Contributions a L'Histoire Economique et SocialeReview by: F. G. EyckThe American Historical Review, Vol. 74, No. 4 (Apr., 1969), pp. 1301-1302Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1856810 .

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Modern Europe I30I

to criticism leveled against Suarez: writing only "external" political history, fail- ing to describe even the politicians (and their clans), ignoring the underlying socioeconomic changes that prompted political change. But this must not be classified as one more defense of Suairez' pro-Carlist viewpoint. Rodriguez Gar- raza's heroes are the liberal officials of Navarre during the Carlist War; hand- picked by Madrid, these "collaborators" maneuvered adroitly. And so in the Law of I84I, when Navarre lost its Cortes, tribunals and laws, and customs services-an inevitable loss-it still retained as a province a remarkable degree of administrative and financial autonomy.

University of Washington JOAN C. ULLMAN

CONTRIBUTIONS A L'HISTOIRE ?;CONOMIQUE ET SOCIALE. Vol- ume IV, I966-I967. [Centre d'Histoire economique et sociale.] ([Brussels:] Universite Libre de Bruxelies, Institut de Sociologie. I967. PP. I54. 270 fr. B.)

THIS slender volume in the series published under the auspices of the famous Solvay Institute by the Center of Economic and Social History contains four essays. They are of unequal length and value, but have a common background in the social history of Belgium in the nineteenth century. Documentation in all cases is excellent.

The first essay deals with the over-all socioeconomic conditions in I894, when the first elections based on general male franchise occurred. The essay contains much interesting information on the situation of the working classes in one of the most industrialized countries at the turn of the century. Roughly one-fifth of all Belgians, numbering slightly over 6,500,000, were employed in industry. The average daily working hours amounted to io, and the median wage was 2.85 francs per day. The inadequacy of compensation becomes strikingly clear when measured against prices of basic food items. In I89I the average cost of a loaf of bread was 0.3I francs; a liter of milk cost about 0.20 francs, but meat was at I.88 francs per kilogram and butter at 2.20 francs.

Small wonder that, according to the authorities in West Flanders, workmen rarely ate eggs and meat and never butter, while subsisting mainly on potatoes and bread. It is even less surprising to learn that, in spite of such restrictions on consumption, many household budgets were unbalanced. Thus of i88 house- holds surveyed in I89I, slightly over ioo operated in the red; 77 managed to have a few centimes left over, and the remaining io were in exact balance.

Little social legislation had been passed in the previous half century, and such legislation as was enacted in the i890's dealt mainly with the enforcement of existing laws on factory inspection, accidents, and child labor. Only slowly, and mainly after I900, were basic laws safeguarding social benefits, such as re- tirement and sickness benefits, introduced.

The remainder of the essay deals with the positions of the three major parties vis-a-vis the social question. As might be anticipated, the Socialist party was by far the most active and affirmative in the struggle for social improvements. The Catholic party based its position on the encyclical Rerum novarum. Conservative Catholics were far less enthusiastic toward social reforms, however, than their Leftist counterparts such as the group directed by Abbott Daens. The Liberal

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1302 Reviews of Books party, too, had its wing of opponents, composed mainly of the laissez-faire doc- trinaires, and its social progressives.

The second essay concerns itself with the rather esoteric subject of the im- migration of French religious orders into Belgium following the anticlerical legislation of the Waldeck and Combes ministries in the early I900's. The fairly substantial influx of the new e'migre's caused some unfavorable reaction among the Belgians. Objections were not confined to socialist circles and papers speaking of "the black invasion." Attacks centered on economic competition, effects on teaching, and tax exemptions on the part of the newcomers. The issue of group immigration was finally taken up in the Chambre, and some of the Belgian bishops undertook to restrict it after the Vatican had ruled that the sensitive issue was one for the Belgian episcopate to decide.

The third essay has as its subject socialist municipal politics in three com- munes of metropolitan Brussels. Since the mid-i88o's representatives of the in- dustrial operatives entered municipal councils in increased numbers. These rep- resentatives, according to the author, quickly adapted themselves to their new duties. Their previous work in benefit associations helped them in their effective performance. The concluding essay is somewhat technical in nature, dealing with the public water supply in Brussels between I830 and I870. The need to increase and improve this supply rose with the increase in population, and one important aspect was water purification. Brussels experienced cholera periodically, but the city had a lower typhoid rate than many other European capitals. Yet another primary concern was the financing of a new water system, but after mid-century Brussels succeeded in becoming the model for other growing Belgian cities. American University F. G. EYCK

SUOMEN ALEMPI SOTILASPAALLYSTO I5oo-LUVUN LOPPUPUOL- ELLA (N.V. 1570-I600). By Kyosti Kiuasmaa. [Historiallisia Tutkimuksia, Number 73.] (Helsinki: Suomen Historiallinen Seura. I968. Pp. 255.)

THIS is a monograph about military officers of junior rank in Finland during the three last decades of the sixteenth century. Lengthy conflicts and wars char- acterized this period in the Baltic area, and the author attempts to unravel some of the changes that they brought about in Finnish society. His stated pur- pose is to analyze the means and methods the crown or its representatives used to change the nature of the military administration and leadership in time of war. Kiuasmaa concentrates on organizational matters, but he also contributes to knowledge of the social composition and position of the junior ranking officers. He is particularly concerned with the relationship and interaction between this group and civilian officials of roughly corresponding rank and duties. The fre- quency of transfers among different branches of governmental service, including movement within the armed forces, and the comparisons of remuneration in these spheres of activity are discussed in considerable detail.

The author concludes that organizational innovations necessitated by the long period of warfare resulted in a considerable increase in officer vacancies and contributed to social mobility by offering new opportunities for advancement in service to commoners.

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