Opium
—The contracting powers agree, whether or not
they have signed and ratified the opium convention of January 23,
1912, or signed the special protocol opened at The Hague in
accordance with resolutions adopted by the third opium conference
in 1914, to bring the said convention into force by enacting
within twelve months of the time of peace the necessary
legislation.
Missions
—The allied and associated powers agree that
the properties of religious missions in territories belonging or
ceded to them shall continue in their work under the control of
the powers, Germany renouncing all claims in their behalf.
SECTION 11.
Air Navigation
—Aircraft of the allied
and associated powers shall have full liberty of passage and
landing over and in German territory; equal treatment with German
planes as to use of German airdromes, and with most favored
nation planes as to internal commercial traffic in Germany.
SECTION 13.—
Freedom of Transit
—Germany must
grant freedom of transit through her territories by rail or water
to persons, goods, ships, carriages and mail from or to any of
the allied or associated powers, without customs or transit
duties, undue delays, restrictions and discriminations based on
nationality, means of transport or place of entry or departure.
Goods in transit shall be assured all possible speed of journey,
especially perishable goods.
(The remainder of Section 12 concerns the use of European
waterways and railroads.)
SECTION 13.
International Labor
Organizations
—Members of the league of nations agree to
establish a permanent organization to promote international
adjustment of labor conditions, to consist of an annual
international labor conference and an international labor
office.
The former is composed of four representatives of each state, two
from the government and one each from the employers and the
employed; each of them may vote individually. It will be a
deliberative legislative body, its measures taking the form of
draft conventions or recommendations for legislation, which if
passed by two-thirds vote must be submitted to the lawmaking
authority in every state participating. Each government may
either enact the terms into law; approve the principles, but
modify them to local needs; leave the actual legislation in case
of a federal state to local legislatures; or reject the
convention altogether without further obligation.
The international labor office is established at the seat of the
league of nations as part of its organization. It is to collect
and distribute information on labor through the world and prepare
agents for the conference. It will publish a periodical in French
and English and possibly other languages. Each state agrees to
make to it, for presentation to the conference, an annual report
of measures taken to execute accepted conventions. The governing
body is its executive. It consists of twenty-four members, twelve
representing the government, six the employers and six the
employes, to serve for three years.
On complaint that any government has failed to carry out a
convention to which it is a party the governing body may make
inquiries directly to that government and in case the reply is
unsatisfactory may publish the complaint with comment. A
complaint by one government against another may be referred by
the governing body to a commission of inquiry nominated by the
secretary-general of the league. If the commission report fails
to bring satisfactory action, the matter may be taken to a
permanent court of international justice for final decision. The
chief reliance for securing enforcement of the law will be
publicity with a possibility of economic action in the
background.
The first meeting of the conference will take place in October,
1919, at Washington, to discuss the eight-hour day or forty-eight
hour week; prevention of unemployment; extension and application
of the international conventions adopted at Bern in 1906
prohibiting night work for women and the use of white phosphorus
in the manufacture of matches; and employment of women and
children at night or in unhealthful work, of women before and
after childbirth, including maternity benefit, and of children as
regards minimum age.
Nine principles of labor conditions are recognized on the ground
that the well-being, physical and moral, of the industrial wage
earners is of supreme international importance. With exceptions
necessitated by differences of climate, habits and economic
developments, they include: The guiding principle that labor
should not be regarded merely as a commodity or article of
commerce; right of association of employers and employes is
granted; and a wage adequate to maintain a reasonable standard of
life; the eight-hour day or forty-eight hour week; a weekly rest
of at least twenty-four hours, which should include Sunday
wherever practicable; abolition of child labor and assurance of
the continuation of the education and proper physical development
of children; equal pay for equal work as between men and women;
equitable treatment of all workers lawfully resident therein,
including foreigners, and a system of inspection in which women
shall take part.
SECTION 14.
Guaranties
—As a guaranty for the
execution of the treaty, German territory west of the Rhine,
together with bridgeheads, will be occupied by allied and
associated troops for fifteen years. If before the expiration of
the fifteen years Germany complies with all the treaty
undertakings, the occupying forces will be withdrawn.
Eastern Europe
—All German troops at present in
territories to the east of the new frontier shall return as soon
as the allied and associated governments deem wise.
SECTION 15. Germany agrees to recognize the full validity of the
treaties of peace and additional conventions to be concluded by
the allied and associated powers with the powers allied with
Germany; to agree to the decisions to be taken as to the
territories of Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, and to
recognize the new states in the frontiers to be fixed for
them.
Germany agrees not to put forward any pecuniary claim against any
allied or associated power signing the present treaty, based on
events previous to the coming into force of the treaty.
Germany accepts all decrees as to German ships and goods made by
any allied or associated prize court. The Allies reserve the
right to examine all decisions of German prize courts.
The treaty is to become effective in all respects for each power
on the date of deposition of its ratification.