unavoidable absence of Mr. Leon Blum, the Prime Minister of France, with whom he recalled that Albert Thomas had passed the last evening of his life. The New Zealand Government delegates paid a visit of inspection to the Office on the 23rd June, and were shown through the various branches. The meeting-room of the Governing Body is an impressive one, made so principally by contributions of furniture and ornaments from member States. France supplied the valuable Gobelin tapestry which almost covers one wall. India furnished the beautiful wood for the wall-panelling, flooring, ceiling, and furniture. Great Britain met the cost of making the furniture supplied by India. Holland gave the large painting by Ferd. 801. Japan's contribution was two large and valuable cloisonne vases. Italy paid the cost of binding the official documents and publications of the Governing Body. Norway presented some attractive Norwegian tapestry , for the private office of the Chairman of the Governing Body. In the vestibule is a bust, of Robert Owen, presented by the people of Wales. Other presentation works of art are placed in various parts of the building, including an impressive stained-glass window, presented by Germany when it was a member of the Organization, representing various phases of German industry. In the main entrance hall is a mural in mosaic, presented by the Third International, reproducing the preamble to the constitution of the Organization. The Office sends out to all parts of the world 1,000 postal packets per day. Swiss postage stamps, over-printed for use by the Office, are used. In a year a total of 35,000 letters is sent and received. In the Periodicals Department 500 periodicals and 500 newspapers are received daily from all parts of the world, and are circulated to the officers concerned for perusal. Some of these publications are scanned by the Periodicals Department, and others are sent for perusal by members of sections. The Periodicals Department prepares about 200 extracts per day from the publications for circulation to sections, and takes out 400 cuttings per day from newspapers. Approximately 4,500 different publications are received into the Office. The number of visitors to the Office annually is placed at 50,000.

3