SOCIAL SOLIDARITY IN FRANCE*
CHARLES R. HENDERSON The University of Chicago
After prolonged discussion both in the Chamber of Deputies and in the Senate, the national legislature of France has prac- tically approved a measure which commits the people to a prin- ciple of far-reaching consequences. While the final action has not yet been taken, there is general agreement that the two chambers will adopt a law at the opening of the next session which will embody the conclusions already reached by separate votes. The student of administrative law, or of social psychology, or of public finance, or of public assistance, will find in the bills and the discussion instructive illustrations of his special studies. 1
i. The principle of national obligation is formulated in the bills now before the French legislature in the phrase "social solidarity." The opponents of the bill do not like to give up the word " charity." There may be some hairsplitting in the dialectic of debate, but the essential issue is the question whether the nation will adopt an efficacious measure to meet adequately and earnestly a moral obligation which all parties admit. The conservatives
- The minister of the interior, in August, 1905, issued a circular addressed to
the prefects, giving them an analysis of the essential changes which will be made by the new law of July 14, 1905. Since many preliminary arrangements must be made, this law will not go into effect until January i, 1907. The points to which he calls attention are fully stated in the text of the article. One statement found in the circular illustrates the tactful skill required in making the law acceptable to the rural communes, where distrust is most liable to be awakened. The law lays the heavier part of the burden on the state at large when the commune is poor. Thus, if the pension accorded is 100 francs, in a poor commune belonging to a department with limited resources, the ratios would be : payment by the state, Fr. 85.50; the department, Fr. 4.50; and the commune, Fr. 10.
1 Official sources for this study are found in : " Rapport fait au nom de la commission d'assurance et de prevoyance sociales," etc., by M. Bienvenu Martin, member of the Chamber of Deputies, Annexe au Proces-verbal de la seance du 4 avril 1903, No. 889; "Rapport fait," etc., by M. Paul Strauss, Senator, Annexe au Proces-verbal de la seance du 23 fevrier 1904, No. 43 ; discussions in the Senate, June and July, 1905, Journal officiel.
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