lution,
in the early part of the last century, to the point of specifically
adopting the English common law of liberty of labor and trade which
"organized labor" seems already desirous of departing from; but the
German Civil Code goes on to say (Section 611): "By the contract of
hiring of services the person who promises service is obliged to
render the promised service, and the other party is obliged to the
payment of the salary or wage agreed upon. All nature of services may
be the subject of the service contract." It would seem, therefore,
that the contract may be specifically enforced. So, in France, by the
law of 1890, "A person can only bind himself to give his services for
a certain time or a special enterprise. The hiring of services made
without a fixed duration can always cease at the wish of one of the
contracting parties. Nevertheless, the cancellation of the contract
at the wish of one only of the contracting parties may give rise to
damages." It would appear, therefore, that definite contracts may be
specifically enforced, Austria has somewhat similar laws, although
a larger proportion of industrial employment is subject to state
regulation, and here no employer can employ any workingman without
a book or passbook, which serves both as identification and record.
Generally in Europe the use of a written contract in labor engagements
is far more usual than with us. This, perhaps, makes it easier to
enforce such contracts specifically. Nevertheless, I find no specific
statute on the subject. Indeed, the Code Napoleon adopts the English
law and provides[1] that "every obligation to do or not to do resolves
itself into damages in the case of non-performance," while the modern
English law act of 1875 provides a special and summary remedy in the
county courts for labor disputes whereby when the contract is not
rescinded the court may award damages or take security for the
performance of the labor contract itself. This, however, does not
include domestic servants. Both France and Belgium copy the common
law as to slavery, requiring contracts to be for a certain time or a
determined work. In Russia, however, contracts may be made for five
years.

[Footnote 1: _Ibid_., p. 64.]

It is still true that no European country outside of Turkey has yet
fixed by law the amount of wages in private employments or the minimum
amount, though that result is effected by the machinery of arbitration
in Great Britain and New Zeal