Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Museos Modernos Museos Sociales
Museos Modernos Museos Sociales
cieties which are occupied with social questions; (2) for agri-
cultural matters; (3) for trade unions and co-operativesocieties;
(4) for methodsof workmen'sinsurance; (5) for arrangements
of business firmsfor the benefitof employees; (6) for legal ques-
tions; (7) for research,study,and foreignmissions.
A section,when applied to, appointsa reporter,and then,on re-
ceiving his report,holds a consultationand informsthe secretarial
officeof the result. The numberof writtenconsultationsproduced
in this manner amounted to over I,6oo up to the end of March,
I90I.1
A reportof theadministrative board of the museumremarkswith
justice that "the answers to these inquiriesforma most important
foundationof study for the museum,and are adapted in many re-
spects to formthe beginningof a compilationon social law." An
especial catalogue planned and carried on by the secretarialoffice
makes these consultationseasily accessible and supplies a ready
summaryof the differentresultsof the inquirieson every subject.
Similar information and advice is given by consultationdaily in the
museum, and up to the end of March, I902, in more than five
thousandcases.
All papers, reports,and documents,collected by the board of
directors,the secretarial department,and the differentsections
are placed in the archives of the society,in the shape of dossiers,
with the exceptionof the brochuresand other publicationswhich
findtheir way to the library. The collectionof dossiers or filed
paperson all pointsof thesocial question,especiallyon such as occupy
at any particulartime public opinion and the legislaturein France
or other countries,is one of the chief duties of the Musee Social.
Motions and draftsof bills broughtinto the various parliaments,
reportsof committeesand of the discussion in pleno, finda place
equally in the dossiers with articleson social economytaken from
periodicalsand newspapers. These practical compilationsare con-
tinuallybeing supplemented,and greatly facilitateresearch,which
'So far only do the statisticsaccessible to us extend. Among these consulta-
tions i6 are on the drinkquestion, i6 on boards of arbitrationand conciliation,240
on insurance questions, 70 on technical literature,go on old-age pensions, 300 on
co-operation,8o on workmen'shouses, 65 on small loans and agriculturalcredit,
I0 on technical instruction,28 on charitable institutions,i82, on mutual aid so-
cieties, 25 on arrangementsfor the benefitof employees, 40 on profit-sharing,
12 on loans free of interest,igo on agriculturallaborers' unions, 8o on laborers'
unions, etc.
230 JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
leri's plan, very well worked out and adapted to suit the needs of
Hungary, beforethe government,with a petitionthat it should be
carried out, and the result has been that the museum was opened
in I903.
In New York an institutionafterthe Paris model is already in
existence, the American Institute for Social Service, under the
directionof Mr. W. H. Tolman, the secretaryof the League for
Social Service. Notwithstandingthe death of Count Chambruin,
the establishmentof branchesof the Musee Social is withinsight
in the large French provincial towns. In Lyons the first steps
have already been taken, and a districtinstitutewill be opened
there next year and will carry on its work on exactly the
same lines as the metropolitanmuseum. Even a newspaperof its
own is proposed by the preliminaryboard of management. The
Imperial Russian Technical Society in Moscow has resolved to es-
tablisha labor museumthere. The programof this new institution,
as stated in an account given in Le Musee Social, indicatesa wide
scope of activityalong those diverselines whichhave been followed
in othercommunitiesby similar institutionsof which briefaccount
has already been given in this paper. The movementwas started
by Herr Lendenzow, who has given the sum of 5o,ooo rubles as a
firstendowment. This sum has since been largely added to by
others.
LEOPOLD KATSCHER.
BERLIN.