Objections that this system is unworkable, that arbitral awards can not be enforced by the courts of the United States, and that industrial technicians can not be turned into judges, are by no means insuperable. What is aimed at, and what is likely to be achieved, is the prompt examination and adjustment of disputes, with public registration of the decisions. Agreements that involve the credit and standing of any group of business men are likely to be effective. The commission urges, therefore, that the commercial and financial communities of America lend their heartiest and most sustained support to this praiseworthy movement for a direct, inexpensive, and expeditious method of settling commercial disputes.

FIFTH COMMITTEE.

Topics: V. Patent, trade-mark, and copyright legislation.

VI. Reduction and uniformity of postal rates; money-order and parcel-post facilities.

TOPIC V.

No subject has been more frequently discussed in the international conferences of American States than the protection of industrial and literary property. As far back as the juridical congress of Montevideo of 1888-89, treaty drafts on patents, trade-marks, and copyrights were studied, patent treaties of Paris (1883) and Brussels (1900) and the trade-mark treaty of Paris (1891).

With reference to patents, the conference of 1910 was content to enunciate the general principles protecting the rights of inventors, and referred the signatory States for the details of their legislative form to the international treaties of 1883 and 1900. Provision was made for international registration of trade-marks at bureaus in Habana and Rio de Janeiro, and the complex question of priority of application for registration was regulated. For copyright registration, the bureau system recommended by the conference of Rio de Janeiro was given up. The fourth conference sought to assure equal rights in all signatory States to applicants for copyright in any one of them. Eleven States, including the United States, have ratified this treaty. The most recent ratification, that of Costa Rica, has occurred since the Buenos Aires conference, and in part due to the recommendation there made.1

Early ratification of the three conventions of 1910 is necessary rather than desirable, as otherwise the situation with regard to patents is simple; nine States had ratified the convention, although not always enacting the necessary administrative legislation. Here, therefore, ratification of the convention and enactment of legislation making it effective is what is needed. With reference to copyrights, in addition to recommending ratification the section submitted modifications of the convention, proposed by representatives of the music publishing and motion-picture industries in the United States. As for trade-marks, it was brought out that some American countries grant protection to the person who first registers, and the formalities surrounding registration do not always adequately guarantee ownership, nor is the owner always able to recover possession by proving in

1 At the same time Costa Rica has ratified the patent, trade mark, and pecuniary claims convention of 1910.

court the fraud of the first claimant. The adoption of the treaty will correct this.

Other delegations suggested changes in the conventions, especially that of Chile, which pointed out the necessity of defining exactly the priority of registration as between trade-marks registered at either of the international registry bureaus of Rio de Janeiro and Habana and those registered in any one country, and the importance of more explicit restrictions on national registration as contrasted with that of the international bureaus. The Chilean delegate proposed that these matters be referred to the respective Governments for study and consideration at the Fifth International Conference of American States, to be held at Santiago de Chile after the war. The committee recommended the ratification of the convention of 1910 and referred all modifications to the fifth international conference. The suggestion of Dr. Lobos, as to the renewal of the registration of patents and trade-marks in the case of countries at war, was also approved.

In accordance with the resolution of the committee, an inquiry is being pursued by the central executive council among those countries that have not yet ratified these conventions, with a view to learn the reasons for nonacceptance. Little difficulty will be experienced in putting the provisions of these conventions in effect in the United States, and, in fact, our law is now practically in accord with the convention. Congress, however, would have to appropriate the money required under article 15 of the convention. With regard to copyrights, the section believes that to same extent the recommendations of the committee can be realized by an informal agreement between the administrative officials of the several national copyright bureaus. If the exchange of registry entries between some of the copyright offices could be regularly effected there would soon me a more widespread recognition of the superior advantages of the system formulated in the copyright convention. The council is cooperating with the register of copyrights to this end.

TOPIC VI.

Like other subjects on the program of the International High Commission, the question of improved postal facilities is not new in American conferences. The conference of 1889-90 emphasized the need of adequate steamship facilities in connection with mail service. In recent years the reduction of rates has been the side of the question most discussed. The Fifth and Sixth International Congresses of Chambers of Commerce resolved in favor of the adoption of universal 2-cent postage. Naturally many of the American Republics for fiscal reasons can not go quite so far as they would like in reducing postage rates. An early agreement on this matter and study of the possibility of improving money-order and parcelpost facilities were recommended by the commission. Improvements could be effected in the parcel-post system through the correction of delays, the reduction of delivery fees, the introduction of the "cash-on-delivery" system, and the establishment of an equitable system of division of parcel-post receipts. Vigorous steps should

be taken to create an American system of money-order conventions, and various administrative problems of importance have to be solved. The best results could be achieved in these technical subjects by the establishment of a permanent international postal union comprising one or more experts representing each country. In 1911 there was held at Montevideo a South American postal congress, which recommended measures for the improvement of the postal services of South America, and a second conference was to have been called for 1916 to perfect the organization of an international postal bureau of the American Republics. Owing to the war the second conference was postponed indefinitely. The Uruguayan Government will announce the date and place after consulting the other interested countries.

The conference of 1911 agreed upon an international bureau, empowered to prepare conventions and to arrange their submission and the exchange of their ratifications, and, in general, to attend to the numerous administrative details that are certain to arise in an international union. The American Postal Union of Montevideo was intended to supplement and cooperate with the International Postal Union of Berne. In urging the establishment of this technical body on a permanent basis our delegation pointed out that while each of our Governments must attend to its own affairs and guide its postal system on a rational basis in accordance with its own national needs" a permanent postal union could cope with the difficulties of transportation of the mails on land and sea which are due to the character and extent of our continent and which give rise to questions which rarely trouble the postal experts of Europe.

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The commission recommended the formal adherence to the postal congress of 1911 and the "transformation of the South American Postal Union into an American Postal Union," further expressing the hope that the postal conference may be held soon.

While this Government was not represented at the postal conference of 1911, the Postmaster General of the United States recommends that the Post Office Department participate in the second postal conference, whenever called. It is to be expected, therefore, that these recommendations will be realized shortly, with much benefit to the American nations.

SIXTH COMMITTEE.

Topics: VIII. International agreements on uniform labor legislation.

IX. Uniformity of regulations governing the classification and analysis of petroleum and other mineral fuels with reference to national development policies.

TOPIC VIII.

The topics considered by this committee were proposed by the Uruguayan and Argentine Governments, respectively. With reference to labor legislation, His Excellency, Pedro Cosio, the minister of finance of Uruguay, pointed out the difficulty in improving the conditions under which productive labor is carried on and urged the need of insuring general knowledge of the principles of labor legislation. In order that America may be the "land of promise

he insisted that it must defend the laborer from excessive hours, unfair wage conditions, and dangerous occupations. The workman and workwoman must be assured, too, that society will not abandon them if they fall sick from overwork nor permit them to be reduced to starving or begging if they arrive at old age in poor circumstances, and, that, finally, society will find sure means of educating them and of aiding and encouraging them in their just and legitimate aspirations.

The commission was impressed by the general desire to cooperate more effectively in protecting and strengthening the laboring population of the Americas. As, however, an international labor convention is not practicable now, the commission could only recommend that each Government enact progressive labor and social welfare legislation and provide for systematic exchange of technical and statistical literature.

The Department of Labor of the United States and similar departments in Latin America might easily exchange all their publications; and the system could be extended so as to include all civic bodies interested. The publication of the Pan American Union will possibly serve to make better known the work accomplished in this field in the United States and in Europe; and legislative and executive commissions, as well as organizations of the character of the American Society for Labor Legislation, will wish to cooperate with the Pan American Union. Thus, those countries whose economic and industrial conditions give sufficient promise of sustained public interest in this subject, may soon avail themselves of the excellent procedure devised by the International Labor Association for the conclusion of international labor agreements.

TOPIC IX.

The report of the Argentine delegation on the ninth topic emphasized the economic interest of the American Nations in their supply of mineral fuels. Recent Argentine legislation indicates an effort to establish a comprehensive national policy. The report closes with the following observations, which it is interesting to compare with views recently expressed in the United States:

If mines are owned by the State and leased to citizens or to foreigners for a limited or indefinite period, if public interest in the exploitation of these mines calls for an outlay of capital and of labor without reference to nationality, and if, on the other hand, it is universally recognized that whatever judicial theory may be adopted as to the ownership of this property, its complete economic development has a direct bearing upon the industrial progress of the continent, upon maritime traffic, and upon the well-being of the consuming classes, why can we not prepare an international agreement that will encourage an active exchange of views on the results achieved by each of our nations? Is there any advantage in making uniform our laws and administrative methods which are best calculated to secure the prosperity of each republic-that is to say, the prosperity of all America? If the answer be "yes" I can not see why we exclude the regulation of mineral fuels from this beneficial uniformity, especially when it is not a question of ignoring the peculiar circumstances or interests or sovereignty of any of our republics, but rather of stimulating the development of the natural resources of all of them so as to facilitate the widest possible exchange and use of these resources and to furnish at low rates the transportation required for such exchange.

The commission heartily agreed with Dr. Lobos, and in its resolution recommends that all the Governments take appropriate action to supply the section of commerce, customs, and statistics of the Pan American Union with the material necessary for the preparation of an authoritative and detailed report on the legislation of the American Republics with reference to the development of mineral resources. Greater uniformity of such legislation is to be aimed at. The report will study the technical methods of analysis and classification of mineral fuels officially in use and contain an authentic official record of the character and extent of the chief deposits of mineral fuels.

A similar aim is expressed in a resolution adopted by the Second Pan American Scientific Congress held in Washington, December 27, 1915, to January 8, 1916. Article 37 of the resolutions of this. Congress recommends:

(a) A compilation be made according to a definite plan of the mining laws of the American Republics, not only in their original languages, but also in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English translations, as the case may be, with a view to the reciprocal improvement of the laws of each of the American Republics.

(b) The several American Governments appoint a committee to consider the uniformity of mining statistics and to make recommendations to their respective Governments in order to systematize, simplify, and standardize such statistics.

As set forth in the commentary upon this resolution (pp. 121–126 of the final act of the Second Pan American Scientific Congress, Washington, 1916), there is much duplication in statistical work as well as a lack of uniformity in the data used by statisticians and analysts, and an international committee was suggested for the solution of this question. Similarly the scientific congress felt that slight improvement of the mining laws of the different countries could be hoped for unless a detailed compilation of these laws in all languages spoken in America could be put before those most interested and most competent to criticize.

Technical work of this character is both slow and expensive. It is doubtful whether the section of commerce, customs, and statistics of the Pan American Union can realize to the fullest extent the recommendations made at the Buenos Aires conference, but with the help of such an appropriate organization as the Pan American joint engineering committee it might accomplish much of real value. With the exchange of information and the more intimate knowledge on the part of all our nations of the most scientific and progressive measures adopted by any of them we may be not too sanguine in hoping for the conclusion of constructive international agreements of the character suggested by Dr. Lobos.

While other conferences have dealt with maritime transportation, the Pan American railway, or with postal facilities and cable rates, no previous international gathering has tried to arrive at a comprehensive and constructive public policy on these matters. The International High Commission was able to arrive at a concrete program of international cooperation in this fundamental group of subjects.