that they possess property worth at least $1000. They must also state the number of dependents, and the amount of emergency employment during the preceding 12 months. The applicant must agree to work with reasonable diligence and efficiency, and failure or refusal to work is regarded as an offense; a second offense disqualifies the individual from receiving emergency employment for one year. No person may receive more than 60 days such employment in any one year. The payment is shared equally by the State and the county. Illinois amended its free public employment office law and created a commission to investigate free public employment offices in the Bureau of Statistics and Information. A resolve of the Massachusetts Legislature directed the State forester to give employment to worthy needy persons, preferably citizens. Nebraska provided for the licensing and general regulation of private employment offices. Similar laws were enacted in Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas; while New Jersey and Pennsylvania established free public employment offices under the State labor departments.

San Francisco Conference. At the call of Hon. William B. Wilson, secretary of labor, a conference was held early in August at San Francisco by representatives of municipal, State, and Federal employment agencies. At this, steps were taken toward the development of coördination among all such agencies from one part of the country to another. It was pointed out that according to census reports more than 3,000,000 people are actually idle in the United States on an average of 2 months; 2,500,000 an average of 5 months; 736,000 an average of 92 months; or a general average of 2,177,000 persons idle an average of 12 months in the year in normal times in the United States. To meet this situation there have been created special activities by the Post-Office Department, the activities of the Division of Information of the United States Bureau of Immigration, employment offices in 23 States, and 87 municipal employment offices. In addition, it was thought that the agents of the Department of Agriculture in over 1300 counties could be used for the collection and dissemination of information. The conference resulted in the establishment of a permanent advisory board to perfect the coöperation of all these agencies and to urge appropriations by city councils, State legislatures, and Congress to provide for periods of wide-spread industrial depression.

The Division of Information above mentioned divided the United States into 18 zones, with headquarters in the following cities: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Norfolk, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Galveston, Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Denver, Helena, Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles. An immigration inspector is in charge at each headquarters. The work is carried out largely through the assistance of the 50,000 postmasters of the country, with each of whom application blanks for both employer and employee are deposited. These blanks, when filled out, are forwarded without charge by the government. The employer's blank calls for references, kind of work, length of employment, hours of labor, wages, frequency and manner of payment, living conditions, store accommodations, and whether labor disputes exist. The employee's blank calls for age, physical capacity, occupation, wages desired, and various other details. The number of appli

cants for positions during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1915, approximated 100,000, while the positions filled approximated 4500. The applications during 1915 were very much in excess of any preceding year, being about five times as numerous as in 1914. Of the applicants, ap proximately 85 per cent were foreign born and not naturalized, the remainder being citizens. Of those obtaining help in the fiscal year 1915, farm laborers constituted 50 per cent and ordinary laborers nearly 30 per cent. A great outburst in the activity of this division was shown by the fact that in the six months, February to July, 1915, inclusive, applicants numbered 94,482, and positions filled 16,974. During the month of July alone there were 1160 applications for help calling for 8665 persons; while there were 18,061 applications for work and 6035 persons actually given employment.

Massachusetts. The 31st quarterly report of the Bureau of Statistics on "Unemployment in Massachusetts" gave returns for 1092 labor organizations with 162,315 members for the quarter closing September 30th. These organizations included about two-thirds of all trade unionists in the State. Their returns showed an average of 7 per cent of the members unemployed September 30th, as compared with 10.6 per cent unemployed June 30th, 16.6 on March 31st, 18.3 on Dec. 31, 1914, and 9.9 June 30, 1914. Thus there had been steady improvement since the close of 1914; moreover, this was shown in all industries and all localities.

GREAT BRITAIN. According to the Board of Trade Labor Gazette, the number of unemployed among representative trade unions with an ag gregate membership of nearly 1,000,000, was slightly less than 1 per cent for June, 1915, as compared with 2.4 per cent for June, 1914. The percentage had declined steadily from 7.3 for August, 1914, and 2.5 for January, 1915. It had fallen to .75 for October. A comparison of numerous industries showed that only in the furniture and glass industries was a larger percentage of unemployment reported in June, 1915, than in June, 1914. The decreases in some industries were especially striking, the unemployment being only one-fifth as great in engineering in June, 1915, as in June, 1914, one-third in coal mining, one-eleventh in shipbuilding, one-eighth in clothing, one-twelfth in leather, and one-fourth as great in woolen and worsted textiles. Similarly the reports for the insured trades, including building, engineering, shipbuilding, and the vehicle construction, indicated a steady decrease in the percentage of unemployment. This amounted to only 0.9 in June, 1915, as compared with 3.5 per cent in June, 1914.

FRANCE. The Ministry of Labor investigated the conditions of industry in January, April, and July. It was found that in 37,380 establishments with 1,285,000 workers before the war, that 24 per cent of the employees were mobilized in August, 1914. This percentage had not changed; but whereas 41 per cent were unemployed in August, 1914, 30 per cent in October, 1914, and 18 per cent in January, 1915, there were only 12 per cent unemployed in April, and 7 per cent in July. It was found that women were being employed in many new industries, 30,000 being employed in munitions plants in July.

GERMANY. The course of unemployment in Germany was similar to that in other countries.

A very bad situation in the fall of 1914 steadily improved during 1915. Centralized direction and supervision of all public agencies dealing with the problem, especially the well-developed system of national labor exchanges, was perfected soon after the war began. This resulted in a noticeable shifting of labor to points where needed. That the problem was serious, however, in the winter of 1914-15 was revealed by the appropriation of $125,000 per month by the Berlin government for unemployed relief. The Federal Council issued a decree in 1915 requiring all free employment offices to make reports to the imperial statistical offices. Numerous details were required, the object being to perfect the collection of information and the distribution of work and workers. According to the reports of 36 trade unions with the total membership of about 1,000,000, the proportion of members unemployed decreased steadily from 22.4 per cent in August, 1914, and 15.7 per cent in September, 1914, to 2.9 per cent in May, 1915, 2.6 per cent in June, and 2.6 in September. By unions the percentages in September varied from 0.4 for tobacco workers, and 0.5 for brewery workers, to 11.3 for porcelain workers, and 40.5 for hat makers.

UNION COLLEGE. An institution for higher education, founded in 1795 at Schenectady, N. Y. The total enrollment in all departments in the autumn of 1915 was 494. The faculty numbered 41. There were no notable changes in the membership of the faculty during the year. Benefactions were received amounting to about $125,000. The productive funds of the college amounted to about $1,000,000, and the annual income to $150,000. The library contained 49,000 volumes. The president is Rev. C. A. Richmond, D.D.

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UNITARIANS. The latest available statis tics of membership were for 1906, in which year the Unitarians had 70,542. According to the official year book for 1914-15 there were July 1, 1914, 493 churches in the United States and Canada, and 540 ministers. The administrative body is the American Unitarian Association, whose headquarters are in Boston. The denomination carries on an active literary propaganda and promotes conferences for the promulgation of Unitarian thought. The social work is in charge of the department of social and public service, organized in 1908. The department encourages the study of social problems, and cultivates sympathetic relations between the churches and the wage earners. It has an information bureau, maintains a library, and publishes a bulletin. There are also departments of finance, publicity, foreign relations, comity and fellowship, schools and college centres, church extension, religious education, etc. The department of comity and fellowship cooperates with the State federations of churches in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York, and seeks to substitute coöperative for competitive methods in Christian work, and to carry out the purpose of the American Unitarian Association to foster union and sympathy among liberal Christians. In 1915 the association aided in supporting over 100 churches and missions as centres of Unitarian thought and influence. Divinity schools of the denomination are maintained at Cambridge, Mass., Meadville, Pa., and

Berkeley, Cal. Missionary work is carried on at many points among the Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish immigrants of the United States. There are academies at Tarrytown, N. Y., West Newton, Mass., Springfield, Mass., and Boston. The periodicals are The Christian Register and The Beacon, published at Boston; The Unitarian Advance and Unity, published at Chicago; and The Pacific Unitarian, published at San Francisco. The president of the American Unitarian Association is Rev. Samuel A. Eliot, and the secretary is Rev. Lewis G. Wilson.

UNITED BRETHREN. See MORAVIANS. UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST. This evangelistic denomination, which is practically Methodist in theology, was founded by Philip William Otterbein towards the close of the eighteenth century. He came to America in 1752 as a missionary to the German Reformed Church. The government of the church is vested in a general conference held every four years, and to which ministerial and lay delegates are elected in equal proportions. The denomination is divided into two bodies: The United Brethren in Christ (Old Constitution), and United Brethren in Christ (New Constitution). In 1915 the total membership of the two bodies was 360,387; churches, 4022; ministers, 2185. The United Brethren Christian Endeavor Union in 1915 had 2301 societies, with 93,988 members. It publishes The Watchword, of which Rev. H. F. Shupe, Dayton, Ohio, is the editor.

UNITED KINGDOM. See GREAT BRITAIN. UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF NORTH AMERICA. This denomination was founded in 1853 by a union of associate and associate reformed churches. For several years negotiations leading to a union of this denomination with the Presbyterian Church in the United States have been under way. The denomination had in 1915, 153,651 communicants, churches, and 1151 ministers. There are 13 synods and 72 presbyteries. Missions are maintained in India, Egypt, and the Sudan.

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UNITED STATES. POPULATION. The estimated continental population of the United States on July 1, 1915, was 100,399,318. The population of the several States and territorial possessions will be found in the articles dealing with them.

AGRICULTURE. The general statistics for agriculture in 1915 in the United States and dependencies will be found in the articles dealing with agriculture and agricultural products. The section Agriculture in each State article gives the acreage, value, and production of the principal crops in 1915. See also articles AGRICUL TURAL CREDIT; AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION; AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS; AGRICUL TURAL LEGISLATION; AGRICULTURE; HORTICUL TURE; IRRIGATION, etc.

MANUFACTURES. The statistics of manufactures for 1915 will be found in the articles dealing with the chief industries, as CorrON; TEXTILE MANUFACTURING; STOCK RAISING AND MEAT PRODUCTION; etc.

MINERAL PRODUCTS. The production of all metals and minerals in 1914 will be found in the general article MINERAL PRODUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES. Under each State in which the mineral production is important will also be found a section dealing with that subject.

EDUCATION. For information in regard to educational matters see articles EDUCATION IN