ARBITRATION BOARD.-What has been variously named a Labor Board, Labor Court, Arbitration Board, and the like, but is officially designated, The Industrial Department of the National Civic Federation, forms the grand outcome of a conference of leading capitalists and labor representatives called by the National Civic Federation at New York Dec. 16. The National Civic Federation is itself a body of recent origin, and is not, as one might suppose, a union of the several civic federations that now exist in the larger cities of America, but is simply formed on their type to deal with national problems. Its call upon labor and capital to conference met with ready response.

Mr. Oscar S. Straus, formerly U. S. minister to Turkey, presided at the gathering in rooms of the Board of Trade and Transportation. Bishop Henry C. Potter of New York denied that the credit of an arbitration board belonged to himself, and declared that it should go to Mayor Seth Low and Rev. Felix Adler.

In introducing Senator Marcus A. Hanna, Mr. Straus read the following extract from a newspaper interview:

"I would rather have the credit of making successful the movement to bring labor and capital into closer relations of confidence and reliance than be President of the United States. If by resigning my seat in the United States Senate I could bring to fruition the plans that we are now foster

JOHN MITCHELL.

President United Mine Workers of America.

CHARLES W. ELIOT. President of Harvard University.

ing, to make strikes, lockouts and great labor disputes impossible, I would do so."

Senator Hanna smiled as he arose and admitted that the quotation was correct.

His remarks were so favorable to labor that they proved a revelation to the labor men, who had believed him an opponent of trades unionism. He evinced so hearty and enthusiastic a sympathy by his words and manner that the greatest applause came from men who had hitherto supposed him their

enemy.

William H. Pfahler of Philadelphia, a leading member of a stove manufacturer's association, said in his business there had been a practical co-operation; capital and labor had made an united effort and both had helped. The manufacturers had banded at the outset to fight a presumably hostile labor organization, but they had discovered their mistake.

John Phillips, secretary of the National Hatters' Union, proved most amusing and his method of telling his story kept the magnates roaring with laughter. He said it was cruelty to animals to make him speak. He had come only to hear others. His union is generally able to settle all differences that

arise.

Mr. Schwab smiled when the chairman mentioned his name. He arose and proceeded to give his views. His voice is strong and his method of expression forceful. He said:

"In coming here this morning it was with

no intention to make any remarks. My attitude upon the labor question is too well known to need any discussion here. But I did come here to see the other side of the shield if I can. Any man who is as largely and as deeply interested in labor as I am must try to see the other side of the shield, to see the question of labor from the employe's point as well as the employer's point of view, and I am here for that purpose. I am here with a mind open to conviction, with a mind to receive anything that is fair, with a mind to do that which is fair to bring about harmony between capital and labor.

"There is one point that I want to impress upon you. I am not going to make I am not going to make a speech. I can do better probably when

FRANK P. SARGENT.

Grand Master Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen.

it comes to giving ideas to this conference rather than theories. But there is one point

we must bear in mind. That labor unions

will never succeed, as trusts never succeed, that attempt to restrict the output or attempt to put any restriction upon trade in general.

"These great trusts that are formed in a business way to control the output of any commodity to raise its price-they all have failed, and all will fail. A trust will succeed where there are motives of consolidation for economy's sake and for regulating trade generally. Labor must take a similar position. Labor must not restrict the output. That is a fundamental principle.

"And, I am sorry to say, that every labor

organization with which I have had experience in the past has had as its foundation the restriction of the output. It is that principle which is putting English commerce and English trade in the bad position which they are in to-day, and we owe it to America's greatness in commerce that these great business organizations do not become trusts, and the labor leaders must not put them in a position where the labor union becomes a trust of time and output."

At a second session on Dec. 17th, 36 representative men were appointed members of a court of labor or board of arbitration, for the settlement of all questions of national importance which may arise between employers and wage-earners. ployers and wage-earners. This board is to be permanent, and is composed of representatives from capital, labor and the general public, of such standing as to inspire general confidence. The men selected are: TO REPRESENT CAPITAL.

MARCUS A. HANNA, United States senator. CHARLES M. SCHWAB, president of the United States Steel Corporation.

S. R. CALLAWAY, president of the American Locomotive Company.

CHARLES A. MOORE, president of the American Tool Company.

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, JR., Standard Oil Company.

H. H. VREELAND, president of the Metropolitan Street Railway.

LEWIS NIXON, owner of the Crescent Shipyard, Elizabethport, N. J.

JAMES A. CHAMBERS, president of the American Glass Company, Pittsburg.

WILLIAM H. PFAHLER, president of the National Stove Manufacturers' Association, Philadelphia.

JULIUS KRUTTSCHNITT, assistant to the

president of the Southern Pacific Railroad.

E. P. RIPLEY, president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad.

MARCUS M. MARKS, president of the National Association of Clothing Manufacturers.

TO REPRESENT LABOR.

SAMUEL GOMPERS, president of the American Federation of Labor.

JOHN MITCHELL, president of the United Mine Workers of America.

FRANK P. SARGENT, grand master of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen.

THEODORE P. SHAFFER, president of the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers.

JAMES J. DUNCAN, first vice-president of the American Federation of Labor.

DANIEL J. KEEFE, president of the International Association of Longshoremen. MARTIN FOX, president of the Iron Molders of America.

JAMES E. LYNCH, president of the International Typographical Union.

E. E. CLARK, grand conductor of the Association of Railway Conductors.

HENRY WHITE, secretary of the Garment Workers of America.

WALTER MACARTHUR, editor of the Coast Seamen's Journal of San Francisco.

JAMES O'CONNELL, president of the International Association of Machinists.

TO REPRESENT THE PUBLIC.

GROVER CLEVELAND, former President of the United States.

CORNELIUS N. BLISS, former Secretary of the Interior.

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, president of the Union Pacific Railroad.

BISHOP HENRY C. POTTER of New York.

ARCHBISHOP JOHN IRELAND of St. Paul. CHARLES W. ELIOT, president of Harvard University.

FRANKLIN MACVEAGH, wholesale grocer, of Chicago.

JAMES H. ECKELS, bank president, Chicago.

JOHN J. MCCOOK, lawyer.

JOHN G. MILBURN, lawyer of Buffalo. CHARLES J. BONAPARTE of Baltimore. OSCAR S. STRAUSS, merchant and former minister to Turkey.

Secretary of the Commission-RALPH M. EASLEY of the National Civic Federation. The work of the conference was devoted largely to the arguments of labor men. Among the speakers were E. D. Durand, secretary of the United States Industrial Commission; Mr. Sargent, grand master of the Locomotive Firemen; Samuel Gompers; Horace M. Eaton; Benjamin Tillett of the Federation of Labor of England; John Mitchell of the United Mine Workers; Archbishop Ireland and Lewis Nixon.

On Dec. 18 a private session of the newly appointed Labor Board was held to discuss the scope of its work, adopt preliminary resolutions, elect permanent officers and appoint a committee to draft by-laws. Senator Hanna took the chair, and also outlined his plan for the encouragement of yearly contracts between employers and employes. In this he was warmly supported by the labor

"That this committee shall be known as the Industrial Department of the National Civic Federation.

That the scope and province of this department shall be to do what may seem best to promote industrial peace; to be helpful in establishing rightful relations between employers and workers; by its good offices to endeavor to obviate and prevent strikes and lockouts; to aid in renewing industrial relations where a rupture has occurred.

That at all times representatives of employers and workers, organized or unorganized, should confer for the adjustment of difficulties or disputes before an acute stage is reached, and thus avoid or minimize the number of strikes and lockouts.

That mutual agreements as to conditions under which labor shall be performed should be encouraged and that when agreements are made the terms thereof should be faithfully adhered to, both in letter and spirit, by both parties.

That this department, either as a whole. or a subcommittee by it appointed, shall, when required, act as a forum to adjust and

decide upon questions at issue between workers and their employers, provided in its opinion the subject is one of sufficient importance.

That this department will not consider abstract industrial problems.

That this department assumes no power of arbitration unless such powers be conferred by both parties to a dispute.

That this department shall adopt a set of by-laws for its government."

Senator Hanna was chosen chairman. The other officers are: Samuel Gompers and Oscar Strauss, vice-chairmen; Charles A. Moore, treasurer, and Ralph M. Easley, secretary.

A committee on by-laws was then appointed, consisting of Oscar M. Strauss, S. R. Callaway, James H. Eckels, John J. McCook, Samuel Gompers and Henry White. This committee will report at a meeting of the general body to be called by the chairman in the latter part of January. The meeting then adjourned.

After adjournment those who took part in the deliberations spoke enthusiastically of the progress that had been made. The large attendance of members of the committee was favorably commented upon. Further plans can best be made in the course of direct contact with issues as they arise. It is improbable that either labor or capital will refuse the counsel of this Labor Board; since, in so doing, it would incur the condemnation of public opinion, which in America is the final arbiter of such matters. For a record of the antecedents of this National Civic Federation and its prior labors in behalf of conciliation, see the article "Conciliation and Arbitration," pp. 188-90.

BRAZIL, a republic of South America called the United States of Brazil, the greater part of which lies within the tropics. Owing to disputed frontiers its area is variously estimated from 3,209,878 square miles to 3,219,083 square miles. The country is nearly half of South America and is larger than the United States exclusive of Alaska. It is divided into twenty States and one Federal District.

In 1890 the population of Brazil was 14,333,915; it is now estimated at 17,500,000. The most populous States are Bahia, Minas Geraes, Pernambuco and San Paulo. The chief cities are Rio de Janeiro (780,000); Bahia, 174,000; Pernambuco (180,000); San Paulo, 65,000; Belem, 50,000; Porto

Alegre, 100,000; Ouro Preto, 60,000; Parahyba, 19,000; Creara, 41,000; Blumeau, 40,000; Pelotas, 41,000. Brazil is the only Portuguese country of Latin America. It has a mixed population of Europeans, negroes and Indians (for the most part uncivilized). Besides mulattoes, there are many mestizos and the offspring of Indians and negroes. About two-fifths of the inhabitants are of Portuguese descent or European; the negroes are estimated at one-fifth, while the natives or Americans, pure and mixed, represent two-fifths. Of recent European settlers, Italians and Ger

mans are most numerous.

The following table shows the nationalities of the 2,700,000 foreigners that have located in Brazil:

GOVERNMENT.-In the year 1500 the famous Portuguese navigator, Pedro Alvares Cabral, sailed along the coast of Brazil and took possession of the country for Portugal. About 1530 several colonies or captaincies were established. Says Watson in his "Spanish and Portuguese America," Vol. I., p. 161: "The history of the early Portuguese in Brazil is in some respects far more satisfactory, if it be less exciting, than that of the Spaniards in Peru. They were there for the legitimate purpose of colonizing and cultivating a portion of a vast region where there was ample room at the same time for them and for the tribes in their neighborhood." These colonies grew, and towns. sprang up in the interior. The Portuguese settlers mingled freely with the natives, who were friendly to the white men, although it is asserted that some of the tribes were cannibals. Jesuit missionaries boldly went among the savages and taught their children to read and write and sing; they also built churches and imparted some religious instruction. In time the colonies became provinces and States. The period of Brazilian nationality and independence dates from 1822, when the country became an empire independent of Portugal. Dom Pedro I. was the first Emperor (18221831); his son, Dom Pedro II., reigned

from 1831 to 1889, when a revolution put an end to the empire. A republic was then founded, similar to our own, but with differences due to race and other causes. Slavery was abolished in 1888.

Brazil entered upon a new era in her history in 1894, when Moraes was elected President. His two predecessors "owed their position to a military revolution, and under their administration Brazil was a republic only in name, being really a military oligarchy." Moraes was recognized as the President of the whole country, although there was no election in certain States which were the scene of civil war.

The President of the Republic of Brazil has about the same powers as our chief executive. He must be a native of Brazil and past thirty-five. His term of office is four years, and he is not eligible for re-election the succeeding term. The right of suffrage is almost universal, and the people vote directly for the president and the vicepresident. The president is aided by a cabinet of six ministers.

The National Congress consists of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Congress meets each year and remains in session four months (May 3-Sept. 2). The Senate has 63 members, representing the 20 States and the Federal District; the Senators are elected by direct vote of the people for nine years and one-third of them go out of office every three years.

The lower house or Chamber of Deputies contains 212 members, elected for three years by direct vote. There is one deputy for every 70,000 inhabitants, but no State has less than four representatives. The Chamber of Deputies has the initiative in legislation relating to taxation.

Each of the twenty States of Brazil has its own constitution and local government distinct from the Federal authorities. The inhabitants of each State elect their legislators and governor. In his report on the State of Amazonas, the largest of the United States of Brazil, Vice-Consul Temple describes the form of government: "The government of the State is carried on by means of a House of Representatives named the State Congress, the members of which are elected by a practically universal suffrage, the only qualification necessary for an elector being that he should be able to write his own name and be on the electoral roll.

"The Congress consists of 24 members.

Measures passed by them do not become law until sanctioned by the Executive, which is entrusted to the Governor, who may veto any measure should he think proper.

"The State Legislature has the control of all land laws, the taxation of the land and its products and the expenditure of the revenues produced by this taxation. It has, however, no control of the import taxes, which are regulated by the Federal Government, nor can it materially alter the various codes, criminal, mercantile, and others, by which common law and equity are administered, these being the same for all the States of Brazil.

"The seat of the government is at Manáos, which is also the residence of the

Governor and where Congress meets once a year in June.

"The State is divided into 24 municipalities; each of these municipalities is under the superintendence of a local council of 'intendentes,' elected on the spot by duly qualified electors. These have the power to tax the land and its produce to a limited extent, and to employ the revenue thus obtained on local improvements. By the constitution of the Republic they should enjoy a considerable autonomy. In this State, however, they are controlled by a 'superintendente,' or mayor, who is nominated by the Governor and exercises the same control over them as is exercised by the Governor over the Congress.