Workmen’s

Insurance and commercial Supremacy. Are the Germans beating us in many of the world’s markets not merely by reason of their superior technical education, but because they take better care of their workmen? This is the question with which Mr. C. B. Roylance-Kent opens his paper in “ Gentleman’s " for July, 1897, on * Working Men's Insurance in Germany.’ Improved vitality an a greater productivity may be expected to result from this insurance system. Here are some of the figures for the labouring population 1893.— of eleven millions: 21,226; the insured number 7,106,804; the [cases of sickne number 2,794,027 the income reaches 132,137,396 marks; the expenditure; reaches 126,018,810 marks. porate trade unions number 497 the insured number 18,660,000; the cases of compensation; number266,4oo; reaches 64,200,000 marks. 1894.—The; ance institutions number 40 the insured number 11,510,000; the pensioners number; 295,200; the income reaches 109,580,000 marks the expenditure reaches 25,560,000 marks the; Imperial subsidy reaches 13,920,000 marks.; age and invalid pensions. The rates are relieved, the number of accidents nominally increases, but the severe and fatal accidents are diminishing, and Socialism is not curtailed, but spreading.