INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE
STUDIES AND REPORTS
Series B (Economic Conditions) No. 12
COMPULSORY LABOUR SERVICE
IN BULGARIA
(With the authorisation of the International Labour Office)
By Max LAZARD
Docteur en Droit
President of the " Association française pour la lutte contre
le chômage et l'organisation du marché du travail "
OCTOBER 1922
GENEVA
PREFACE
In an official letter dated 18 September 1921 the Chief of the
Bulgarian Secretariat at the League of Nations requested the
International Labour Office to undertake an enquiry into the
application and results of the Act on Compulsory Labour Service.
The importance of this proposal could not fail to attract the
attention of the Office. As far back as November 1920, struck
with the novelty of the institution, it had published translations
into French and English of the original text of the Act in its series
of Studies and Reports i1}. Since then, interest in the matter has
grown. In Bulgaria itself the battle of the reform was fought
with equal passion on both sides. Abroad, the Inter-Allied
Conference of Ambassadors, which feared that the institution bore the stamp of militarism, demanded the introduction of important amendments in the original text of the Act by virtue of the
Treaty of Neuilly. Yet other persons interpreted the reform as
an application of Bolshevist theory.
The International Labour Office welcomed the opportunity
thus offered by the Bulgarian Government of studying the newinstitution, and throwing light on its spirit, working, and results.
With the object, however, of drawing on every possible source of
information, the Office preferred to take no action while the application of the Act was still in its initial stages, and at a time when
the Entente had just demanded its suspension. The projected
enquiry was therefore not undertaken until April 1922, when the
Office instructed Mr. Max Lazard to proceed to Sofia.
Acknowledgements are due to the Bulgarian Government for
the reception given to Mr. Lazard at Sofia and the courtesy and
assistance rendered him throughout the course of his investigation.
(') Studies and Reports, Series C, No. 3: "The Bulgarian Law on Compulsory
Labour".
— 4 —
Only the willing co-operation of all public authorities made it
possible for him to complete his investigations and make a valuable
contribution on a subject about which little is known.
It was thought advisable that the investigation should- not be
confined to an examination of the Act itself, its application and
results, but that the institution should also be viewed in proper
perspective among the circumstances on which it originated, indicating on the one hand the economic characteristics of the countiy
and on the other the general policy and social philosophy of the
Agrarian Union. Mr. Lazard has presented the facts impartially;
his conclusions on the effects and significance of the law are interesting and should prove useful.
It should be stated that Mr. Lazard is alone responsible for
opinions expressed in this study. The object in publishing the
report is to place before the public a straightforward and objective
account of a new institution, which is still surrounded by much
uncertainty and obscurity.
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE
CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE
3
INTRODUCTION
9
CHAPTER I
The Economic and Political Background
SECTION I. Pre-War Economic Conditions
Sparse Population
Agricultural Character of Country
Land Ownership
Roads and Communication
Mechanical Equipment
Trade and Commerce
The Corvée
The Ancient "Zadrouga"
The Pre-War Army
Public Works
SECTION II.
Disturbances due to the War
Change in Number and Attitude of the Population
Demography — Psychological Outlook — National
Defence.
Economic Disturbances
Impoverishment — War Financing and Budget Deficits —
Post-War Financing and Budget Deficits.
The Burden of Reparations
SECTION III. The Activities of the Agrarian Union
The Present Political Situation
The Agrarian Programme
CHAPTER II
Compulsory Labour Service Law
SECTION I.
The Genesis of the Act
SECTION II. The Principles underlying the First Act
SECTION III. Chief Provisions of the First Act. The Dispute with the
Entente
SECTION IV. Analysis of the Act at present in Force
Definition of Obligation
Principal or Regular Service — Municipal or Temporary
Service.
#
Scope and Application of the System
The Use made of Compulsory Labour — Complete
Exemptions — Partial Exemptions — Temporary
Exemptions — Commutation — Penalties — Organisation of the Service.
12
12
13
13
15
16
17
18
19
19
19
19
20
20
22
23
25
26
29
30
31
34
34
36
— 6 —
CHAPTER III
The Application of the Act
Pago
SECTION I.
General Survey
SECTION II. Regular Service of Young Men
Guiding Principles
The Choice of Work — Limits to the Use of the "Troudovaks" — Practical Details.
General Features of the System
Central Administration — Departmental Administration
— Administrative and Technical ' Services — Housing
and Maintenance of the Workers, Uniforms, etc. —
Recruiting and Allocation of Work.
The Use made of the Workers
Services of Maintenance — Agricultural and Industrial
Undertakings — Gangs supplied to Different Ministries —
Workers on Regular Service placed at the Disposal of the
Communes — Exceptional Cases.
The Working of the System
Discipline — Health — Organisation of the Work —
Tools — Education and Propaganda.
Results
Work done on behalf of the State — Work carried out
in the Communes.
Budget
Output
SECTION III. Temporary Service for Men
Present Position of the Question
The Administrative Regulations of 16 June 1921
Nature and Extent of Obligation — Registration and
Exemptions — Substitute Work or Supplies — Moral and
Financial Responsibility — Co-operation of State
Officials — Preparation of the Programme of Work —
Approval by the Central Authorities — Calling-up
Notices — Organisation of the Work — Tools — Hours
of Work — Checking the Work — Discipline and Punishments.
Results for 1920-1921
SECTION IV. The Regular Service of Girls
The Administrative Regulations of 8 March 1922
The First Application of the Act
43
45
45
50
53
57
59
69
73
79
79
81
83
91
91
94
CHAPTER IV
The Compulsory Labour Week in the Schools
CHAPTER V
Attitude of Public Opinion
Social and Moral Importance of Manual Labour
Need for Speeding up Economic Progress
Characteristics of the System
«
The Element of Compulsion — The Right to Commute —
The Tendency toward Centralisation.
Advantages of the System
Financial Benefits — Educational Value — Social
Results — Vitality of the Institution.
100
100
100
103
, CHAPTER VI
Conclusion
Page
SECTION I,
The Spirit of the Institution
SECTION II.
The Military Point of View
SECTION III. The Educational Point of View
SECTION IV. The Economic Point of View
The Similarity of Compulsory Service and Direct Taxation
The Output of Compulsory Labour and the Cost to the Worker
Possible Improvements
The Ideal of State Socialism
SECTION V. The Example to Other Countries
107
108
109
110
111
111
114
115
115
APPENDICES
APPENDIX I. Bulgaria and the Agrarians
APPENDIX II. Threats of an Agrarian Dictatorship
*
APPENDIX III. Pre-War Agrarian Opinion on the Subject of Military
Service
APPENDIX IV. Act of 5 June 1920 respecting Compulsory Labour Service,
amended and supplemented by Act of 22 October
1921
APPENDIX V. Regulations concerning the Rendering of Temporary
Compulsory Labour Service under Section 10 of the
Act respecting Compulsory Labour Service during the
year 1921-1922
APPENDIX VI. Regulations for the Administration of Section 8 of
the Act respecting Compulsory Labour Service
(Purchase of Exemption)
APPENDIX VII. Circular addressed to Chiefs of Offices and-Managers
of Factories, Farms, and Workshops
APPENDIX VIII. Regulations for the Rendering of Compulsory Labour
Service by Young Women
APPENDIX IX. Compulsory Labour Week in the Schools
119
121
123
125
130
140
143
145
156
COMPULSORY LABOUR SERVICE IN BULGARIA
INTRODUCTION
Among the large number of legislative and administrative
measures for which the present Bulgarian Government is responsible,
those relating to compulsory labour service have particularly
attracted public attention ('). Supporters of the Government
regard it as a reform whose importance cannot be exaggerated,
from the moral as well as from t h e economic point of view. In
their opinion, the Act on Compulsory Labour Service, together with
the Agrarian Act ("Act on Property based on Labour"), should be
considered as the chief foundation of national reconstruction. The
opposition parties, on the other hand, whether conservative or
revolutionary, are agreed, if not in rejecting the principle of the
new Act, at least in criticising its provisions, denying its efficacy,
and predicting its failure.
In other countries the point of view may be different, but the
interest aroused is equally marked, and, curiously enough, the
judgments passed are equally contradictory. The representatives
of the Powers which defeated Bulgaria took an unfavourable view
of the new Act, because it seemed to them to bear the stamp of
militarism and to violate the spirit if not the letter of the military
clauses of the Treaty of Neuilly. It is true that the original text
was considerably modified at the request of the Inter-Allied
Conference of Ambassadors, but in spite of this there is still a
certain amount of suspicion (s). In other quarters the very different
(') The term "compulsory labour service" used here calls for some comment.
Hitherto the measures in question have often been described as referring to
"compulsory labour". This translation of the Bulgarian words troudova
povinnost seems inaccurate. The literal meaning of povinnost is "compulsory
service" (corresponding exactly to the French term prestation), and troudova
means "of labour". Compulsory military service is similarly designated by
the words voyenna povinnost, voyenna meaning "military". As will appear
later from the analysis of the Act itself, the question is solely that of the
rendering of certain services strictly limited in aim and nature, and in no
way that of measures restricting the individual liberty of workers in a general
manner There would therefore seem to be no valid reason for rejecting
the literal translation.
(') The first Act was sanctioned by Royal Ukase No. 60, of 5 June 1920, and
— IO —
accusation of Bolshevism is brought forward. The Act is considered
dangerously revolutionary in character, because it is believed to
establish the principle of forced labour for all.
In view of these divergent opinions, the intrinsic interest of the
new institution and its international implications seemed to mark
it out for careful and impartial study. This task was entrusted
by the International Labour Office to the author, whose first step
was to undertake a detailed enquiry on the spot. The welcome
given to the enquiry in Sofia, and the help and encouragement of
the Bulgarian Government, call for special mention. It is impossible to enter into detail as to the courtesy met with on all
sides, for which special acknowledgements are due to Mr. Stamboliiski, Prime Minister, and Mr. Raiko Daskaloff, Minister of the
Interior and Deputy Prime Minister, but the record would be
incomplete without some reference to the perfect collaboration
between the International Labour Office and the two Bulgarian
Ministries concerned with the enquiry, namely, the Ministry of
Industry, Commerce and Labour, to which the Directorate of
Labour is attached, and which acts as the official correspondent of
the International Labour Office, and the Ministry of Public Works,
to which the Directorate of Compulsory Labour Service is attached. Under the patronage of the two Ministers, Mr. Alexander
Radoloff and Mr. Tzanko Bakaloff, the Chiefs of the services, Mr.
Dmitri Nicoloff, Director of Labour, and Mr. Christo Stoyanoff,
Director-General of the Compulsory Labour Service — the latter
with the help of his two chief assistants, Mr. Velcheff (engineer)
and Col. Gancheff — acted for three months as guides whose
devotion and supply of information were beyond praise.
An eight days' tour of inspection throughout Bulgaria, carried
out in their company, made it possible to study all the details of the
working of the new institution; to watch the shifts at work, the
workshops and offices in full swing, and to see the work that had
been done. The towns or townships of Bela-Cherkova, Chumen,
Tirnovo, Gabrovo, and Philippopolis were visited, and excursions
made from them to workshops or establisments in the neighbourhood. In each of these centres conversations were held with the
chief inhabitants, manufacturers or farmers, with representatives
of the municipalities, and officials of the local labour army. On
returning to Sofia, the author came into personal touch with both
supporters and opponents of the Government.
This opportunity of seeing the legislation in question in relation
to the circumstances in which it originated brought out clearly
both the conditions peculiar to Bulgaria which explain the action
taken by the Government, and the obstacles, economic and political, which had to be overcome.
The order to be followed in a survey of the subject is necessarily
was published in the Bulgarian Official Journal for 14 June 1920. The amendments introduced on the request of the Entente were incorporated in a new
Act sanctioned by Royal Ukase No. 35, of 22 October 1921, and published
in the Official Journal of 9 November 1921.
— l i to some extent the reverse of that adopted during the enquiry.
The first chapter of the Report aims at giving a general idea, if
not of Bulgaria of today, at least of what must be known about
it in order to understand the legislation in question. The second
chapter contains a summary of the main features of the Act on
Compulsory Labour Service, the aims of its authors, and the conditions in which the 1921 text was substituted for that of 1920.
This is followed by a detailed description of the working of the
institution and of the results already obtained. Finally, the
principal criticisms levelled against the new institution are reviewed,
and the conclusions to be drawn from a strictly objective examination of the facts are indicated.
CHAPTER I
THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL BACKGROUND
Although in no sense a measure to meet a special case, the
Bulgarian Act on Compulsory Labour Service is both in the spirit
and the letter the product of the political and economic conditions
peculiar to Bulgaria. Hence, if its real significance is to be appreciated it must be viewed not only in relation to the rest of Mr. Stamboliiski's government programme, but also in connection with
the general situation in Bulgaria, both historically and at the time
when Mr. Stamboliiski came to power. The information considered indispensable, which will be given as briefly as possible,
relates to (1) economic characteristics of Bulgaria before the war,
(2) disturbances due to the war, (3) activities of the Agrarian Party,
first in opposition and then in power.
SECTION I.
PRE-WAR ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
Most of the pre-war economic characteristics of Bulgaria obviously
persisted after the war as well, evolution in these matters being
but slow. By force of circumstances, however, the available statistical data refer to several years back so that the reader should
keep clearly in mind that the details given below refer to the prewar period. With so much by way of introduction, we may proceed
to sketch in the background of the legislation for compulsory labour
service.
Sparse Population
Bulgaria is a sparsely populated country as indicated below:
Country
Dale
Population
(per sq. km.)
Bulgaria
Roumania
Serbia
France
Germany
United Kingdom
Belgium
1910
1912
1910
1911
1910
1911
1910
45
55
60
73
120
144
252
— 13 —
Agricultural Character of Country
The best evidence of the agricultural character of the country
may be found in the table below, showing the distribution of the
population by occupation in various countries. The figures are
taken from a more comprehensive table contained in the important
work recently published by Mr. Kirill G. Popoff, Director of the
Bulgarian Statistical Office, entitled La Bulgarie
économique,
1879-1911 (').
TABLE I. — PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION BY OCCUPATION OF THE
WORKING POPULATION IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES
Country
Bulgaria
Hungary
Austria
Italy
France
Germany
Great Britain
Agriculture
Industry
and Commerce
82.6
69.7
60.9
59.4
42.7
35.2
11.9
10.9
17.8
28.7
31.9
46.0
52.4
67.2
Land
Army,
Domestic service Civil Service,
Liberal
professions
2.4
4.1
4.0
8.5
4.6
5.8
5.1
3.6
6.7
4.6
6.2
6.2
7.5
13.4
Ownership
Bulgaria is a country in which almost half the land is not private
property. This is evident from two enquiries, undertaken in 1897
and 1908 by the Bulgarian Statistical Office, concerning the area
of land under cultivation. The difference between the figures so
obtained and the total area of the country gives the "uncultivated"
area, i. e. the area covered by roads, waterways, mountain or other
uncultivated land, and land built on, whether public or private.
The following are the figures obtained from the two enquiries (2) :
TABLE
II. — OWNERSHIP OF CULTIVATED AND UNCULTIVATED
LAND IN 1897 AND 1908
Area in hectares
1897
Cultivated
i
1908
Per cent.
of total area
1897 | 1908
land
Public property
State and departmental
Communal
School, convent, etc.
Private property
Total
Uncultivated land
(including land built on)
Grand total
1,016,344 761,805
2,291,156 2,417,488
128,577 173,074
3,977,670 4,630,083
7,413,747 7,982,450
10.5
23.8
1.3
41.3
76.9
7.9
25.1
1.8
48.1
2,220,801 1,652,099
23.1
17.1
82.9
9,634,550 9,634,550 100.0 100.0
(») French translation by V.Robeff,Sofia, 1920, 520 pp. TheBulgarian census
referred to by Mr. Popoff is that of 1905. Thefiguresfor thè other countries
are taken from census returns of the first decade of the twentieth century.
(2) Cf. K. POPOFF, op. cit. pp. 87-88.
— 14 —
Assuming, as we may reasonably do, that most of the uncultivated land belongs to the State or the communes, it follows that
the proportion of Bulgarian territory not in private hands is about
one-half.
Bulgaria is a country in which property, whether built on or not,
is very much subdivided ; almost every one owns some land, and
there are very few large estates.
Using the term "household" with its French meaning of all
the persons living together in one private dwelling, Mr. Popoli (*)
states that the number of households covered by the 1910 Bulgarian
census was 773,543. Roughly speaking, this may be taken as
equivalent to the number of heads of families. Now, the statistical
enquiry of 1908 into the ownership of cultivated land estimated
the number of private landowners at 700,500 (2). These figures
may be supplemented by the land tax returns. The number of
assessments in 1908 was 936,766.. If a deduction of 20 per cent, is
made to allow for duplication, the number of persons liable to land
tax was about 750,000. The two estimates thus lead to the same
conclusion, namely, that the number of landowners is almost equal
to that of heads of families.
As to the distribution of estates by area the 1908 enquiry disclosed
the figures contained in the following table (8) :
TABLE III. — DISTRIBUTION OF ESTATES BY AREA IN 1908
Estates
Classified area
Number
Under
2 hectares
2 to 10
»
10 » 30
»
30 » 100
»
100 hectares and over
Total
424,898
386,728
111,632
9,173
936
933,367 (4)
Area
Per cent.
of total
45.5
41.4
12.0
1.0
0.1
100.0 .
Hectares
Per cent.
of tolal
321,568
1,954,854
1,689,371
405,652
254,342
4,625,787
6.9
42.3
36.5
8.8
5.5
100.0
Finally, information as to house property may be obtained from
financial returns. The following figures relate to 1911 (").
i1) K. POPOFF, op. cit. p. 14.
(2) Ibid. p. 89.
(43) Ibid. pp. 95-97.
( ) The difference between this figure and the 700,500 estimate of the number
of landowners is due to the fact that property is considered separately for each
commune. Thus one person owning property in several communes is regarded
as owning several estates.
(5) Cf. K. POPOFF, op. cit. p. 135.
— 15 —
TABLE IV. — DISTRIBUTION OF PERSONS LIABLE TO LAND-TAX
IN RESPECT OP HOUSE PROPERTY
Number
of taxpayers
Classified amount of tai
Under
5 leva
5 to 20 »
20 to 500 »
500 leva and over
539,097
84,340
18,872
330
642,639
Total
Per cent, of total
83.9
13.1
3.0
0.05
*
100.05
Roughly speaking, of the 640,000 taxpayers in the above table,
510,000 live in rural, and 130,000 in urban, communes. Mr. Popoff
compares these figures with the number of households and obtains
the result t h a t in urban communes 73.6 per cent., and in rural
communes 96.9 per cent., of all households are liable to land tax.
In other words, in the country almost every head of a family owns
at least his house; in towns the proportion of owners is close to
three-quarters.
Roads and
Communication
The Bulgarian road system is still very little developed; and the
existing roads are inadequately maintained. The significance of
the Bulgarian figures is brought out by a comparison with French
statistics (').
TABLE V. — COMPARATIVE DENSITY OF ROAD SYSTEMS
IN BULGARIA AND FRANCE
Bulgaria (1911)
Kinds
of roads
Per
10U si], km.
Per lO.OdO
inhabitants
Total
mileage
km.
km.
km.
km.
National
6,420
6.7
14.8
Local
2,525
2.6
8,945
9.3
Total
Total
' mileage
France (1909)
Per
100 sq. km.
Per 10,000
inhabitants
km. -
km.
38,000
7.17
9.74
5.7
635,000
120.00
162.82
20.5
673,000
127.17
172.56
While the comparison is remarkably favourable to Bulgaria as
regards national roads, it is disastrous as regards local roads. If,
however, the real value of the roads is to be estimated, their state
of repair must be taken into account. This is stated to be bad for
20.7 per cent, of national, and 27 per cent, of local, roads. The
French statistics before the war gave only 112 km., or 0.3 per cent.,
(*) For Bulgaria see K.
tique, vol. XXX, 1910.
POPOFF,
op. cit. p. 413; for France Annuaire statis-
— 16 —
of the national roads as being in unsatisfactory condition out of
38,000 km. No figures were given for local roads, b u t it is certain
t h a t the proportion out of repair could not be as high as one-quarter.
The country is still very inadequately provided with railways.
The following figures for 1911 are taken from a table in Mr.Popoïï's
book comparing the chief railway systems of the world (').
TABLE VI. — COMPARATIVE DENSITY OF THE BULGARIAN, FRENCH,
GERMAN, AND BRITISH RAILWAY SYSTEMS
Country
Bulgaria
France
Germany
Great Britain
Railway
mileage
Per
100 sq. km.
Per 10,000
inhabitants
km.
km.
km.
2.0
9.3
11.4
12.0
4.6
12.8
9.5
8.3
1,945
50,232
61,936
37,639
Mechanical
Equipment
The Bulgarian mechanical equipment still leaves much to be
desired as is evident from statistics as to agricultural machinery
and motive power.
AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY (2)
(Estimate for 1910)
w..(,,„.„
Machine«
Number per
^
lQgo
»i„.k,-„».
Machines
Number per
hfmt
i m
Swingploughs
849
Threshing machines 2
Wheel ploughs
231
Winnowing
» 134
Seed drills
2
Other
»
25
Harvesting machines 14
The predominance of swing ploughs and fewness of wheel ploughs
will be noted. In round numbers, out of every hundred farms,
only twenty use wheel ploughs, the rest being still in the swing
plough stage.
The figures for industry are more satisfactory than those for
agriculture. This is due to the fact that technical advances are
always more imperative in towns than in the country. But even.
in this respect Bulgaria is far from reaching the level of western
countries. Mr. Popoff compares the Bulgarian figures with those
for France, Germany, and the United States, and arrives at the
following table (3) :
(')2
K. POPOFF, op. cit. p. 423.
( ) Ibid. p. 156.
(") Ibid. p. 299.
— 17 —
HORSE POWER EMPLOYED IN PRIVATE INDUSTRY
(including agriculture, but excluding railways and shipping)
Per 1,000
inhabitants
Bulgaria
France
Germany
United States
1910
1913
1907
1909
21,801
3,551,000
8,204,000
22,240,000
5
90
127
244
The mechanical equipment of Bulgaria is thus only one-eighteenth
of that of France.
Trade and Commerce
In Bulgaria, commerce plays a less important part then in
western countries. The system of "self-sufficiency", on the other
hand, is still widely prevalent.
It will readily be understood that it is nearly impossible to support such a statement with conclusive statistical data. Mr. Popoff,
when trying to estimate the extent of Bulgarian foreign trade,
assumes that half the population "supports and clothes itself,
feeds its cattle, and meets its household requirements out of its
own production, without recourse to trade'^ 1 ).
To go into the matter a little more deeply, an attempt has been
made to compare the relative amount of trade in Bulgaria and
France, a distinction being drawn between home and foreign trade.
Foreign trade. The available data for Bulgaria relate to the
value, not the volume, of trade. As the figures are pre-war (1909),
there are no difficulties arising from disturbed exchanges, and the
franc and the lev may be taken as equivalent (2). According to
the statistics collected by Mr. Popoff the total value of Bulgarian
imports and exports in 1909 was about 272,000,000 leva. The
population at that date was estimated at 4,200,000, so that the
value of foreign trade per head was 65 leva. The corresponding
figures for France, that is, those for the so-called special trade
alone (i. e. excluding re-exports), give a total of about 12 milliard
francs for imports and exports together. With an estimated
population of 39,400,000, this gives an average of 304 francs per
head. In other words, at the date in question French foreign trade
was five times the amount of that of Bulgaria.
Home trade as measured by density of traffic. Density of traffic
is the ratio of the weight of goods traffic on the railways to mileage.
For Bulgaria, Mr. Popoff gives a figure of about 2,000,000 metric
tons, which with a railway mileage of 1,945 kilometres gives an
average density of about 1,000 metric tons per kilometre per annum.
In France, according to the Annuaire statistique for 1910 (3), the
weight of goods carried on the main lines alone was about 160
I1)
K. POPOFF, op. cit.
p.
398.
(2) 1 lev at par = 1 franc.
(3) p. 89*.
2
— 18 —
million tons in 1909. The mileage being about 40,000 kilometres,
this gives an average of about 4,000 tons of goods carried per
kilometre per annum. In other words, it would appear that before
the war density of traffic in France was four times t h a t of Bulgaria.
This index, which confirms the figure for foreign trade, would seem
to provide a sufficiently exact measurement of the level of Bulgarian
economic conditions before the war.
The
"Corvée"
Bulgaria has always been accustomed to the rendering of certain
compulsory services to the State or communes. The corvée, to
which the Turks applied the old Christian term "angaria", was
enforced in subject Bulgaria as in all other feudal communities.
After the war of liberation of 1877 the name changed, b u t the thing
itself remained in another form. I t was now called the peutna
povinnost or road service. After being subjected more than once to
legislative revision, the service at present takes the following
form (Act of 6 July 1920): every inhabitant of the Kingdom of
the male sex, and between the ages of 21 and 55 years, must each
year do five days' work on the maintenance of local roads. If he
is the owner of a vehicle he must present himself at the place of
work with the vehicle, in which case his service is reduced to two
days. A man cannot be compelled to work at a distance of over
15 kilometres from his home, nor outside the boundaries of his
own district. For the purpose of this obligation the village is
taken as a unit. No distinction is made between Bulgarians and
foreigners (l).
In addition to this compulsory service, a poll tax system is also in
force for the maintenance of national roads, which at present takes
the form of a certain number of additional centimes on the different
direct taxes, excluding land tax and the tax on sheep. Until 1903
the persons liable to this tax were entitled to choose between paying
the tax or performing work (2).
(*) In its present form this compulsory service law bears the imprint of the
Agrarian party. It no longer allows a person to buy himself free, as was
permitted even under Turkish rule, for the exercise of which right the Act
previously in force (27 February 1911) provided a rate of 2 leva a day. Under
the new basis of assessment the tax now only applies to adult men, while
between 1903 and 1920 it was also applicable to children, women or old men
who2 were the owners of real estate, and to adult women employed by the State.
( ) There are many similarities between this compulsory rendering of road
service and the payment of poll tax in Bulgaria to institutions which still exist
in undeveloped agricultural communities. For instance, many counties in
the different States of the United States still exact the performance of road
repairing by the tax-payers of the county or require the payment of a poll tax.
This payment of a poll tax is usually a condition precedent to the exercise of
the suffrage in the county. Frequently the poll tax is in lieu of the road tax,
and frequently both kinds of taxes exist side by side.
— 19 —
The Ancient "Zadrouga"
In modern Bulgaria the spirit of the old "zadrouga" has not
yet entirely disappeared. The primitive forms of patriarchal
co-operation are well known. Among other descriptions reference
may be made to the classic work of Emile de Laveleye. It seems
that the state of mind underlying these customs is still to be found
in country districts in Bulgaria. We are assured that it is far from
rare for the inhabitants of a village, independently of all legal or
administrative compulsion, to agree among themselves to carry
out together work of interest to all under the direction of one of
their number.
The Pre-war Army
The Bulgarian army, organised on the western pattern, involved
two years' active service in the infantry, and three years' in other
arms. The budget of the Ministry of War in 1911 represented over
one-fifth of the total national expenditure (l).
Public Works
Great efforts were being made by Bulgaria for the development
of national equipment. In the 1911 Budget expenditure on the
construction and maintenance of railways and ports, and on other
construction and means of communication, represented almost
one-fifth of the total budget (2). The significance of this figure
will be appreciated by comparing it with similar expenditure in
the French budget for 1911, which represented barely 14 per cent.
of the total estimates (').
SECTION II.
DISTURBANCES DUE TO THE WAR
As already stated there is little difference in essentials between
pre-war and post-war Bulgaria. This is obviously not the same
as saying that the country has passed unscathed through the long
period of war. But it is a fact that its equilibrium, though resting
on the same foundations as before, has been profoundly shaken.
An analysis is given below of the chief disturbances the effects of
which are now being felt; it may be remarked that as a whole the
description can be applied to all the belligerent countries alike.
(') The exact figures are 44,100,000 leva out of the total budget of 202,800,000
leva (cf. K. POPOFF, op. cit. p. 483).
(2) The exact figures are 39,800,000 leva out of 202,800,000 leva (cf. K.
POPOFF, op. cit. p.
483).
(3) The actual figures referred to are as follows:
Ministry of Public Works, General Services
»
»
»
» Repayments
General Post Office, General Services
Working expenses
Total
General total of expenditure
275,091,000
9,553,000
3,509,000
316,667,000
604,820,000
4,386,462,000
— 20 —
Change in Number and Attitude of the Population
Demography. Recent wars have made no marked alteration
in the population, which has risen from 4,400,000 in 1911 to about
4,800,000 ('). Number, however, is not the only feature to be
taken into consideration; there is also, and perhaps most important,
the question of quality. The tens of thousands of Bulgarians who
have been lost as a result of territorial re-arrangements all fitted
exactly into the community. They have been replaced by newcomers, chiefly refugees from the Dobrudja, Macedonia, and Thrace,
who until they again take root will be much more of a burden than
a source of strength to the country. This already difficult demographic situation has been still further complicated by the presence of
numbers of Russian refugees, including in particular the remnants
of Wrangel's army.
Psychological Outlook. The sufferings and injustices inherent
in war have brought about a kind of moral crisis. In Russia they
have produced Bolshevism. In the Russian border States, even
more than in western countries, they have produced an impulse
towards communism, the gravity of which is undeniable. After the
municipal elections of December 1919 the Bulgarian communists
had a majority in almost all urban municipalities, and were represented on 1,565 municipal councils out of 3,200. Since then,
mainly owing to the application of the Compulsory Voting Act, the
municipalities of the chief provincial towns have been reconquered
by the bourgeois parties; but the leaders of the Communist party
maintain that in the municipal elections of 1922 the number of
votes in favour of their candidates exceeded the previous figures
by 40,000 (2).
National Defence. Bulgaria is in future prohibited from having
a permanent army. Thousands of persons formerly in the. army
have suddenly been compelled to find other employment. This
has meant a destruction of balance as between occupations, and,
until the re-establishment of equilibrium, suffering and discontent
for many people.
Economic Disturbances
Impoverishment. All wealth, however durable, is worn out and
consumed more or less rapidly. In time of peace the rate at which
it is replaced is higher than the rate of destruction. The reverse
is the case in war-time, so that the longer a war lasts, the more the
stock of wealth is exhausted in the countries at war. Certain
(1) Cf. Bulletin statistique mensuel de la Direction générale 'de la Statistique du
Royaume de Bulgarie, April 1922, p. 1.
(2) This assertion is disputed by Agrarians who declfre that only the Agrarian and Democratic parties increased at the expense of other parties, the gain
being 60,000 votes for the Agraiians and 6,000 for the Democrats.
— 21 —
productive equipment is undoubtedly kept up to the level of
requirements, though at considerable cost, but much more often
apparatus is worn-out, and wealth is destroyed and not replaced.
In Bulgaria, as elsewhere, roads, railways, and rolling stock had
become extremely dilapidated by the end of the war. Owing
to the interruption in house building, there was a severe housing
shortage. Moreover, since some of the assets wasted by Bulgaria
during the war were obtained from the districts under military
occupation, the Treaty of Peace compelled the restitution of
equivalent values i1).
War financing and budget deficits. In Bulgaria, as almost everywhere else, the State has met a proportion of its war expenditure
by the issue of bank-notes not covered by a metal reserve or other
commercial security. The total amount of notes in circulation
rose from a nominal value of 110 million leva in 1911 to 2,858 million
leva in 1919 (2). The consequent economic disturbances which have
been the painful experience of almost all the belligerent countries
may be briefly analysed as follows :
(1) Corresponding to the fall in the purchasing power of the
monetary unit, a general instability of prices, i. e. an overthrow of
the balance finally established between the relative purchasing
powers of different goods and services by the free play of competition.
(2) Following on this destruction of equilibrium, an increase
in exchange difficulties and in the risks run by traders, whence a
slackened inclination to work among conscientious persons, and
among others a corresponding development of a spirit of speculation
and jobbing, tending in the long run to social parasitism.
Post-war financing and budget deficits. No sooner have budget
difficulties led to financial disturbances than the latter in turn
lead to further deficits. The State must pay more for everything
than before, but the taxes out of which expenditure is to be met
cannot keep pace with the increase in costs. In his speech of 23
February 1922 (3), Mr. Tourlakoff, Minister of Finance, gave the
figure of 629 million leva as the excess of actual expenditure over
i1) By Art. 127 of the Treaty oí Neuilly Bulgaria must hand over to neighbouring States as restitution for the cattle seized during the war: 125 bvlls,
13.500 milch cows, 12,500 horses and mares, 2,500 mules, 9,200 draught oxen,
33,000 sheep. Under this head, the Bulgarian Government, which has requisitioned the animals, has spent 169 million leva (cf. statistical table accompanying the statement made by Mr. Tourlakoff, Minister of Finance, to the Sobranje
on 23 February 1922. This speech was published by the Bulgarian Government under the title The Situation in Bulgaria, illustrated by Figures,
Sofia, State Publishers, 1922, p. 35).
Further, by Art. 128 of the Treaty, Bulgaria is compelled to deliver 50,000
metric tons of coal per annum to Serbia for five years. By 31 January 1922,
96.501 metric tons had been delivered, which, at the Government estimate
of 1,600 leva per metric ton, is equivalent to an expenditure of 154 million leva
(cf. 2above-mentioned pamphlet, p. 30).
( ) Cf. Bulletin statistique mensuel de la Bulgarie, April 1922, p. 16.
(") Cf. official paper previously cited, pp. 7,17, 29.
— 22 —
actual revenue for the financial year 1919. The deficit for 1920
amounted to 305 million leva. For the financial year 1921, ending
31 March 1922, the Minister hoped that the final deficit would not
exceed 150 to 200 million leva. However, when submitting his
estimates for 1922-1923 Mr. Tourlakoff indicated that they would
fall short of a theoretical balance by about 82 million leva (i).
The situation would thus seem to be improving. In the meantime,
however, the nominal value of notes in circulation rose from 2,858
million leva in 1919 to 3,629 million leva on 30 November 1921.
In other words, Bulgaria in spite of her efforts had not yet extricated
herself from the vicious circle in which all countries with depreciated exchanges are caught.
The Burden of Reparations
The difficulties described above are further augmented by those
arising out of the reparations to be paid. The Bulgarian debt
under this head amounts to 2,225 million gold francs. In addition,
since the payment of so large a sum must necessarily be spread
over several years, provision is made for the capital in question to
bear interest at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum.
The first instalment was to be paid on 1 July 1920, but Bulgaria,
with the other defeated countries, was allowed a moratorium. It
(*) The following are the figures given in the speech or published in an
appendix:
1919
Leva
Actual expenditure
Leva
Actual Revenue
844,214,514
Ordinary budget
1,123,378,946 Ordinary budget
Extraordinary budget
7,444,824
Supplementary credits
342,563,162
Total
844,214,514
1,473,386,932
1920
Ordinary budget
Extraordinary budget
Supplementary credits
Total
2,033,836,426
22,802,096
254,243,225
2,005,266,321
Ordinary budget
2,005,266,321
2,310,881,747
1921
Expenditure
Budget estimates
3,234,895,581
Probable amount
3,000,000,000
Revenue
Receipts during first
10 months
Expected receipts
2,158,707,864
693,000,000
Total
2,851,707,864
1922
Budget Estimates
Expenditure
4,033,120,000
Revenue
4,115,170,997
— 23 —
remains to be seen whether she will be able, not only to restore
economic and financial equilibrium, b u t also to fulfil her obligations and yet maintain that equilibrium. For the present, one
thing is certain, namely, t h a t the mere existence of the debt, if only
because of the very uncertainty it involves, must increase the
economic and moral instability of the country.
SECTION III.
T H E ACTIVITIES OF THE AGRARIAN UNION
The underlying conception of the system of compulsory service
is so closely linked with the social philosophy and political programme of the Agrarian Union that, for a clear view, the origin
and history of the Union must be briefly sketched.
Between 1879, the date of Bulgarian independence, and 1895,
the year of Stambouloff's assassination, questions of foreign policy
alone were regarded as vital by the Bulgarian nation. True, there
was a Socialist party pressing the demand for internal reforms, a
feeble imitation of the Western Marxist parties; b u t it could take
little root in a country with no industries and no proletariat.
Yet in Bulgaria, as elsewhere, the lowly had their grievances
against the great. It was therefore natural that some day ór
other the masses should think of using for economic and social
purposes the power of the vote originally placed in their hands as
the symbol and safeguard of national independence. On 1 September 1899, an "Appeal to the People", signed by three provincial
teachers, Messrs. Zabounoff, Draguieff, and Tzanko Bakaloff, all
quite unknown to the politicians of the capital, appeared in a small
agricultural paper published at Plevna by the first-mentioned of
the three. This appeal invited country people to form an independent political party for the support of their legitimate demands,
a party which would be opposed both to the so-called bourgeois
parties and also to the Socialist party (')• In less t h a n two years,
at the 1901 general election, 23 new deputies claimed adherence
p) Mr. Zabounoff, formerly an agricultural expert attached.to the Royal
domain of Euxinograd, had been dismissed and obliged to earn his living as a
schoolmaster. Among the founders of the movement he represented technical knowledge.
Mr. Draguieff, a journalist as well as schoolmaster, represented the moderate
political element.
As for Mr. Bakaloff, at present Minister of Public Works, his enthusiasm and
faith were an inspiration to the newborn party. Lyric poet, and withal man
of action, he had at first belonged to the Socialist party, and it was only after
he had satisfied himself of the impossibility of applying Marxist doctrines to a
country of small landowners that he adopted a political formula more suited
to the circumstances, without, however, abandoning his humanitarian ideals.
Working side by side with the three leaders, Mr. Al. Stamboliiski, then
quite a young man, was engaged in editing the journal. Soon after the formation of the Agrarian Union, this journal ceased to appear, and Messrs. Zabounoff
and Stamboliiski settled at Stara-Zagora and started a new political daily
there.
— 24 —
to the "Agrarian Union" (*). This was a striking success, to be
attributed to three principal causes:
(1) The satisfaction of the rural or provincial population at
having at last representatives in no way connected with the capital.
(2) The confidence of the electors in their party leaders, precisely
because these leaders were their social and intellectual equals.
They were not lawyers and business men ; they were schoolmasters,
local journalists, sons of peasants, themselves peasants both by
language and by customs.
(3) The happy adaptation of the party programme to the real
needs of the electors. The Agrarian Union here copied the Socialist
party, and presented itself as the defender of the economic
interests of a definite class, which class in Bulgaria happened to
be both numerous and very homogeneous.
Nevertheless, very shortly after this brilliant opening, the Union
had to go through a period of difficulty, and for several years there
were no Agrarians in the Sobran je. About ten of them, including
in particular Mr. Stamboliiski, reappeared there in 1908. Then,
suddenly, in 1911, 52 were elected as members of the fifth Bulgarian "Great Assembly", which was called to vote on an amendment
to the Constitution by which the right of the King to conclude
secret treaties would be recognised. Mr. Stamboliiski, who already
acted as leader of the Union, vigorously opposed the measure,
but the majority of tKe Assembly was not of his opinion and placed
in the hands of King Ferdinand the instrument he desired.
Some months later, in the summer of 1912, the Bulgarian Cabinet
opened negotiations with Serbia and Greece; in October 1912, the
first Balkan War broke out; July 1913 witnessed the rapid course
of the second war, and soon after the Treaties of Bucharest and
Constantinople established the Bulgarian defeat. From that date
onwards, opposition to the King increased steadily, and in this
opposition a leading part was taken by the Agrarian Union.
In September 1915 Ferdinand decided to join the Bulgarian
fortunes with those of the Central Empires. For form's sake he
consulted a Crown Council consisting of the leaders of the chief
political parties. At this meeting Mr. Stamboliiski vehemently
adjured the King to abandon his intention. But, deaf to the objections of almost all the persons he thus consulted, the King issued
on 21 September 1915 the order for general mobilisation. Two
days later, Mr. Stamboliiski published a protest manifesto and
urged the people to revolt. He was immediately arrested, tried,
and sentenced to imprisonment for life. Other politicians charged
with high treason were also imprisoned, among them Messrs.
Tourlakoff and Daskaloff, to-day Ministers of Finance and the
Interior respectively. While in prison Mr. Stamboliiski continued
to correspond with his friends, and agrarian propaganda was carried
on with increasing intensity in spite of military censorship.
(') Zemledelcheski Soyus. Soy us means "union", and Zemledelcheski is derived
from zemledeletz, "agriculturist".
— 25 On 29 September 1918, the day of the Bulgarian Armistice, the
populace of Sofia set free Mr. Stamboliiski, and the King agreed to
pardon him. Four days later King Ferdinand abdicated, and the
Malinoff Government then in power swore loyalty to Prince Boris.
In November, Mr. Malinoff resigned, and Mr. Th. Thodoroff
("Popular" party, liberal-conservative in outlook) formed a coalition Government, in which Mr. Draguieff represented the right
wing and Mr. Stamboliiski the left wing of the Agrarian Union.
In August 1919 a general election was held. The results were
very favourable to the Agrarian Union, giving them 83 seats out
of 229. The Communists came next with 49 seats, and then the
"Broad" (or moderate) Socialists. The bourgeois parties of every
shade, on the other hand, were correspondingly reduced. In September 1919, Mr. Thodoroff received the peace terms. Fearful
lest their severity should lead to communist reaction, and holding
the Zemledelcheski Soyus to be the sole organised force able to cope
with an attack of revolutionary fever, he advised the King to entrust
Mr. Stamboliiski with the task of reforming the Cabinet. Mr. Stamboliiski, as Prime Minister, signed the Treaty of Neuilly, and proceeded in March 1920 to a new general election. The number of
successful candidates of the Agrarian Union rose to 109, all the
other parties together obtaining only 120 seats. A scrutiny of the
returns reduced the latter figure to 107. As none of the Agrarian
returns were annulled, the latter party found itself in possession
of an absolute majority, and, under the vigilant control of the
Soyus, took over the reins of government.
The Present Political Situation
The chief feature of the present political situation is the extreme
heat of the conflict between the different parties. . This is because
the dispute is no longer simply between rival clans as before the
war, but is a real class war and, moreover, a class war grafted on a
national disaster.
A further novel and important fact is the direct intervention of
the electors in the control of public affairs. Mr. Stamboliiski and
his colleagues pride themselves on being only the delegates in
power of the Zemledelcheski Soyus. Every year the Union, at its
Congress of delegates from about 3,000 local sections, lays down in
great detail the programme which it wishes the Government to
adopt. The official journal of the party supervises the carrying out
of this programme, and warns the Ministers in whose activity or
docility it finds cause for complaint. The Ministers on their part
have to supply the journal with daily articles commenting on the
political situation or describing the measures adopted by the administration. At the end of the year the Government tenders its resignation. to the Congress and, if it has been found satisfactory, is reinstalled. Finally, if a Minister or a high official is accused of a breach
of the constitution of the Union, or other serious political offence, a
— 26 —
supreme court appointed by the Congress opens an enquiry, summons
the accused to appear at it, and gives judgement without appeal.
As a whole it may be said t h a t the political atmosphere of Sofia
is charged with dictatorship. The word is in every mouth, the
only difference between the party in power and the opposition being
that the latter denounces dictatorship as already in existence, while
the Agrarians threaten to establish it. Of course, when the Agra-.
rians make this threat, they do not refer to the dictatorship of an
individual, but to that of the party, and in their eyes such dictatorship would be legitimate because it would in fact be that of the
people itself. The influence of Russian theory is patent here; but
it would be a mistake to establish too close a connection, for this
would mean forgetting that the Bulgarian people is essentially a
people of small landowners, individualist, calculating and thrifty (').
The Agrarian
Programme
Exemplary punishment of all who may have any share in the
responsibility for the national disaster; opposition to the bourgeoisie of the towns, traders, manufacturers, bankers, lawyers, all
of whom are considered as a priori exploiters of the peasant; the
crushing of the Communists who are guilty of the inexpiable crime
of confusing large and small land-ownership in one single hatred ;
glorification of manual labour, and in particular of agricultural
labour. These few very simple principles are the source of inspiration or at least the most characteristic features of the home policy
of the Agrarian Union.
Among the chief legislative or administrative measures to which
they have given rise we may refer in particular to Section 4, by
which is understood by every one in Bulgaria that part of the Act
sentencing all those regarded as responsible for the national disaster.
This Section, which was repealed on 1 September 1921, ran as
follows :
All private persons, and all members of the army or civil services,
who profited from the war through speculation or transactions of a kind
calculated to oppress and excite the troops or population, or who were
guilty of acts of cruelty in the occupied territories or, finally, who, for
purposes of gain, contributed in any manner towards the preparation,
declaration, or prolongation of the war are liable to the penalties laid down
in Section 8 of the present Act (2).
The application of this clause resulted in the sentencing of a
large number of civil and military officials for offences or crimes
committed during the war. The Section, which was intentionally
worded so as to give it very wide scope, had, however, the inconvenient defect of holding a threat over the head of any person who
t1) In order to show exactly the form taken by the threats of dictatorship
by the party in power, the resolutions recently adopted by the executive bodies
of the Soyus, and an article written by the Minister Bakaloff at the end of the
1921 Congress, are published in Appendix II.
(3) A maximum term of imprisonment with hard labour of five years, under
Section 431 of the Penal Code.
— 27 —
had earned money during the war. Several worthy and anxious
persons left the country, or, to its detriment, placed their capital
in security and retired from business. Knaves, on the other hand,
were able to secure the good-will of the police, so that as a whole
the Act would seem to have done more harm than good. After
intervention on the part of the Entente the Section in question
was repealed.
Another feature of the situation is the fight against the communists.
a struggle which has at present slightly abated its force because the
communists seem less to be feared, but which resulted in the suppression of the railway strike in 1921. On this occasion the Government made a direct appeal to the peasants. In many places armed
encounters occurred between strikers and strike-breakers. Ultimately the peasants were victorious (l).
The organisation of the Cereal Consortium has also shown the
temper of the peasants. The object of this body was to free producers from the burden of middlemen. The farmers, organised
in co-operative societies, sold their produce to the consortium, which
undertook the sales to the public and the export trade. The
machinery, which was very difficult to set going, did not work well.
Numerous complaints having been made to the Entente, the latter
intervened, and as a result free trading in cereals was restored from
1 September 1921. A resolution adopted by the Superior Council
of the Soy us on 22 November 1921, urging that the accounts of the
consortium should be speedily liquidated, would seem to show that
the consortium was not popular even among the farmers. In its
congress of May 1922, however, the Union officially pronounced
itself in favour of its re-establishment.
The Programme of Judicial reform comprised the following
items: Creation of rural courts consisting of elected judges for
dealing with civil and criminal cases, the competence of the courts
being limited to 1,000 leva for civil disputes, and to criminal cases
involving not more than a 250 leva fine ; extension of the competence
of justices of the peace up to 10,000 leva; the obligation on such
judges to hold sessions in the chief localities of their district in
rotation ; finally, and above all, limitation of the functions of lawyers :
prohibition of the employment of a lawyer when appearing before
a justice of the peace ; the similar exclusion of lawyers before
administrative courts ; prohibition of the employment of more than
one lawyer in a case; prohibition of deputies who are lawyers by
profession from.pleading while the Sobranje is sitting.
An Act on the expropriation of premises for the accommodation of
public services was put through. The serious feature of this Act
is that the expropriated owner is not given full compensation.
The indemnity is calculated only on the basis of fiscal valuation or,
in fact, on pre-war prices. Moreover, if large sums are in question,
only part is allowed.
Í1) In one of Mr. Stamboliiski's favourite homely similes he recently compared the communist movement to a bear whose teeth had been drawn by
the Agrarians, who now held him on a lead and could use him to frighten the
bourgeois.
— 28 —
The Act on the extension of public property, and the so-called
"Property based on Labour" Act undoubtedly represent the
boldest of the reforms introduced by the Agrarian Union into
Bulgarian economic conditions. They may be summarised as
follows :
(1) Rural properties of under 4 hectares if the owner is single»
10 hectares if he has a family, are subject to no kind of restrictionNot only may the owners work them themselves, but they may also
lease them to others.
(2) The right of leasing property to others does not apply to
estates between the lower limit of 4 or 10 hectares and the following
maxima :
20 hectares in the case of wood or pasture land in the plains ;
30, hectares in the case of cultivated land ;
50 hectares in the case of wood or pasture land in mountain districts.
In these cases, only the persons working the land are entitled
to own it.
(3) No property rights are recognised above the maxima
indicated in (2) above. Persons who own more than these maxima
must hold the excess at the disposal of the State, which will compensate them on the basis of pre-war prices. If the expropriations
reach a certain figure a reduction in the compensation is imposed.
(4) When several families combine for the purpose of some
agricultural undertaking the permissible maximum may be raised
to as many times 30 hectares as there are families concerned.
(5) The expropriated properties are transformed into small
holdings to be in turn conceded by the State to farmers who are not
owners of land. The latter are subject to a certain degree of
control for 20 years, and in particular have not the right to sell the
land allocated to them.
(6) If the applications of landless farmers exceed the amount
of land made available by individual expropriation, recourse must
be had to the land belonging to the communes, the State and the
monasteries.
This brief account of the Acts and other measures of the Bulgarian
regime before the war, and by the Stamboliiski Government when
in power, will serve as a background for the study of the Compulsory Labour Service Law ('). This measure will be discussed in
the following chapters of this study.
(M Among others, reference may be made to the introduction of the compulsory vote; fiscal reform by the introduction of a progressive income tax;
very severe legislation for coping with the housing shortage by the distribution of housing accommodation; the Act limiting the independence of the municipality of Sofia, recalling in certain aspects the measures adopted for the
municipality of Paris ; the Act introducing the referendum of the inhabitants
of a commune on the appointment of teachers; the social insurance Act at
present in preparation; other Acts for the application of the Conventions and
Recommendations of the International Labour Conference, etc.
CHAPTER II
THE COMPULSORY LABOUR SERVICE LAW (*)
SECTION
I.
THE
G E N E S I S OF THE ACT
The origin of this post-war civilian Act is to be found in a pre-war
agrarian theory on the reform of military organisation (2). The
Agrarians, disagreeing with the Socialists on this point as in so
many others, were not under the former regime opposed to a
permanent army. On the contrary, they declared t h a t barrack
life had its good sides: It brought different social classes together
and taught them to know each other; it moulded the villager,
adapting him to social life, teaching him punctuality and manners,
and extending his horizon; it inculcated by practice a sense of
duty towards the community. On the other hand, it was clear
that too much time was spent in barracks, t h a t the life meant a
complete uprooting, and that much of what was done in it was
useless. In the circumstances, an attempt might surely be made
to retain the good features of barrack life and abolish the evil.
Why, after a short stay in a military instruction centre, should not
the young soldier return to his village ? Why should he not be
engaged there in work of public interest, in creating and maintaining national wealth ? Such a reform would benefit not only the
State, but also the individual. It would strengthen his sense of
national solidarity, and would educate him in many ways. Young
men from the country would learn better methods of work. Young
townsmen would get into touch with mother earth, and would learn
the beauty of manual labour.
Then came national disaster with its manifold consequences:
abolition of the permanent army; financial difficulties; revoluionary agitation; the accession of the Agrarian Union to power.
(l) The French and English translations (with a commentary) of the full
text of the first A ct (approved by Ukase on 5 June 1920, and published in the
Official Journal for 14 June) have been published by the International Labour
Office
in its Studies and Reports, Series C, No. 3.
(2) See below in Appendix III certain characteristic passages of an article
su pporting such reform, published during the Balkan war by Mr. Bakaloff.
— 30 —
As a natural result the somewhat vague pre-war doctrine took
definite form in a Bill. The organisation of labour service would
use all that was practical in the Bolshevik dogma of compulsory
labour, or, in other words, it would deprive the adversary of one
of his best weapons. It would procure for the State on cheap
terms the labour needed for the reconstruction of national equipment and the improvement of economic conditions. By the maintenance of a certain discipline it would strengthen the cohesion of
the population at a critical moment. And all this was considerably facilitated, both morally and materially, by the disappearance
of the permanent army. Active service no longer absorbed
valuable time, the barracks were empty, the forces without employment. It was as if in the midst of the whirlwind of defeat a large
vacuum had suddenly been created into which Mr. Stamboliiski
and his colleagues poured labour service.
SECTION II.
T H E PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING THE F I R S T ACT
The simplest way of showing the lines on which the Stamboliiski
Cabinet proposed that the new institution should run, and the
extreme importance they attached to the reform, will be to quote
in full the Preamble of the Bill submitted to the Sobranje by
Mr. Stamboliiski himself in February 1920.
The Peace Conference at Paris has granted peace to Bulgaria on conditions which are both politically unjust and economically crushing. Yet
we should not allow ourselves to be discouraged by the situation created
by this Treaty. In submitting to our fate we must endeavour to adapt
ourselves to the new conditions, determining once for all to break with
the past, to abandon the path of foolish adventures and disastrous military
escapades. We must firmly and unhesitatingly break our way in the
opposite direction, that is to say in the direction of peaceful civilisation
and economic development. By this means alone shall we be able, not
only to extricate ourselves from the situation bristling with difficulties
in which we are placed by the Peace Conference, but also to recover what
we have lost by the war.
No doubt the Bulgarian people is both thoughtful and hard-working.
Yet, although it has already enjoyed the light of civilisation, it has as
yet achieved no real economic progress. We therefore need a rational
development which will not only aim at a higher degree of economic
progress for our people, but at the same time give a powerful impulse to
production. The Bill concerning the obligation to work of the individual
with respect to the community, entitled more briefly a Bill for Compulsory
Labour Service, which I have the honour to submit to you, will I trust have
the most fortunate effects from this point of view. As stated in the Bill
itself it aims at the following ends:
(1) Maintaining and perfecting the particular form of levy found in
military service to which the Bulgarian people is already accustomed.
(2) Improving education and preparing youth for practical life.
(3) Subjecting youth to intensive and systematic schooling.
(4) Organising and intensifying the production of State and public
lands.
(5) Socialising human labour, the source of all wealth, at the time of
its highest producing capacity and at the same time that it is most likely
to be dissipated.
— 31 - = ^
(6) Fostering the sentiments oí social duty and interest in national
and social resources.
(7) Generally stimulating the economic progress of Bulgaria.
(8) Assisting Bulgaria to recover from the ruin due to the war.
Gentlemen, The Bill for Compulsory Labour Service involves a whole new
organisation of human labour. Its underlying principle is sufficiently in
agreement with popular sentiment not to cause a shock. I am persuaded
that the idea of the Bill, if accepted by all and translated into action by
means of an Act applied with discretion, understanding and courage,
will in a short time prove the best instrument for the moral, economic
and social transformation of Bulgaria.
Firmly convinced as I am of its very great potential value, I would
urgently beg you to convert this Bill as soon as possible into an Act, so
that it may be brought into effect this Spring. I think it may be useful to
point out that the Bill, which I planned and drafted somewhat hurriedly,
was submitted for re-drafting to a committee consisting of the general
secretaries of all the Ministries, that it was next revised by the Council of
Ministers, then submitted for scrutiny to another commission consisting
of about 25 officials and publicists, and finally revised by the Council of
Ministers, who gave it its final shape. Only after such detailed revision
do I submit the present Bill for your consideration. I would add that
all possible means have already been taken to bring the Act into operation
as soon as your approval has been obtained.
SECTION I I I .
C H I E F PROVISIONS OF THE F I R S T A C T .
T H E DISPUTE WITH THE E N T E N T E
The provisions of the text submitted by Mr. Stamboliiski were
essentially as follows:
(1) Young Bulgarians of both sexes are liable to compulsory
labour service.
(2) The period of service is one year for men, six months for
girls.
(3) The service is to be rendered by youths during their twentieth year ; by girls during their sixteenth year.
(4) Reasonable exemptions or delays are permitted, b u t no
commutation.
(5) In the event of serious damage caused b y the elements
or national calamity all male Bulgarian citizens of under 50 years
of age may be called up by the Government for a period of work
•of at most four weeks. They shall be called up according to need
by ages and by groups from communes, districts, and departments.
These fundamental provisions were, of course, supplemented b y
numerous subsidiary clauses concerning the nature of the work
to be done, administrative organisation, and penal provisions (').
The Act passed on 23 May 1920, promulgated by Royal Ukase
on 9 June and published in the Official Journal of 14 June, did not
come into operation as soon as the Government had intended.
(') The majority of these appear in the amended text published in full in
Appendix IV.
— 32 —
The Central Service was only set going in September, and the first
official administrative regulations were issued, one on 25 October
1920, and the other on 4 November 1920. It was clear t h a t the
measure would not be in working until 1921., Suddenly, however,
the whole matter was called in question. By a resolution dated
9 December 1920, the Conference of Ambassadors sitting at Paris
decided not to allow the application of the Act, which it considered
incompatible with the military clauses of the Treaty of Neuilly,
especially Articles 65, 70, and 74 f1).
The chief complaint referred mainly to the regulations of 4 November, approved by Royal Ukase No. 229, concerning the service
of young men. Numerous points of resemblance between the proposed organisation and army organisation were pointed out. Thus
the groups of workers were designated by the word droujina, which
in Bulgarian means "battalion". Similarly a notice posted by the
Sofia mayoralty referred to the Recruiting Council before which
the persons called up had to appear.
On 14 March 1921 Ukase
No. 229 was repealed.
The mistake of the municipality was
repaired, but the dispute grew more and more embittered. This
was due to the fact that the time had come for the first persons
called up to leave for their places of work, and every one could
observe t h a t they wore uniforms, and were subject to a certain
discipline.
Finally the matter was gone into thoroughly. The Entente
explained t h a t its objections were not to any separate articles of
the regulations or any specified formalities or methods of procedure,
but to the whole spirit of the Act, to the opportunity it gave to the
Bulgarian Government to subject young men to actual conscription, to call them up all at once, and t o keep them for some weeks
in barracks, and also to the obscure clause concerning national
calamities, which could easily be used for a general mobilisation
of the whole male population under 50 years of age (2).
(1) Article 65. Universal compulsory military service shall be abolished in
Bulgaria. The Bulgarian army shall in future only be constituted and recruited
by means of voluntary enlistment.
Article 70. Any military formation not dealt with in the above articles is
forbidden. Such other formations as may exist in excess of the effectives
authorised shall be suppressed within the period laid down in Article 64.
Article 74. Educational establishments, other than those referred to in
Article 73 above, universities, societies of discharged soldiers, touring clubs,
boy scouts' societies, and associations or clubs of every description, must not
occupy themselves with any military matters. They will on no account
be allowed to instruct or exercise their pupils or members in the use of arms.
These educational establishments, societies, clubs or other associations must
have no connection with the Ministry of War or any other military authority.
(2) The clauses particularly objected to by the Entente were the following:
Section 4. Compulsory labour service shall be an individual duty. Substitution shall not be permitted. Only those persons shall be exempt...
Section 10. In the event of extensive damage caused by the elements,
national calamity, or an immediate necessity, all male Bulgarian citizens
between the ages of 20 and 50 years may, by a resolution of the Council of
Ministers, be called up for temporary compulsory labour service, that is, to
perform compulsory community labour for not more than four weeks. This
— 33 —
The Bulgarian Government pointed out t h a t the work assigned
t o the persons called up was in no way military in character and
t h a t the extension of the Act to girls confirmed its pacific intentions.
Nevertheless the Entente maintained that the Act was a violation
of Article 68 of the Treaty of Neuilly ('), and demanded t h a t the
young men in the first contingent should immediately be sent
home and that the Act should be revised.
It may be stated here t h a t the revision which was incorporated
in the Act of 22 October to 9 November 1921 (2) proved satisfactory
to the Inter-Allied Commission of Military Control without making
too marked a change in the original nature of the institution. As
compared with the first version, only the four following important
modifications were introduced:
(1) The period of service for young persons was reduced to
eight months for youths and four months for girls (3).
(2) Purchase of exemption was allowed up to a certain percentage.
(3) Calling up was to be spread in such a way t h a t only 30
per cent, of young persons of a given age should be at work on
compulsory service at any one time.
(4)
Section 10 and its note were replaced by paragraph b of
calling up shall take place in accordance with the needs of the case, by ages
and by groups from communes, districts, or provinces.
Note. In this case the Council of Ministers may also call up young persons
under the age of 20 years.
Section 12. At the beginning of each year the following persons subject to
compulsory .labour service shall receive a calling-up notice for purposes of
classification: (a) Male young persons who on 1 January of the year in which
they are called up have attained the age of 19 years, and girls who at the same
date have attained the age of 15 years; (£>) persons who have been granted
postponement on any grounds whatever and those who have not reported
themselves.
i1) This Article runs as follows:
"All measures of mobilisation or appertaining to mobilisation are forbidden.
"Formations, administrative services and staffs must not in any case include
supplementary cadres.
"It is forbidden to carry out any preparatory measures for the requisition of
animals or any other means of military transport."
(2) As already stated, 22 October was the date of the Royal Ukase promulgating the Act, and 9 November that of its publication in the Official Journal.
(*) The year's service provided in the first version of the Act included in
principle a stay of three or four months in barracks for young men, which was
intended to improve their general education, give them certain habits of discipline, etc. Such a system seemed too directly inspired by the old military
service to be approved by the Entente, and the latter demanded that the
period spent by young men in barracks should be strictly limited to the time
needed for the formalities of drafting and equipment. Under these conditions
there was no longer any need for a year's service; all that was required was
to use the labour of the young men during the fine season of the year. Moreover the reduction in the period of service would lead to a by no means
negligible economy ; hence the compromise of eight months.
3
— 34 —
Section 4, which was accompanied by a Note, and the new text
was so drafted that it does not so strongly suggest a general mobilisation.
As a whole it was an honourable transaction, and gave evidence
of equal good faith on both sides.
SECTION IV.
ANALYSIS OF THE ACT AT PRESENT IN FORCE (')
The first version of the Act was very obscure, and although some
slight improvements have been made, it is still far from clear.
Definition of Obligation
The only way of reaching an understanding of the exact nature
of the new obligation is to follow the procedure of the enquiry and
observe the institution actually at work. The impression so
obtained, an impression not given by the Act itself, is that there are
in fact two absolutely distinct rules.
Principal or Regular Service. All able-bodied Bulgarians who
are not legitimately entitled to exemption (2) must perform a
certain amount of work on behalf of the State. The maximum
service is eight months for men and four months for women. It
can be demanded at any age between 20 and 40 years for men and
16 and 30 years for women. The Government may demand that
the service shall be rendered either on one single occasion, or on
several separate occasions. It is further empowered (interpretation of Section 25) to demand a lower maximum than eight
months for men and four months for women; it may even demand
nothing at all. Normally, however, every person will be called
up. This last point is particularly brought out, if not in the text
itself of the Act, at least in the terms used by the administrative
authorities which describe this first form of service by the words
redovna povinnost, meaning "regular service".
Municipal or Temporary Service. When it considers advisable,
the Government may decree (here again the initiative is reserved
for the executive authorities under Section 25) that the adult.
population of the whole country or of some given subdivision of
territory shall for a limited period be placed at the disposal of the
communes, with a view to carrying out work of common interest.
Men and women are subject to the second obligation within the
same age limits as those laid down for the first. Any commune
may, on its own authority, raise the limit to 50 years without sex
distinction. Service of this kind is only compulsory up to a maximum of 21 days per annum in all. There is nothing to prevent it
(*)
See Appendix IV.
(2) See below p. 37.
—
35 —
being demanded of men only, to the exclusion of women. Administrative practice describes this second kind of service by the
adjective vremenna, meaning "temporary" (from creme, time).
It will be observed that these rules have scarcely anything in
common. On the one hand there is a single service lasting several
months due from individuals, on the other a collective obligation
for an indefinite number of periods of service of a few days. On
the one hand a State service to be carried out on the demand of a
Ministry of State, on the other, communal services to be carried
out on demand of a municipality. On the one hand a service which
would normally be required of young persons, as too burdensome
for men and women of maturer years, on the other a service required
of all without distinction as to age. On the one hand a service which
would normally be required of every citizen, on the other, possible
services, the advisability of which would be determined every year
by the Government. On the one hand, finally, a service recalling
the former active military service, and forming, as will shortly be
described, its successor, on the other, services recalling to a certain.
extent the old periods in the reserve, but still more recalling t h e
old corvée.
This is not all, however. If the difference between the two
kinds of service is to be properly appreciated, the place of work
must also be taken into consideration. The text in question is as
follows :
Compulsory labour service shall be rendered by men and women separately, by men in the district in which their home is situated, by women
at the place where their home is situated.
These provisions shall not apply to women teachers under the compulsory labour scheme.
As regards women this text agrees quite well with facts, but not
as regards men. Take first the case of women. Without distinguishing between regular and temporary services the law lays down
that, as a general rule and with the exception of teaching, women
must only be employed in the place where their home is situated
(Section 9) (*). The consequence of this is of the highest practical
importance. If female service is ever organised on a general scale,
as has not yet been done, there will be no need to enrol the workers
in regiments.
For men the question is more complicated, or rather, it has been
completely confused by the defective wording of the Act. Section 9,
already quoted above, states that men may be called on to work
at any place in their department of origin; no distinction is made
between regular and temporary services. The system adopted for
men is therefore precisely the opposite of that provided for women.
Since in theory men will always be liable to be called on to work
(') This does not exclude work in common and is only intended to secure
that women shall be able to continue living at home. In the case of Mohammedan girls the legislator, in his care not to offend their customs, has gone even
further, as Section 1 of the Act provides that the work assigned to them must
be such that it can be carried out at home.
— 36 —
outside their home commune, they will of necessity be enrolled
in regiments.
In practice, however, this does not happen. Temporary service
is in fact, as already stated, communal service. The workers
are not placed indifferently at the disposal of any commune, but
only at the disposal of their home commune; thus they can continue
to eat and sleep at home and there is no need for regimentation.
But for regular, long period, State service, separation from the
home is inevitable, as provided in Section 9, and regimentation
is needed. Therefore, to the already marked differences between
the principal service and the supplementary service, there should
be added, at least as regards men, and in spite of the defective
wording of Section 9, this further capital difference : regimentation
as regard the principal service, no regimentation as regards supplementary service (').
Scope and Application of the System
Having thus defined the main features of the two chief forms of
compulsory legislation, the different sections relating to the general
scope of the reform, the use made of the labour, and the methods
of applying the system, may be considered.
A ims. These are stated in Section 2, which runs as follows :
Compulsory labour service shall be directed towards (a) organising
and utilising the labour power of the country on a social basis, in the
interests of production and the welfare of the country; (b) awakening
in all citizens, irrespective of their social status and means, a love of work
in the service of the community and of manual labour; (c) improving
the moral and economic condition of the people, fostering in all citizens
a consciousness of their duties towards themselves and towards society,
and instructing them in rational methods of work in all branches of
economic activity.
To c e r t a i n p r a c t i c a l m i n d s d e c l a r a t i o n s of so general a n a t u r e
(l) To complete the criticism of the wording of Section 9 it should be pointed
out that it is not even clear as regards regular service. It states that men
shall be called up to work in the department in which they are domiciled, from
which it might be concluded that they could not be called on to work outside
that department. This, however, is not the case, and the real rule followed in
practice is that contained in the former Sections 13 and 19 below:
Former Section 13. "Compulsory labour service shall be rendered by men
and women separately: by men in or as near as possible to the department in
which their home is situated, unless the requirements of work necessitate their
removal to a more distant place, and by women in the place where their home is
situated"...
Former Section 19. "Persons liable to compulsory labour service shall be
divided into classes according to their education and the work to be carried
out, i. e. agriculture, technical or industrial work, mining, fishing, etc. The
agricultural class be divided into groups according to districts, the other classes
may, if necessary, be dealt with as national groups."
We draw attention without further comment to the chief differences between
the old and the new versions. The more flexible and rational system of the
first Act is that still applied by the administrative authorities.
— 37 —
are more suited to the Preamble of an Act than to the Act itself.
Others, on the contrary, hold that the legislator should define not
only his wishes but also his purposes. From this point of views
it is of some interest to consider the three objects of the reform: the
first economic, the second moral, the third educational.
The economic aim corresponds closely to what we know of the
needs and traditions of Bulgaria. It is hardly open to dispute that
a programme which aims at increasing the quantity and quality
of available collective resources, and developing national equipment, adopting for this purpose a modern form of the old system
of working in common, is both legitimate and timely.
The characteristic note of the moral aim is struck in the. allusion
to the love of manual labour. Here, indeed, we find one of the
fundamental principles of agrarian policy. Manual labour is
the most toilsome and is the only kind which can render the earth
fruitful ; for this double reason it is more meritorious than intellectual labour. If every citizen were obliged to handle a spade or
pickaxe, even if only for a few months, he would at the end of
this test have a better knowledge of the true scale of moral values.
There is further an interesting consideration bearing on technical
education. The peasant, buried in the depths of the country, is notable to improve himself in his calling. Some months of work in a
public undertaking would be of considerable value to him and
teach him rational unfamiliar methods of work.
The Use made of Compulsory Labour. Section 3 of the Act
contains a detailed account of the kinds of work to be carried out
by persons liable to compulsory service. This listy in accordance
with the general aims defined in Section 2, applies to both kinds
of service alike. As a matter of fact, much of the work prescribed
may have to be carried out by municipalities as well as by the State,
and works of the same kind, according to circumstances, may be
finished in a few days or may require several months. The list
in Section 3 covers every side of Bulgarian economic life. If at
first sight it is astonishing to find activities such as bee-keeping,
silkworm breeding, fishing, vegetable growing, and dress-making
included, it should be remembered that we are dealing with a new
country in which, on the one hand, State property, whether above
or under ground, still contains much unexploited wealth awaiting
development, and on the other hand the requirements of the public
services cannot be so easily met by an appeal to the resources of
private undertakings as in western countries.
Complete Exemptions. Exemptions are numerous and as a whole
quite intelligible. Total exemption is granted to the following
classes of persons :
(a) Persons who are physically or intellectually incapable of
working (Section 5, paragraph a). This is not necessarily selfevident, for, failing the rendering of service, the law might have
imposed a fine. A provision to this effect was contained in the
first Act (Section 4) but was dropped from the second.
— 38 —
(¿>) Married women. The immunity of the home from any kind
of attack is thus upheld.
(c) Men employed in the army (voluntary service for 12 years)
or in the police. In other words, military service confers complete
exemption from labour service. It is worth noting that civil
servants do not enjoy this exemption.
(d) Prisoners during their period of imprisonment. On this point
the Act only expressly refers to the long-period service: Total
exemption shall be granted to men who have completed their
fortieth year and to women who have completed their thirtieth
year at the time of their discharge from prison (Section 7 (b)).
As regards supplementary service, plain common sense suggests
a solution. No substitution of one period for another is possible,
since in principle every person is liable without exception to all the
periods laid down by the Government. Consequently, if an
individual, owing to imprisonment or other cause, is unable to
complete any annual period of service, his obligations with respect
to that period cannot be carried over to the next year.
Partial Exemptions. These are granted in the following cases :
(a) From regular service, to men who have been mobilised in the
old army for three months or longer. This partial exemption is
based on the same principle as the total exemption referred to in
paragraph (c). It is the outcome of the following obscure phrase
"(our italics) : By men who have never been called up for more than
three months' uninterrupted State service, for a maximum period of
eight months, and by young women in the same circumstances,
for a maximum period of 4 months" (Section 4).
Since the only service required in Bulgaria before the introduction
of compulsory labour was military service, the reference to persons
previously called up to serve the State obviously relates to former
military service. The logical succession between the old and new
forms of social obligation, the one replacing the other and not being
added to it, is here clearly marked. Conversely, but following the
same line of thought, the temporary labour periods are implicitly
placed on the same footing as the former military reserve periods,
for the fact of having served even more than three months in the
old active army does not exempt Bulgarian citizens of between
20 and 40 years of age from the temporary labour service.
(b) From regular service, to persons who are the sole support of a
family (Section 5, note 1). The first Act (Section 7), less liberal
than the second, only allowed an exemption of half the period of
service, and even so the family had to prove its lack of means.
(c) From temporary service (i. e. communal service), to officials
who are considered indispensable. The text of the Act is as follows :
All officials and employees whose exemption the Council of Ministers
deems necessary shall be exempt from the compulsory labour service
specified in Section 4 (b) (Section 5, Note 2).
This provision is not clear as regards municipal employees.
Supposing that a municipality, in accordance with a Government
-
39
-
Decree, calls up all able-bodied men in the commune between 20
and 40 years of age for the execution of work of public interest, it is
open to question whether it may on its own authority exempt a
given municipal employee, the school teacher or the cowherd for
instance, or whether the case must be submitted to the Council
of Ministers. It is probable that, when drafting Note 2 of Section 5,
the Bulgarian Government was only thinking of its own employees.
It decided that, in principle, these should render communal service
like everybody else, the Council of Ministers alone being competent
to relieve an official.of his obligations if he is considered indispensable.
(d) From temporary service, to Bulgarians living abroad. This
exemption is not expressly mentioned in the text, but is an obvious
deduction from it. When the communes call up their inhabitants,
temporary absence from home will certainly not secure exemption
from the Act. But a person whose legal domicile is abroad is in
a different position, and he may fairly be exempted from service.
Section 6 of the Act, which forbids Bulgarian citizens to change
their nationality or settle abroad before completing their compulsory
service, can therefore only refer to the long period service of young
persons, in spite of the general terms in which it is drafted.
Temporary Exemptions. For the reason given above in connection with prisoners, temporary exemption is allowed only for the
chief period of service and not for the supplementary periods.
Provision is made for three types of cases:
(a) Temporary exemption for students; until 24 years of age_
for pupils in secondary schools and 28 years for those attending
higher courses of education (Section 7 (a)).
(b) Temporary exemption for prisoners; this ceases when the
sentence of imprisonment has been served. The exemption becomes
permanent if the imprisonment lasts until 40 years of age for men
or 30 years for women.
(c) Temporary exemption for sick and convalescent persons.
Commutation. The possibility of purchasing exemption has
already been mentioned as one of the clauses inserted in the new
Act on the request of the Entente. It is true that the universality
of the new service was one of the aspects of the reform to which
the Agrarians attached most importance. Just as formerly no
one could avoid personal military service, so under the new system
every one. whether rich or poor, was to be obliged to carry out
manual work for some months or weeks. The object of the Entente,
however, was to reduce as far as possible the powers of "regimentation" of the Bulgarian Government, and the principle of commutation was therefore at last accepted. Nevertheless, the Government retained the right to fix the maximum ratio of the total
number of commutations to the total number of persons liable to
service. Further, the rate of commutation is not fixed once and
for all. Each case is dealt with separately and the sum demanded
varies with the means of the persons concerned and of their parents.
— 40 —
The law fixes no maximum, but only a minimum for supplementary
service of 100 leva a day.
The analysis of the Act on this point may be supplemented by
examining the regulations at present in force ('). As regards
service for the national government (Principal Service) it is stated
that (1) The proportion of persons allowed to purchase exemption
from the principal service is 20 per cent. ; (2) Applications for commutation are dealt with by the departmental compulsory service
office (2) ; (3) In departments where the applications exceed 20
per cent, preference is given to those who are the first to pay the
purchase money; (4) If necessary the Government may balance
departments where the applications exceed 20 per cent, against
those where the proportion is less; and (5) Calculated on the basis
of 240 days of compulsory service the rate of commutation can
never be less than 12,000 leva (50 leva a day), or more than 48,000
leva (200 leva a day).
As regards commutation of municipal service (supplementary
service) the present regulations define an important point which
was not quite clear in the Act, viz. the right of each municipality
to decide every year whether it shall allow commutation, so far as
it is itself concerned, for the year in question. .This at least would
seem to be the conclusion to be drawn from the text : Immediately
after the publication of the present regulations the municipal
councils shall state whether they allow the purchase of exemption
for the current year 1921-1922 (Section 11). Subject to this
important reservation the Government lays down the following
rules for municipal services: (1) The proportion of Bulgarian
citizens permitted to purchase exemption from the service in question must not exceed 30 per cent. ; in Sofia this proportion is raised
to 40 per cent. ; (2) Applications are dealt with by the municipalities (8) ; (3) The rate of commutation shall not be less than 100,
nor more than 300 leva per day.|
Penalties. These are enumerated in Sections 17 to 24 of the Act,
and are extremely severe. The heaviest, a maximum of three
years penal servitude and a fine of 5,000 leva, applies to "any
person who, through the Press, in public speeches, or in any other
manner, deliberately incites to non-compliance with this Act".
A sentence of from one to three years' imprisonment is laid down
for officials who deliberately draw up incomplete or incorrect callingup lists, or who deliberately supply false information as to the
family circumstances, health, or means of the persons liable to
service. If they are only guilty of negligence they escape with a
payment of a comparatively small fine.
Provision is also made for the official who does not make satisfactory use of the labour for which he is responsible. Even if
(x) See the full text in Appendix VI.
(88) See next page.
( ) This principle is implicit in the following rule: "The Municipal Council
shall fix the rate of commutation for each person separately" (Section 12}.
— 4i —
this is due to mere negligence, he is liable toa year's imprisonment
and a fine of 5,000 leva. If the offence is intentional the penalty
may be increased to two years and 10,000 leva.
Finally, the various offences which may be committed by persons
liable to serve or their accomplices are enumerated in great detail,
such as insubordination, illegal absence, desertion, mutilation, etc.,
and a whole scale of penalties is provided for these. In addition
there are, of course, disciplinary punishments for offences while
on duty, which according to the Act are dealt with by special
regulations.
Organisation of the Service. Chapter II of the Act (Sections 10
to 16) gives in outline the system of administrative organisation
for compulsory service. The details given refer mainly to the
regular service of young men. The same bodies undoubtedly have
certain functions with regard to communal service ; these functions
are described in the relevant administrative regulations, but are
not expressly referred to in the Act.
As a basis for administration of the Act certain bodies are established in each Department:
(a) A Department labour council consisting of five persons:
the Prefect of the Department (representing the Government),
the president or a delegate of the permanent commission of the
Department (representing the elected Department assembly),
and three Department technical experts—the engineer, the agricultural expert, and the inspector of labour.
(b) A Department office for compulsory labour service¿ acting as
an executive organ.
The State, Department, and municipal institutions which have
work to be carried out and wish to have it done by persons liable
to compulsory labour must apply to the Department office, which
submits their application to the Department council.
The Department council, which decides on the applications laid
before it, draws up a provisional programme to be submitted for
approval and co-ordination to the central body attached to the
Ministry of Public Works, known as the General Directorate of
Compulsory Labour Service. This Service is assisted in its work
by a superior council for compulsory labour service. This council
is presided over by the Director-General, and consists of the general
secretaries of the different Ministries, together with three permanent
members acting as assistants to the Director-General.
The
superior council receives the proposals of the different Department
councils and draws up the general scheme of work to be undertaken.
The Director-General is informed of this programme and transmits it for execution to the different Department offices. These
offices are under the control of the General Directorate which may
also undertake certain work on its own authority and responsibility.
In addition to the so-called technical works, which are those
— 42 —
applied for by the different administrative offices, the General
Directorate may also organise, either on its own authority or by
delegating authority to the Department offices, both the economic
undertakings normally required for supplying the needs of the gangs
of workers themselves, and the apprenticeship schools, training
courses, model farms, and other welfare institutions of a like nature.
CHAPTER III
THE APPLICATION OF THE ACT(1)
SECTION I.
GENERAL SURVEY
In translating compulsory labour service from theory to practice
the Bulgarian Government had to proceed with caution. All
exaggeration and dangerous experimentation had to be carefully
avoided, especially in the application of the principle of compulsory
service to women and girls. Undoubtedly there was in theory work
suitable for girls, but in practice everything of this kind had to be
thought out and planned. As regards important public works,
however, the natural sphere of masculine activity, the need was
both urgent and obvious; the work was waiting for the worker,
who, thanks to his acquired training in group work, was ready to
carry it out. All that was needed WâS, 111 the first instance, to give
a fresh impetus to the existing custom of communal service in
kind, and, secondly, to transform the active military servioe of the
old regime into labour service. Very wisely, the Bulgarian Government has hitherto concentrated its main attention on these two
points, especially the latter, which was at once the most difficult
to carry into effect and the most important.
Presented in chronological. order the earliest instances of the
actual application of compulsory service were as follows:
(1) Winter 1920-1921, when all male Bulgarian citizens between
20 and 50 years of age for temporary service of ten days were
called up (').
(2) April to August 1921, being the first calling up in several
(') In addition to the verbal and unpublished information collected in the
course of the enquiry, use has also been made in this chapter of an official
Bulgarian pamphlet (Le Travail obligatoire en Bulgarie, by Christo STOYANOFF,
Director-General of Compulsory Labour Service (Troudova Povinnost); Sofia,
1922, 97 pp.), which contains, first, a popular survey of the principal provisions'of the Act, and, secondly, some information on the organisation of the
service and its first results.
{-) Decision of the Council of Ministers of 30 December 1920, Protocol No. 170.
_
44 —
successive contingents of some 10,000 men belonging to the first.
mobilisation class for regular service (').
After the intervention of the Entente, these men were sent
home. In order to avoid, however, the sudden disorganisation of
certain State undertakings (stud farms, model farms, etc.) on which
some of the workers had been employed, a certain number of them
were induced to sign on voluntarily for three months, which would
liberate them from all future obligations as regards regular service.
(3) September to November 1921, marked by another attempt to
use the first (male) mobilisation class. Some 30,000 men belonging
to this class (possibly including some of the men already called up
in spring and prematurely dismissed) were placed at the disposal
of the communes for three months (2).
(4) . Winter 1921-1922, a second calling up of all male Bulgarian
citizens of 20 to 50 years of age for temporary service of ten days (s).
(5) 1 April 1922 to 15 July 1922, a third partial calling up of
the first (male) mobilisation class. The number called up was 33,000,
which was reduced to about 29,000 (*) after deducting those who
failed to report; exemptions, etc.
(6) 15 May to 15 July 1922, when the first trial of compulsory
service for women was made. Three or four hundred girls of Sofia
belonging to what might be regarded as the first female mobilisation
class were called up for a period of public service in the capital.
(7) 15 July to 15 October 1922, the first partial calling up of the
second (male) mobilisation class.
From the above it will be seen that the Act was applied in full as
regards men's communal service. On one single point only the
Government did not use its full powers. Instead of imposing the
maximum period of four weeks provided under the first Act, or of
21 days provided under the second, it confined itself to ten-day
periods. There is every reason to suppose that the same system
will again be laid down for 1922-1923 by decree.
As regards State service for men, the discrepancy between the
possible maximum and the actual figure was more marked. Not
only was the period much less than one year for the first mobilisation class, and eight months for the second, but also the contingent
called up was smaller than the total contingent. Moreover, a
(') The writer regrets the necessity of using military terms without previous
explanation, and hastens to add that as such terms are not used officially
by the Bulgarian Government the responsibility for them is solely his. It
would be very regrettable if the language used gave the impression that
compulsory labour service was being treated as a military institution, but
clearness is a first essential. Compulsory labour service is inevitably a kind
of modified form of compulsory service for national defence; if the ostrich
policy were adopted of rejecting the terms ordinarily used for this kind of
service, it would deceive no one, and the only result would be to shroud the
whole argument in useless obscurity.
(2) Decision of the Council of Ministers of 1 July 1921. Protocol No. 102.
(3) Decision of the Council of Ministers of 16 June 1921. Protocol No. 94.
(4) Mr. Stoyanoff, at the moment of writing, estimated the number at 31.72&
men (op. cit. p. 75).
— 45 —
further complication in this respect was introduced by the Government's undertaking that it would never mobilise more than 30 per
cent, of any given age class. This means that it will be three or four
years before the full effects of the Act are felt.
Finally, as regards girls, there was only a very limited attempt
to call them up for State service, and no steps have yet been taken
to call them up for communal service.
Nevertheless, a considerable effort had been made. The experiment was not merely a more or less platonic demonstration, bub
a serious attempt to set on foot a new and important public service.
The inception of this service is therefore worthy of detailed examination; this will be undertaken below under three separate heads:
(a) Regular service of young men ;
(b) Temporary male service;
(c) The first experiment in regular service for girls.
SECTION II.
REGULAR SERVICE OF YOUNG MEN
Guiding Principles
For the effective organisation of the regular service of men an
implicit or explicit decision had to be taken on the three following
points :
(1) The work on which it was desirable to employ the available
labour.
(2) The limits within which it was practically possible to utilise
such labour.
(3) The system on which it should be utilised.
A statement of the terms of these three problems and an indication
of the solutions more or less consciously aimed at by the Minister
and officials responsible for the application of the Act will bring
out the essential features of the active labour army at present in
process of organisation.
The Choice of Work. One way of solving this problem would have
been to transfer at least a proportion of the workers to private
undertakings, while taking all necessary measures for supervision.
It may fairly be asked whether all such undertakings do not ultimately co-operate in enriching the community; whether, indeed,
such of them as have been given contracts for work of public interest
are not in a certain sense the instruments chosen by the State for
carrying out its economic obligations. This question was in fact
raised. Certain large undertakings which were suffering from labour
shortage asked whether shifts of troudovaks (workers called up for
compulsory service) could not be assigned to them. The request
was refused, for, as the workers were called up to serve the State,
it was held that they could only be employed by the State. A
further possible objection was that since the State acts as manager
— 46 —
of certain important public services, it already has the necessary
staff in the body of officials or workers provided for by the ordinary
estimates. If the risk was taken of replacing these competent and
specialised workers by ignorant, and still more by intermittent,
labour, the result could only be chaos. If this course was not
followed, the State would be highly embarrassed by the labour
at its disposal ; it might even be led to compete with private industry
or, still worse, to open national workshops which would be as
costly as they were useless, to the advantage of nobody. Fortunately
there was a means of escaping from this dilemma.
First of all, if each person is only required to serve the State
for eight months, there is nothing to prevent the calling-up notices
from being issued in such a way that workers suited to a given post
succeed each other without interruption. Further, there is no lack,
especially in a country like Bulgaria, of work to be carried out by
the State which yet requires neither skilled labour nor permanent
workers. Work of this kind was precisely what was contemplated
by the Act, including the construction of roads and railways, the
exploitation or clearing of forest land, the drainage of marshes,
stud farms, model farms, and other agricultural enterprises. All
such undertakings obviously require a nucleus of competent technical experts; but under the direction of these experts there is no
need for anything but an ordinary staff of tractable and vigorous
labourers — just, in fact, what is provided under compulsory
labour service. Nor is it any drawback if the persons called up
include men who have already some degree of technical skill.
They can always be used as assistants to the permanent officials
as book-keepers, foremen, supervisors, etc. The main point is not
to look for openings for the labour army other than those already
in existence. Any attempts to start entirely new undertakings
would be most dangerous. On the contrary, the competent Ministries should be called in, including the Ministry of Public Works,
the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Agriculture, and possibly
others. All of these have to do in the ordinary course with the
exploitation and improvement of national property, but they
have increasing difficulty in recruiting the necessary staff. The
shortage of labour from which private industry suffers weighs even
more heavily on the services whose funds depend on the state of
the national budget. The labour obtained by compulsory service
is under discipline and costs nothing; if it is placed at their disposal
it will solve not only their difficulties, but at the same time the
problem of how to use the troudovaks, and this, without any risk,
and in the most satisfactory manner.
Limits to the use of the ttroudovaks\ Three, or even four, possible
sets of circumstances in combination may set practical limits to
the use of the troudovaks.
The first of these is to be found in the actual needs of the State.
Theoretical needs, which are almost unlimited, are not here considered, but only the needs which can be kept within financial possibilities. Although a worker called up is not paid he still costs a
considerable amount. His food, housing, clothing, care, transport,
— 47 —
the cost of assigning him to his unit, etc., have all to be paid for.
Expenditure under these heads will not of course be a dead loss, if
satisfactory use is made of the worker; on the contrary, it should
be more than balanced by an increase in the value of national
equipment. But the tax-payer of today is called on to put his
hand in his pocket and make a definite sacrifice, with nothing to set
off against it but a future profit, which may ultimately enrich the
tax-payer of tomorrow. However great the value to the nation of
important works of public utility, only a limited proportion can be
allocated to each year's budget.
The second possible limitation is in population growth. A definite
and limited number of young men reach the age of 20 every year
and so become liable to a single service of eight months. To this
number may be added that of young men over 20 years of age at
the date of promulgation of the first Act, who for some reason or
other had not done any military service. Whether this last contingent is included in the first mobilisation class or spread over successive classes, the total effect is that only a limited number of
workers is available each year. The number of workers to be used
is either the number needed by the Ministries which have work
to be done, or the number available for calling up, whichever is the
smaller; the factor of population will therefore be felt only if the
number of workers available is less than the number which can be
absorbed by the Ministries.
The third factor to be taken into consideration is the equipment,
stores, and permanent staff needed by the labour army. If no
adequate provision could be made for housing and clothing the
available young men, and assigning them to their units, the contingent would clearly have to be limited by this circumstance, quite
apart from any question of the needs of the Ministries or the funds
at the disposal of the service.
Finally, in applying an Act of this kind, the state of public
opinion in the country must be taken into account. In spite of all
the penalties provided, the Act can only really be put into operation
if it has behind it the goodwill of the people. If hostile propaganda
is set on foot, or if political agitation can be grafted on the discontent
of persons affected by the new Act, there will be some danger that the
Act may tend to disintegrate rather than to strengthen the social
fabric.
The part played by these four limitations in 1921 was entirely
different from that in 1922. In 1921, when the first experiments
were being made, the available contingent was exceptionally numerous, since in addition to the age class, persons between 20 and 40
years who had not done any military service were liable to be
called up. The competent authorities estimated the total number
liable at about 60,000 men, 50,000 of whom were fit for service.
Mr. Stoyanoff, presumably referring to the same aggregate, gives
the figure of 47,369 persons as the effective of the first mobilisation
class (*). Political conditions, however, were unfavourable. The
(*) Cf. STOYANOFF: op. cit.,
p.
17.
— 48 —
Compulsory Voting Act had not yet been passed, and the majority
of urban municipalities were in the hands of the Communists, who
were conducting a campaign against the Act. At the same time the
objections lodged by the Entente made it easy for the persons
concerned to believe that the Act would soon be repealed and therefore incited them to evasion. Further, the machinery for organising
the workers was still imperfect. Finally, and most important, the
programme of the work to be done hadnot been properly worked out.
In the circumstances the number of workers to be used was
limited not by the number available, but by the other conditions.
Only about 10,000 men were called up for State work (l). The
Council of Ministers then tried to meet the numerous initial difficulties of working the Act by placing the whole of the first mobilisation class at the disposal of the municipalities for a service period
of three months; but as this decision purposely did not cover the
chief urban communes, the result was that only 30,000 men in
all (2), instead of the approximate possible total of 50,000, were
drafted to the communal contingents.
In 1922, conditions had entirely changed. The needs of the Ministries were examined and co-ordinated in good time, and an estimated, though not necessarily final, total of 68,000 workers wanted
was arrived at (3). The available contingent, on the contrary, was
considerably smaller than in 1921. The men of the 1921 mobilisation class were of course still available, but those who had already
done three months' work for the communes were only liable for
a maximum of five months (*). Moreover, for them, as for the
1922 mobilisation class, the restrictions demanded by the Entente
held good, and not more than 30 per cent, of the same age
might be called up at once. Against this, however, should be
set the advantage due to improvements in the machinery for
organising the workers, and the decrease in the difficulties due
to public opinion.
°
When everything was taken into account, the programme fixed
on by the administrative authorities was that two successive periods
of service should be effected, the first by the 1921 mobilisation
class, the second by a fresh contingent drawn from the 1922 mobilisation class. As stated above, the contingent for the first period
amounted to about 29,000 men(6). For the second contingent the
(*) The addition of certain figures on p. 16 of Mr. Stoyanoff's pamphlet
gives a total of 11,120. A little later he himself gives the figure of 10,575,
which would seem to refer to the same facts.
(2) Exactly 29,570, according to Stoyanofî (op. cit. pp. 17 and 84).
(') Cf
STOYANOFF: op. cit. p. 75.
(4) As a matter of fact, as will be seen later, the Administration intended
to accept
6'/2 months' service in all as a total discharge of their obligetions.
(6) About 20,000 of these were included in the 30,000 placed at the disposal
of the communes in 1921. These 20,000 served for three months in 1921, and
would obtain their final discharge on completing a further 3'/a months. The
remainder of the contingent would still be at the disposal of the authorities.
The number of persons in the 1921 class who have not yet served is estimated
at 6,000.
— 49 —
plans drawn up in the spring of 1922 were based on an estimate
of 20,000 persons (*).
Practical Details. It being understood t h a t the work to which the
persons called up are assigned is not only required b u t managed b y
the Ministries responsible, the functions of the General Directorate
of Compulsory Labour Service remain to be defined. Contrary to
first impressions, these functions are considerable. The administrative authorities have in fact the whole moral and material responsibility for the young men called up to serve. The direct consequence
of this responsibility is t h a t supply machinery has to be set up,
workshops for making uniforms, furniture, or equipment must be
opened, kitchen-gardens organised, etc. Further, it should not be
forgotten t h a t the Act is also meant to be educational. These
organisations for production may and should therefore act as model
institutions, which is yet another reason for calling them into
being in preference to procuring supplies through the ordinary
commercial channels.
In accordance with this principle, the first regulations laid down
t h a t the labour army should grow its own wheat and make its
own bread. In every district an agricultural company should be
attached to the companies of workers.
This was an ambitious
undertaking, disturbing from more than one point of view, not
least financially ; for the present at least it has had to be abandoned.
So also the dream of transforming the Directorate of Compulsory
Labour Service into a vast organisation for production, supplying
the various State services with goods as well as with labour. This
cherished dream had to be, even if not expressly repudiated (2),
at least postponed until a later date. It left some trace, though, on
other legislation. According to Section 45 of the Finance Act of 1922
"when the Directorate of Compulsory Labour Service organises
(') This figure is given on p. 75 of Mr. Stoyanoff's pamphlet. It is not easy
to see how the administrative authorities arrived at this figure. The number
of young men in the 20-year age class is estimated by the officials consulted
during the enquiry at 20,000 or 25,000 persons. If this is correct, under the
30 per cent, rule this age class should not provide more than 7,000 or 8,000
young men at a time. The 20,000-25,000 figure seems too low; but even
granting that this is an under-estimate, it hardly seems possible to reach a
total of 20,000 unless there are at least three mobilisation classes available.
(*) Cf. STOYANOFF: op. cit. pp. 22 and 72. In this connection the two following
passages may be quoted from a note received by the writer, in which the two
conceptions are strikingly contrasted:
"Each Ministry has its strictly defined functions according to which the
respective schools and workshops are organised. The Directorate may not,
and should not, interfere in the affairs of the different Ministries. Its purposes
are distinct from those of the different Ministries; otherwise disputes would
be inevitable. All that the Directorate can do is to supply the labour needed
for the regular working of the different workshops, schools, and properties"...
"In a few years the economic, financial, and social causes, which at present
are forcing monopoly in trade, will finally lead to monopoly in production.
The ultimate aim of the Directorate of Compulsory Service is to clear the ground
and convince the community that it will one day be able to assume this national
duty. The best measure of its capacity will be given by the result of its activities. "
4
— 50 —
its groups for working certain State forests, the credits and
stores granted for the purpose to other Ministries shall be placed
at the disposal of the General Directorate of Compulsory Labour
Service and expended with the approval of the Minister of Finance".
General Features of the System
As soon as the first Act was passed and the first credits voted the
Government entrusted to certain officials the task of drafting
important administrative regulations, which were approved by
Royal Ukase No. 229 on 4 November 1920. Their fate has already
been described ('). This unfortunate experience made the authorities somewhat cautious, and they were in no hurry to produce a
new version. At present the only published documents giving
official information as to the management and working of the
compulsory labour service of young men are the general budget
granting the necessary credits and Mr. Stoyanoff's propaganda
pamphlet already mentioned.
The general features of the system remain, at least in broad
outline, the same as in the original plan. They may be described as
follows:
Central Administration. Under the higher control and responsibility of the Minister of Public Works the Director-General of
Compulsory Labour Service commands and administers the labour
army. This important post, which among other qualities requires
in particular much political ability, is at present held by Mr.
Christo Stoyanoff, a young politician of the Agrarian Union.
Working with Mr. Stoyanoff are the three higher officials appointed
under Section 11 of the Act. These three are at present Messrs.
Jefcoff and Gancheff, ex-officers, and Mr. Velcheff,. chief engineer
for Roads and Bridges. Mr. Jelcoff, who is at the head of the administrative section, deals with everything connected with the personnel of the labour army, especially questions of recruiting,
calling up, discipline, etc. Mr. Velcheff, who is at the head of the
technical section, deals with everything concerning the work itself,
such as construction, material, etc. Mr. Gancheff, who is in charge
of the economic section, directs the supply, clothing and transport
services, the factories and workshops, model farms, etc.
In addition to these three chiefs of sections, the staff of the central
administration is completed by a chief accountant, a general auditor, a general inspector, a general physician, and a woman official,
attached to the administrative section, who deals with women's
labour.
Departmental Administration.
Corresponding to this central
administration, there are 15 departmental offices in the 15 Departments of the Kingdom. At the head of each of these departmental
offices there is a chief, who has under him officials corresponding
(') See above, p. 32.
— 51 —
to those in the central office, namely, a chief of administrative
services, a chief of calling-up services, a chief engineer for technical
services, a chief of economic services, and an accountant.
Administrative and Technical Services. These are composed of
paid officials. According to the 1922-1923 budget the total staff
needed for the central administration, and for organising the
groups of workers, was 1,942, or, assuming the number called up
to be 30,000, about one official to every 15 called up.
The recruiting of this staff is not open to competition. Committees set up either by the central office or by the departmental offices
examine the qualifications of candidates and make recommendations to the General Directorate. Among the posts to be filled
some require only general ability or a good secondary education;
others, on the contrary, especially those for the management of
workshops or economic services, demand technical qualifications
and are in principle entrusted to trained workers. Out of the total
staff at present employed, about one-quarter are ex-officers or noncommissioned officers, who were set free by the disbandment of
the permanent army and were seeking some other way of earning
their living. Approved candidates, whether of military or civil
origin, have to learn the details of their new service; for this purpose training courses lasting four months are held at the various
departmental offices. In addition to the permanent officials, the
authorities allow some of the workers called up to hold certain
subordinate technical or administrative posts, but only on condition
that they sign a contract for a year, during the first four months of
which they attend courses similar to those just mentioned (1).
Housing and Maintenance of the Workers, Uniforms, etc. While
the workers receive no pay, they are entirely supported by the
State. In the matter of housing, a certain number of military
barracks which were available were assigned to the service. These
are capable of accommodating about 7,000 men at a time(s). Thus
a contingent of from 20,000 to 30,000 men had to be called up in
several instalments, the first set being got ready, equipped and sent
off to work in order to make room for the next. When at work the
young men usually live under canvas. Their camps are simple and
rough, but are hygienically fitted up and very well kept.
The workers are clothed and shod by the State. Their uniform
consists of a tunic and breeches with puttees. They also receive a cap
and an overcoat, and for summer work a linen suit and a large
straw hat. The officials wear a similar uniform, but of better cloth
and more careful cut. They wear as a distinctive sign a medal
pinned to the breast and bearing the motto: "By Labour for
Bulgaria".
(*) Cf.
STOYANOFF, op. cit.
p.
60.
('•') Those visited at Chumen, Tirnovo and Philippopolis were satisfactory.
The beds were very close together, but not more so, it appears, than under
the old regime.
— 52 —
The rules about food, medical attention, etc., recall those of the
army.
Recruiting and Allocation of Work. The normal procedure has just
been followed for the first time. The first stage is to compare the
labour requirements of the different Ministries with the possible
number of recruits and the funds available. In this comparison
the question of the district for which labour has been applied for
is^of great importance. As far as possible, the workers must not
leave their department of origin. Thus in classifying the applications of different Ministries, in order of need, the place where the
work is to be done is taken into consideration. A further factor
taken into account is the allocation of some workers to the service
itself. The Superior Council weighs all these factors, and lays
before the Government a general programme for the financial year
in question.
The second important stage is the final planning of the works
required by the different Ministries or administrative offices.
Parallel preparations for recruiting are made by the departmental
offices ('), which use the lists previously intended for army recruiting
in order to collect the necessary contingent. As they must observe
the 30 per cent, rule, they have to make the somewhat difficult
decision of choosing which members of a given mobilisation class,
say the 1922 class, are to form the first contingent. In certain cases
the choice is influenced by particular qualifications of the persons
concerned which may mark them out as more especially suited to
some particular kind of work. Failing any special considerations
of this kind, the authorities are supposed to take into account the
family circumstances and the preferences of the young men(a).
In general it would seem as though the most well-to-do were called
up first.
Applications for commutation are dealt with at this point.
The procedure to be adopted is contained in the administrative
regulations referring to commutation for both kinds of service,
which are given in Appendix VI below. Next, the various exemptions, whether temporary or permanent, etc., have to be taken into
account. In brief, the permanent staff have a long series of delicate
administrative operations to carry out, both before the issue of
calling-up notices and between the date of this issue and the date
fixed for arrival at the departmental zadruga. At the same time, the
economic sections of the central and departmental offices draw up
programmes of supply, transport, lodging, etc., according to the
position and requirements of the various yards and workshops.
The third stage is reached with the arrival of the successive
sections of the contingent at the barracks. The recruits from each
g I1) In 1921 these preparations had to be handed over to the military recruiting
offices which were still in existence. The departmental offices for compulsory
labour service were only formed in February, which was too late for them
to 2undertake the calling up of the first contingent.
( ) For instance, some of them wish to be in the first contingent, so as to
get through their period of service as quickly as possible.
— 53 —
department are divided into district groups according to their
district of origin. The total number of district groups has been fixed
at 60, although there are 78 districts in the Kingdom. As a matter
of fact, however, the district group is only of real importance
during the few days needed for the formalities of incorporation and
dismissal, for all the groups without distinction of a given department are drawn on to form the working gangs (iadro), the size of
which varies according to the work to be carried out, and in practice it is these gangs which are the real units. The district groups,
besides providing the gangs intended for the different Ministries,
also supply the staff needed for the institutions or administrative
services of the General Directorate itself.
The Use made of the Workers
Services of Maintenance. As soon as men live and work in common, there must be a certain amount of division of labour between
them. It is found useful to entrust the repair of equipment or
clothing, the preparation of meals, etc., to persons who do nothing
else, while the main body of the community devotes all its time to
the work for which the community itself was formed. In accordance
with this principle, the first care of the Bulgarian administration,
when the contingent intended to form a departmental zadruga
arrives, is to pick out specialists in work of this kind, and to form a
certain number of small workshops or working units which together
form what is called a chetai1), o r production group. These "dutymen" include gardeners, butchers,, bakers, cooks, nurses, shoemakers, tailors, carpenters, carters, tinsmiths, motor-drivers, etc.
They must be relatively numerous, for the zadruga has to 'be subdivided into several gangs, each of which should have with it a
small nucleus of specialists detached from the departmental workshops. In spite of their name, these technical sections are maintenance units rather than production units properly so-called.
Agricultural and Industrial Undertakings. Acting on the general
principles already indicated, the authorities have organised several
important undertakings, which appear to be flourishing. Some of
them so far ' only supply the market provided by the industrial
army itself. Others have reached the point of being able to satisfy
State requirements other than those of the General Directorate.
Finally, in some cases direct sales to the public are contemplated.
The industries wherein such an amount of surplus production has
been achieved include fishing, forestry, general and stock-breeding
farms, clothing, boot and shoe industry, wood working, agricultural
implement manufacture, engineering and building industries.
A river fishing centre was established at Orehovo on the Danube,
and a sea fishing centre at Varna on the Black Sea. These two
I1) The word dieta is used in the Serbian army for a company, but in Bulgaria
it has only the general meaning of band or group.
— 54 —
centres already supply two departmental zadrugas with salt fish.
Under the 1922-1923 budget they are entitled to 28 paid technical
experts. One of the chief objects of the administrative authorities
is to make these centres real training schools and to develop an
industry which at present scarcely exists in Bulgaria. Workers are
given instruction in sound methods of fishing, and will also be
employed in making fishing nets and baskets, building and repairing
boats, etc. The centres may also engage in pisciculture. For this
purpose the Directorate has applied to' the Ministry of Agriculture
for the concession of two marshes which have up till now been
conceded to private persons and are unsatisfactorily exploited.
-They will be improved and cleaned by the Board, and instead of
being further unstocked, will be used for breeding suitable species.
The section of the last Finance Act has already been quoted which
deals with the transfer to the General Directorate of Compulsory
Labour Service of the working of State forests. Under the system
hitherto in force three Ministries drew direct supplies from these
forests at the same time. The Ministry of Public Works drew on them
for timber for construction, the Ministry of Railways for sleepers,
and the Ministry of Commerce for pit props. The disadvantages
of such a system are obvious. In future the working of the State
forests will be centralised in the hands of the Directorate of Compulsory Service. It has already set going two important felling and
sawing centres in the forests of Longosa and Ghenich-Ada.
Already the production cheta in each zadruga runs a vegetablegarden. Some of these gardens are sufficiently important to be
regarded as complete farms. This is, for instance, the case at
Philippopolis. The writer visited there a garden of 22 hectares,
on which 150 troudovaks were employed, if not for the whole period
of their' service, at least during the weeks when there was most
pressure of work. The former municipal agricultural expert of
Philippopolis was in charge of the garden. The main crops were
potatoes, pumpkins, beans, and onions, and the produce has already
been used for feeding the workers of the Department of Sofia.
The erection of a preserving factory has already been contemplated,
and the authorities have made arrangements for securing additional
land to the extent of 550 hectares. At the time of the visit this
land was sown with fodder crops, but it was intended to follow
this with cereals. The agricultural expert counted on employing
300 men in 1923.
Another State property visited was that of Kabiuk, near Chumen.
At Kabiuk there is an important national stud farm, where about
50 troudovaks are at present employed. The total area of the farm
is 3,000 hectares. The Ministry of Agriculture, to which the farm
is attached, has placed an additional 300 hectares at the disposal
of the Directorate of Compulsory Service, which has already begun
cultivating them. In addition to growing vegetables and cereals,
the authorities propose to raise special breeds of sheep on the
pasture land. For the present the produce is all to be reserved for
the Directorate itself. The 1922 budget allows for 14 officials.
Another large farm, also worked by compulsory service, or
— 55 —
shortly to be so, is situated near the village of Kalugherovo (Department of Philippopolis, District of Tatar Pazardjik) and is attached
to the monastery of St. Nicholas.
In the Department of Petrich a vegetable garden on the same
lines as that of Philippopolis, but on a still larger scale, is in process
of organisation. The appointment of 16 technical assistants has
already been sanctioned. An important part of the work will be
raising seed for the zadruga gardens.
Lastly, three pig-breeding stations may be mentioned. It is
estimated that feeding the troudovaks can alone absorb 8,000 pigs
per annum. The three stations at Belogradchik (Department of
Varna), Chumen, and Slivno, are as yet only on a small scale.
They will supply stock for other stations to be opened later. So
far as possible the animals will be fattened on the produce or waste of
the Service. The breeds selected are Berkshire and Mongoliza,
a coarser species. The knowledge gained by the workers at these
stations will be useful to them on their return home. Ultimately
sales to the public are contemplated, any profits made being devoted
to developing the undertaking.
The clothing industry is another industry in which the labour
army itself provides an important market. A large workshop is
already in operation at Chumen; another, less important, which
was at first to have been opened at Slivno, was finally started at
Radomir. At Chumen the workshop visited was installed in large
military premises. The sewing machines and other equipment had
been taken over from the Army and repaired by the Service. The
work of 120 young men is controlled by 16 technical workers.
This work is much sought after, as being less heavy than that on the
land. Moreover its educational value is by no means negligible.
Although the trade cannot be fully learned, six months of practice
is an apprenticeship of some value. A slight extension of the two
workshops at Chumen and Radomir will easily enable them to
supply the Service with all its uniforms, caps, etc. Negotiations
with the Ministry of War are already in progress for clothing the
police.
A boot and shoe workshop is being opened at Gorna-Bania
(Department of Sofia). The budget provides for 28 officials. When
the establishment is fully equipped it will be able to produce 200
pairs of shoes a day and will therefore have to find outside markets.
A large carpentry shop, which had been handed over to the
Directorate by the Ministry of War, and where the Directorate
manufactures the furniture and house fittings it requires, was
visited at Chumen, which, although unimportant from the point of
view of population, has been selected as the concentration point for
the industrial establishments of the Service. As ploughs, carts,
etc., for which both wood and iron are required are also needed,
a foundry for providing the iron parts was opened where the vehicles
and the instruments are made. Ultimately it is proposed to sell
to the public.
In order to enlarge the factory, greater motive power was needed,
which in turn necessitated a dynamo. All this machinery has just
— 56 —
been installed, and it is expected that when it is working part of the
town of Chumen can be provided with electric light. The budget
provides for 45 technical workers.
A carriage repair shop is being opened at Chumen, and a brick
factory in the neighbourhood of Sofia, which was formerly run by
the State, but unsatisfactorily, has just been taken over by the
Directorate. It will be able to supply the Service, but to a greater
extent will meet the needs of other State administrative bodies or
municipalities. A fairly up-to-date equipment is contemplated
(artificial drying system) which will allow of an output of 25,000 to
30,000 bricks a day. The budget provides for 19 officials.
Reference may finally be made to the proposal to build a lime
kiln in the village of Babino-Malo (Department of Vratza). In this
undertaking, as in all the others alike, a four-fold aim is kept in
view — vocational training, supplies for the Service itself, work on
behalf of other State services, and ultimately the production of
supplies for the public.
Gangs supplied to the different Ministries. Numerically, as already
stated, these gangs absorb the great majority of persons called
up for compulsory service. Their size, composition, and exact
allocation will of course vary from one year to another with the
available funds and the programme of works to bo carried out.
The kind of work that can be handed over to compulsory labour,
however, would not seem susceptible of much variation. An examination of the table of gangs supplied to the different Ministries in
1922 shows that out of a total of 22,598 workers, 13,150 were
employed by the Ministry of Public Works exclusively on roadmaking; 6,850 by the Ministry of Railways on navvy work, building
stations, equipping ports, etc. ; 1,353 by the Ministry of Agriculture
in draining marshes, canalising rivers, in forestry, on stud farms,
etc. ; 965 by the Ministry of Commerce in mines or on the equipment
and maintenance of health resorts and the construction of various
buildings; and, finally, 280 were employed by the Ministry of the
Interior on work in connection with public health. The chief
consumers of public labour are thus the Ministries of Public Works
and Railways, for the construction of roads and railways respectively.
It may be added that in the main the rule as to keeping the
workers in their department of origin is adhered to. The only
exceptions of any importance are the following:
Department
of residence
Sofia
Petrich
Rousse
Tirnovo
Stara-Zagora
Plovdiv
Department
where employed
Number of
workers
Kustendil
300
311
450
800
1,416
1,008
ÏÏ
Chumen
»
Mastanly
Pachmakly
Workers on Regular Service placed at theDisposal of the Communes.
This practice seems to be rather of the nature of a makeshift.
It will be recalled that it had its origin in the dispute with the
— 57 —
Entente in 1921, when the Government, in order not to surrender
the Act altogether, decided to place the workers at the disposal
of their communes of origin. The communes had already been
told that they might impose ten days' service on their male inhabitants between 20 and 40 years of age ; they were now urged to find
three months' work for the regular service men. A further step
was taken towards equalising the conditions of the two classes of
workers when it was decided, in view of the fact that the young
men thus scattered over the villages would continue to sleep and
eat at home, not to pay them any compensation. This may have
been rash, but was in any case to the advantage of the Treasury.
In order to facilitate the work of the municipalities', they were
of course given technical assistance by the State engineers and
agricultural experts. The prefects, on their part, had to see that the
municipal works were in fact undertaken. Finally, 200 inspectors
were permanently attached to the regular service, their work being
to travel over the country, check the work done, and draw up a
general report. The total number of troudovalcs employed was thus
found to be 29,570, on work of an extremely varied character, such
as the opening and laying of roads, construction and repair of premises, land clearing, pipe laying, etc., involving 2,392,272 working
days in all.
»
This year again, in spite of the change in conditions as compared
with 1921, the Bulgarian Government seems inclined to place a
proportion of the regular service period at the disposal of the
communes. This decision has undoubtedly been influenced by
financial considerations. Further, it is a way of evading the difficulty raised by the 30 per cent, rule, which tends to retard the date
of final discharge of the last to be called up of a given age class.
By making the communes employ the young men whom it has
itself no right to employ, and vice versa, the State can bring this
date nearer, and may succeed in discharging all the members of a
given age class at about the same time.
Exceptional Cases. It is always possible for the executive authorities to decide on the assignment of troudovaks to work of an
exceptional kind. At the time of writing information has just been
received of an interesting measure of this kind which has been
proposed by Mr. Stamboliiski. According to this proposal the
Bulgarian Government would arrange with the French Government
for some of the workers to effect their service in France. fiThey
would be employed on up-to-date agricultural undertakings which
would be responsible for their maintenance. The Bulgarian Government would thus economise under this head and would in return
undertake the travelling expenses. The net profit from the Bulgarian
national point of view would be the political and educational
advantages to be derived from the proposed arrangement.
The Working of the System
Discipline. Cases of insubordination seem to be few, if any.
This is no doubt due to the fact that the nation is accustomed to
— 58 —
military service^). Perhaps also the authorities during this initial
period were not too exacting. Internal discipline inevitably recalls
military discipline, but is less strict.
Health. Individual health and the state of the premises are
carefully supervised. A physician, assistant physician, and infirmary
are attached to each departmental office. Each of the 15 production
chelas and of the 60 district groups has an assistant physician.
Organisation of the Work. The technical and administrative cadres
of the Service are alone responsible for work done within the
zadrughi themselves and under the direction of the administrative
authorities. For external work the service employing the troudovaks
co-operates with the labour administration. The latter acts as
taskmaster and at the same time as guardian of the workers. In
this capacity the first care of the official is to see that the men become
gradually accustomed to their work. The first day they only work
for one hour, the second for two hours, and so on, increasing more
or less rapidly up to eight hours. Regular intervals of rest are
allowed at the rate of ten minutes an hour.
If necessary, these same officials; suggest methods of improving
output. Thus, when possible, piece work is substituted for time
work, but in order to avoid overwork, the normal day's work is
not exceeded, and if the gang finishes in less than the time provided,
it is entitled to stop work.
Outside the workshops the workers are dependent only on their
own cadres which organise and supervise the camps, fix leave, etc.
Tools. As a generale rule, the Ministries provide the tools needed
for work carried out on their behalf. On the same administrative
principle it is the duty of the Directorate of Compulsory Service
to provide all the machinery and tools needed for its own economic
activities.
As regards the workers placed at the disposal of the communes,
the question is more difficult, since it concerns State service, and
not communal service properly so-called. A passage in Mr. Stoyanoff's pamphlet (2) would seem to indicate the views of the State:
the labour administration should do what it can, but the communes
should also make an effort to provide at least some of the necessary
tools, such as steam rollers, wheelbarrows, spades, pick-axes, etc.
Education and Propaganda. Great efforts are put forward for the
individual and social education of the workers. In particular the
attempt is made to give them an understanding of the value of
compulsory service, and a love of their work. With this end in
view the authorities have started as small weekly, .the Troudovi
Isçestia, and a monthly review, the Troudovak, which are given
free to all the workers (3). Both publications are illustrated. In
(') Under the old regime deserters are said to have been rare. Military
service was far from being held in low esteem. The young man who had not
served was socially of less consideration than his comrades.
(2) Cf. STOYANOFF, op. cit. pp. 72 and 73.
(3) As an example here is the table of contents of the Troudovak for November 1921: (1) An Appeal to the National Representatives; (2) Work,
Economics, and Morality; (3) Labour Service a Social Necessity; (4) Economic
— 59 —
particular they contain views of the workshops and equipment
t h a t are likely to make the new institution live not only in the
eyes of those belonging to it, but also in the eyes of the general
public. A photographer in special charge of this work is permanently attached to the General Directorate.
In addition to the Isvestia and Troudovak, the Board publishes
tracts on social hygiene and education (*). These tracts are distributed in the dormitories and camps of the workers. It is the ambition of Mr. Bakaloff, the present Minister of Public Works, t h a t the
General Directorate should ultimately form a small popular library
containing in eight or ten volumes the essence of Bulgarian culture,
which would be taken home by each worker on leaving the service.
Similar motives inspire the lectures given to the workers, the
maxims adorning the walls of the barracks, the efforts made to
beautify the premises, etc. (s).
Finally, the Council of Ministers has decided t h a t in future the
first of May shall be officially celebrated in Bulgaria as Troudovak
day, an act characteristic of the importance attached by the Agrarian Government to the new institution and its desire t h a t it should
bear full moral and political fruit.
Results
The only results at present available are those for 1921. These
are certainly not negligible, as may be judged from an examination
of the two summaries given below:
Work done on behalf of the State
It may be recalled that the number of workers called up in
Spring 1921 was some 10,000. Of these about 2,000 men were employed in the administrative services themselves, and 7,895 were
distributed among the different Ministries as follows:
Ministry of Railways, for work on railways and in ports
2,620
Ministry of Agriculture, for work in forests, State nurseries,
and stud farms
2,400
Ministry of Public Works, for road-making
2,270
Ministry of War, for navy and land survey work
405
Ministry of Commerce, for the improvement of health resorts
200
Total
7,895
The technical section of the General Directorate in charge of
supervising the workers estimates the number of days worked
by this first contingent at 246,452. It has reported in great detail
on the different kinds of work done, classifying them as follows (3) :
Activity and the Functions of Man; (5) Rose Growing; (6) Alexander Dmitroff (obituary notice) ; (7) Songs ; (8) The Face (short story) ; (9) In the Country
(poem); (10) The Lost Son; (11) News of the Month.
(') The following have already been published: Dr. BOGDANOFF: Beware of
Tuberculosis; Dr. VI. STEFANOFF: A jew Words on Venereal Diseases (reprinted
from
the Troudovak); Dr. PACHEFF: TO Preserve our Sight.
(4) See in Appendix VII the translation of a recent circular on the embellishment of the gardens, yards, and dwellings occupied by the workers.
(3) Cf. STOYANOFF : op. cit. p. 89.
— 60 —
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Nature of work
Kgs.
Units
Metres
Square metres
Broken
stones
supplied
Pebbles
Sand
Stone broken
Stone collected
3,146
1,649
850
1,462
483
Earthworks
for
. railways, causeways, rpads
145,897
Cuttings and
bridges
cleared
for railways
1,100
Grass cut a n d
collected along
railway
26,589
Railway
cleaned
line
6.145
Ballasting for
railroad bed
Poles fixed
Telegraph poles
loaded on
wagons
7,105
70
298
*
400
8
Rails laid
9
P l a t e rails cleaned
110
10
Wood c u t for
laying light railway
10,042
11
12
13
14
15
Cubic
metres
ml
No.
Sleepers unloaded
Sleepers transported
Rails t r a n s p o r t e d
Stakes transported
Bolts p r e p a r e d
for railways
Other parts
4,100
8,361
20
199
5,000
1,000
Ballast placed
in t h r e e layers
150
Ballast loaded
and unloaded
660
Stone t r a n s p o r t e d
814
— 61 —
16
Ballast spread
53
17
Rock broken
37
18
Tree trunks uprooted and clearings made
10,700
Footpaths made
through woods
43,400
20
Various materials
unloaded
21
Timber for construction supplied
22
Building materials loaded
Treetrunksloaded
Sleepers loaded
on trucks
Beams loaded
23
Masonry work
24
Road plank
25
Cuttings for roads
26
Paving for roads
Pebbles spread
27
Road bed
28
Stone piled
29
Roads cleaned
Cuttings repaired
30
600w.
486
548
644
4,968
2w.
250
1,410
-" - -
770
••
••
•
-
-
Roads repaired
32
Old paving
broken up
Holes for mines
drilled
34
Stone unloaded
35
Carts loaded and
unloaded
--
-
1,765
75
202
136
510
18,111
Concrete for
foundations
31
33
Square metres
Metres
JH|
Cubic
metres
Nature of work
19
Kgs.
Units
No.
53
4,622
991
150
896
150
— 62 —
Nature of works
Units
Kga
Carts transported
937
37
Trees felled
Trees unloaded
88
307
38
Apple orchards
cleared of caterpillors
Silkworm cocoons
collected
40
Fields cleared
41
Hedges
Fences repaired
Wire fences
47,700
39
42
Sheaves bound
Stacks built
43
Sheaves threshed
Other cereals
(oats, wheat,etc.) 86,180
44
Irrigation
embankments
Channels
Nurseries irrigated
45
Fields of maize
and beans tilled
46
Nursery garden
beds tilled
47
Fields mown
48
Vines cleaned and
tied
Vines dressed
Other vineyard
work: number
of plants
Vines tied and
cleaned
Vines dressed
Vines tied
Vines watered
49
Cubic
Metres
2w.
36
Mulberry trees
uprooted
Square metres
81
Trucks
Cement transported
39
Metre»
II!
Ko.
156,000
291,865
2,480
300
3,636
13,286
800
1,640
2,000
450
3.500
1,223,600,000
116
4,615,000
309,575
1,376,300,000
14,132
781,482
156,329
10,000
23,000
— 63 —
No.
Natia e of work
50
Vines tied: number of plants
51
52
Kgs.
Units
Metres
Square metres
Cart or
wagou
lojds
Cubic
metres
79,000
Care of French
and
German
vines
1,500
Hay cut and carried
101,853
53
Meadows mown
5,605,000
54
Hay gathered
3,426,000
55
Hay cocks
Hay transported
i
i
352
120c.
56
Land tilled
Second ploughing
57
Channel filled
300
58
Marshes drained
470
59
Bricks made
Bricks transported
681,000
142,000
3,690
14,000
60 ' Tiles made
37,734
61
Stakes sunk
Stakes prepared
25,850
13,103
62
Field work (cleaning, ploughing,
etc.)
63
Trees grafted
Trees tended
Trees watered
Plum trees grafted
64
Irrigation
65
Forests cleaned
Roots cleared
66
Shrubs transported
"•
999,000
6,859
63,678
819
7,675
2,700
564,000
29,295
57 c.
253
67
Beds covered
68
Lucerne fields and
gardens irrigated
31,151
Forest land hoed
3,460
69
— 64 —
No.
70
Nature of work
Lime flowers
gathered
Kg3.
Uniu
Pine trees lopped
8,662
72
Tomatoes
and
shrubs tied
778
Branches cut
74
Axes, pick-axes,
etc., repaired
75
76
Baskets made
Paving
77
Vineyards hoed
Care of vineyards
78
Accommodation
erected for compulsory workers
79
Square metres
Cubic
metres
1,095
71
73
Metres
1,635
150
78
1,154
1,290
1,413
Wood cut
Fuel unloaded
315 sq. m.,
2.50 m. high
417
534
In addition, 10,211 days of work were done on stock breeding, and 20,600
days on mowing meadows, carrying hsy, pruning vines, cleaning plate rails,
repeiring road-making instruments, cutting cleared woods, marking trees,
manufacturing bricks, and other construction and equipment work not included
in the table above.
Work carried out in the Communes
The 29,570 workers employed in rural communes from 1 September to 13 November 1921 were engaged, as already stated, for
2,392,272 working days in all. The use made of these working days,
as of the days devoted to State service, has been dealt with in a
very detailed report which gives separate totals for the work
effected in each Department. This report, which has not been
published, was communicated to us by the administrative authorities. The general totals are reproduced below.
Cart or
wagon
loads
— 65 —
Nature of work
1
Earthworks ,
2
Stone quarried
and transported
93,921
Broken stone supplied
3,099
4
Sand^
1,855
5
Stone broken
23,939
6
Wood felled
17,019
7
Tree-trunks
rooted
3
8
9
Kgs.
Unit»
Cubic
metres
Ko.
Metres
Square metres
1,352,225
up-
•
226
Timber for construction supplied
4,596
Metalling
and
stones broken
21,851
10
Ashlar
11
Stone fencing
12
Stone fencing
pulled down
13
Dry walling
14
Mortar walling
15
Wooden waterpipes prepared
16 ' Earthworks (repair of roads and
streets)
1,353
— - ---
-
89
110
20,839
240
15
1,111,927
17
New roads
18
Paving
19
Paving broken up
4,653
20
Outside masonry
2,434
5,568
26,043
— 66 —
<
No.
Nature of work
21
Repair of floors
and ceilings
Kg«.
I
Units
Metres
Square metres
1,439
22
Plastering
23,166
23
Metalling
52.163
24
Cement flooring
214
25
Roofs
511
26
Pulling
down
slate roofs
594
27
Forests cleaned
2,820,715
28
Felling in forests
1,187,388
29,
Roots cleared in
forests
74,443
30
31
32
Highways made
and repaired
101,118
Roads made and
repaired
470,306
Streets made and
repaired
63,494
135,528
33
Gutters
34
Rivers diverted
6,223
35
Squares cleaned
2,995
36
Canals dug and
marshes drained
28,695
Water-mains constructed and repaired
10,206
38
Water-pipes laid
10,681
39
Pavements
180
40
Kerbs
618
41
Fences
37
22,771
Cubic
metres
— 67 —
Unita
Kgs.
Metres
No.
Naturo of work
42
Fences topped
43
Streets straightened
15
44
Marshes cleared
and cleaned
9
424
183
45
Stone pickets
46
Tiles manufactured
47
Bricks
manufactured (unburnt)
2,782,853
43
Bricks
manufactured
1,549,379
49
Bricks laid
50
Facings of earth
11,800
51
Trees planted
10,542
52
Bridges and aqueducts
53
Stone quarries
54
Water-pipes manufactured
492,740
191,500
-
-
169
22
116
1,014
55
Water-pipes laid
56
Boundary marks
set up
307
57
Fountains made
and repaired
136
58
Bridges
made
and repaired
211
59
Holes dug for
planting trees
54,045
60
Blocks of cement
manufactured
11,500
Square metres
Cubic
metres
— 68 —
No.
Nature of work
61
Wooden beams
prepared
3,336
Buildings pulled
down for alignment
50
Buildings
constructed and repaired
104
School buildings
constructed and
repaired
124
Churches
constructed and repaired
5
62
63
64
65
66
Aqueducts
structed
67
Paving and repairs
Kgs.
Units
Metros
Square metres
Cubic
moires
con12
17
250
68
Pickets
69
School benches
manufactured
98
70
Stakes fixed
28
71
Telephone poles
72
Conveniences built
20
73
Wood cut (cartloads)
18
74
Nails drawn
175
75
Lime burnt
149,096
76
Lime slaked
347,063
77
Fields surveyed
78
Forests surveyed
79
Fields cleared
2,583
142,482,000
400,000
118,107,000
In addition, 15,444 working days were spent on miscellaneous occupations.
The total number of working days was 2,392.272, and the approximate value
of the work done 58,972,478 leva.
— 69 —
Budget
A proportion of the administrative expenses incurred by the
General Directorate of Compulsory Labour Service is due to the
organisation of temporary service and women's service. These
costs are, however, insignificant as compared with those involved
in the organisation and working of the State service of young men.
I t is therefore not out of place at this point to examine the budget
of the institution as a whole.
Take first the following table, extracted from the budget estimates s-ubmitted to the Sobranje for 1922-1923 (*). The table
relates
(a) to sums actually expended by the Service during the financial
year 1920-1921 ;
(b) to the credits granted in 1921-1922;
(c) to the credits proposed for 1922-1923 (2).
EXPENDITURE OF THE GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF COMPULSORY LABOUR
SERVICE
Items of expenditure
Actual
expenditure
under the
1920-1921 budget
Credits
authorised by
the 1921-1922
budget
Credits
asked for in
the estimates
for 1922-1923
I-. - General Expenditure
Salaries and wages
1,021,780
10,820,100
16,700,000
Rent, heating, lighting, repair
of premises, etc.
1,127,250
2,000,000
2,000,000
Office expenses, correspondence.
subscriptions, publications, etc.
848,236
1,000,000
1,000,000
Travelling expenses of staff and
workers
141,981
2,100,000
1,800,000
Medical and similar expenses for
staff
40
10,000
10,000
3,139,287
15,930,100
21,510,000
Carried forward
•
(') At the time of writing the Finance Act has been promulgated, but the
tables annexed are only available in their original form. It may be assumed
that the figures proposed by the Government were adopted without important
modification.
(2) For the sake of brevity the various items in the budget are summarised.
The official text is much more detailed.
— 70 —
Actual
expenditure
under the
1920-1921 budget
Credits
authorised by
the 1921-1922
budget
Credits
asked for in
the estimates
for 1922-1923
3,139,287
15,930,100
21,510,000
Food supplies of workers and
managers of the works when
outside their districts; rent
of land for this purpose
2,423,397
38,600,000 100,000.000
Forage for cattle; rent of land
for this purpose
132,078
5,500,000
8,000,000
56,989
300,000
100,000
Transport of goods and packing
costs
72,048
1,000,000
1,500^000
Costs of maintenance and repair
of material
2,012,189
3,000,000
3,500,000
Health and treatment of workers
and cattle employed in compulsory service
187,780
500,000
500,000
2,300,000
1,500,000
Items of expenditure
Brought forward
Gratuities, emoluments
various salaries
and
Clothing and footwear for the
initial equipment of uniformed
and subordinate staff
8,023,768
Total
67,250,10o1 136,610,000
II. Expenditure on material
Furnishing and fitting of premises
657,745
3,000,000
2,000,000
Machinery, instruments and tools
5,876,231
8,100,000
5,000,000
20,581,730
20,270,000
20,000,000
7,004,503
8,000,000
8,000,000
Clothing and
workers
footwear
Equipment: blankets,
tents, harness, etc.
of
sheets,
Live stock: horses, oxen, pigs
—
2,000,000
1,500,000
Raw materials for workshops,
factories, farms, etc.
415,363
1:600,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
3,000,000
925,206
1,500,000
2,000,000
35,460,778
47,470,000
45,500,000
Materials for consumption of
workshops, factories, etc. (coal
oil, wood, etc.)
Premises, expropriations, building, heavy repairs
Total
(>) Total not correct arithmetically, but as given in the official document.
— 71 —
Items of expenditure
Actual
expenditure
under the
1920-1921 budget
Credits
authorised by
the 1921-1922
budget
Credits
asked for in
the estimates
for 1922-1923
III. Miscellaneous expenditure
Refund of sums irregularly allocated in past budgets
Refund of sums irregularly allocated in the current budget
20,000
4,338
Unforeseen expenditure
Reserve fund for supplementary
expenditure
5,000
10,000
1,000,000
6,000,000
25,000
100,000
1,004,338
1,030,000
6,130,000
515,855
8,400,000
8,000,000
100,000
500,000
124,250,100
196,740,000
1,000,000
Debts from past years
Total
Temporary Expenditure
Cost of living bonuses
Exceptional payment of officials
in territory acquired by the
Kingdom in 1913 and 1915,
which remains within Bulgarian frontiers
Grand total
45,004,739
In order to appreciate the real significance of these figures, it
should first of all be observed that a considerable amount expended
during either the year 1920-1921 or the year 1921-1922 would
reappear, on making a commercial inventory of the undertaking,
in the form of premises acquired or improved. Mr. Christo Stoyanofî
estimates the value of the material and premises available at the
end of the second year at 70 million leva.
Next it may be asked if all the credits allowed in 1921-1922 have
been used. At the time Mr. Stoyanofî was writing his pamphlet he
did not think so, and he based his argument on the assumption
that the* Service had only expended some 60 million leva during
its second year of existence. There is reason to believe that this
impression was incorrect, and that the whole of the sum figuring
in the table for the second year of working has in fact been spent.
This is obviously not the same as saying that, beyond the 70 million leva of stock or premises which have been or could be included
in the inventory, all the rest of the credits actually or probably
used during the first two years of working, or some 100,000,000
leva, had disappeared without trace. The impression given by
the budget of the institution is necessarily deceptive unless the
— 72 —
values created by the workers are set off against the sums expended
by them.
This may be done comparatively easily for goods sold to the
public or supplied to other ministerial departments. If, for instance,
the labour army supplies the Ministry of Industry with pit props,
the rules of public book-keeping require the value of the props to
be debited by the Treasury to the Ministry of Industry, and credited to the Service supplying them. Also, if the Government so
decides ('), any money that may be paid in commutation by persons
called up may be considered as an asset of the Service, balancing
by so much its own expenditure.
The main item remains, namely, the labour power of the workers.
The greater proportion of this power is placed at the disposal of
the different Ministries. In 1921 the transference was made gratis,
so to speak; the Ministries employed troudovaks without having
to enter the transaction in their accounts. Another method decidedly to be preferred was adopted as from the beginning of the
financial year 1922-1923. It was decided that each Ministry
intending to use compulsory labour should include a credit for the
purpose in its budget, and that each working day supplied should
involve a written entry by which a certain sum was transferred
from the debit of the Ministry concerned to the credit of the General
Directorate of Compulsory Service. The standard rate per day was
fixed according to the cost of labour. All the expenditure incurred
by the General Directorate of Compulsory Service was taken into
consideration, the feeding and maintenance of the workers, general
expenses, salaries of staff, depreciation of materials, etc. The annual
total of this expenditure was divided by the probable number of
working days available, and the quotient, or 30 leva, was the figure
accepted by common agreement by the Directorate of Compulsory
Service and the different Ministries. It has been stated elsewhere
that in no case do the authorities have to pay more than the
average wage prevailing in the districts where the work is to take
place. Such a contingency would in fact never arise, for according
to the statistics of Mr. K. Popoff (!) the average rate of wages per
working day in 1921 was 51.58 leva for the whole of Bulgaria.
The margin was thus considerable, and subject to reservations as
to output, which are admittedly of essential importance and will
be considered directly, the administrative authorities would appear
to find it considerably more profitable from the financial point of
view to employ called-up workers rather than ordinary wageearners. The Directorate of Compulsory Service, on the other hand,
would gain nothing, the whole of any profit made on the employment of compulsory labour falling to the administrative bodies
using it.
The estimates in the different sections of the Finance Act for
(') The writer does not consider that such a practice is sound book-keeping;
in this connection see pp. 76-77.
(2) Cf. Bulletin statistique mensuel de Bulgarie, Feb.-March 1922: Study on
the rise in the cost of living and changes in working-class wages.
— 73 —
1922-1923, corresponding to the three categories described above,
are as follows:
Leva
Repayments by the different Ministries for the employment of compulsory labour
120,000,000
Sums paid as commutation by workers liable for
regular service ( ')
80,000,000
Sums derived from the sale or transfer of goods by
the Directorate of Compulsory Labour Service 20,000,000
This gives an estimate of 220 million leva receipts as against
196 million leva expenditure. At first sight an independent budget
for compulsory labour service, drawn up on this basis, would do
the service every credit; but before one is entitled to balance the
two figures, it is necessary to be quite certain that the 220 million
receipts arise out of the 196 million expenditure. This raises the
whole question of output.
Output
When the General Directorate of Compulsory Service fixed the
sum of 30 leva as representing the cost of a day's labour, it considered itself entitled to assume that the State profited by the institution to an amount equal to the difference between this figure
and the average wage of a Bulgarian worker. Undoubtedly it
admitted that a young worker under compulsory service was not
likely to have the same output as the average worker, even if
unskilled, and the inferiority was estimated at 20 per cent. But
äs it also somewhat exaggerated the general average wage, putting
it at 60 leva, it finally concluded (2) that the value produced by the
compulsory labour should be 50 leva, and that the State therefore
made a profit of 20 leva. This was, however, merely begging the
question. In order to be sure that the State gained the difference
between the cost of labour of a troudovak and the wages of an
average worker, it had to be ascertained whether the troudovak
produced as much as the average worker, or even 80 per cent, of
the latter's output. As a matter of fact, the only method of determining the real output of the system would be to compare the
expenditure of the Service with the exact value of the output of the
workers. We shall therefore proceed to analyse from this point of
view the 1922-1923 budget described above.
As a preliminary precaution, the immobilisation of capital must
not be confused with real expenditure. Certain items in the budget
provide for the purchase of material, the fitting of premises, the
cost of clothing and equipping the workers. Commercially speaking
there is no reason to charge the whole of this expenditure to a
single year. It would be much better to consider it as corresponding
(') It should be recalled that the sums derived from the commutation of
temporary
service remain at the disposal of the communes.
2
( ) Cf. STOYANOFF, op. cit. pp. 23 and 24.
— 74 —
to an investment, and to substitute for the budget figures the sums
for depreciation to be allowed against each item in a given year.
The Accounts Branch of the General Directorate has tried to
make a calculation of this kind. A table was drawn up for our
benefit on the request of Col. Gancheff, giving two sets of figures :
on the one hand, the probable expenditure of the institution, and
on the other, the probable receipts of the Treasury derived from the
Service for the financial year 1922-1923. As the probable expenditure given in this table, or at least the figures relating to salaries,
food supplies, etc., do not exactly correspond with the figures
finally included in the budget, it seems preferable to use the latter,
combining them with parts of the table provided by Col. Gancheff,
in order to arrive at the following table of total probable expenditure
for the year 1922-1923.
Leva
Salaries and wages
Rent, lighting, heating
Office expenses
Travelling expenses
Medical expenses of paid staff
Food supplies of workers
Forage for cattle
Gratuities, etc.
Transport of goods
Cost of maintenance and repairs
Health and treatment of workers and cattle
Clothing and footwear of subordinate staff
Sums wrongly allocated, unforeseen expenditure,
reserve fund, and debts
Supplementary salaries
Extraordinary removal expenses
Depreciation of furniture (6 per cent.) (l)
Depreciation of machinery and tools (6 per cent.)
Depreciation of clothing (75 per cent.)
Depreciation of equipment {50 per cent.)
Depreciation of premises (4 per cent.)
Tctal
16,700,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
1,800,000
10,000
100,000,000
8,000,000
100,000
1,500,000
3,500,000
500,000
1,500,000
6,130,000
8,000,000
500,000
490,642
1,583,124
23,378,381
8,768,644
286,862
185,747,653
Against the above total the probable receipts may be placed.
Evidently these include the whole of the 120 million leva allocated
to the different Ministries for the employment of compulsory labour.
Similarly the sums derived from sales or transfers by the Service «
are primarily sums produced by the Service which otherwise would
not enter the Treasury. At the time when the budget estimates
were being drawn up, these sums were estimated, as already stated,
at 20 million leva. Since then the clause as to forests was introduced
in the Finance Act. Further, the industrial undertakings appear to
be flourishing, and certain profitable contracts have been signed
or are on the point of signature. In brief, instead of 20 millions,
(l) This and the following rates of depreciation are those used by the authorities in attempting to determine the exact cost of a day's labour; the rates
for tools and machinery might be considered rather low.
— 75 —
the study referred to provides for 40 million leva receipts; Col.
Gancheff hopes for even more, and speaks of at least 50 million
leva. Failing data for criticism this figure of 50 million as suggested
by Col. Gancheff may be accepted, and included among probable
receipts.
There is some temptation to add to this sum the value of the
articles produced by the workers and consumed by them, on the
assumption that if the Service had not had this internal source of
supply, it would have had to pay the equivalent in the open market,
or in other words, t h a t there is a hidden profit. Such a method of
reasoning overlooks the fact that the value of the articles consumed
by the workers is in reality one of the elements in the cost of production of their output, so that if they are credited with it as value
produced, they will immediately have to be debited with it as value
consumed.
As for the compensatory item, that relating to commutation, the
writer cannot accept the solution proposed in the study referred
to above, which consists in placing the 80 millions to the credit
of compulsory labour service. Undoubtedly the 80 millions^) are
due to the Compulsory Service Act, but certainly not to the service
itself.
To sum up, the situation on 30 June 1923 would be as follows:
Expenditure
As shown in detail in
the table above
185,747,653
Total
185,747,653
Receipts
Repayments bv different Ministries
120,000,000
Sales and transfers of
goods produced by
the Service
50,000,000
Total
170,000,000
Thus, compulsory service, far from leading to the material
advantages to the State that had been hoped for, will ultimately
cost, at least under present conditions, some 15 million leva. But
too hasty a conclusion must not be drawn, for while the 185,747,653
leva on the debit side represent fairly accurately the probable
expenses of the service, the 170 million on the credit side give only
a very imperfect notion of the value of the output of the workers.
First of all it may be noted t h a t the sum of 120 million leva to be
paid by the Ministries represents the exact labour cost of the workers. Consequently this figure does not correspond to the real value
of the output of the workers, but only to what is called in private
book-keeping an adjustment entry. The inclusion of 120 millions
(') This figure in itself is considered excessive by Col. Gancheff. In order
to assign some more definite meaning to it, assume that it represents 4,000
commutations at 20,000 leva each. Now 4,000 commutations out of 30,000
people called up may be considerably less than the 20 per cent, authorised
by the Act, but in view of the minimum rate of commutation (12,000 leva)
fixed by the Act, it seems very unlikely that their number would be so large.
— 76 —
on the right-hand side in effect balances 120 million on the lefthand side, and the state of affairs is exactly as if the Directorate
of Comupulsory Service had not had to feed, house, and equip
the workers transferred to the Ministries. With these data alone,
it is impossible to say if the workers in question are an expense
or a source of profit to the State. It may be that their gross output
exceeds this sum, but it may also happen to be less. This point,
which is of essential importance in view of the large number of
workers in question, can only be settled after the different Ministries
have determined the output of the workers placed at their disposal.
As regards the sum of 50 millions, it is as little an accurate
measure of the value of the work done within the institution. It may
first be recalled that the figure has no objective value. The reason
for adopting it here was because it was put forward by a competent
person, inclined a priori to favour the new institution. But it is
simply an estimate binding on no-one, which is as likely to be below
as above the actual facts. Moreover, there is nothing to show how
the figure of 50 million was reached. It does not appear whether it
was based on the market value of the produce which it was hoped
to transfer or sell, or on an estimate of the total sums which would
ultimately be received by the Service or credited to it. If the latter,
it is very probable that the sum of 50 millions is below the real
value of the products. For it would seem that when the Directorate
of Compulsory Service transfers its products to another Ministry,
it bases its prices rather on the cost of production than on market
values. Reference may be made to the case of a transaction involving
600,000 bricks between the General Directorate and another public
service, on the basis of 0.90 leva each, although the price at that
time on the open market was 1.40 leva. In such a case the figure
to be used in measuring the output of the workers is the 1.40 leva,
and not 0.90. According as Col. Gancheff has in general chosen
one or other of these two bases when valueing the goods transferred
to other Ministries, the sum of 50 million leva at which he arrives
gives a true indication of the value of the goods produced or not.
Finally, even if the sum of 50 millions could be accepted as
exactly representing the value of the goods sold or transferred by the
Directorate of Compulsory Service, it would nevertheless be imperfect for estimating the output of the workers within the service,
for it takes no account of the time that must elapse before certain
undertakings of the Directorate achieve tangible results. When the
workers drain marshes, start farms, lay out gardens, etc., the values
they produce are obviously not susceptible of immediate realisation ;
yet they enrich the nation as a whole, and such additions to wealth
should be taken into account if the real output of the service is to
be estimated.
The figures quoted above can therefore in no way be considered
as a condemnation of the system. All that can be said is that an
analysis of the budget does not provide the information needed
for estimating the value of the output of compulsory labour. Only
a careful study of output can show whether or not compulsory
labour service is either a costly or a productive institution. If the
— 77 —
matter is considered from this point of view, the first obvious
suggestion is to refer to the actual results achieved in 1921. A
comparison of the work effected with the number of working days
supplied might, for instance, be supposed to give the desired index
of productivity. A moment's reflection will show that such a
method of procedure is neither practicable nor fair. It is impracticable, because even if it is admitted that the results given above are
correct, it must be recognised that they are too heterogeneous and too
vague to serve a detailed enquiry; and it would be unfair to try
to judge the institution of compulsory service on the initial attempts
of 1921.
The only thing left to do, then, is to examine what was done at
the beginning of 1922 with a view, if not to forming a final opinion,
at least to acquiring data on which to base an estimate of the value
of the Service. Such an enquiry is facilitated by the very great
seriousness with which the regular labour service is at present
administered. Both for the workshops organised under the management of the different Ministries and for the activities of the institution itself, daily work sheets and weekly and monthly tables drawn
up on the lines customary in all industrial undertakings, give
accurate information on the different kinds of output. Obviously
a critical analysis of these tables, a comparison of the results
obtained with what might be achieved by a private undertaking
using ordinary labour, is a matter for the expert and exceeds the
scope of the present enquiry. Here it is only necessary to state
that such tables exist, and that they seem to have been carefully
and honestly drawn up. As an example, a few of them will be
analysed below.
SPECIMEN NO. 1. — Monthly Report of Work done and Workers employed in
diverting the River Yantra during April 1922 (')
Work executed
über
Number
of work
-work
of hourss of
day
per day
April 21
» 22
)) 23
» 24
» 25
» 26
» 27
» 28
0
29
Number
Numb
of work
workers
of
employed
employ
Cubic metres
Cubic metres
2
2
83
92
17
17
30
30
5
7
7
8
8
4
89
88
87
87
87
85
93
121
110
102
105
50
167
217
180
183
189
90
615
1Ó86
Totals
(') This table, like the two following, was drawn up by the official of the
Compulsory Labour Service, and countersigned by the engineer of the technical
section in charge of the work.
— 78 —
SPECIMEN NO. 2. — Monthly Report of Work done and Workers employed in
making the Rousse-Koulata~Rassardovo Road during April 1922
Work begun on 10 April, interrupted for Easter; 15 working days, the
first four of 2, 4, 5, and 6 hours respectively, afterwards 8 hours, and 4 hours
on Saturday.
/
34 for 7 days
Number of workers employed
g for 2 days
I
48 for 1 day
The details in the table give a general total of 487 8-hour days.
this period the following work was done:
During
Cubic me 1res
Earth dug and transported from 10 to 20 metres
Stone transported from 10 to 100 metres
Stone broken
266
146
125
Square metres
Ballasting
Metalling
Ramming
Roadway shored
864
'835
863
980
SPECIMEN NO. 3.— Monthly Report of Work done and Workers employed on the
Construction of the Levski-Lovech Railway line.
Work was begun on 3 April and interrupted by Easter; 20 days were worked
in all. The first 4 days were of 1, 2, 6, and 7 hours respectively, the rest 8 hours,
and Saturday 4 hours; the first day after the Easter holiday was 2 hours,
1 exceptional day 7 hours, another 6 hours. The number of workers varied,
the maximum being 565. The total was 6,431 working days of variable length.
During this time 16,628 cubic metres of earth were dug, either for embankments or cuttings, or an average of 2.60 cubic metres per man per day.
SPECIMEN NO. 4. — Table ot Articles made in the Tailors' Shop at Chumen during
April 1922
Number of days worked
Number of workers employed
20
120
Articles made
Jaantity
2,758
2,729
2,029
1,339
50
50
10
6
Kind
Summer tunics
Ì
Breeches
)
Tents
Caps
Winter tunics
Winter breeches
Suits for employees
Overcoats
Average price
in Bulgaria
Leva
Total market
price
Leva
15.50
42,749
5.00
9.70
10.50
3.50
300.00
200.00
10,145
134,054
525
175
3,000
1,200
191,848
Cost of production, 2.400 working days at 30 leva (all costs
included)
'
Approximate profit
72,000
119,848
SPECIMEN NO. 5.
79 —
— Table of Work done on the Kabiuk Estate in April 1922 (*)
Length of working-day, uniformly 8 hours.
Atmospheric conditions: fine except 1 day rain.
Total number of working-days:
Higher officiais
Subordínate officials
Skilled compulsory labour
Unskilled labour
Gardeners
Cattle
Tractors
Production :
Care of cattle
Transport of manure
Stone quarries opened
River bed and reservoir cleaned
Oats sown
Vetch sown
Tillage
Orchard cleaned
Vegetable garden weeded and manured
Meadow tilled
Cabbages sown
Onions sown
Clover sown
Beans sown
Beans sown
SECTION III.
40
138
735
1,751
21
147
14
510
16
41
1,005
370,000
77,000
181,000
18,000
days
cartloads
cubic metres
»
»
square metres
»
»
»
»
»
»
40,000
46,000
8,000
16,000
19,000
9,000
10,000
TEMPORARY SERVICE FOR M E N
Present Position of the Question
It is interesting to note that temporary service for men in Bulgaria is still subject to the Act of June 1920, to judge by the administrative regulations issued with respect to this service. These
regulations, translated in full in Appendix V, date in their present
(*) As this table is particularly detailed and characteristic, it was submitted
to a French agricultural expert, whose opinion is quoted below:
"This table would have been extremely illuminating, which, at present,
is far from being, if the number of man-days for each kind of work done
had been stated, instead of merely giving a classification of the different
kinds of work and totals of the labour employed. The present arrangement
makes the table rather vague, so that checking is difficult and uncertain,
especially as the headings are sufficiently various in kind. It may be possible
to estimate more or less accurate the time needed for tilling and sowing a
hectare of oats, but the cleaning of a river bed is a much more indefinite
kind of work, depending on the state of the mud, the means available, the
distance to which the rubbish must be carried, etc. If tilling and cleaning
are added together, the general total of labour has not much meaning. Subject to these reservations, and supposing that the output of an 8-hour day
is 20 per cent, below that of one of our days, owing to the waste caused by
large gangs, the statement of the work done would appear to be reasonable."
— 80 —
form from 16 June 1921, when the Act of 1920 was still in force,
the regulations being issued in accordance with Section 10 of the
Act. It seems likely, however, that new regulations will be issued
during 1922. In the first place the present regulations are so worded
that they only apply to the year 1921-1922 (*). Consequently, as
soon as a new government decree imposes general temporary
service in 1922-1923, the dates in the regulations must be changed.
Again, in its present form the regulations apply to all men up to
50 years of age. This was the limit laid down in Section 10 of the
old Act. Henceforth, however, the limit has been reduced to 40
years, and consequently on this point, too, future regulations must
differ from the past.
Although these two reasons of comparatively slight importance
will probably shortly lead to the abrogation of the regulations of
June 1921, there is every reason to believe that such regulations
will reproduce all the essential features of the old system. The
writer holds, as already stated, that Section 10 of the old Act and
paragraph (¿) of Section 4 of the new Act are the same in intention.
There being no change in the purpose of the clause, the instrument
used must be the same, and this instrument is to be found in the
regulations of June 1921.
Before undertaking a detailed analysis of the regulations, the
difficulty of the problem to be solved should be clearly stated.
The Act places a weapon in the hands of the municipalities, but it
is open to question, first, whether it can compel them to make use
of it. Further, whether the State will be able to give the communes
the moral and technical support they need ; and above all, what the
reaction of the public will be. It is quite true that the public is
accustomed to road service, but this is easy to carry out, and is
moreover done by everyone at his own time and convenience. Here,
on the contrary, a concerted plan of work must be followed, so
that dates must be fixed for each person, involving a whole new
form of social discipline. And if public opinion were hostile, it
hardly seems likely that detachments of police could be sent all
over the country at once.
The first experiment made in the spring of 1921, the results of
which will be dealt with later, was only moderately satisfactory.
True, there seemed no lack of goodwill, but it was the machinery
that was at fault in certain respects. It sinned by excessive centralisation, leaving to the General Directorate of Compulsory Service
a degree of responsibility in no way proportioned to its real powers.
At the same time it sinned by excessive decentralisation, in the
sense that for the activities reserved to the communes the supervision of the higher authorities was not suitably organised. An
attempt was made to remedy the difficulties revealed by experience
by means of the regulations of June 1921, substituted for those
of October 1920. The chief provisions of these may be summarised
as follows.
(') Just as the regulations previously in force only applied to 1920-1921.
— 81 —
The Administrative Regulations of 16 June 1921
Nature and Extent of Obligation (§2). In accordance with t h e
letter and the spirit of the Act, temporary service for 1921-1922
was imposed directly by the Bulgarian Government on male
citizens,. The calling-up notice of 1921-1922 covers all men of 20 to
50 years of age. The period of service is fixed at 10 days, and can be
extended to 20 days "if the population so desires( x )". It is reduced
to 5 days for workers presenting themselves at their place of work
with a vehicle (2). Those who present themselves with a more powerful means of transport, and are able in less time to do the same
work as a man with a vehicle, are dismissed earlier( 3 ). No compensation is allowed in connection with the service, but the municipalities are empowered to make grants for the relief of the families
of necessitous workers (§ 47).
Registration and Exemptions (§§ 11 to 13 and 37 to 40). The first
condition for the effective working of the service is that the worker
shall be entered on a municipal register (4). As soon as the municipalities are notified of the Decree, they are obliged to draw up these
registers. The persons concerned are allowed a week in which to
bring forward reasons for exemption. From this point of view the
regulations are more liberal than the Act of 1920 (') ,for in addition
to the disabled, the sick, the sole supporters of their families, and
indispensable officials, the following persons may be exempted:
(a) all kinds of officials in charge of the execution of the work;
(b) mayors, deputies, secretaries of councils, and municipal councillors, for whom the duty of working themselves is replaced by the
duty of supervision; (c) "the police; (d) school teachers, when the
schools are open; (e) post and telegraph officials;_(/.) persons other
than officials who are exempted by decision of the Council of
Ministers. When exemptions are granted by decision of the Council
of Ministers, the persons in question lose 10 days' salary if they are
officials, or, if not, pay the equivalent of 10 days' earnings.
Substitute Work or Supplies (§ 36). In addition to the commutation referred to in the special regulations which have already been
analysed (6), the Government introduced in paragraph 36 of the
regulations of June 1921 an ingenious system in favour of industrial
(l) No doubt this means "if the municipal council so decides".
(') A similar reduction was traditional in the case of road service.
(s) The owner of a motor lorry may be dismissed after 2 days.
(*) In its zeal to secure the application of the new Act the Government took
certain measures exceeding the normal scope laid down under the administrative regulations at present under consideration. Thus the staff of Bulgarian legations and consulates abroad were required, or rather spontaneously
agreed, to effect a service of 10 days during 1921. The difficulty was how to
interpret the Act, which was evidently not drawn up for these exceptional
cases. It might be imagined that for 10 days each person would give up his
salary. Another solution prevailed, showing very clearly the connotation
of the word labour in the mind of the Government. What the diplomatic
and consular staff did, was to substitute for their ordinary work during 10 days
the material labour of cleaning and tidying. We are assured, and no doubt
this would be true of all administrative services, that this humble duty was
not without value.
(5) It differs slightly in this respect from the Act of 1921.
(6) See page 39.
6
— 82 —
companies. With the approval of the municipalities, these companies may replace the service of their employees either by supplying
materials or by carrying out work on which the municipality and
the company concerned are agreed.
Moral and Financial Responsibility (§§ 4 and 49). Without
expressly stating that the responsibility for the work to be done
falls on the communes, the regulations imply it, and this important
point should be emphasised. A municipality is not entitled to say
whether it needs work or not. As soon as the Government orders
temporary service, each municipality "must" find something to do,
and consequently "must" be prepared to bear the costs. Paragraph
49 expressly includes in costs the remuneration of State officiais
for their technical assistance.
Co-operation of State Officials (§ 5). This is of importance and is
dealt with much more completely in the regulations of 1921 than
in those of 1920. A village municipality may decide that it needs
some particular land improved or some definite work of art, but it
is unlikely that it will know how to set about the work. The regulations of 1921 consequently impose on it the obligation, as soon as
a decision has been reached, to submit this decision to the local
State engineers. The latter must then inspect the work to be done,
and draw up the necessary plans. In reporting on the results of
their inspection the engineers specify what persons in the village
may be appointed as technical supervisors.
Preparation of the Programme of Work (§§ 6, 7, 8, 45, 46). In
possession of the technical scheme drafted by the competent official,
each municipality draws up a practical programme for carrying
out the work. It decides among other things whether the population of the commune is to be divided into several successive squads
and what the size of each is to be. Similarly, it arranges for the
division of each squad into groups of workers. Finally, it divides all
the inhabitants of the village by name among these groups and
assigns to each group a chief and a technical supervisor. As regards
these latter posts of trust, the regulations expressly say that the
selection shall be made from among the "most intelligent and
conscientious" of the inhabitants. The persons thus designated are
not entitled to refuse. Finally, the municipalities must decide in
full detail not only what each person has to do, but also the time
when he is to do it.
Approval by the Central Authorities (§§9 and 10). At this stage,
further intervention by the central authorities is provided. When
the programme is ready it must be submitted to a kind of technical
departmental council for compulsory service, and it can only be
carried into effect after approval (*).
Calling-up Notices (§§ 3, 14, and 34). These are issued by the
municipality as soon as the prefect has approved and returned the
plan. The notices may be personal, or by poster, or by public crier.
Organisation of the Work (§§15,17, 18, 19, 25, 26, 27, 31, and 44).
The regulations enter into minute details as to the organisation of
(') In the town of Sofia, approval of the programme of work must be obtained
from the General Directorate of Compulsory Service.
— 83 —
work. They insist on the obligation of the municipal officials to be
on the spot, to call the roll themselves, etc. The functions of chiefs
of groups are described, showing in what respect they differ from
those of technical supervisors, and an appeal is made to each
man's conscience.
Tools ( § § 20 to 24). In principle each worker brings a tool of which
he has been notified in advance. If any have to be supplied by the .
Central Administration, the municipality is responsible for them.
Hours of Work ( §§ 28, 29, and 35). The working day is eight hours,
interrupted by hourly intervals of ten minutes and an hour or an
hour and a half at midday. In very exceptional cases task work
may be substituted for time work.
Checking the Work (§§ 41, 42, 43, 50, 51, and 52). It is the duty
of the Central Administration to arrange for checking the manner
in which the work is carried out. In each Department the prefect,
the chief of police, the departmental engineer, and the head of the
departmental labour office must agree as to the tours of inspection
to be made in the Department. Detailed reports are also required
from the municipalities, which are invited to make suggestions with
respect to the regulations in force.
Discipline and Punishments (§§ 16, 30, 53, and 61). The presence
of the workers at the beginning and end of each working day is
ascertained by roll-calls. All breaches of discipline, however slight,
may be punished by additional days of work or the payment of a
fine. There is no appeal against such punishment. Chiefs of groups,
supervisors, or communal authorities of whatever kind may be
punished by a fine of 1000 to 5,000 leva, if they fail to carry out
their work effectively...- All persons carrying on agitation against
the work or inciting the workers to laziness are liable to a fine of
1,000 to 2,000 leva.
Results for 1920-1921
It is too soon to state what may be the effect of the regulations
analysed above for the year 1921-1922. The period within which the
municipalities had to arrange for the service was very liberal,
extending up to 31 May 1922, and in the case of building even up to
the end of the fine season." Rural communes no doubt would find
it to their interest to have the work done during the dead season
of the year, that is to say before spring; but the despatch of reports
and their examination needs time. In urban communes the workers
are more likely to be required in the fine season. Several months
must therefore elapse before general results can be compiled, and
totals are only available for the first season, i.e. 1920-1921.
This information, published in Mr. Stoyanoff's pamphlet, is
comparatively encouraging. About 45 per cent, of the communes
responded to the Government's appeal, or at least took the trouble
to furnish a report. Out of 2,493 communes, according to Mr. Stoyanoff, 1,123 submitted reports. The number of persons liable in
these 1,123 communes is given as 312,982, and the number of persons who actually served was 275,493, so that the average shortage
was only 12 per cent.
The work done is summarised in the following list :
— 84 —
No.
Nature of work
1
Causeways constructed
Other causeways
Causeways repaired
Causeway levels constructed
2
Roads constructed
Other roads
Roads repaired
Other roads
Roads laid out (earth
works)
Roads laid out
1
1
In
4
Streets constructed
Other streets
Streets repaired
Other streets
Streets repaired
Bridges built
Bridges repaired
Channels constructed
Other channels
Channels repaired
Bridges built and
repaired
Channels
5
Ashlar supplied
7
Sand supplied
8
Ballast supplied
9
Timber supplied
Tree trunks
Wood for
11
Metres
Squares
metres
Cubic
metres
Cartloads
207,196
109,466
1,345
345,364
62
506,545
167
9,748
27
villages
4
96,666
47
156,790
362
105
villages
619
264
1,408
148
27
9
villages
3
villages
Causeway banks repaired
6
10
Kilogramm.
96
Village paths
3
Units
100
74,438 5,896
. ''
26,876 3,973
14,914
2,931
547
1,094
1
school
200,000
Trees felled
Planks cut
800
Fountains constructed
Fountains repaired
Wells constructed
Wells repaired
Wells and fountains
78
300
109
259
20
villages
— 85 —
No.
Natnre of work
12
Fountain foundations
Fountain foundations
repaired
Water-pipes laid
13
14
15
16
Marshes and marshy
places filled
Marshes and marshy
places filled
ised
River beds cleaned
River beds timbered
River beds dug
Fences made
Stone fences
20
Rampart walls
Rampart walls
Valley reinforced
Walls
21
Pebbles broken
22
Walls built
Iron fencing
23
Rock quarried
24
Bricks made
Square
metres
Cubic
metres
Cartloads
4,058
1,884
1,615
123
21,062
11,775
3,790
17
59,793
42,735
43,953
18,300
5
villages
140,962 201,252
105
35
villages
and 3
drains
-
39 4
2
--
-
-
1,400
45
29
Fords made
Dams
Drinking troughs repaired
Dams
Steps
19
Metres
3
200
Paving for squares,
streets, etc.
Other paving (stone,
pebbles, sand)
Earth works
Channels dug
Cuttings constructed
Cuttings repaired
Cuttings cleaned
Kilograxnm.
Units
49
Paving constructed
Paving constructed
Paving constructed
Other paving
17 ^ River beds regular-
18
In
2
30
6
158
2
villages
42
151
1,900
379
1
880
14,421
2,296
2
732
65.000
— 86 —
i
No. !
In
Nature of work
Kilo-
Units
gramm .
Lime transported
Timber piled
Other material: number of trees
|
413
27
Planks cut and pre- ¡
pared
1
10
28
Water pipes
29
Trees felled
Trees cut
30
Schools built
Schools repaired
25
26
31
Metres
Square
metres
1.000
948
4
180
380
1,000
12
15
4
Council offices built
Council offices re• paired
Stables built
Barn
7
9
1
32
Churches built
Minarets built
1
3
33
Forges built
Forges repaired
Materials for one
forge supplied
3
2
34
Bath repaired
Laundry constructed
1
1
35
Brick works
structed
Lime kiln
2
1
36
Lime manufactured
37
Sawmill constructed
1
38
Telegraph poles fixed
444
39
Trees planted
40
Stakes sunk
41
Pasture land cleared
42
Forest felled
20,000
43
Afforestation
216,000
44
Telegraph connections fixed
45
1
con-
Telegraph poles fixed
Cubic
metres
800
9.179
180
350,000
3
villages
1
village
Cartloads
87
No.
Nature of work
46
Land levelled
47
Streets surveyed
Road made
48
Cemeteries made and
cleaned
Fenced
49
Road barriers made
50
Communal land tilled and weeded
In
Units
Kilogramm.
Metres
Square
metres
800
10
villages
1
village
1
village
51
Municipal port enlarged
52
Gutters cleaned
53
Fords made
54
Hill levelled for
archaeological purposes
55
56
Doors and fittings (or 1 gymnasium
Sand scattered in
1
streets and square
village
57
Village paths widened '
58
Mineral spring water
collected
59
Drains made
60
Building pulled down
61
Various wooden furniture
62
Fountains, wells,
streets, bridges,
roads constructed and repaired,
marshes
filled,
walls, fords and
miscellaneous
1 560
9
villages
1
village
18
villages
88
95
46
villages
Cubic
metres
Cartloads
— 88 —
By force of circumstances this list, in which a thousand details
have been compressed rather than assimilated, cannot be very
illuminating. The list giving details by Departments, which is
also published in Mr. Stoyanoff's pamphlet, is clearer and shows
that considerable progress has been made, in one fell swoop as it
were, in roadmaking, canalisation and every kind of equipment
needed for the economic life of the country. The writer personally
examined an aqueduct, which was constructed in 1920-1921 in the
village of Bela-Cherkova, and which is a credit to the peasant proprietors of this beautiful district (*).
At Sofia, where the problem was particularly difficult of solution,
the results obtained, although they certainly seem mediocre from
the point of view of output, have been by no means negligible in
absolute value. A summary table, published in the Echo de Bulgarie
for 1 December 1921 and quoted in the Daily Intelligence of the
International Labour Office for 20 December 1921 (p. 9), showed
that the total work done was valued at 5,511,461 leva, representing
the output of 18,040 workers. Consequently the municipality of
Sofia benefited from the application of the Act to about the same
extent as from a tax of about 30 leva imposed on 18,000 taxpayers.
In these days of financial difficulty this sum is by no means to be
disregarded.
The table referred to above being distinctly vague, the municipal
office in charge of temporary service was asked for fuller comments.
The information given, which was in part contained in an unpublished administrative report, was as follows.
The 18,040 workers were first classified as trained and untrained.
The trained workers, who were mostly artisans belonging to the
various industrial corporations or guilds, such as wood workers,
iron workers, masons, painters, dyers, and bookbinders, also included engineers, architects, overseers of public works, and others.
(*) The work done at Bela-Cherkova was described as follows in a travel
sketch by a contributor to the Echo de Bulgarie for 6 April 1921 :
"At Bela-Cherkova, as everywhere else, the application of the Act has been
responded to with great enthusiasm. The peasants observed that half the
village had no drinking water, to the serious detriment of old men and children,
and they decided to collect and convey to the village the clear abundant
water from a source three or four kilometres away near the village of Vachograd. This meant, however, the construction of an aqueduct about 500 metres
long and seven to eight metres deep. The work was begun "just as it might
have been in ancient Egypt, and an appeal for support was made to certain
local personalities, politically opposed to the Government — good folk none
the less but very sceptical. For many weeks, ever since January, some forty
of fifty workers have been engaged voluntarily and by mutual agreement,
their number including labourers according to the work and the season. The
work is making rapid progress but much is still left to be done."
On expressing surprise that this work, involving undeniable technical
difficulties, could have been carried through by ordinary villagers, the writer
was informed that, in the first place, the workers called up for compulsory
service always included a certain number of specialists, secondly, that the
war had done much to form the peasant, and had taught him a great deal,
and finally, that it was always possible to employ the services of technical
experts for a consideration.
— 89 —
The untrained workers were ordinary labourers, carters and lorry
drivers, and included also traders, clerks, officials, lawyers, teachers,
students, etc. An attempt was made to give trained workers
employment suited to their capacities. Thus the books of the
National Library were bound, the Sobranje Assembly Hall was
repainted, boots were made for employees of the public health
service, and so on.
Among the untrained workers some independent groups were
formed. Thus the staff of the State railways undertook to be
responsible for supplying gravel. Similarly students and their
masters formed a separate group, a section of which was engaged
in improving Boris Park, others working on archaeological excavations, and still others undertaking manual work in scientific laboratories. Beyond these exceptional cases, the untrained workers with
a due proportion of the necessary trained workers were distributed
among the different branches of municipal administration. Owing
to the shortage of tools and means of transport this distribution
of the workers required the formation of eight squads, or in other
words, the whole period of service was extended over eighty days.
Groups were formed in each squad, and each group was placed under
a chief, assisted by technical supervisors. At the beginning of each
new period large notices were posted on the walls of Sofia stating
to which municipal service each group was assigned, the work it
was to do, at what time it should present itself, under whose orders
it was to place itself, and who was the medical officer of the group.
The allocation of the workers as a whole is summarised as follows :
Administrative service
Waterworks
Nnmber
of workers
Remarks
1,763
Including chiefs of groups, technical
supervisors, and carters.
993
Including 7 engineers, 1 architect,
4 leaders, 29 chiefs of groups, 54
technical supervisors, 17 carters.
Paving and road making
6,799
Including 66 technical leaders, 131
chiefs of groups, 266 technical
supervisors, 1,658 carters.
Building
1,911
Including 37 chiefs of groups, 47
technical supervisors and 147
carters.
Public health
1,646
Including 120 carters.
Survey
Total
13,112
After the subdivision into trained and untrained workers a
third group was formed of a particularly interesting character.
This was a group of persons whose services were "bought off", so
to speak, by their employers in return for the supply of material
— 90 —
or of work carried out by the employer and approved by the municipality. This system, which was expressly provided for in the
regulations of 1921 analysed above, was not allowed under those of
1920. Moreover, commutation, which is now permitted, was then
strictly prohibited. But necessity is the mother of invention; the
municipality would certainly have experienced difficulty in finding
work for every one. Industrial undertakings and productive cooperative societies wished to reduce the interference with their
work to a minimum. A proposal was therefore made and accepted
that certain groups of the workers called up should be employed
for the benefit of the municipality, but not under its management.
Thus a building firm undertook a certain piece of construction, an
engineering firm supplied spare parts for motor cars, a garage
undertook to repair cars, a furniture co-operative society made
furniture, a co-operative dyeworks undertook cleaning, a co-operative tailoring society made tunics, and so on('). In all these cases the
method of reckoning was the same. The number of workers liable
under the Act and employed in the undertakings in question was
first counted. On this basis the minimum value of the ten working
days which should be served was determined, and this was taken
as the value to be supplied by the employer (s). It would seem as
if receipts from this source were, if not the largest items, at any rate
the most substantial total in the receipts of the Service.
The value of the work done for different municipal services is as
follows :
Leva
A — Waterworks Service.
1. Opening up a canal to Koniovitza:
earth works, 8,836 cubic metres at 30 leva
earth works, 5,000 cubic metres at 15 leva
Total
2. Aqueduct, 3,062 cubic metres of cutting at 15 leva
3. Extraction of river bed shingle:
1,870 cubic metres at 30 leva
4. Pipes transported: 103 at 90 leva
5. Stone transported : 335 cubic metres
6. Stakes sunk for reinforcement
7. Transport of iron slag: 142 wagon loads at 80 leva
8. Pipes laid, 80 days' work at 40 leva
Adding to these figures an estimate for the work of chiefs,
supervisors, engineers, etc., the authorities arrive at
the total figure of
B. — Survey Service.
8,796 cubic metres of embankment at 20 leva
1,738 cubic metres transport of earth, also at 20 leva
Total
265,080
75,000
340,080
49,900
56,100
9,270
6,700
111,000
11,360
3,200
700,000
175,930
34,760
210,690
I1) In the list published in the Daily Intelligence of the International Labour
Office the aggregate values supplied in this way are not separated from those
due to labour service properly so called. This confusion, which is also found
in the original documents, leads to obscurity.
(2) At first the figure fixed was 1,000 leva per employee, or 100 leva per head
per day. Later it was reduced to 600 leva.
— 91 —
C. —Road Making Service (estimate)
1,436;500
D. •— Building Service (estimate)
747,500
E. — Health Service (estimate).
Work of trained persons employed
74,300
Goods received
150,000
Cleaning work, involving transport outside the town
of 12.560 cartloads of rubbish
310,800
F. — Binders employed by the Administrative Service.
609 books bound, value of work estimated at
31,000
The municipal authorities are, however, the first to recognise
t h a t the results achieved in 1921 leave something to be desired.
First, the figure of 18,040 persons who have effected their service
in some form or other should be compared with the figure of 28,236
persons entered on the calling-up registers. Even if this total is
reduced by 1,995 persons exempted and 850 enjoying dispensation
granted by the Council of Ministers, there still remain 7,351 men,
or over 25 per cent, of the total, who have failed to report themselves
without excuse. This is a large proportion. In addition, it seems
t h a t the penalties provided could not be enforced against the
offenders (') ; at any rate the report consulted makes no statement on
this point. As regards the execution of the work, there have been
numerous complaints. Special reference is made to the lack of
conscientiousness on the part of the gangs to whom task work
was assigned, and who did not take it seriously. Further, it seems
as if the persons called up could choose the date of their service
to suit their own convenience, as well as the gang which they
would ultimately join. If this privilege really existed, the resulting
confusion and disorder may be imagined.
SECTION IV.
T H E REGULAR SERVICE OF GIRLS
The Administrative
Regulations of 8 March 1922
After a lengthy preliminary enquiry, conducted by a sub-committee, the administrative regulations for four month's service by
girls were finally approved by the Council of Ministers at its meeting
of 8 March 1922 (Protocol No. 21, published in the Official Journal,
No. 283).
The 59 sections of the regulations, which are given in full in
Appendix VIII, minutely describe the organisation of the work
which girls may be called up to effect. It is perhaps permissible to
say that they throw very little light on the only important question,
that of the rational use to be made of the workers. No doubt
Section 5 of the regulations, based on Section 3 of the Act, gives
(') According to the regulations of 1920 every day of absence was liable
to a fine equivalent to two days' work. For 1921 and 1922 the rate was doubled,
but it is questionable whether these penalties could be enforced, especially
in large towns.
— 92 —
some indication of possible employment, such as domestic occupations, social hygiene, sick nursing, women's industries such as
dressmaking and knitting, office and similar work, rural occupations
such as gardening, the preparation and preservation of fruit, vegetables and milk, or poultry farming. But it would have been more
satisfactory to learn what kind of undertakings would open their
doors to girls, whether these would be ends in themselves such as
hospitals or model farms, or whether they should mainly be regarded
as educational; whether they would be existing institutions, or
newly formed creations; to which part of the budget their costs
would be allocated, and so forth. On all these points the regulations
are very vague, and with reason. For the four months' service of
girls will be what the municipalities wish it to be, or rather, what
they are able to make of it.
To make this point clear let us turn to the fundamental rule, that
girls must be employed in their commune of origin and in such a
way that they can eat and sleep at home. Section 2 of the regulations tries to render the system more flexible. It adopts the following formula: the work is to be done in the department of origin,
but if the girls so desire they may do their work in the commune
where their parents live. Thus, if necessary and the girls agree,
they may be moved from home. Nevertheless, it must be supposed
that as a general rule the girls would prefer not to leave home, that
they will say so, and consequently that the compulsory labour
service will have to come and look for them in the village itself, in
the heart of the country where 80 per cent, of the Bulgarian population still lives. Now it is obviously impossible to contemplate
the sudden extension of the ramifications of a State institution into
some three thousand separate communities. At the least it could
only be done at the cost of milliards. Thus the institution of compulsory State service for girls must in practice take the same form as
the short period service for adult men, namely that of a municipal
institution.
The following is the system adopted. The departmental council
and departmental office for compulsory service are in principle
responsible for the service of girls and for its supervision (Sections 6,
7, and 8), but these two organs of central authority only act in the
municipalities through the medium of the municipal councils (Section 9). The latter in turn delegate their power to a special body.
In the rural communes this body is the municipal council in plenary
session, with the addition of the Schoolmaster, the woman teacher,
the doctor, and others. In urban municipalities it is a committee
under the chairmanship of the Mayor or a deputy, including, in
addition to two municipal councillors, various competent officials
(agricultural, forestry, engineering and other experts), and representatives of the teaching corps and women's societies.
This special committee or the village municipal council, strengthened by technical experts, is alone responsible, under Section 12 of
the regulations, for the measures to be taken not only for the actual
execution of the work by girls, but also for drawing up the schemes
— 93 —
of work. One reservation is, however, made. The departmental
labour office, or in other words the State authorities, may begin
by asking for the labour of girls. For instance, in towns where there
are State services working, the departmental office may call up
young girls and assign them to such services. Such an outlet,
however, available only in localities where there are State services,
is necessarily limited. Once this means of absorption has been
exhausted, the municipalities, and the municipalities alone, have
to find some means of employing the girls. What can they find ?
The suggestions contained in the regulations are meagre. They
begin with an allusion to State or departmental institutions and
services. This is not very intelligible, since the departmental office
will itself have made every effort to find openings in these institutions and undertakings. In addition to this first category, some
vague reference is made to existing or proposed undertakings to
which the girls might be assigned, and to courses of instruction
which the municipality might propose to start; and above all the
committees are requested to discover what part of the municipal
property may be improved or embellished by the employment of
women's labour.
All this may be excellent encouragement, but gives no sign of a
practical solution. In its conclusion on this important point,
Section 20 strikes the necessary note of caution: "The approved
schemes shall be carried out in conformity with the means at the
disposal of the municipality, taking into account the number of
girls called up, and beginning with work which is already or can
easily be prepared."
' — The other-chapters of the regulations scarcely call for comment.
Chapter 4 deals with the preparation of lists, with temporary and
permanent exemptions, and commutation. It may be noted that
the change of nationality prohibited before compulsory service has
been effected is permissible if due to marriage. It has already been
stated that married women are exempt from service in any form.
It will also be noted that the proportion of commutation allowed is
40 per cent., instead of 20 per cent., the limit, fixed for men, a further
indication of the difficulty of finding employment for girls. But
the limits fixed for the rate of commutation are a minimum of
3,000 leva and a maximum of 15,000 leva, and, although both these
rates are considerably lower than those for men, they still seem
adopted with a view to excluding rather than encouraging applications. '
Chapter 5 deals with order and discipline. It states in formal
terms the duties incumbent on managers of institutions where
young girls called up for compulsory service are employed, as regards
both their moral supervision and the observance of rules of health.
It makes the concession that after three months of effective service
the girls may be given their final discharge. Further, a girl who is
going to be married is released a fortnight before the day fixed for
her marriage.
Chapter 6 enumerates a series of severe punishments for contra-
— 94 —
ventions of the Act. It is improbable that these penalties will ever
be enforced, for the obligation imposed is not sufficiently heavy.
The most burdensome feature, which is not expressly indicated
either in the Act or in the regulations, is that no kind of maintenance
allowance is made to the girls. It may and must happen that they
include girls who are compelled to earn their living ; even those who
work at home give services of pecuniary value. During their time
of compulsory service, they are forcibly prevented from working
for pay, and, although they are neither boarded nor lodged, there is
no kind of provision for compensation.
The First Application of the Act
This took place from May to July of the current year. In view
of the difficulties enumerated above, it will not be surprising that
the authorities acted with caution and on a very small scale.
Their activities may, in fact, be regarded as a demonstration rather
than a real application of the Act. It was maintained in certain
foreign circles that compulsory service of girls was only a mask
for concealing the true character of the Act. It was to the interest of
the Bulgarian Government to reply to this calumny by action, and
it decided to call up the first contingent without further delay.
But it still had to decide what work was to be done and to find
girls suited to the work. Its solution of the problem is proof of
great practical capacity, and is at the same time marvellously in
accord with the deeper tendencies of Agrarianism. It was decided
to limit the first call to young girls of the Sofia bourgeoisie, and to
employ them as assistants in the different Ministries. This was
an admirable solution from the point of view of Agrarian principles,
for the girls who were not usually at work, the idle girls, were
brought into touch through the medium of work with the life of
the rest of the nation. It was perfect from the practical point of
view, because, first, it respected the clause in the Act prohibiting
the removal of the girls from their families, secondly, it gave them
work fitted to their general aptitudes, thirdly, satisfactory results
could be expected thanks to their good education, while, lastly,
provision was also made for occupational training, for at the same
time as they rendered various services as secretaries, record keepers,
etc., the girls could learn typing. This ingenious plan was put into
operation while the writer was in Sofia.
The first stage was to choose the workers. This meant a considerable degree of selection; all the more so as it was the first year of
application of the Act and consequently all unmarried women
under 30 could in theory be called up. It may be that the limitation
to girls of the bourgeoisie meant that a large proportion of commutations was expected. It is in any case interesting to note that this
expectation was not fulfilled, and that only some 20 applications
were made and considered. In brief, out of 3,000 workers originally
registered, 600 names were first selected, and 300 calling-up notices
were finally issued.
— 95 —
The second stage in the proceedings was to distribute the workers
among the Ministries and services. According to their education
and their knowledge of foreign languages, some were sent to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, others were allocated to the Statistical'
Service, and so on. Everywhere, as a result of the war, there were
arrears to be made up, documents and classifications to be brought
up to date. Everywhere, therefore, these assistants might be useful
if they worked with a will. This seems in fact to have been the case.
The writer personally visited girls employed at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and observed how seriously they took their work.
It is too early to determine the final results of the experiment.
In any case, it is at best a limited outlet for the labour of girls,
and many others would have to be found if 30,000 are to be employed instead of 300. Schemes are already under consideration
for opening two knitting schools, one at Sofia and the other at
Tirnovo. Thus under the name of compulsory labour service,
vocational education in the strict sense of the term would be
developed. Here, however, financial obstacles intervene. In the
present state of Bulgarian finances, productive work would be
more satisfactory. Only the future can tell how far the 3,000
Bulgarian municipalities will be able to find it.
CHAPTER IV
THE COMPULSORY LABOUR WEEK IN THE SCHOOLS
It was clear to the Agrarian Government that the attempt to
fit the institution of compulsory labour service into the framework
of national tradition could be powerfully aided by the schools, and
for this purpose it introduced what it called "the compulsory
labour week in the schools". Properly speaking this institution does
not come within the scope of the Act at present under consideration,
but it is so closely related to it that some brief account of it ought
to be given. The new regulations were formulated in a municipal
circular issued in the spring of 1921, at the time the Compulsory
Service Act was first coming into operation. The circular developed
and gave greater definition to instructions already issued by the
Agrarian Government. During the week of 21 to 27 March 1921 all
educational institutions were to interrupt the ordinary course of
work, and the pupils, directed and grouped by their masters, were
to perform "compulsory public service". The circular, which was
signed by Mr. Omarchevski, Minister of Public Instruction, gave
certain detailed instructions to be followed in carrying out the work.
(1) Each school board (l)was to appoint a committee, including
among others the agricultural expert, the engineer, and the doctor,
which committee was to choose and prepare the work to be done by
the pupils in each educational institution. In selecting this work the
committee was to make use of the list contained in Section 3 of the
Compulsory Service Act. It was to give preference to occupations
which could be carried on without special tools and as far as possible of direct value to the school itself, such as cleaning and whitewashing the premises, levelling the court yards, planting, drainage,
hedging, improving the school gardens or orchards, grafting, lopping
trees, archaeological excavations, cleaning and preserving antiquities, making paths to places of artistic or historical interest,
paving streets and squares adjoining the schools, etc.
(2) It was the duty of the committee to collect any tools needed.
For this purpose it was to appeal to the administrative services
(engineers, agricultural experts), the school committees, and the
pupils themselves.
(') The committee in each commune which supervises all educational institutions.
— 97 —
(3) The technical management of the work was to be entrusted
to the specialists of the nearest administrative centre.
(4) On the basis of the programme drawn up by the committee
the school boards were to decide in detail as to the work to be
done by each group of pupils. The latter were to be divided according to age, sex, and physical abilities.
(5) The headmaster of each school was to be responsible for the
execution of the work, and the teachers were to work with the
classes.
(6) In principle, no one could be exempt from the service and
only important reasons stated in writing could justify exemption.
This could only be granted to pupils by the school boards, to
teachers in secondary schools by the Ministry, and to other teachers
by the school inspector.
(7) The working day was to be eight hours. The pupils were to
march to their work, a roll-call being taken at the beginning and
end of each day. In bad weather the work was to be postponed
to a later date.
(8) At the end of the period of work detailed reports were to be
drawn up.
As a general rule the instructions thus issued by the Government
seem to have been followed with zeal and intelligence. Examples of
some of the work done in Sofia itself may be detailed. In a certain
boys' secondary school six groups were formed. The first group
remade the school playground. Stones and bricks scattered about
were removed, the ground was levelled and borders were made,
The pupils also cleaned the chemical andnaturalhistorylaboratories;
they mended dilapidated maps, etc. The second, third, and fourth
groups were employed in archaeological excavations at Sofia. The
fifth worked in a nursery garden, and the sixth was employed at the
station. In another boys' secondary school the pupils improved
their play-ground; they dug a ditch, fenced the ground, levelled
two pitches for gymnastics and football, planted borders, bordered
the paths with shrubs, etc. In a third boys' secondary school the
pupils made a garden of all the ground surrounding the buildings.
By Mr. Stamboliiski's orders a sufficient number of shrubs and plants
was placed at the disposal of the headmaster for this purpose.
In a certain girls' secondary school the pupils cleaned the whole
school. Heaps of rubbish and stones in the court were swept away.
Another girls' secondary school cleaned its entire premises. The
girls also did needlework to be sold or raffled for the benefit of the
school, while yet another girls' secondary school did its general
«leaning, and bound library books. In certain elementary schools,
higher elementary schools (13-15 years of age), technical schools,
everywhere, there was a zealous rivalry. Gardens were made in the
grounds, borders were planted, open spaces paved, etc.
The writer can bear personal witness in support of these details
taken from the Echo de Bulgarie (*)., At Bela-Cherkova and Tirnovo
(') 6 April 1921.
— 98 —
the extent of the work done by the pupils and the taste displayed by
them were particularly striking. At Bela-Cherkova a fairly large
wood belonging to the municipality, which was picturesquely
situated but uncared-for, had been converted into a park. Paths had
been made, fences and rustic arbours set up, and a spring made into
a fountain. At Tirnovo, the historic Hissar park had been cleaned,
beautified, and improved with new small plantations in which paths
were made. At the beginning of each path and against each collection of shrubs planted, a small stone slab was fixed stating the
number of the class which had done the work, and the date. Trees
were planted throughout the province ; the totals published in the
press give 20,000 fir trees each for the Troyan and Tirnovo districts,
17,000 for Kustendil, about 10,000 for Suknidol, and 20,000 for
Bela-Cherkova.
Some passages from a newspaper article in which Mr. Bakaloff
praises the work done in glowing terms are given in Appendix IX r
which also contains an extract from statements on the same subject
by Mr. Omarchevski. Allowing for the element of personal enthusiasm inspiring the members of the Agrarian Government in the
pursuit and realisation of their ideal, these two documents give a
useful indication of the place of compulsory service in the schools
by the side of its elder sister, the service of adults.
CHAPTER V
ATTITUDE OF PUBLIC OPINION
Public opinion is often difficult to study and define because of its
vagueness. In Bulgaria the difficulty is due to precisely opposite
causes, namely, its excessive precision, and, if one may say so,
its aggressiveness. The social observer is interested, above all, in
average opinion, the opinion on which' collective action must
finally be based. In Bulgaria, it is so difficult to discover average
opinion that one begins to wonder if it exists. Some are heart and
soul in favour of an idea or a man, others as wholeheartedly against
the same idea or man. Hence the difficulty experienced in trying to
discover what the Bulgarian public thought of compulsory labour
service. Some were Agrarians and could only see the good sides of
the theory of the Act; others were anti-Agrarians and were only
aware of the difficulties of putting it into practice. It must be
admitted that a stranger travelling in. Bulgaria is more likely to
meet persons holding the latter opinion than the former, for the
peasants' party would, in fact, seem to be a party composed solely
of peasants. It has few adherents in the towns, few among the classes
in authority. With a few interesting exceptions, mostly to be found
among members of the Government, the men speaking in its name
seldom know foreign languages, and for this reason the difficulty of
getting into touch with them was considerably increased. A special
effort was made during the enquiry to obtain more definite statements on the points particularly criticised by various persons who
in general were not Agrarians. Using the substance of these conversations, we proceed briefly to review the theoretical and practical
bases of the system, stating in connection with each what reactions
were observed (').
(') It may usefully be recalled that the well-marked distinction found in
all western countries between employers and workers is not to be found in
Bulgaria, or rather is concealed by the distinction between the bourgeois
parties as a whole, on the one hand, and the different shades of Socialism
on the other. These two tendencies are opposed by that of the third great
party, the peasants' party. All of these are political at least as much as economic, or rather, although economic at bottom, they express themselves in
terms of politics, and expressions of opinion on compulsory labour service
are coloured mainly by the political complexion of the speaker.
— 100 —
Social and Moral Importance of Manual Labour
Although this theory is not explicitly formulated in the Act,
it cannot be denied that it is very largely the inspiration of the
whole new system. In the eyes of an Agrarian, traders, intellectuals,
and above all lawyers, are always up to a certain point social parasites. The primary need of the community is the manual labour
which creates tangible wealth. The great merit of the new Act
is that, besides exploiting muscles, which without it would remain
unused, it confers honour on a form of activity which modern
youth tends far too much to evade. Whatever the intrinsic truth
of this social philosophy, no serious protest is made against it in the
Bulgaria of today. Obviously none can be made from Socialist or
Communist circles. As for the bourgeois parties, they must, on the
one hand, be careful not to offend popular sentiment on this point
of doctrine, especially in these days of Bolshevik infection. On the
other hand, it would seem as if they sincerely respected the rough
Bulgarian labourer and were agreed in wishing that he should not
become urbanised.
Need for speeding up Economic Progress
On this second point, probably even more than on the first,
agreement is full and sincere. Every one recognises the inadequacy
of Bulgarian national equipment and, deploring the delay caused
by the wars, considers one of the chief factors of national revival
to lie in the improved management of public economy.
Characteristics of the System
The Element of Compulsion
As soon as the question is dealt with at close quarters there is
naturally an end to unanimity. To begin with the very form of
compulsory labour. Both for the single long period service and the
periodical short services we have heard persons of rather advanced
views regret that the system should be exclusively based on compulsion. From this point of view it is an unfortunate reminder of the
military system which it succeeds. In both cases the whole organisation is built on discipline imposed from outside, nothing being
obtained from voluntary support. It was particularly regretted
that no means had been found, even though compulsion was prescribed by the Act, of allowing a certain scope for the initiative of
persons subject to the Act; that, for instance, they were not given
the chance of forming labour or farming co-operatives on the Italian
model.
Others, chiefly with temporary service in mind, made a distinction
between town and country. To them compulsory labour service for
the country was intelligible. It fitted in with the traditional
— 101 —
outlook, and was the legitimate heir of the "working community"
of Slav villages. The workers accepted the service cheerfully
because they realised their direct interest in the work done. In the
towns, on the other hand, where a monetary system of exchange had
become the custom, a tax in kind in the form of labour had no
justification.
Basing his argument on this similarity between compulsory
labour and a tax, a Communist leader gave us an interesting definition of the point of view of his party. He insisted in particular on
the radical difference between socialisation of labour as effected
by Bolshevism, and the labour service of Agrarianism. His thesis
was, briefly, that under the system at present in force — a system
characterised as typically petit-bourgeois — labour service could
only be a particular form of t a x . The characteristic of this tax was
that it was directly assessed on labour, in itself no reason for rejecting it a priori, since other taxes, whatever their nature, always fall
on the worker in the end. But neither was it a reason for raisirg it
above criticism. With this tax, as with all other forms of taxation,
the main point was to know what use the bourgeois State made of
the wealth it confiscated. As long as the Government confined
itself to employing the labour of the men called up on the construction of roads and bridges, the tax was bearable. But conditions
might change in a day. If the State ever contemplated competing
with private industry, the activities of compulsory labour might
lead to a rise in the rate of unemployment among free workers.
It might also be feared that at the first opportunity the labour army
would be used to break strikes. Vigilance on the part of the organised proletariat was therefore urgently needed. In any case certain
aspects of the present system could not be tolerated. In particular
it was inadmissible that "temporary" workers should for several
days be prevented from supporting their families, receiving no
allowance under this head.
The Comunist party is not alone in making this last criticism,
and we have heard it brought forward fairly generally, particularly
by representatives of urban municipalities. It has been met in
some measure by the new administrative regulations, which
empower the communes to make grants to necessitous workers. A
timid method, no doubt, but one which has the advantage of
flexibility and makes it possible to take into account the actual
difference between the country, where the great majority of workers
are economically independent, and the towns, where a proletariat
of the western type is beginning to make its appearance.
The Right to Commute
On this principle, introduced into the Act under pressure by the
Entente, the cleavage of opinion would seem to cut across party
distinctions rather t h a n to follow them. To begin with the members
of the Government, the Agrarian left wing is in agreement with
Communists and Socialists in opposing commutation. This does not,
— 102 —
however, prevent the Government from entering with satisfaction
in its estimates a substantial figure for probable receipts from
commutation. At the same time the rate of commutation has been
placed at an almost prohibitive level. If, on the other hand, moderate Agrarians, and especially those concerned with the application
of the Act, are questioned, it will be found that they attach more
importance to the economic advantages of commutation than to
the opposition between this practice and pure Agrarian theory.
In other words, they do not conceal their support of commutation,
especially as regards municipal service, and on this issue they are
at one with the representatives of the bourgeois parties. The
dominant note in this respect was struck by an official of the municipality of Sofia who wished that the rate of commutation should
be reduced, while at the same time greater strictness should be
required in the execution of the work. In this way the applications
for commutation would increase, and, with the funds so obtained,
much useful work could be undertaken which could not possibly
be entrusted to the called-up workers, either because they would
not include the necessary skilled workers, or because the necessary
quality and duration of work could not be demanded of them, even
if they were skilled (').
The Tendency toward
Centralisation
In its anxiety to make compulsory labour service a State, and
not a departmental or municipal, institution, the Government has
given the Director-General and the Superior Council of the service
very wide powers. The departmental offices are only extensions
of the General Directorate and the municipalities only administer
communal service under the supervision of the Directorate. In
particular, if a defaulting worker is to be punished by a fine or by
extra work, the powers of the mayor are limited to drawing up a
report, the decision being left to t h e Director-General or his representatives, and the collection of the fine, if any, to the prefectural
or sub-prefectural authorities. The mayors would seem to be
raising objections to this tendency towards centralisation. At
Philippopolis, in particular, where during the first year the number
of defaulters was considerable, the mayor had the impression that
if punitive power had not been divided between him and the central
authorities, discipline would have been better maintained. In other
words, the freedom and responsibility allowed by the Act and the
administrative regulations to the municipal authorities, although
already very large, still seem to be considered inadequate by the
persons concerned.
(l) Mr STOYANOFF (op. cit., p. 15) estimates the amount that the municipalities might derive from commutation of temporary service at 200,000,000
leva. This estimate appears to be very much exaggerated. At Sofia, for
instance, the number of applications for commutation under consideration
is only 131 out of a total of 1,235 persons called up for the two first contingents. This is obviously very considerably below the 40 per cent, permitted
by the regulations. No doubt the high cost acts as a deterrent.
— 103 —
Advantages of the System
Financial Benefits
The essential justification of the institution is said to be that it
tends to enrich the country. On this point all Agrarians are of
«ourse agreed, but among non-Agrarians there is an interesting
divergence of opinion between the representatives of theory and of
practice. Taking the former to mean politicians and Government
officials, the latter, municipal officials and councillors, it was to be
observed that the disapproval voiced by the representatives of
theory was not seconded by those of practice.
The criticisms levelled are extremely forcible. Some, referring
mainly to communal service, accuse it of impoverishing private
individuals without enriching the community. The programmes of
work, they say, are badly planned, the output is almost nil. Even
if any given piece of work, such as earthworks or road metalling,
has been completed, after a few months it will all have to be done
again. As evidence of the deceptive nature of the reform, a certain
individual interested both in business and politics quoted the
following incident. A commercial company, which did not wish
its own work to be disorganised, wanted îb buy off its employees.
The total cost of commutation demanded by the municipal authorities of Sofia was 85,000 leva. But just when the company was
about to pay this sum, the employees approached the board of
directors, stating that they could quite well appear to do the work
demanded by the town without irjury to their ordinary occupation.
They merely requested that in this case the company should grant
them the 85,000 leva it was prepared to pay to the municipality.
To this the company was obliged to agree in order not to arouse
discontent, and thus the matter was concluded with no real social
profit and an increase in general expenses.
Anothei point criticised is the disorganisation of the public services themselves. The absurdity is pointed out of removing an
official from his normal duties in order to put him for ten days on
some manual work of which he knows nothing. The best way for an
official to serve the general interest, it is held, is that he should do
well the work for which he was appointed. Similar reservations are
put forward as regards the supposed economies derived from long
period service. As against the claim that public expenditure would
be reduced by the abolition of posts or credits for the execution
of the work, it is urged that the organisation of the labour army
itself would cost millions. "If, instead of placing ten called-up
workers continuously at my disposal, I were allowed credit for
engaging five permanent assistants", said a high official, "the State
would profit in the end, both from the point of view of expense as
from that of work done." In support of these remarks, reference
may be made to the marked surprise in the ranks of the Agrarian
majority itself when the credits for working the service were
discussed for the first time. The attitude of the peasants' delegates,
— 104 —
it seemed, was that this was not what they wanted, and in order
to calm them, the Government had both to reduce its requirements
and to make certain changes in the higher staff of the service.
These pessimist views do not hold the field alone. Optimist
opinion, it is true, refers almost solely to municipal service, chiefly
no doubt owing to the fact that State service is still very little
known. Only during the course of the present year, 1922, have the
young grey-uniformed workers engaged on their various occupations become an ordinary sight. Before this first putting into effect
of the Act, public opinion had scarcely been drawn to it ('). The
regulations as to communal service on the contrary, were applied
throughout the country from 1920-1921 onwards. Everywhere the
municipalities have had to handle a new instrument and it is
interesting to no ¿e that the persons in charge of this duty who
were questioned about it generally showed themselves in favour
of the new institution, even if they did not belong to the Agrarian
party. The most striking case is that of urban centres such as
Gabrovo, Philippopolis, and even Sofia. The same opinion was
expressed everywhere. The ten days' service had proved of value,
which would increase with better organisation. No doubt the workers were not as efficient as free workers, but compared with the
total expenditure their output was still far above that obtainable
from an equal expenditure on wages. In other words, certain
urgent work, for instance at Philippopolis the drainage of stagnant
pools in the very heart of the town, could at last be undertaken,.
which would have been impossible in the present state of municipal
finance without compulsory labour. The official of the municipality of Sofia in charge of the service, who commented on the figures
quoted above, expressed his conviction that in ten years Sofia,
thanks to compulsory labour and commutation of service, would
be entirely transformed. Everywhere the chief difficulty seemed
to lie far less in the physical or technical unsuitability of the workers,
than in the ill will of Communist elements. Whether within the
municipal councils when the programme of work was being drawn
up, or in the workyards when the programme was to be carried
into effect, the difficulties to be feared were political rather than
material. If under such conditions the first results still leave
something to be desired, it would be a sovereign injustice to ascribe
their inadequacy to the institution itself.
" Educational Value
To the authors of the Act the new institution is almost as
important from the educational as from the economic point of
(') It should be pointed out here that, as a general rule, the road or railwayengineers questioned on the output of their workers declared themselves
satisfied. Such output is obviously not equivalent to that of a trained worker
of full age, but for young untrained workers it is considered satisfactory. In
any case the goodwill of all appears to have been obtained, even of the workers
who are no longer young.
— 105 —
view. This attitude, which is in general also that of the officials
in charge of the setting up and starting of the machinery of the
Act ('), is hardly copied in non-Agrarian circles. In spite of everything, say some, it is not in the nature of things for manual labour
to be attractive. Certainly people cannot be made to love it by
being forced to take it up for a certain time, and the final effect
will no doubt be exactly opposite to that intended. Others go even
further, and ask in what way the work of navvying and general
unskilled labour imposed on the majority of the persons called up
can prove of educational value.
Social Results
The third argument put forward in support of the new Acts is
that it tends to bring different social classes together. Here again
Agrarian theory is very little accepted in non-Agrarian circles.
The first condition for achieving such an object, it is said, is that
the machinery should function in a really fair way. Now, each
year only a fraction of the total contingent is called up. This
was in accordance with Entente demands, but even if they had not
been made the financial and economic state of the country would
riot allow of calling up everybody. In such conditions, and given
the acuteness of political strife, there might well be a likelihood that
when calling-up lists were being made out selection would be
dictated primarily by political considerations. The friends of the
Government, or those among its enemies who were not afraid to
speak up, would be spared, its adversaries, especially the timid and
law-abiding, would be enrolled. Thus party spirit would vitiate
the application of the Act and would intensify conflict between the
classes rather than modify it (s).
Vitality of the Institution
On this point, which in fact covers all the rest, it was very remarkable to find no opinion absolutely hostile to the Act. Nobody
seems to think that the whole of the institution founded by the
Agrarians should disappear with them. At the most, a distinction
is made between regular and temporary service. Some hold that
regular service, moulded on former military service and strongly
organised, is likely to last, whilst temporary service, which requires
•from the municipal councils a clear recognition of general interests
and from individuals spontaneous acquiescence in the Act, will
soon fall into disuse. Others, on the contrary, believe in the persistence of communal service, while they doubt the possibility of
organising the industrial army of young men in a really economic
(') Cf
STOYANOFF, op. cit.,
passim.
(2) In reply to this criticism certain persons point out that since the work
of recruiting and calling up is in general entrusted to ex-officers, every confidence may be had in their impartiality.
— 106 —
and advantageous way and expect to see it condemned some day
or other for both financial and economic reasons.
As far as it was possible to discover the opinion of the man in the
street, he would seem to be not hostile to the institution. The
young, in particular, appear to regard regular service as a kind of
modern military service which has been considerably softened
down, shortened, and humanised, and they take it up with enthusiasm, bearing in mind the heavy obligation of two or.three years'
service imposed on earlier generations.
For girls the question has not yet arisen seriously; when it does,
the attraction of novelty together with the precautions taken ought
to dispose them favourably towards the institution.
Finally, even if adult men find the new temporary service superimposed and the road service disagreeable, they nevertheless do not
seem violently opposed to it. In rural communes the advantages
are patent to all. In the towns the burden is quickly finished with.
Officials in particular show great alaciity in obeying the Act.
In conclusion an incident may be noted : a group of school children
met with on the high road was found to be singing with enthusiasm
a song dedicated to the troudovaks. In fact, labour in whatever
guise would seem to have no terrors for the Bulgarian. Taking
everything into account, the reception of the Act appears rather
favourable than otherwise, especially if the violence of political
passions is remembered.
CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSION
SECTION I.
THE SPIRIT OF THE INSTITUTION
The intentions of the Bulgarian Government in instituting compulsory labour service may now be described through the Act,
regulations, circulars, facts, and opinions. It wished every Bulgarian
to feel morally and legally bound to make a direct and personal
«ontribution towards the enrichment of the nation as a whole.
In order to implant this feeling in the hearts of the young, it decided
that even during their school days children and young persons of
both sexes should be urged to do some work of economic value.
Education as defined in the present school curricula might be
Tegarded as a purely selfish acquisition, and it might also be feared
that it would deprive the children of a sense of reality. In future
there will be at least some days of the year on which the children
will give, instead of receiving, will serve, instead of being served,
and the central principle of the class will be the production of
value. As soon as they are grown-up, both men and women will
be compelled by the Act to undertake similar work. The married
woman alone will be in a privileged position, or rather will be
recognised in advance and by the sole fact of her domestic occupations as having satisfied the requirements of the Act. Others, of
either sex, must devote a proportion of their efforts to the betterment of society. For women the problem is new, and the manner
in which their social service must be organised is not yet clearly
envisaged. Moreover, technical equipment is largely lacking, and,
for the present at least, education would seem to have to take
precedence of productive work properly so called. For men, on the
other hand, there is no difficulty. Public works in the wider sense
of the word offer definite aims, urgent tasks, and an almost unlimited field for collective action. Such public works of every kind
are of interest on their different degree to the whole nation. Some,
however, are more directly related to national life, others to local
conditions, and the workers will be assigned to one or the other
according to requirements. In order to interfere as little as possible
with social customs, the greatest sacrifice will be demanded of
— 108 —
young men before they have assumed all the responsibilities of
family life and settled occupation. As regards grown men, on the
other hand, it will be the care of the Government only to call them
up if there is urgent need and at most for a few days each year;
finally, it will not compel them to leave their families and will
confine itself to placing them at the disposal of the municipalitiesfor work of local interest.
It would seem difficult to refuse to support the principle of a
programme of this kind, at once bold and prudent. But it may be
asked whether approval implies that other countries would gain
by adopting the scheme devised by Mr. Stamboliiski. Moreover,
when the touchstone of practice is applied to the idea, reservations
may be called for. Finally, there is the question whether, when
Bulgaria entered on these new activities, she was not acting against
the military clauses of the Treaty of Neuilly. The reply to these
various questions will provide a fitting conclusion to our enquiry.
SECTION II.
THE MILITARY POINT OF VIEW
In describing above the organisation and working of the new
institution, it has probably been made quite clear that the labour
army of Bulgaria is not a camouflaged military army, but the
question is of such importance that it may be well formally to
repeat this statement. Temporary service, as already shown, hasabsolutely nothing in common with large manoeuvres or a general
mobilisation. Apart from certain outward resemblances, the service of young men has nothing in common with military service.
The workers are exclusively engaged in work of economic value.
The variety of these activities, illustrated by the diversity of the
gangs of workers, the fact that they are attached to several separate
Ministries, and scattered throughout the country, excludes all idea
of co-ordination in an organic whole. No kind of military preparation, whether direct or indirect, can be perceived. No kind of weapon.
is placed in the hands of the worker, even for purposes of education
or sport. No drill is imposed on the workers, no physical training
other than that resulting from manual work in the open air. It
might also be remarked that for many years the men between
21 and 45 years of age will have taken part in the war and are
therefore much more immediately useful for military purposes than
the young workers called up after the war.
It cannot, however, be denied that the labour army, while not
pursuing military ends, presents certain advantages identical with
those derived from military service. In the first place, physical
training, even though not aimed at as such, does take place and
tends to improve the condition of the young men. Further, the
moral qualities cultivated in the workers, the spirit of discipline, the
habit of obedience, devotion to the common good, are in part the
same as those developed by the army.
— 109 —
Doubts have been expressed as to the value of the new institution
as a means of bringing together different social classes, that is to
say, of cultivating the sense of national solidarity. It is the writer's
personal opinion that from this point of view compulsory labour
service has precisely the same effect as military service, neither
more nor less. For a short space of time it places the young men
of the bourgeoisie in conditions of life resembling those of the
working classes. It creates a real comradeship between them and
the manual workers. It teaches both to know each other better,
and develops in them a sense of co-operation. No doubt, when they
have served their period of labour they each resume their place in
the social scale, but this need by no means prevent the storing up
of useful memories in many a mind.
It might perhaps be feared that the whole system would be
nullified by the violence of political passions, and particularly
that the 30 per cent, rule would be applied in such a way as to
exempt certain groups from all obligation to serve. Such action
would obviously deprive the institution of all democratic value.
But it seems too wholly opposed to the equalitarian tendencies
common to all modern societies for it to have much chance of
realisation.
In brLf, «ompulsory labour service seems fiom many points
of view adequately to fill the gap left by military service. It keeps
in being social traditions according to which both youths and
grown men felt themselves called on to render their country certain
personal services. When the Bulgarian Government in enrolling
the new army inevitably, but no doubt reluctantly, made use of a
large number of ex-officers, it still further strengthened the hold
of the past on the present. The existence of the new institution
may thus, if need be, facilitate the re-establishment of military
service. But the object here is to examine not so much the use that
may ultimately be made of the system as the motives at present
inspiring its organisers. We think we have shown it to be their
sincere endeavour to secure the economic development of the
country. Compulsory service, therefore, as at present organised
would seem to be contrary to neither the spirit nor the letter of the
Treaty of Neuilly.
SECTION III.
THE EDUCATIONAL POINT OF VIEW
A distinction should be made between technical and moral
education. From the first of these two points of view the reality
will no doubt fall far behind the hopes originally entertained. Up
to a certain point this is due to the shortening of the service. It is
impossible to do as much in four or eight months at most as was
intended in six or twelve. Under the original schemes young men
were to spend the first two or three months of service, if not in a
real vocational school, at least in educational surroundings where
the chief object in view was to prepare them for really productive
— HO —
i
work. From every point oi view the scheme was ambitious. The
vocational education of a whole country cannot be effected at a
single stroke. Permanent cadres must be formed, equipment
obtained, procedure thought out, none of which can be improvised
even at the cost of millions, and all of which, failing the milliors,
are almost impossible to attain. However this may be, the reduction
of the limit to eight and four months meant the abandonment of the
original progiamme. The barracks where the young men weie
first to stay for some preliminary training are now only used for
temporary purposes, the stay there being cut down to a minimum,
and the whole peiiod of service devoted to • productive work.
Further, the work in question consists mainly in navvying, and its
educational value is therefoie slight. True, in addition to the shifts
engaged in making roads or railways, there are others employed in
forests, saw mills, stud farms, nursery gardens, industrial workshops,
etc., but the shortness of the period of service must considerably
reduce the value ol such apprenticeship to skilled work.
As regards moral education, the enthusiasm of the creators of
compulsory labour service and of the compulsory labour week
in schools also seems exaggerated. Certainly, the fact of living
together, and the adaptation to social discipline referred to above,
are not without value. Similarly, the productive work required
of school children is an innovation well on the lines advocated by the
best modern educational theorists, i.e. in the direction of bringing
the school into touch with real social conditions. Finally, the still
novel conception that girls as well as young men owe a certain
service to the community is just and may produce happy results.
In spite of all this, the power of the reform is limited, and if there
were nothing but compulsory labour service in existence to educate
the social conscience of a country, the disproportion between the
ends and the means could not fail to be disturbing. This was the
principle on which the Bulgarian Government opposed the introduction of the system of commutation. Their attitude was undoubtedly right as regards commutation of the regular service of young
men, which if indulged in widely would completely transform the
nature of the institution. The practical advantages of commutation
of the annual service of adults, on the contrary, appear to us
considerably to exceed its theoretical disadvantages. This, however,
is not the real point at issue. The two points on which reservations
ought to be made are the glorification of manual labour and the
excessive importance attached to material wealth alone. The social
philosophy underlying these.two aspects of the system, even though
upheld in a country of slight economic development, would appear
to be not without danger.
SECTION IV.
THE ECONOMIC POINT OF VIEW
This is the essential question, and it is difficult not only to solve
it but even to state it well.
— Ill —
The Similarity
of Compulsory Service and Direct Taxation
In the first place the view should be accepted that compulsory
service is a direct tax similar to a tax in kind, but consisting in the
supply of work (*). There can be no shifting of the incidence of the
tax, and all the persons liable arv. therefore clearly aware of the
sacrifice demanded of them. Although this may be the same for all,
or rather precisely because it is the same for all, a tax of a given
kind would seem to be moie burdensome for some people than for
others. The worker will maintain with some show of reason that
the loss of the same number of working days repiesents a gi eater
sacrifice for him than for the bourgeois (2). The bourgeois, on the
other hand, will point out that the service interfeies with bis normal
activities with much greater inconvenience than in the case of the
worker. Thus the periods of service, even if courageously borne,
are felt by all.
The Output of Compulsory Labour and the Cost to the Worker
Reference has already been made to the impossibility of obtaining
the necessary data for making even an estimate of the output of
compulsory labour service. The method of the Bulgarian authorities,
which consisted simply in multiplying the figure of 50 leva by the
number of possible working days, being inadmissible, it was then
necessary to recognise that neither an analysis of the budget for
1922-1923 nor an examination of the results achieved in 1921 or
1922 could throw light on the real value of the output of the
workers.
Nor should it be forgotten that, even if it were possible to determine the output, final conclusions must not be drawn from it
as to the economic value of compulsory labour. To prove that a
tax is really productive it is not enough to calculate the gross
proceeds; it is necessary to show that something is left for the
State after deducting from the gross proceeds the costs of administration and collection. It must not be forgotten t h a t a tax is at the
same time a profit to the community and a loss to the individual ;
if it costs more to the payer than it brings in to the State it is
difficult of justification. If it is too heavy a burden on the taxpayer the sources of collective wealth are endangered, and it
consequently has an effect directly opposite to that intended.
Any useful estimate of the economic value of compulsory labour
must take into account these two elements of net proceeds and the
loss in earnings of the payer.
(') It may be recalled that the labour services introduced in France several
years ago, which like the Bulgarian peutna povinnost were substituted for the
old2 corvée, were termed in administrative language "levies in kind".
( ) Hence the demand that some payment should be made to working men.
for municipal services.
- - 112 —
The problem of net proceeds takes different forms according as
State or municipal service is under consideration. As the performance of municipal service involves very little expense to the State
or the communes, the net proceeds are almost equal to the gross
proceeds. On the other hand the 30 leva per day at present spent by
the Government on each worker employed on regular service may be
compared with the cost of collecting taxes in money, and it must
then be admitted that the State makes no profit so long as the output
does not exceed 30 leva. In so far, however, as they both imply a
loss in private earnings the two kinds of service are comparable.
The worker employed on behalf of the community is no longer
engaged on his ordinary work. Suppose for the sake of simplicity
that his wages represent the value he produces; if these are taken
at 50 leva it should be concluded that every day's work withdrawn from private industry, whether for municipal or for State
service, represents a loss in earnings of 50 leva. On this assumption
we may confine ourselves to the more general example of State
service, the same arguments being afterwards applied to municipal
services.
To begin with, consider what happens when a tax in money is
levied. A person works and in return for his work he receives wages.
A proportion of such wages goes to the State in the form of a tax.
Under normal conditions there are two margins. The first, which
concerns the community, is the margin between the gross proceeds
of the tax and the costs of collection. In spite of these costs the
State will be wealthier after the collection of the tax than before.
The other margin, which concerns the individual, is that between
the wages received, less tax, and the cost of supporting the wage
earner. As a general rule a surplus, however small, exists and
may be, if not saved, at least used for the support of the wageearner's family. In general, it may be said that the development
of national wealth depends on the existence of these two margins;
the larger these are the quicker the rate of progress. Now apply
this reasoning to State service. As already shown, there is nothing
to indicate that the State derives positive benefit from the service,
or in other words that the troudovaks bring in more than they cost.
But even supposing that there is a surplus, we cannot definitely
pronounce on the merits of the system until the sacrifices imposed
on individuals have been taken into account.
If the worker had been free he would have produced a value
which has just been put at 50 leva. The whole of this value would
obviously not have been profit, since from it must first be deducted
the cost of maintaining the worker. In other words, the maintenance of the worker is a first mortgage on the 50 leva, while in
the case of compulsory labour for the State the maintenance is
transferred from the individual to the community, and consequently
part of what the individual fails to earn need not be regarded as a
liability. Moreover, it has been pointed out, and the observation
seems to be just, that up to a certain point the cessation of the
free worker's production is compensated by increased output on
— 113 —
the part of his family. Everyone in the family makes a special
effort to make up for the absence of the chief worker, and the
reduction in the total output of the family is thus far less than
the amount previously assumed for the worker alone. However this
may be, it cannot be denied that the individual loses something,
and it is quite possible that this something exceeds the profit to
the community.
For greater clearness take the simpler case of municipal service.
The value of compulsory labour in Sofia in 1921 was approximately
30 leva per worker^). No doubt the cost to the community was
comparatively low and consequently the public made a by no means
negligible profit. But the same worker of Sofia might have earned
perhaps 60 leva at his ordinary employment, and the loss of private
earnings, a loss which is not compensated by the transference of the
cost of maintenance of the worker to the community, should be
figured, subject to the second reservation above, at 60 leva.
This example makes it possible to state clearly the central problem of the economic value of compulsory labour. The question is
not the difference between the cost of a day's labour on State
service and the value produced. For, even admitting that there is at
present a deficit, it is very probable that the system will be so far
improved that it will no longer involve a loss if regarded solely from
the point of view of the community. But what must be expected is
that the gross output of the service will always fall below that of
free labour, or, in the terms of the example used above, that the
worker will only produce 30 or 40 leva, although if he had remained
free he would have produced 60. The question is rather whether
this difference, which it would seem almost impossible to abolish as
long as men are men, in itself provides sufficient reason for condemning the compulsory service instituted by the Bulgarian
Government.
The search for the answer to such a question must take some
account of the figures at issue and also of the relative poverty of
the community and the individual in the country under consideration, in this case Bulgaria. If the reduction in the productivity of
compulsory labour as compared with free labour is a quarter or a
third, it is easier to accept it than if the reduction is half or threequarters. Moreover, if at the present date the community seems
to have reached a lower stage of development than the individual,
and so hampers the latter's progress, work performed for the
benefit of the community will have a factor of urgency which
renders it preferable, even if of less intrinsic value, to that on
behalf of the individual. In the writer's opinion the justification
of this item of Agrarian policy is to be found in the fact that these
two hypotheses are exactly applicable to the Bulgaria of to-day and
to the new institution which it has established.
(') See above, p. 88.
8
— 114 —
Possible Improvements
Only time can gradually raise the institution to the degree of
perfection that may reasonably be expected. Among the factors
favourable to such a development may primarily be placed the
technical and moral qualifications of the officials in charge of the
application of the Act. They are young, most of them have studied
abroad and returned home with a good technical training and very
anxious to show what they are capable of doing. Those who have
studied in different schools or countries are animated by a certain
spirit of mutual emulation. The zeal of all we had occasion to meet
was most laudable.
As regards municipal service, one of the first measures taken
seems to have been to exempt public officials in general. It should
not be urged that in such cases their salaries should be suspended
for the period of the service. The inadequacy of their present
salaries excludes the idea of such a step, and it would be fairer to
maintain that, in agreeing to serve th~ State, permanent public
officials make a greater sacrifice to the community than that
represented by a few days' annual service for their countrymen.
Another useful reform in connection with municipal service would
be to undertake work that was not distinct for each commune but
required co-operation between them. Their activities would thus
be less scattered and would lead to greater results, while the technical co-operation of the central services would be facilitated. At the
same time the mutual supervision of the communes over each
other would contribute in a general way to the satisfactory application of the Act.
As regards regular service, the means of increasing output should
chiefly be sought in an intelligent adaptation of methods of work¿
The last word on the system of task work is far from having beea
said. Even while respecting the principle that the work is no.t
paid, output bonuses in some form or other could be introduced.
Finally, it should not be forgotten that the general expenses
will be almost the same when the Act is in full operation as now
when the numbers called up are far short of the possible numbers.
There remains the idea of returning to private enterprise — by
allocating to it called-up workers — a proportion of the labour power
of which it is deprived by the Act. This system could only be applied
with extreme caution. Such State intervention may be conceived in
cases where it is difficult to find the labour needed for works of public
interest, which for reasons of expediency have been entrusted to
private contractors. But such procedure must at all costs be prevented from interfering with the free labour market and in particular
from unjustly favouring one employer at the cost of another.
— 115 —
The Ideal of State Socialism
Let it be admitted that a time may come when it can be proved
by figures that compulsory labour service is profitable to the
nation as a whole. It may then be asked why the application of the
system should not be extended, and whether it might not be to
the interest of the country to enact legislation placing at the disposal
of the community still further supplies of labour withdrawn from
private undertakings, and leading ultimately to an economic system
in which almost all activities would have been transferred from the
individual to the State. In spite of their very various origins
certain supporters of compulsory labour service find themselves
in agreement in viewing such an extension with favour. No doubt
they admit that it is not immediately possible, but it would certainly seem as if they thought it the normal outcome of their
efforts, the supreme end for which they should work. A theoretical
discussion as to the possible advantages and dangers of such a
doctrine would be out of place here; suffice it to record the hopes
to which the first application of compulsory service has given rise.
The future will tell how far these hopes have influenced the tendencies and spirit of the institution. Up to the present, at all events,
the Bulgarian Government has observed the greatest caution in
applying the new Act, and there is no reason to believe that
Bulgaria has entered on the path of complete State Socialism.
SECTION "V. — THE EXAMPLE TO OTHER COUNTRIES
If the intention of this report has been realised, the reader will
by this time have the impression that compulsory labour service is
justified not only by the intrinsic merits of its underlying principles,
but also and perhaps mainly by the economic and political
circumstances peculiar to Bulgaria. Such, at all events, is the
conclusion reached by the writer, which should now be expressed.
Compulsory labour service is a civic obligation in place among all
the other burdens already imposed on the citizen. If this additional
charge is to be considered reasonable, and especially if it is to be
accepted by those subject to it, who are alone capable of giving
it final legality, it is not enough for it to present certain advantages
from the moral or educational point of view, though these are
undeniable, but it must also fit in both in kind and in magnitude
with the obligations already borne by the citizens of the State.
Regarded from the point of view of kind, compulsory labour
service is justified in a country whose economic organisation
resembles that of Bulgaria, i.e. a country with a slightly developed
financial system, in great need of works of public interest, and with
only a small proportion of wage earners.
The conditions as to magnitude are even more obvious. When
— 116 —
compulsory labour service is added to other civic charges the total
must be bearable. It would be rather difficult, for instance, to see
how compulsory labour service could be super-imposed on military
service. It may, on the contrary, prove an admirable substitute,
and thus in the most satisfactory manner perpetuate social traditions which lead the individual to subordinate his personal good to
that of the nation. Beyond this, however, the sacrifice demanded
of the citizen in the form of money taxes must not already represent
the maximum an individual can transfer to the community without
detriment to himself. Such as conception cannot of course, be
expressed in exact figures. The margin of productive activity
which the State may confiscate, either directly in the form of
work or indirectly in the form of taxes, without imposing excessive
sacrifices on the individual, varies considerably according to circumstances. In industrially backward communities the value
of the margin is wide relatively, i.e. compared with the sphere of
activities of the individual; but it is small in absolute value, because
in such communities human labour, whether effected for the benefit
of the group or for that of the individual, has a low productive
power. In communities of a high degree of industrial development
the relative value of the margin is small, because the measure of
activity the individual proposes to devote to the satisfaction of
his personal needs is considerable; but its absolute value is large,
because human labour with the aid of machinery and organisation
has a high productive power. Whatever the nature of the community considered, however, the margin is limited and the State
cannot exceed it. It is difficult to suppose that the new institution
of compulsory labour service would flourish in a country in which
public opinion shows signs that the margin in question is almost
wholly absorbed by the State.
On the basis of these theoretical suggestions, the reader will
perceive what parts of the world would seem to lend themselves
to the introduction of compulsory labour service, the hypothesis of
an anti-individualist revolution being excluded. To other countries
the Bulgarian initiative supplies an object for study rather than a
model to be copied in detail, and the purpose of study will be
moral rather than economic in character, namely, the answer to
the question how best to strengthen and develop in the individual
mind a feeling of devotion to the common good.
When advocating compulsory labour service, Mr. Stamboliisky
and his colleagues had at heart not only the material progress of
their country. They were perhaps even more concerned to make
collective welfare an aim consciously pursued by every Bulgarian
citizen. It may even be said that logically this second purpose
preceded the first. For if the desired collective enrichment was to be
effected it was necessary that each worker should spontaneously
feel its importance as much as if it had been his own private
business. From this point of view the Bulgarian reform is of interest
to all modern democracies. All of them suffer in varying degrees
from lack of the sense of citizenship in the individuals composing
— 117 —
the nation. No doubt the enormous majority are ready to give
their life to save their country in danger, but civil duty, everyday duty, is much less clear to them than the duty of military
service. The individual is not sufficiently conscious of his responsibilities as a citizen, or, more precisely, he does not properly realise
his place in the social system or in the last analysis in humanity
as a whole. He does not see that besides being an individual and
an end in himself he is also a social being, as a member of the family,
productive undertaking, trade union, and nation, with whose fate
his own is in some measure linked up. In particular, when a given
community adopts a truly democratic regime, the old opposition
between the individual and the State is no longer justifiable and
its place must be taken by a spirit of co-operation. Even before
the war the best minds were preoccupied by the problem of how
to foster this spirit of co-operation and make of it a fruitful, living,
and active reality; to-day no thoughtful man can ignore the urgency
of the problem.
All measures taken or contemplated for raising the general
standard of the people, such as raising to 14 the age of admission
to employment, compulsory attendance up to 18 at continuation
schools that are not solely technical schools, the development of
adult education, are more or less directly inspired by the wish to
inculcate the idea of citizenship, or rather of that citizenship of
the State which is closely related to the ideal in the minds of the
originators of the Bulgarian reform. The political conception of
co-operation between the individual and the institution has its
economic correlative in the claim put forward by labour for workers'
control. In brief, wherever democracy is organised the necessity
is more or less strongly felt for the conscious co-operation of the
social unit in the ends of the group as a whole. Compulsory labour
service is one method among many others for incorporating in the
national- life this education in solidarity. This last consideration,
apart from any suggestion of extending the system to unsuitable
conditions, provides an adequate explanation and justification of
the interest evoked almost everywhere by the Bulgarian system
of compulsory labour service.
APPENDIX I
Bulgaria and the Agrarians (')
. . . It is only 25 years since the Agrarian movement first madeits appearance
in Bulgaria, and to-day we are celebrating its triumphant success, a success
to be attributed to the justice of our cause. The Bulgarian Agrarians are
masters of their own country; they lead its destiny. This meeting is a demonstration of their strength and of their programme, which is an earnest of the
revival of Bulgaria. (Applause.)
Our worst adversary is the capital, the centre of hucksters and party caucuses
which have vowed us implacable hatred. The owls who formed the black
bloc and ruined Bulgaria have taken flight. They are afraid that the congress
will stifle or annihilate them. But no, they may rest assured if we had wished
to annihilate them we could have done so without a congress; a blow of the
fist would have been enough. We must not forget that the greater part of
the population of Sofia are workers, sons of toil, organised in unions. We
have no grudge against this population, but our fury is directed egainst the
city of profiteers and the hateful oligarchy that makes of Sofia another Sodom
and Gomorrah. What if the bloc attempts a coup d'état, and continues its
efforts to seize power with the aid of the throne and of foreigners ? It may
always advise an increase in taxation on the rural population, but it should
not lose sight of the fact that there is a force capable of mastering every
subversive movement. And this force is not only that of the public authorities ;
it lies also in the fists of organised Agrarians. (Frenzied applause.) The
profiteers'party caucuses which plan coups d'étal should not forget that we are
ready to defend ourselves. From this moment the citadel of hucksters and
profiteers is in quarantine, for it constitutes a danger; it has been smitten
with madness.
From now onwards you must be prepared to rise at the first cry of alarm
and overcome your adversaries. With all our strength we will oppose their
attacks, their threats, and their attempted coups d'etat.
I welcome our foreign guests; whether good or bad, they are welcome,
but only so long as they refrain from interfering in our internal affairs. If we
are forced to do the impossible and to sacrifice our last mouthful, we shall
demand that the reparations due be paid by those who are responsible for
the war and the national disaster. ¡Hear, hear.) This point must be definitely
understood,
The parties of the bloc are trying to win over the head of the State. We
address the king in the following terms; "You will reign, but you will not
(*) Eitracts of a Speech by M. Stamboliiski at the Opening Congress of the Aerarían Union.
28 May 192-2.
— 120 —
govern. You are king, not of parties, but of hard-working people. We shall
never become a royalist party, but we cannot allow a king to follow the
dangerous paths of former sovereigns. Sire, you shall reign as long as you enjoy
the confidence and support of the majority of the people, who may elect
you as president of a republic. (Frenzied applause.) Sire, we shall not treat
you as the former sovereigns of old Bulgaria, but as the sovereign of the new
Bulgaria, which only knows national sovereignty."
This day inaugurates the government of Agrarians who have hitherto
spent their forces in a mortal struggle against their enemies, both at home
and abroad, and only now have the opportunity to govern. We shall resist
with all our strength every power that attempts to overthrow the government.
We recognise only one power that can deprive us of authority, and that is
the national will. It will be given expression in 1924 or perhaps earlier, but
that is as we decide. Attempts have been made to intimidate us by murders.
Alexander Dimitroff, our great master, has been assassinated. Our opponents,
whose attempts to seize power have failed, try to compromise our chief leaders,
but here too they will fail. The Government will only continue its work if
a commission is formed, with representatives of all departments, to supervise
its actions and to examine the accusations made by its adversaries. The
Agrarians of Bulgaria will set an example to their brothers, and every one
who deviates from the straight path shall suffer exemplary punishment.
Having just returned from abroad (from the Genoa Conference, where
representatives of 24 Governments were assembled), I can assure you that the
difficulties of foreign policy have been overcome. The steep path has been
climbed and Bulgaria is now on the plateau in the dawn of a new era. Those
who have punished the old Bulgaria recognise openly the revival of our country,
which has changed in every aspect. The new Bulgaria deserves recompense.
And, in fact, the hopes and demands of the Bulgarian people have been taken
into consideration. They are on the order of the day.
Bulgaria is at present on friendly terms with all the great powers. She is
on good terms with the new Germany and Russia, which were recognised as
great powers at Genoa. I should, however, point out that Bulgaria has signed
no kind of treaty or agreement with any power. A single treaty was signed
at Genoa by Bulgaria as well as by others, the purpose of which was to guarantee the peace of Europe. In spite of the assertions of certain newspapers,
it is false to say that Bulgaria has concluded an agreement with Soviet Russia.
Our delegations were on friendly terms, and that was all. Bulgaria is secure
against all attack from outside, and we need fear no threat of sanctions.
Our country is independent, and will know how to preserve its independence.
(Applause.)
APPENDIX II
Threats of an Agrarian Dictatorship
THE
DICTATORSHIP
OF THE
P E A S A N T S (*)
At the last Agrarian Congress, which, by virtue of the impressive number
of delegates present and their unanimity, will never be surpassed in this
country, it was decided to proclaim a peasant dictatorship if the parties of
the Left or the Right were to impede the reforms of the Government, and
turn it aside from the path on which it had entered.
This resolution, extraordinary though it may seem to our opponents, was
unanimously carried by the many delegates of the Congress, and accompanied
by vociferous acclamation lasting ' several minutes. It surprised those directing the congress as well as the guests who were present. At the moment of
highest enthusiasm and acclamation a large number of delegates shed tears
of emotion, unable to express their satisfaction at the resolution carried with
such unanimity.
These tears, these enthusiastic cries coming from delegates in all parts of
the conference hall were a demonstration that every one recognised their
obligations as to the reforms to be effected, obligations assumed before the
nation which had sent them to the congress, and which wished to put an
end to the old rusty government structure and the political methods of chorbaji^}
unscrupulous lawyers, and self-styled intellectuals.
But this was not all. These tears, these demonstrations also expressed
the eagerness with which the delegates and the nation were prepared, after
long, ruinous wars, to sacrifice all their leisure for the valuable reforms which
are completely to transform our economic and political life, their readiness
to sacrifice even their life, might they but witness the realisation of these
reforms, see them applied in reality, and bequeath them to future generations
as a precious conquest won by the herculean efforts of their simple, uncultivated ancestors. This was the meaning of these tears, this sincere applause.
Those foreigners who were present at the congress and could read the emotion
expressed on the faces of these men, could devine what tempest was brooding
in their calm breasts: a tempest ready to break out with fury at the first
call, at the first demand.
And we who follow closely the political life of our country and claim to
know the very soul of the Bulgarian people, a race of farmers who have been
oppressed for years and years, we shall deceive no one if we predict the forthcoming outbreak of this tempest, which will infallibly lead to a dictatorship
il) Article published in the Eck» de Bulgarie, 10 March 1921, by the Minister T. Bakaloff, at the
cod of the 1921 Congress.
l'j Place-hunters.
— 122 —
of the peasants, sweeping away the rottenness and miasma of the old order
of chorbaji and pettifoggers, and their obsolete methods of government. We
can predict this, bearing in mind the high sense of duty to their country
displayed at the congress by all the delegates, and also the most enlightened
sentiments of self-defence, which, under the incessant blows of the blind
partisans of the Right and the Left are steadily taking shape and attaining
decisive importance.
A peasants' dictatorship ! It is terrible, like all dictatorships, for it deprives
some of the good they enjoy under the present State. But is it the fault of
these peasant farmers who own the land and devote themselves night and day
to its cultivation, if the partisans of the Right and the Left refuse to recognise
the right of their masters to reform the State in accordance with their interests,
and establish a state of things and methods of government in conformity
with their interests and the new spirit of the age ? If a handful of workers
in the towns without an acre of land or a roof over their heads may dream
of a dictatorship of the proletariat in order to impose on the great majority
of small peasant proprietors and artisans their own ideas based on their own
economic situation, and in order to transform the State according to their
interests as proletarians, why should not the farmers, who own all, and by
their labour create all, why should they' not have the right, failing other
means, to impose by a peasants' dictatorship reform and the transformation
of the State in accordance with their conceptions and their interests ? No.
To-day, when former social reforms and former conceptions of the nature
of things and of government have been profoundly shaken, when law and tradition are yielding to the pressure of the new spirit of the age, it would be
a crime for a powerful organisation, such as the Bulgarian Agrarian Union,
to fly to palliatives for implanting its ideas in the mouldy heads of futile
politicians, and to try by means of legislation which they mutilate to transform
our political and economic life, which has already been so shaken by incapable
governments. The complete clearance of the rottenness left from the old
regime and the obsolete methods of government of the chorbaji and the pettifoggers, a renewal and transformation of the rusty machinery of government,
cannot be effected by half measures, such as the Government must adopt
to-day because of obstruction from the Right and the Left. Posterity would
judge us severely, if to-day, with the power in our hands, we failed to strike
while the iron was hot and to apply the knife to the wound to cut away the
rottenness which is eating up the Bulgarian body politic.
The outcries of " Left " and of " Right " must be suppressed, for the living
cries uttered with such unanimity by all the delegates to the congress are
much stronger and should be preferred to the others without asking their
opinion. There is a popular saying that fools profit while the wise philosophise.
(Signed) Tzanko
BAKALOFF.
Decision of the Agrarian Conference, 28-31 May 1922
The Congress unanimously resolves that if its political opponents organise
a coup d'état or assassinate a Minister, the dictatorship of the peasants shall
immediately be proclaimed and those guilty shall be executed by way of
reprisal.
APPENDIX III
A Pre-War Agrarian Opinion on the Subject of Military Service (')
. . . I am a supporter neither of the two years' service in its present form,
nor of a national militia as recommended to us by so many. I am no opponent
of the barracks. Some day the barracks in our country will play their part
in civic training; they will help to discipline our still primitive nature, our
untamed character.
When the young man enters the barracks, he will realise that he is not alone
in the world, that Bulgaria does not end with the boundaries of his village,
that his duties extend beyond his family. He will see towns, he will come
to know villages, he will come into contact with people from all parts of his
country ; he will learn to know Bulgaria! The barracks will enlarge his horizon,
discipline him, awaken his dormant soul — no slight matter, for it is not easy
to inculcate discipline and submission in the Bulgarian. Although in ways of
life he may be plebeian, he is aristocrat in his pride and his self-esteem, and
for this reason he is difficult to manage.
The barracks will have many advantages. I am not against the barracks.
I would go even further; the barracks may develop all the civic and family
virtues that the school endeavours to inculcate. They may even serve national
economic and cultural ends, but reforms will be needed for this. I can find
no reason for imposing a service of two or three years solely for learning
military arts and developing warlike aptitudes. We already have these aptitudes, and for learning the arts of war seven months are quite enough. Is
not the present war sufficient proof ?
The barracks, then, must be reformed. Let us reject everything that prevents them from being a centre of civilisation for developing civic and humanitarian virtues: seven months for studying the arts of war; seven months of
practical training and education in citizenship; seven months for the study
of organisation; seven months in the town barracks ; seven months in barracks
in one's native village, and seven months at home ; in the village barracks,
all the supplies, food and equipment, needed by the conscripts ; municipal
and departmental manœuvres. In this practical way personal profit and competition between the villagers will combine to create common interests, a
care for and devotion towards both individual and national work.
Military exercises, games, amusements, will form a topic of conversation,
will influence mothers and children, everybody. The natural control exercised
by the family will be in the direction of good conduct, order, and discipline.
Cannon and rifle, shots, the sound of the drum at eve, will remind all the
(') Eitract from the Personal Diary of Mr. T. Bakaloff, kept during the Balkan War, and published
in the Review Zemlcdclska ¡lisi, under the heading " Anxious Days ".
— 124 —
village that there are other cares than those of family and property, that there
are duties towards one's country.
Thus, instead of the soldiers of the barracks of to-day, depressed, worn
out by care and toil, bitterly regretting his two lost years, we shall have a
soldier alert, cheerful, proud of fulfilling his duties towards his country and
himself. Let us adapt the barracks to the spirit of the people, making them
a means of perfecting civic conscience, and at all costs let us prevent them
serving political ends that may retard our development.
The gun, the plough, and science should be brought into touch, should
unite and live in continual interdependence. The gun should not fear the
neighbourhood of the plough; give work to the plough and do not fear the
gun. For centuries it has protected the plough. The gun, science, the plough
— behold the future glory of Bulgaria.
* * *
Some advocate reconstruction on the basis of the general nationalisation
of all national institutions, the deprivation of certain rights, the restriction
of liberties. By no means ! On the contrary, still wider liberties for every one,
still more personal and public initiative, a complete démocratisation of everything. No danger in all this ; nothing to fear from extremist theories. In the
interplay of ideas they will lose what is valueless and only retain what is valuable. Every Bulgarian has commonsense. At critical moments the voice
of blood and of duty will be heard; the superfluous will be rejected.
Tzanko BAKALOFF-TZERKOVSKI.
APPENDIX IV
Act of 5 June 1920 respecting Compulsory Labour Service ('), amended and
supplemented by the Act of 22 October 1921 ( Decree No. 35 )
CHAPTER I
General Provisions
1. All Bulgarian citizens of both sexes, viz. men who have attained the age
of 20 years, and young women who have attained the age of 16 years, shall
be liable to compulsory labour service, that is to compulsory work in the
service of the community; men shall be liable to be called up until they have
completed their 40th year, and women until they have completed their 30th
year. Notwithstanding, not more than 30 per cent, of the total number of
persons of a given age shall be called up during one and the same year.
Note. — Mohammedan women liable to compulsory labour service shall
be given suitable work to perform at home.
2. Compulsory labour service shall be directed towards:
(a) organising and utilising the labour power of the country on a social
basis in the interests of production and the welfare of the country;
(b) awakening in all citizens, irrespective of their social status and means,
a love of work in the service of the community and of manual labour;
(c) improving the moral and economic condition of the people, fostering
in all citizens a consciousness of their duties towards themselves and towards
society, and instructing them in rational methods of work in all branches
of economic activity.
3. Compulsory labour service shall be utilised in all branches of economic
activity and public welfare work; the construction of roads railways, canals,
water-works, dams and embankments; the erection of buildings; the laying
out of villages and towns, the strengthening of the banks of water courses
the rectification of rivers, the draining of marshes, the laying of telegraph
and telephone cables, the preparation of building materials, afforestation,
the care and management of forests, the cultivation of land belonging to the
State, a district, a commune or any other public body; fruit and vegetable
growing; the raising of silkworms, bees and cattle; fishing; work in mines
and factories, the preserving of foodstuffs, the manufacture of cloth, linen
and clothing in hospitals, etc.
(V See INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICB: Legithtive Series, 1920 (Bnlg. 1).
— 126 —
4. Compulsory labour service shall be rendered as follows:
(a) by men who have never been called up for more than three months'
uninterrupted State service, for a maximum period of eight months ; and by
young women in the same circumstances, for a maximum period of four
months.
Service may be performed in one or more instalments.
(b) by persons of both sexes who have already rendered any kind of compulsory State service for a period of three months or more without interruption, for a yearly maximum of 21 days.
Note. — Where the welfare of the community absolutely necessitates it,
the communal council shall be authorised to call up persons up to 50 years
of age under the provisions of paragraph (b) above.
5. The following persons shall be exempt from calling up:
(a) persons who are unfit for any physical or mental work on account of
diseases specified in a schedule approved by the Council of Ministers;
(b) married women, and men serving in the army or in the police force.
Notel.—Young persons of both sexes who are the only able-bodied persons
in the family and who are the sole support of parents incapable of work,
of a widowed mother, or of orphan brothers and sisters under age, shall be
exempt from the compulsory labour service specified in section 4 (a).
Note 2. — All officials and employees whose exemption the Council of
Ministers deems necessary shall be exempt from the compulsory labour
service specified in section 4 (b).
6. A Bulgarian citizen shall not change his nationality or settle in a foreign
country until he has completed his compulsory labour service.
7. Temporary exemption from compulsory labour service as specified in
section 4 (a) shall be granted:
(a) to all persons who prove that they are attending a secondary or higher
educational institution. In the case of young persons attending secondary
schools the exemption shall last until the completion of their 24th year, and
in the case of young persons attending higher educational institutions until
the completion of their 28th year.
(¿>) to all persons undergoing a term of imprisonment, until their release.
Total exemption shall be granted to men who have completed their 40th
year and women who have completed their 30th year at the time of their
discharge from prison.
(c) to sick and convalescent persons.
8. In principle compulsory labour service shall be rendered personally.
Notwithstanding, a certain percentage of persons liable to compulsory labour
service under section 4 (a) shall be authorised to purchase exemption ; further
details with regard to this shall be given in special regulations approved by
the Council of Ministers. The purchase money to be paid shall be calculated
according to the average wage and the economic position of the persons
concerned.
The purchase of exemption in cases coming under section 4 (b) shall be
authorised only by the decision of the communal councils; the amount of
the purchase money shall be fixed accrding to the economic position of the
worker, but in no case shall it be less than 100 leva per day; all moneys received
on this account shall accrue to the communes, and shall be devoted exclusively to purposes of public welfare.
— 127 —
9. Compulsory labour service shall be rendered by men and women separately
— by men in the district in which their home is situated, by women at the
place where their home is situated. These provisions shall not apply to women
teachers under the compulsory labour service scheme.
CHAPTER II
Organisation
10. For the purpose of drawing up a general scheme for the carrying out of
technical and economic work, and to ensure the correct application and
interpretation of this Act, a Central Office for compulsory labour service
shall be established within the Ministry of Public Works, Communications
and Welfare.
11. A Superior Council for compulsory labour service shall be established in
connection with the Central Office, consisting of the Director, the general
secretaries of the Ministries, and three permanent members.
These latter, under the guidance of the Director, shall take the necessary
measures to carry out the decisions of the Superior Council.
12. A district labour council, consisting of the prefect, the district engineer,
the chairman or a member of the permanent district commission, the district
agricultural official and the labour inspector, shall be established in connection
with each district office, to direct all technical work and forms of service at
the various industrial schools and model farms.
This council shall decide on all questions relating to compulsory labour
service in the district, shall specify the work for which workers must be provided, and shall determine their number, etc. The general scheme for the
utilisation of persons liable to compulsory labour service shall require the
approval of the Central Office for compulsory labour service, which shall
also exercise general supervision over the execution of the work.
13. A district labour office in each administrative district shall be entrusted
with the carrying out of the decisions of the district labour council, and shall
direct the industrial schools, model farms, and technical work in the district.
14. The State, district and communal authorities which have occasion to
carry out work by means of compulsory labour shall forward an application to
the competent district office for compulsory labour service, for consideration
by the Council.
In an emergency the Central Office may also order the execution of special
work under its own direction and on its own responsibility.
15. The Central Office shall organise such technical and industrial classes,
schools, and workshops, model farms, etc., as are required to prepare the different classes of persons liable to compulsory labour service for their work; it
may also make use of existing institutions of this kind.
These classes, schools, workshops, factories, model farms, etc., shall have
their own management and the necessary staff provided for in the different
budgets.
16. More detailed provisions respecting the services of the Central Office and
its subordinate offices and the services connected with the groups and their
subdivisions, shall be issued in special administrative orders and regulations
under this Act.
— 128 —
CHAPTER III
Penal Provisions
17. Any person who resorts to fraud in order to evade compulsory labour
service, either for himself or as an accessory to its evasion by another, or any
person who conceals another, shall be liable to imprisonment for not more
than two years.
18. Any male person under the age of 40 years, or any female person under
the age of 30 years, who on any ground whatever has deliberately evaded
rendering compulsory labour service, and who is capable of compulsory community work, shall be liable to a fine of not less than 500 and not more than
3,000 leva, and shall also render his compulsory labour service; any male
person who has completed his 40th year, and any female person who has
completed her 30th year, shall be liable to imprisonment for not more than
three years and loss of the rights specified in section 30, nos. 1, 2 and 3, of
the Penal Code.
Any person who has acquired a foreign nationality before rendering his
compulsory labour service shall be liable to imprisonment for not less than
one year.
Any person who evades compulsory labour service after having begun
work shall be liable to the following penalties:
(a) for absence up to five days — disciplinary punishment and making up
Df the lost days;
(¿) for absence of more than five but not more than ten days — imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year;
(c) for absence exceeding ten days — imprisonment for a period of not
less than one year.
Any person who fails to report himself for compulsory labour service at
the prescribed time shall be liable to the following penalties:
(a) for a delay of not more than three days — disciplinary punishment and
making up of the time lost by the delay;
(b) for a delay of four days or more — imprisonment.
Note. — A sentence of imprisonment imposed under (6) or (c) above shall be
served after the completion of the compulsory labour service to which the
person concerned is liable.
19. Any person who deliberately mutilates himself or in any way incapacitates
himself for rendering compulsory labour service, or who for the same purpose
mutilates or incapacitates another person who is liable to be called up or who
has to render his compulsory labour service, shall be liable to imprisonment
with hard labour for not less than one year and loss of the rights specified
in section 30, nos. 1, 2 and 3, of the Penal Code.
20. Any person who persuades another who is liable to compulsory labour
service to disregard the calling-up notice of the communal authorities, or
any person who persuades another who is already rendering service to make
his escape, or who gives such a person shelter or otherwise assists him to
conceal himself, shall be liable to imprisonment for not less than six months
and not more than three years.
21. An official who makes a false statement respecting the family circumstances, financial position or health of persons of either sex liable to compulsory labour service, or who knowingly issues incomplete or incorrect callingap lists, or permits the substitution of another person for anyone already
— 129 —
called up, shall be liable to imprisonment for not less than one year and not
more than three years and loss of the rights specified in section 30, nos. 1,
2 and 3, of the Penal Code.
An official who, through negligence, fails to utilise the labour power placed
at his disposal shall be liable to a fine of not more than 5,000 leva or to imprisonment for not more than one year; if the offence was deliberate, the
fine may be increased up to 10,000 leva or the term of imprisonment up to
two years.
An official who through negligence draws up incorrect or incomplete lists
of persons liable to compulsory labour service shall be liable to a fine of not
less than 100 leva and not more than 500 leva.
22. Any person who, through the press, in public speeches, or in any other
manner, deliberately incites to non-compliance with this Act, shall be liable
to imprisonment with hard labour for not more than three years and a fine
of not more than 5,000 leva.
23. Contraventions of this Act shall fall within the competence of the district
court as a court of first instance.
Such actions shall be dealt with as matters of urgency and shall be completed
within a month.
24. Offences and misdemeanours in connection with compulsory labour
service shall be punishable by disciplinary measures which shall be determined
by special regulations.
CHAPTER IV
Concluding Provisions
25. The Council of Ministers shall decide in each individual case the communes
and districts and the age groups of persons of both sexes liable to compulsory
labour service for purposes of calling up, as well as the calling-up period,
which shall not exceed the period mentioned in section 4.
26. This Act shall come into operation on the date of its promulgation in the
Official Gazette pnd all Acts and Orders contrary thereto shall simultaneously
be repealed.
9
APPENDIX V
Regulations concerning the Rendering of Temporary Compulsory Labour
Service under Section 10 of the Act respecting Compulsory Labour
Service (') during the Year 1921-1922
I. — Purpose
1. These regulations are issued to afford complete and clear instructions for
the administration of section 10 of the Act respecting compulsory labour
service.
II. — Exaction of Compulsory Service
2. Under the resolution adopted by the Council of Ministers at its session
of 16 June 1921, report No. 94, in pursuance of section 10 of the Act
respecting compulsory labour service, all male Bulgarian citizens between
the ages of twenty and fifty years shall be called up for temporary labour
service for a period of ten days, or twenty days where the population wishes
it. Labour service may be rendered between 1 September 1921 and 31 May
1922, or, in the case of building work, at any time before the close of the building
season for this year.
Note. — Persons rendering their temporary compulsory labour service
with the help of a cart shall serve half the number of days fixed for persons
on foot. Persons working with lorries, barges, etc., shall perform work equivalent to that done by a cart during the days of service exacted from them.
III. — Preparation for Calling Up
3. Calling up for temporary labour service under section 10 of the Act respecting compulsory labour service, the resolutions of the Council of Ministers, and
these regulations, shall be effected through the various communes in accordance with the provisions contained in the next chapter.
4. Not more than ten days after the promulgation of these regulations in the
Official Gazette and the receipt of the Gazette in the various communes, the
communal councils shall adopt resolutions concerning the work to be carried
out by means of temporary labour service during the year 1921-1922. The
mayor shall, on the next day, see that the resolutions are transmitted to the
local or district engineers according to administrative areas. The said engineers,
within thirty days of the receipt of the documents, shall in person (only in
(') The reference here is to the original Compulsory Labour Service Act.
LABOUR OFFICE: Legislative Seiies, 1920 (Bulg. i ) .
See INTERNATIONAL
— 131 —
extreme cases through a subordinate clerk of works, surveyor or draughtsman)
make a local enquiry into the proposed work and draw up their reports, notes,
plans, etc.
5. During this circuit the local or district engineer, with the consent of the
mayor or deputy mayor, shall appoint one or more persons in each village to
give him full information and guidance respecting the work to be carried
out and to act as managers when the work is begun.
As far as possible, experts or persons who have served in the engineering
corps shall be designated as managers.
6. Not more than ten days after the departure of the expert officials,
the mayor shall call a meeting of the communal council. All persons appointed
managers shall also be summoned to this meeting. The exact work to be done
shall be decided in accordance with the enquiries made and the information
received, and the calling-up date shall be fixed, or the dates for the separate
villages if the commune consists of several villages.
At the same session the persons liable to compulsory labour service shall
be divided into classes and groups according to their work and number.
A foreman shall be designated for each group. In this connection it shall
be taken as a general rule that there must be at least one foremen to every
fifty persons.
7. When dividing the population into classes and fixing the calling-up dates
for the various classes, the communal councils (especially in towns and in
communes with considerable numbers of inhabitants) shall take special care
that all skilled workers in the various trades are utilised and that their work
is organised on a rational system in order to achieve adequate results.
8. The tasks which it is proposed to carry out must be such that they can
be completed in ten, fifteen, or twenty days, according to the number of
days' service exacted from the persons liable thereto.'
9. The resolutions adopted by the communal councils under section 6 shall
be approved by a temporary labour council consisting of the district prefect,
the head of the district labour office, the head of the technical section of this
office, and the district engineer.
Four copies of the resolutions of the communal councils shall be transmitted
by the mayors without delay to the district prefect, who shall convene the
above-mentioned temporary labour council as soon as he has received the
resolutions of at least five communes.
10. As soon as the resolutions have been approved, one copy shall be sent
back to the commune concerned, the second shall be filed at the district prefecture, the third shall be transmitted to the chief official of the district, and
the fourth shall be sent through the head of the district labour office to the
head of its technical section.
The district prefect shall be personnally responsible for the prompt acknowledgment, approval and return of the documents.
Note 1. — In default of a district labour office, the head of the zadruga
shall take part in the activities of the temporary labour council instead of
the head of the office and the head of its technical section. The chief officer
of the municipal police service shall not take part therein except in the chief
town of the district, in default both of a district labour office and of a zadruga.
Note 2. — The recorded resolutions of the communal council of the capital
and the communal councils of the other chief towns of districts shall be submitted by the mayor of the capital and the district prefects to the Central
Office for compulsory labour service for its approval.
— 132 —
. 1 1 . As soon as the communal authorities receive these regulations they shall
draw up complete alphabetical lists of all persons in each age group liable
to temporary compulsory labour service. Age shall be reckoned according
to the number of years completed on 1 September 1921. For this purpose
the mayors shall utilise the family taxation books, registers of electors, and
lists hitherto used for recruiting, and any private information which they
may have or can procure.
12. The lists thus drawn up shall be affixed in conspicious places in order
that the persons concerned may take cognisance thereof and lodge objections
and make statements respecting any defects, inaccuracies, etc., which they
may detect.
The lists shall be signed by the mayor, who shall be personally responsible
for them, and shall be deemed to be official notices (section 27 of the Act
respecting compulsory labour service).
13. One week after the publication of the lists, the communal council shall
collect and examine the statements received and shall decide finally which
of them shall not be acted upon and which shall be taken into account.
Objections coming in after the expiry of the above-mentioned period shall
not be considered.
14. If the communal authorities receive any communication respecting calling
up, it shall be brought to the knowledge of the population by being affixed
in a conspicuous place or by personal letters and through the town crier.
IV. — Reporting for Work
15. All persons called up shall report for work at the appointed time and
place in a commune in the court square, and shall draw up in two lines under
the supervision of the previously designated group foreman or, if these fail
to attend, the members of the communal council.
16. The mayors, deputy mayors, members of the communal councils, taxcollecting clerks and group foremen shall call over the registers. The workers
who have failed to attend shall be entered in a special list, signed by the mayor
of deputy mayor, on the basis of which prosecutions shall be instituted.
17. From the date of reporting for work, all persons liable to compulsory
labour service shall be under the control of the authorities and their representatives, i.e. the technical and communal authorities, group foremen, and
administrative and inspecting authorities responsible for directing the work.
18. Workers shall report themselves on subsequent days throughout the
duration of the work at the same place at the specified time, unless the group
is required to work elsewhere.
19 The calling over shall be so arranged that work begins on the spot
and at the hour fixed for it.
V. — Tools
20. All workers shall bring their tools when they report — shovels, mattocks,
axes, picks, hammers, crowbars, etc. The communal authorities shall notify
every worker in advance of the tools which he must bring. The notification
shall be sent on a form bearing the seal of the communal authority. The notice
shall be delivered at the house of the persons liable to serve.
The tools belonging to the State shall be distributed to workers before
work begins, and a note of the tools given to each worker shall be made against
his name in the list.
— loo —
21. Every worker shall take steps to procure the requisite tools. If he
does not possess the requisite tools, he shall give notice in proper time of the
tools which he has.
22. If tools belonging to the State are supplied for work, they shall be
taken charge of by the commune, which shall furnish a certificate of receipt
unless any other instructions are given.
The technical authorities (managers) shall specify the kind and number
of tools required in addition to those in the possession of the population,
and the place where they must be delivered.
23. Every worker shall be responsible for his own tools. If they were issued
to him by the State, he shall return them in person to the mayor. The fact
of their return shall be noted in a list.
In case of failure to return tools or of their exchange for privately owned
tools, the persons to whom the said tools were issued shall be charged twice
the market price as fixed by the communal council by way of fine.
All tools shall be returned in a clean condition, free from mud or dust or
traces of dirt on the head or haft. Tools returned in a dirty condition shall
be cleaned by paid workers under the instructions of the communal authority
at the expense of the offender.
24. The tools shall be kept by the communal authorities until they are
returned. The communal authorities shall pay twice the market price of each
lost tool when returning the tools.
VI. — Work
25. The tasks to be accomplished by means of compulsory labour service
shall be precisely defined and carefully verified and prepared from the
technical point of view as regards their scope and nature and the resources
for their accomplishment.
Further, the workers shall be divided into groups in such a way that the
number of persons in each group shall correspond with the work required
of the group.
26. The supervising and technical staff appointed in advance in pursuance of
the preceding chapter of these regulations shall be on the spot and ready to
put the work in hand on the day before work begins.
27. All workers shall go to work'drawn up in ranks under the leadership of
their group foremen, and shall work at the place assigned to them by their
managers.
28. The hours of work shall amount to eight a day.
29. A break of ten minutes shall be ordered by a general signal after
every fifty minutes' work.
Half way through the hours of work a longer break shall be granted, viz. a
break of one to one and a half hours for a meal. During this midday break
all workers shall cater for themselves at their own expense.
30. When work is over, the workers shall gather into parties at once, the
names shall be called over and they shall be dismissed. If any persons fail to
attend the calling over, it shall be held that they have not worked on the
day in question, and the procedure shall be the same as in case of absence.
31. All group foremen and managers shall exercise direct supervision over
the work. They shall require every person to work conscientiously, and shall
— 1J4 —
see that idleness, gossiping, bad work, excessive dawdling and the like are
checked.
A supply of drinking water shall be brought to the workplace by order
of the foremen and the manager.
32. Rainy and snowy days, on which it is impossible to work all day, shall
not be deemed to be days of service rendered if less than half a day has been
worked. If more than half a day has been worked, the day in question shall
be counted a working day.
33. Work shall be suspended on holidays, which shall not be reckoned as
working days.
34. The Central Office for compulsory labour service and its subordinate offices
shall not issue any special instructions respecting the calling up of workers.
As soon as the preliminary work is completed and the resolutions of the temporary labour council under sections 9 and 10 of these regulations have been
approved, the mayor shall issue the requisite instructions for the due carrying
out of the resolutions adopted.
35. If the nature, verification and preparation of the work admit thereof,
individual workers on foot or with carts, or groups of workers, may be entrusted
with the carrying out of a specified task, and in such cases work may cease
when the task is completed even if eight hours have not actually been worked.
Nevertheless, a recommendation from the technical authorities shall be required
for this, and the said authorities shall be personally responsible for the attainment by every individual of the prescribed standard of output.
36. Building firms, factories, workplaces, etc., carried on by way of trade may,
with the consent of the communal council, substitute for the labour service
of their wage-earning and salaried employees the delivery of building materials
or the carrying out of specified work such as roads, bridges, constructional
works, or parts thereof. A resolution of the communal council, approved by
the Central Office for compulsory labour service, shall be required in each case.
The resolution of the communal council shall define the work and give an
estimate of its value and likewise of the number of workers to be employed
thereon.
VII. — Exemption from Work
37. The following persons shall be exempt from work:
(1) Persons who are responsible for general or special supervision of the
administration of the provisions of these regulations in pursuance of section
41 of the next chapter.
(2) Police commissaries, police constables and subordinate police officials,
teachers (if the schools are in session and they are employed), telegraph and
postal employees, young persons rendering their ordinary compulsory labour
service and the foremen under whose direct control they are placed, mayors
and deputy mayors, tax-collecting clerks and the members of the communal
council entrusted with the direction of work as foremen and managers.
(3) Persons who are outside the kingdom of Bulgaria ten days before the
date of the resolution of the Council of Ministers respecting the calling up
of citizens for temporary labour service, provided that they do not return
within a month of the completion of the work.
(4) Persons exempted by a special resolution of the Council of Ministers.
Note 1. — The mayor and deputy mayor shall at all times remain with the
workers during work, even if they are exempt from temporary labour service.
— 135 —
Note 2. — The officials exempted from labour by a ministerial decision
shall surrender ten days' salary during six months. Private individuals
shall pay a lump sum equal to ten days' wages of a worker. The amount of the
daily wage shall be fixed by a resolution of the local communal council in
pursuance of the following sections.
The amounts in question shall accrue to the treasury in both cases.
38. Further, persons who are exempt under section 11 (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and
(/) of the Act respecting compulsory labour service shall be exempt from reporting for this work. Such persons shall include a widower with children under
age, a man who supports the orphan children of his late brother, the only
son of a father who is blind or aged and entirely incapable of work and who
himself needs help and maintenance.
The examination of persons incapable of any kind of work or suffering from
serious illness, as specified in section 11 (a) and (b) of the Act, shall be carried
out by a medical beard consisting, in towns, of two medical practitioners and
the mayor or deputy mayor, and in villages, in default of a medical practitioner, of two elders designated by the communal authorities for the purpose
and one representative of the communal authorities.
39. Workers temporarily residing or staying elsewhere than at their permanent
place of residence shall render their compulsory labour service at their place
of sejourn or, in the case of officials, at the place where they are on service.
40. A worker shall not be granted leave by any other person than his
foreman during the working day nor for any other than the following reasons :
(1) Illness, which shall be verified by the foreman and two workers in default
of a medical practitioner in the town or village.
(2) Death or serious illness of wife, children, parents, brothers and sisters,
which shall be verified by a board consisting of the mayor, a member of the
communal council, and a medical practitioner. In default of a member of the
communal council or medical practitioner, two elders shall be added to the
board, and also two workers if work is being done away from the district
of residence.
VIII. — Supervision : Foremen and Managers
41. The following persons shall be entrusted with the supervision and direction of the rendering of temporary labour service:
(1) All ministers, the director-general of compulsory labour service, the
head of the technical section of the compulsory labour service department,
and the instructors and organisers for temporary labour service throughout
the country.
(2) The head of the district labour office and the head of the technical
section thereof, in the area within their competence.
(3) The district prefect, the head of the zadruga, the chief of police, and the
district engineer in the district where their head offices are situated.
(4) The sub-prefects and the local engineers in their respective areas.
(5) The mayor and deputy mayor in each commune or village.
(6) All administrative, police, and labour inspection officials who have
been specially designated by the above-mentioned authorities to oversee the
proper rendering of compulsory labour service in any particular village.
(7) The managers and group foremen, as regards the work for the performance of which they are responsible and the persons whom they are required
to supervise.
Note. — Supervision shall be exercised by each of these within his competence
and in accordance with the rights granted him by special Acts.
— 136 —
42. Between 20 and 25 August, when all the preparations for the performance
of temporary compulsory labour service have been completed, the district
prefect shall summon the head of the district labour office or zadruga and the
chief oí police to a consultation at which it shall be decided which of the police,
administrative and labour inspection officials shall be sent to each village
in the district to oversee the carrying out of the provisions of this Act as a
supervising official of the central authority.
The said question shall be settled with due regard to the dates fixed by
each village for the rendering of compulsory labour service, and likewise to
the duties incumbent upon the police and labour inspection officials. Systematic provision shall be made against any serious prejudice to the duties
of the said officials.
43. The persons authorised under the provisions of the foregoing section shall
act independently of the group foremen and managers, provided that they
shall not interfere in the work of the latter in so far as the special duties entrusted to them are concerned. They shall restrict themselves to providing
for the expeditious performance of work and the beginning of work at the
proper time and to seeing that work is not unduly protracted nor wilfully
hindered.
44. Every worker shall obey the orders of the group foremen and managers.
These persons shall at all times be in attendance at the workplace, supervise
the workers in conjunction with the mayor or deputy mayor, direct them,
tell them what they do not know, and explain all that they fail to understand,
and also see that work goes forward speedily.
45. The communal council shall proceed with special circumspection in
choosing group foremen and shall designate as such only the most intelligent
and conscientious residents in the commune.
46. The persons designated as group foremen and managers shall be
bound to accept office.
IX. — Special Tasks
47. Any commune which has sufficient resources at its disposal may provide
in its ordinary or supplementary estimates for the payment of pecuniary
benefit to the families of workers who are totally without means during the
period of labour service.
48. Further, a communal council may include in its ordinary or supplementary estimates the sums requisite to furnish special materials and to carry
out special undertakings which could not be carried out solely by requisitioning labour service, in addition to the work to be effected exclusively by
means of compulsory labour service.
49. Engineers and other technical officials entrusted with the carrying out of
the technical operations necessary to prepare for temporary labour service
shall receive a subsistence allowance from the communes concerned and also
a travelling allowance, unless they are entitled to the provision of free transportation by the State or the communes.
X. — Financial Report
50. Every group foreman and manager shall keep a special journal for the
duration of the work
After each period of five days the group foreman shall make a report on
the administrative aspects of the work (number of workers who have begun
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service, etc.), and the manager a report on the technical side (how much of
the proposed work has been carried out, the reason for any failure to finish
the task set and the amount remaining to be done, plans, sketches, etc.).
51. The communal authorities shall draw up a general report on the basis
of the information supplied to them by group foremen and managers stating
the number and date of the resolution of the communal council respecting
the calling up of workers, working days, number of persons liable to compulsory
labour service, number of persons who have begun work either on foot or
with carts, number of persons exempted from service in accordance with the
regulations, number of persons punished, kinds of tools, extent and nature
of the work done, and number of group foremen and managers. The report
shall also state whether the work has been done conscientiously and shall
contain an estimate of its value.
The communal authorities shall insert in the said report a statement as
to any further measures which may be taken with the help of temporary
labour service. Further, they shall indicate any defects in the regulations
which have come to their knowledge.
The report of the communal authorities shall be sent direct to the technical
section of the Central Office for compulsory labour service. A copy of the
report shall be sent to the head of the technical section of the competent
district labour office.
52. The Central Office for compulsory labour service shall draw up a general
report on temporary labour service and shall submit it to the Council of
Ministers.
XI. — Penal Provisions
(Section 30 of the Act respecting Compulsory Labour Service)
53. Any worker who, without previously obtaining permission, absents
himself from work, shall be punished by the exaction of two days' extra service for every day lost, or a fine equal to four times the daily wage.
54. Any worker who is late in coming to work shall be punished by the
exaction of:
(1) Extra service at the rate of half a day for every hour by which he is
late, or
(2) A fine at the rate of a day's wages for every hour or part of an hour
by which he is late.
55. Any person who fails to take steps to provide himself with tools forwork,
or who comes to work without the tools given him, and also any person who
reports himself without bringing tools, shall be furnished by the communal
authority with the necessary tools, and the delinquent shall pay a fine of
20 leva per tool per day until he provides himself with the requisite tools.
56. The persons designated as group foremen and supervisors shall keep
registers during the working period showing whether work is performed conscientiously. These records shall be signed daily by the group foreman, the
mayor or deputy mayor, and the person representing the authorities, and if
necessary also by a worker. The signature of the foreman shall be sufficient to
validate the record.
57. Every five days a board, consisting of the head of the labour service, the
mayor and the manager, and also a representative of the authorities if such
is available, shall examine the records and fix the extra service or fines to be
imposed on workers who have not worked properly.
— 138 —
58. The conduct of any person who escapes punishment during the first five
days because only trivial notes are made respecting him, shall be watched
during the second period of five days, and he shall be punished if necessary
by the exaction of one, two or three days' extra service, or two, four or six
days' wages, with due regard to all the notes made respecting him during
the two periods of five days.
The same procedure shall apply to the third period of five days.
59. On completion of the work, if there still remain persons on whom
extra service has been imposed, they shall be fined twice the daily wage
for each working day.
60. The decisions of the board respecting fines shall be final in the
above-mentioned cases.
61. Immediately upon the completion of the work, the communal authorities
shall draw up a list of the persons fined. The amount of the fine and the reason
for the penalty shall be entered in this list against the name of each person.
The lists shall be sent to the sub-prefect not more than ten days after the
completion of the work. At the same time every person punished shall be
informed in writing of the penalty and required to pay the amount of the
fine to the sub-prefecture within ten days of receiving the communication.
Note. — The amount of the daily wage serving as a basis for fines shall be
fixed before work is begun by the communal council, with due regard to local
and other economic conditions, and duly recorded.
The daily wage shall not be less in any case than 50 leva. It shall be
brought to the knowledge of the population before work is begun.
62. On the expiry of the above-mentioned period, the sub-prefect shall
take further steps to collect the fines by administrative procedure. The fines
shall be collected within a month.
63. If any person incites workers to refrain from work or causes them to work
negligently, the charge against him shall be drawn up by the head of the work
and the persons entitled to exercise supervision in the administrative area
under these regulations. Such charge shall be sent to the mayor, who shall
give a certificate of receipt and shall transmit it to the district prefect for
examination by the competent labour council, which shall take action under
section 17 of the Act respecting compulsory labour service.
The said council shall have authority to impose on the offender a fine of not
Jess than 1,000 and not more than 2,000 leva.
There shall be no appeal against fines. They shall be collected by administrative procedure.
64. Fines of not less than 1,000 and not more than 5,000 leva
may be imposed on group foremen, managers, communal authorities and other
officials responsible for the organisation and rendering of temporary labour
service under these regulations, without prejudice to a criminal prosecution,
in case of lack of conscientiousness, slackness, or wilful hindrance, obviously
irrational procedure in the utilisation of labour power, and even in mere
cases of gross negligence. The charges against the delinquent officials shall be
addressed direct to the Central Office by the superior official in virtue of his
supervising powers under these regulations and his rights over the official
under any special Act.
The charge shall in such case be signed by at least one witness. The defendant shall be given an opportunity to reply to the accusation.
65. In these cases there shall be no appeal against penalties imposed by the
Director-General. If the person concerned fails to pay a fine voluntarily within
ten days, it shall be collected by the sub-prefect by administrative procedure.
66. The imposition of the fines provided for in the cases mentioned in this
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chapter of the regulations shall not constitute an obstacle to prosecution and
punishment under the Act respecting compulsory labour service.
The fines imposed shall accrue to the Treasury.
67. The sub-prefects shall furnish the Central Office with reports on the
collection of fines and the sums thus received on the expiry of the period
fixed for the collection of the fines.
They shall be officially responsible for the collection of fines and for any
delay therein.
XII. — Extract from the Act respecting Compulsory Labour Service
68. Sections 23-29 of the Act of 1920:
"23. Any person who attempts by fraud to evade compulsory labour
service or who is accessory to its evasion by another or any person who conceals
another shall be liable to imprisonment for not more than two years.
"24. Any person under the age of 30 years who, on any ground whatever,
has deliberately evaded rendering his compulsory labour service, and who
is capable of compulsory community labour, shall be liable to a fine of not
less than 500 and not more than 3,000 leva, and shall render his compulsory
labour service. A person above the age of 30 years shall be liable to imprisonment for not more than three years and loss of the rights specified under
section 30, paragraphs 1, 2, and 3, of the Penal Code.
"A person who has acquired a foreign nationality before rendering his
compulsory labour service, shall be liable to imprisonment for not less than
one year.
"25. Any person who deliberately mutilates himself or in any way incapacitates himself for rendering compulsory labour service, or who for the same
purpose mutilates or incapacitates another person who has been called up
for compulsory community labour, or who has to render his compulsory
labour service, shall be liable to imprisonment with hard labour for not less
than one year and loss of the rights specified in section 30, paragraphs 1, 2
and 3, of the Penal Code.
"26. Any person who persuades another who is liable to compulsory labour
service to disregard the calling-up notice and any person who persuades
another who is already fulfilling his compulsory labour service to make his
escape or who gives such a person shelter or otherwise assists him to conceal
himself, shall be liable to imprisonment for not less than six months and not
more than three years.
"27. An official who makes a false statement as to the family circumstances
and health of young persons of either sex who are liable to compulsory labour
service, or who knowingly issues incomplete or incorrect calling-up notices
or permits the substitution of others for young persons already called up,
shall be liable to imprisonment for not less than one and not more than three
years and to loss of the rights specified in section 30, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3,
of the Penal Code.
"An official who through neglect fails to utilise the labour power placed
at his disposal, shall be liable to a fine of not more than 5,000 leva or to imprisonment for not more than one year, and if the offence was deliberate, the
fine may be increased up to 10,000 leva or imprisonment up to two years.
"28. Any person who, through the press, in public speeches, or in any
other manner, deliberately incites to non-compliance with this Act, shall be
liable to penal servitude for not more than three years and a fine of not more
than 5,000 leva.
"29. Contraventions of this Act shall fall within the competence of the
district court as a court of first instance; actions before this court shall be
dealt with as matters of urgency and shall be completed within a month."
APPENDIX VI
Regulations for the Administration of Section 8 of the Act respecting
Compulsory Labour Service ( Purchase of Exemption )
(Approved by Ministerial Decree No. XI, dated 25 November 1921;
Journal No. 132)
CHAPTER I
Purchase of Exemption from Compulsory Labour Service under Section 4(a)
1. Not more than 20 per cent, of the Bulgarian citizens designated in
each year for compulsory labour service may purchase exemption from service
under section 4 (a) of the Act respecting compulsory labour service.
2. The amount of the purchase money shall be calculated as follows:
(a) on the basis of the average wages for the preceding year as fixed by
the chambers of commerce in the administrative districts concerned;
(b) on the basis of the financial position and the average annual income of
the person in question and of his parents.
3. Any person who on 1 January is entered in the calling-up list for compulsory
labour service for the current year and who wishes to purchase exemption,
shall send an application to that effect not later than 1 February to the competent district labour office, together with the necessary documents showing
his financial position and that of his parents and his annual income.
4. Not later than 15 February the district labour council shall fix for each
individual who wishes to purchase exemption the total purchase money,
calculated for a period of 240 days, on the basis of the documents which have
been submitted and verified. The supervising accountant of the district
office shall also be attached to the district labour council.
5. Every person who has made an application for the purchase of exemption
may on this date (15 February) procure information either in person or through
an authorised representative of the purchase money fixed for him by the
district labour council. This shall in no case be less than 12,000 leva nor
more than 48,000 leva.
The fixing of the purchase money shall be final.
6. The purchase money shall be paid in a lump sum through the accounting
section of the district labour office, not later than 10 March, into the State
Treasury account under the appropriate section of the estimates dealing with
receipts on account of compulsory labour service.
— 141
-
Any person concerned who fails to pay the fixed purchase money by that
date shall forfeit his right (to purchase exemption) and shall render service
under the ordinary regulations.
7. The bank receipt shall be presented to the accounting section of the district
labour office, which shall issue a receipt from a book with counterfoils to the
person making the payment.
This receipt shall be handed to the district labour office for attachment to
the application; the said office shall issue a certificate containing the registered numbers of the bank and office receipts.
8. Every district labour office shall forward to the communes concerned lists
of the persons entitled to purchase exemption. Identical lists shall also be
forwarded to the supervising accountant.
9. If the number of persons in any district who desire to purchase exemption
exceeds 20 per cent, of the total number of persons in the district liable to
compulsory labour service, preference shall be given to those persons who
have paid in the purchase money first.
10. If the number of persons in any district who desire to purchase exemption
exceeds 20 per cent, of the total number of persons in the district liable to
compulsory labour service and the number in another district falls short of
this figure, the Central Office for compulsory labour service may vary the
percentages in the different districts in order to attain an average rate of
20 per cent, of all the citizens liable to compulsory labour service in the
Kingdom.
CHAPTER II
Purchase of Exemption from Compulsory Labour Service under Section 4 (2>)
11. Not more than 30 per cent, of the Bulgarian citizens liable to temporary
compulsory labour service in each year in accordance with section 4 (b) of
the Act respecting compulsory labour service may purchase exemption in
pursuance of the decision of the communal councils.
Immediately upon the publication of these regulations the communal
councils shall state whether they will allow the purchase of exemption in
their districts for the present year 1921-1922.
Note. — For the capital the limit for the purchase of exemption shall be
fixed at 40 per cent.
12. The amount of the purchase money shall be fixed by the respective communal councils with due regard to the economic position of the worker and
his annual income, but shall not be less than 100 leva nor more than 300 leva.
Note. — Twenty days before the date fixed for beginning work, each commune shall inform the population through the town crier or through special
notices whether the communal council has authorised the purchase of exemption, and shall require the persons desiring to purchase exemption- to send
in their applications within the next ten days. On the expiry of this timelimit the applications shall be submitted to the council without delay, for
the purpose of fixing the purchase money.
No individual shall be exempted from labour until he has paid the purchase
money required of him.
13. The total amount of purchase money worked out shall be entered in the
estimates of receipts of the various communes, and shall be employed exclusively for purposes of public welfare in pursuance of the resolutions of the
communal council.
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Note 1. — These resolutions shall be based on technical investigations
and shall be confirmed by the temporary labour council, consisting of the
prefect, the head of the district labour office, the head of the technical section
of the latter, and the district engineer.
Note 2. — The recorded resolutions of the communal council of the capital
and of the communal councils of other district towns shall be confirmed by
the Central Office for compulsory labour service on the application of the
mayor of the capital or the prefect of a district.
14. A person temporarily resident in any other than his home commune, who
wishes to purchase exemption, shall forward his application to the commune
in which his permanent residence is situated. This commune shall fix the
purchase money, which shall be entered in its estimate of receipts. It shall
issue the necessary certificate to the person purchasing exemption.
CHAPTER III
General Provisions
15. During the month of December each district labour office shall forward
to the Central Office for compulsory labour service (Section for revision of
estimates) particulars of the total amount of moneys received during the past
year from persons who have purchased exemption under section 4 (a) of the
Act respecting compulsory labour service; during the month of November
each commune shall send particulars with reference to paragraph (b) of the
same section to the competent district labour office, which shall forward the
same to the afore-mentioned section of the Central Office for compulsory
labour service not later than the end of the year.
APPENDIX
VII
Circular
addressed
to Chiefs
and Workshops,
of Offices and Managers
on the Embellishment
used by Workers
of Factories,
of Buildings
on Compulsory
and
Farms,
Land
Service
A large proportion of the men on compulsory service are assigned to different
localities to work on the improvement of health resorts, the surroundings
of town and villages, and so on. This work of ours will consequently help
to transform and beautify many places which up till now have been neglected
and left to grow wild. Let us hope that our efforts will be appreciated by our
successors. It would be quite unpardonable of us to work at the embellishment
of the country as a whole without taking any steps to embellish the courtyards
and gardens of the buildings occupied by the workers themselves. The Directorate gave instructions in this sense when the workers were being enrolled
and drafted to the various barracks, but, unfortunately, there are still some
areas in which nothing satisfactory has as yet been done.
In order to achieve the desired results as quickly as possible, I suggest
that the responsible heads should organise the work of improving the men's
quarters as follows:
(1) In production sections the cTTiefs of the economic groups will undertake
the general management of the work of embellishing the gardens, courtyards,
and living quarters, with professional gardeners and carpenters as responsible
assistants. They will also look after the quarters of scattered groups billeted
in the same town or village.
(2) In the case of groups working at some distance from their headquarters,
the chief of the economic sub-group will be responsible for the work with
the help of the gang leaders of the sub-group.
(3) In both of these cases the chiefs of the economic groups will fix the
number of the workers, approve the plan of the work, etc., according to the
season and the work in hand.
In factories, workshops, and farms the responsibility for the work will rest
with the chiefs of the economic sections, with the help of gang leaders, permanent caretakers (when there are any), and a certain number of the temporary
workers nominated by the heads of the undertaking.
In order to ensure satisfactory results, the details of the scheme for improvements should be worked out by the agricultural expert or professional gardener;
the scheme should be arranged so as to take two or even more years to carry
out.
Work of this kind is pleasant as well as useful and will cost very little.
If the workers will only put their interest and energy into it, the result will
be to transform the depressing barrack yards into places pleasant to the eye
— 144 —
and inviting to rest in the open air — an excellent example for all the workers,
who may be encouraged by it to do something towards beautifying their
own courtyards and gardens when they go home at the end of their period
of service.
(Signed) Chr. STOVANOFF,
(Director- General).
Alex. GANCHEFF,
(Member of the Superior Council).
APPENDIX VIII
Regulations for the Rendering of Compulsory Labour Service
by Young Women
Approved by Order V of the Council of Ministers, Journal No. 21, and published
in the Official Gazette, No. 283 of 1922. Dated 8 March 1922.
CHAPTER I
General Provisions
1. In accordance with section 1 of the Act respecting compulsory labour
service ('), all young women who are Bulgarian citizens shall be liable to compulsory labour service from the completion of their 16th year until the completion of their 30th year.
2. The duration of compulsory labour service for young women shall be four
months. It shall be rendered in the district in which their home is situated,
but if so desired, service may be rendered in the district of the commune in
which their parents or relations reside.
Note. — Mohammedan women shall render their compulsory labour service
at home.
3. The procedure for calling up young women and for their rendering compulsory labour service shall be governed by the present regulations in
accordance with the provisions of sections 16 and 24 of the Act respecting
compulsory labour service.
4. Compulsory labour service for young women shall be directed towards:
(a) awakening in them, irrespective of their social status or financial position, a love of work in the service of the community and of manual labour;
(b) instructing them in rational methods of work in the branches of economic
activity mentioned in section 5 of the present regulations;
(c) organising and utilising their labour power in the interests of production
and the welfare of the country.
5. Young women shall render their compulsory labour service by performing the following kinds of work:
(a) cooking, washing, ironing, and general training in household duties;
(b) training in social, domestic and personal hygiene, in sick nursing, and
in the campaign against infectious disease;
i1) See Appendix IV. p. 1-25 above.
10
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(c) sewing, knitting, weaving, embroidery, the making of national embroidery
and lace, hat-making, the making of artificial flowers, children's toys and
baskets, bookbinding;
(d) typewriting, book-keeping, telegraph and telephone service, general
training in electrotechnics;
(e) cultivation of orchards and kitchen gardens ; care of flower-gardens for
the embellishment of public open spaces;
(/) preserving of different kinds of food (vegetables, fruit, Italian pastes,
milk products, etc.);
(g) raising of silkworms and bees, breeding of cattle and poultry;
(h) afforestation and vine culture.
Note 1. — The choice of the various branches of activity shall be determined
by local conditions in each commune and by the facilities available for their
adoption.
Note 2. — Young women shall not be given work which prevents them
from taking their meals and sleeping at home.
CHAPTER II
Organisation
6. The organisation and carrying our of compulsory labour service for young
women shall be within the competence of the Central Office for compulsory
labour service. The rights and duties of the Central Office shall be determined
by special regulations.
1. The direction of the service and of the technical work in connection with
the rendering of compulsory labour service by young women shall be within
the competence of the district labour council established under section 12,
paragraph 1, of the Act respecting compulsory labour service, of which the
district labour office shall constitute the executive.
8. The district labour office shall carry out the decisions of the district labour
council, and direct the technical work and all the labour schools and model
farms in the district which are under the control of the Central Office for
compulsory labour service.
9. District labour offices shall perform their duties in the various communes
through the agency of the communal councils. In order to ensure proper
organisation and rational utilisation of the young women's services, the following persons shall take part in an advisory capacity in the deliberations of
rural communal councils in all matters concerning the compulsory labour
service of young women — one or more representative of the local school
authorities (schoolmaster and schoolmistress), the representative of the public
health authorities, the agricultural official, the forester, the director of public
works, and the gardener where such exists.
10. In urban communes, special communal labour councils shall be established
consisting of the mayor or his deputy, two communal councillors, the agricultural official, the forester, the chief engineer or director of public works,
the gardener, the communal doctor, two representatives of the municipal
educational institutions (preferably women teachers), and representatives
of women's institutes where such exist.
Note. — The communal labour council in Sofia shall also include three
communal councillors and two representatives of the Central Office for compulsory labour service nominated by the Office in addition to the persons
enumerated in the preceding section.
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11. With the exception of the mayor or his deputy, who shall be chairman of
the council ex officio, the members of the communal labour council shall be
nominated by the communal council. A report of the proceedings shall be
drawn up and approved by the competent district labour office.
In Sofia the report shall be approved by the Central Office for compulsory
labour service.
12. The direction and supervision of the rendering of compulsory labour service
by young women in each commune shall be carried out by the communal
labour council in towns and by the communal council in villages in the
following manner:
(a) the council shall take steps to ensure prompt and proper execution of
the orders of the district labour office;
(b) it shall examine and decide on the measures required for the initiation
in each commune of work to be accomplished by means of compulsory labour
service ;
(c) it shall draw up a scheme for the distribution of the women workers
among the tasks undertaken by the State, districts, and communes, or otherwise in the public interest;
(d) it shall supervise the maintenance of order in connection with the performance of the allotted work, shall confirm penalties, and shall impose
penalties on the women workers, in accordance with the provisions of section
56 (e) and (/) of the present regulations.
13. In towns all decisions of the communal labour councils under section 12
(6) and (c) shall be submitted to the district labour office for approval as
soon as they have been approved by the communal councils; decisions under
the other subsections shall be approved directly by the district labour office.
In villages the communal councils shall submit their decisions under all
ubsections of section 12 directly to the district labour office for approval.
14. As soon as a group of young women has completed service, the communal
labour councils (in villages the communal councils) shall forward a report
on their activities to the district labour offices through the communal authorities, also indicating any defects observed and the measures which in their
opinion must be taken to remedy these.
CHAPTER III
Preparation of Work
15. Every year at the beginning of November (or in any case not later than
the end of that month) the communal labour council in the towns (communal
councils in the villages) shall draw up a scheme for the rendering of compulsory
labour service by young women, with due regard to local conditions and requirements, taking into account the average number of young women liable
to service in each year.
Note. — The district labour offices may requisition a certain number of
women workers from the various communes for the execution of work which
they have undertaken on their own initiative or on the instructions of the
Central Office; in such case they shall inform the communal labour councils
(in villages, the communal councils) in proper time of the number of women
workers required, so that the latter, after ascertaining the number desired,
may distribute the remaining young women according to the scheme drawn up.
This scheme shall specify:
(a) all State, district, communal and public institutions, undertakings and
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establishments, schools of domestic economy and industrial schools or classes
in the commune, in which the young women can work or receive instruction ;
(b) all State, district, communal and public establishments and undertakings which for any reason are either let to private individuals or closed
down, but which can be utilised for the purposes of compulsory labour service
for young women aftef certain improvements have been effected ;
(c) land at the disposal of the commune suitable for afforestation, the planting
of mulberry trees, the laying out of gardens and orchards, and the establishment of model farms; likewise any main roads or railroads traversing the
commune which can be planted with trees;
{d) supplies at the disposal of the commune: machines, tools, cattle, trees
for planting, etc.;
(e) the number of paid officials and teachers at the disposal of the commune
or of the State, district and public establishments, undertakings and model
farms ;
(/) the average yearly number of young women liable to compulsory labour
service who are at the disposal of the commune;
(g) the existing or contemplated undertakings in which the commune
considers that the young women may properly be required to perform their
compulsory labour service;
(h) any classes which the commune intends to open.
16. In the enumeration of existing and contemplated work and resources for
the purpose of compulsory labour service, only State, district, communal
and public work and resources shall be taken into consideration, and not those
of private individuals. If it proves necessary to undertake private work,
the means by which such work may be utilised for social purposes (by purchase, hire, or any other means) shall be indicated.
Further, exact information shall be supplied as regards the position, boundaries, condition and other special features of the establishments, undertakings and model farms.
17. The schemes drawn up by the communal labour councils (in villages, by
the communal councils) shall be forwarded in duplicate by the communal
authorities to the district labour office for examination and approval immediately on completion.
In towns, however, the schemes shall be approved by the communal councils
before being forwarded to the district labour offices.
In Sofia the communal labour council shall submit its schemes to the Central
Office for compulsory labour service after they have been adopted by the
communal council.
18. The district labour offices shall examine the schemes submitted to them
within one month; if they find that the schemes are not in conformity with
the Act or the regulations, they shall submit them to the district labour
councils, who may make the requisite amendments or reject them entirely.
One copy of the approved scheme, together with the necessary instructions
for carrying it out, shall be returned to the commune by the district labour
office; the commune shall take all the requisite measures to carry it out.
19. In case of disagreement between the district labour office and a communal
council, the final decision shall rest with the Central Office for compulsory
labour service.
20. The approved schemes shall be carried out by degrees, according to the
resources at the disposal of the commune and the number of young women
liable to compulsory labour service ; work which is already prepared or which
is the easiest to prepare shall be taken first..
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CHAPTER IV
Preparation of Lists
21. Every year not later than 31 May the communal authorities shall draw
up lists of the young women liable to compulsory labour service. These lists
shall contain the following particulars: surname, Christian name, and patronymic of the young woman ; birthplace ; place of residence, street and number; age, education and occupation, together with a statement as to whether
she has any brothers and sisters liable to render compulsory labour service
at the same time.
The young women shall be entered in the register in alphabetical order
under age groups, beginning with those who have completed their 29th year
and gradually descending to the youngest; young women who will have
completed their 16th year before 1 January of the following year shall also
be entered.
22. The lists drawn'up under the provisions of the preceding section shall be
posted up at the communal offices, and the inhabitants of the commune shall
at the same time be informed that any person may within a month demand
the correction of the list if he discovers inaccuracies or false statements therein.
23. Not laterihan 15 July the communal authorities shall close the lists, and
send a written notice to each young woman registered. In this notice an interval
of 15 days shall be granted within which time the young woman herself or
her parents or guardians may declare in writing whether she is entitled to
temporary exemption and for what reason ; whether she is entitled to exemption and for what reason (illness, family circumstances, etc.), and whether
she wishes to render her compulsory labour service or to purchase exemption.
24. Temporary exemption from the rendering of compulsory labour service
shall be granted to the following persons:
(a) all young women who prove that they are attending a higher educational
institution or secondary or technical school recognised by the State.
Such exemption shall be valid in the case of a young woman attending a
secondary or technical school until she has completed her 24th year, and in
the case of a young woman attending a higher educational institution until
she has completed her 28th year;
(b) all young women who are in prison, until their release; if at the time
of their discharge these young women have completed their 30th year, they
shall be exempt from the rendering of compulsory labour service;
(c) sick and convalescent persons;
(d) if two or more sisters in one family are liable to compulsory labour
service, only the eldest shall be taken, and the others shall be granted temporary exemption and shall be called up in later groups in such a way that only
one sister shall render compulsory labour service at a time.
(e) all female employees in State, district, communal and other public
establishments, farms and institutions, provided that they have been employed
therein for at least six months at their calling-up date; these persons shall
be deemed to be teachers, and shall instruct two groups of women workers,
in return for which they shall receive a certificate from the establishment in
which they are employed to the effect that they have rendered their compulsory
labour service.
25. The following persons shall be exempt from compulsory labour service:
(a) young women who are unfit for any physical or mental work on account
of any of the diseases specified in a schedule approved by the Council of
Ministers,
(b) young women who are the only able-bodied persons in the family and
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who are the support of their invalid parents, of a widowed mother, or of
orphan brothers and sisters under age.
These young women shall present a certificate from the communal authorities respecting their family circumstances.
26. As soon as the communal authorities receive applications for temporary
or total exemption or the right to purchase exemption, they shall proceed
in the following manner:
(a) They shall examine and decide on all applications for temporary exemption.
Applications for temporary exemption on account of illness shall be decided
on the basis of a certificate by a medical board consisting in towns of two
doctors (one of whom shall be a woman where possible), and a representative
of the communal authorities, and in villages of the doctor or assistant doctor,
a woman teacher appointed by the communal authorities, and a representative of the commune.
(b) They shall forward all applications for exemption, with the necessary
documents, to the competent district labour offices, which shall decide in
the matter.
(c) They shall submit to the communal councils the applications of all
persons who wish to purchase exemption, accompanied by the necessary
documents showing the financial position of the young women concerned
and their parents, and their yearly income; the said councils shall examine
them and give their opinion as to the purchase money to be paid.
All documents which have been examined, together with the opinions of
the communal councils, shall be forwarded through the district labour offices
to the district labour councils, which shall proceed in accordance with the
Order under section 8 of the Act respecting compulsory labour service. (')
27. Exemption shall be purchased in accordance with the Order under
section 8 of the Act respecting compulsory labour service, subject to the
following modifications :
(a) not more than 40 per cent, of the young women liable to be called up
for compulsory labour service in any year shall he allowed to purchase their
exemption ;
(b) the purchase money shall not be less than 3,000 leva and not more
than 15,000 leva;
(c) the district labour council may be authorised by the Central Office for
compulsory labour service to permit the deferring of payment of the purchase
money until the end of the current financial year.
28. A young woman of Bulgarian nationality shall not acquire any other
nationality by marriage until she has rendered her compulsory labour service
or has paid the purchase money for exemption.
29. The district labour office shall communicate their decisions and those of
the distric labour councils, concerning the applications received for exemption
or purchase of exemption, to the communal authorities, who shall immediately
inform the persons concerned, shall prepare the final lists of young women
liable to be called up for compulsory labour service, and shall forward these
lists to the communal labour councils (in villages the communal councils).
30. As soon as the communal labour councils (in villages the communal councils) receive the lists, they shall draw up draft schemes indicating: (a) in how
many groups the young women shall be called up; (b) what percentage of
each group shall be called up ; (c) which young women shall be called up and
to which group each of them shall be allotted ; (d) the work to be performed ;
and (e) the date of calling up.
(') See p. 126 above.
— 151 —
Note 1. — The communal labour councils (in villages the communal council)
shall carry out this distribution, after deducting a certain number of young
women for the district labour offices where these latter have notified their
requirements.
Note 2. — In connection with the division of the young women into groups
and the allocation of work, their wishes shall be taken into consideration as
far as is compatible with the proper distribution of the work.
31. Two copies of the draft lists drawn up in accordance with the preceding
section shall be forwarded to the district labour offices. The said office, after
examining the lists and approving them with or without amendment, shall
file one copy for preservation and return the other with any amendments
made by them to the commune concerned.
32. The women workers required by the district labour offices shall be called
up by them through the communal authorities, who shall inform each worker
in writing of the date and place at which she must report for duty and what
she must bring with her.
The same information shall likewise be sent by the communal authorities
to women workers placed at the disposal of the communal labour councils
(in villages the communal councils).
33. Every woman worker who has received a calling-up notice shall report
herself on the day and at the hour and place fixed in the calling-up notice.
From the time of presenting herself for work she shall be at the orders
of the persons entrusted with the direction of the service.
34. The Central Office for compulsory labour service may postpone the calling
up of young women in certain communes or districts for a specified time or
undertake the calling up itself in any way which it considers desirable provided
that the communes concerned shall be notified thereof.
CHAPTER V
Order and Discipline
35. All young women who render their compulsory labour service in State,
district, communal or public establishments, undertakings and farms, shall
be exclusively under the control of the heads of these establishments and
of their assistants.
In establishments, undertakings and farms directly under the control of
the Central Office for compulsory labour service the supervision of women
workers shall be carried out by the persons designated as managers and by
their assistants.
36. With regard to the internal organisation of public undertakings in which
young women render their compulsory labour service, the provisions of
existing Acts, regulations and decrees shall apply; in undertakings established
by the Central Office for compulsory labour service, the said Office shall
draw up appropriate rules for organisation.
37. Heads of institutions, establishments, undertakings or farms, whether
under the control of the Central Office for compulsory labour service or of
any other authority, shall be responsible for the regular attendance of the
young women under their orders, shall superintend their work and watch
over their behaviour, under penalty of the application of the sanctions provided in the Act respecting compulsory labour service and in the present
regulations. If the head observes that any woman worker evades her allotted
work, or fails to obey the rules of the establishment, undertaking or institution,
he shall proceed in accordance with the penal provisions set forth below.
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38. Heads of institutions, undertakings, establishments or farms shall be
authorised to grant women workers leave for a period not exceeding ten
days, but only in case of illness certified by a medical practitioner in the
service of the State or by two persons known to be trustworthy.
If the worker requires an extension of leave in consequence of the duration
of the illness, the matter shall be brought before the communal labour council
(in villages the communal council), which may grant leave up to a period of
one month on presentation of a medical certificate. In doubtful cases the council
may appoint the board provided for in section 26 (a) to examine the sick
person.
39. Ifthe illness is of such a nature as to entail the total exemption of the
young woman from compulsory labour service, the matter shall be decided
by the district labour office on the basis of an opinion given by the board
mentioned in the preceding section.
Young women who obtain total exemption on account of illness contracted
during the rendering of compulsory labour service shall be deemed to have
rendered their service, irrespective of the time actually served.
40. When a group of young women has completed its work, the head of the
institution, establishment, undertaking or farm shall submit a report on the
work of the group to the communal labour council (in villages the communal
council), and shall point out any defects observed and suggest measures for
their avoidance in future.
On the completion of the work of each group the communal labour council
(in^villages the communal council) shall likewise submit a similar report to
the district labour office concerning all the establishments, undertF kings and
institutions in the commune where the young women have rendered compulsory
labour service.
A report of this kind for the whole district shall be submitted by the district
labour council to the Central Office for compulsory labour service.
41. The communal labour council (in villages the communal council) shall be
responsible for the maintenance of a high standard of morality and the observance of the rules of hygiene in each institution, establishment, undertaking
or farm within the commune where young women render compulsory labour
service.
It shall likewise see that harmony is preserved between the various classes
of work in the above-mentioned undertakings.
If contraventions are observed either directly or through the report of the
management, the council shall forthwith take the requisite steps either to
punish the offending persons or to bring them before the law courts.
42. In no case shall the working hours of the young women exceed eight hours
a day. Night work shall be absolutely prohibited ; work performed between
the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. shall be deemed to be night work.
If a young woman has been employed in preparatory work outside working
hours, she shall be granted equivalent free time during working hours.
If an extension of the working hours has been found necessary on account
of unusual circumstances such as fire, convulsions of the elements, etc., the
young women shall be granted free time equivalent to the duration of the
-overtime worked.
No work shall be done on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.
43. If the young women render their compulsory labour service discontinuously
they shall on each occasion receive a provisional certificate of dismissal from
the management concerned ; on completion of the total period of compulsory
labour service, they shall receive a final certificate of dismissal from the com-
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munal authorities. This shall contain the following particulars: surname,
Christian name and patrynomic of the young woman, her birthplace, the time
and place where her compulsory labour service was performed, and the kind
of work with which she was entrusted.
44. In the case of seasonal work lasting not more than four nor less than three
months, the young women shall be dismissed on the completion of the said
work, and shall be deemed to have fulfilled their obligation to render compulsory labour service.
Notwithstanding, if such work has only lasted for a period of two months
or less, the young women shall be called up again until they have worked
for at least three months.
A young woman shall not be retained on service for more than four months
unless she herself so desires.
Note. — Young women may marry during the period of their compulsory
labour service. In this case they shall submit a certificate from their parents
or guardians, giving the exact date of the marriage, to the communal authorities, who shall dismiss them not more than a fortnight before the wedding.
CHAPTER VI
Penal Provisions
45. Any official or any private person who has been guilty of fraud for the purpose of liberating or concealing a young women liable to compulsory labour
service, and likewise any young woman who deliberately conceals herself,
shall be liable to imprisonment for not more than two years.
46. A young woman who for any reason whatever has evaded compulsory
labour service up to the age of 30 years, and who is fit for service, shall be liable
to a fine of not less than 500 leva and not more than 3,000 leva, and shall also
render her service. If she is over 30 years of age she shall be liable to imprisonment for not more than three years and to loss of the rights specified in
section 30, nos. 1, 2 and 3, of the Penal Code.
47. A young woman who has acquired a foreign nationality before rendering
her compulsory labour service, shall be liable to imprisonment for not less
than one year.
48. A young woman who evades her compulsory labour service after
having begun the same shall be liable to the following penalties:
(a) disciplinary punishment for an absence of five days, besides which she
shall make up the days lost;
(6) disciplinary punishment for an absence of more than five but not more
than ten days, besides which she shall make up twice the number of days lost ;
(c) imprisonment for not more than five months for an absence of more
than ten days.
49. A young woman who fails to report herself for compulsory labour
service at the appointed date shall be liable to the following penalties:
(a) disciplinary punishment in case of a delay of not more than ten days,
besides which she shall make up the number of days lost by the delay; '*
(b) imprisonment for not more than three months if the delay exceeds a
period of ten days.
Note. — The penalty of imprisonment provided for in sections 47 and 48
shall be imposed after the completion of compulsory labour service.
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50. A young woman who deliberately mutilates herself or in any way incapacitates herself for rendering compulsory labour service, or any person who
for the same purpose mutilates a young woman or incapacitates her for compulsory labour service, shall be liable to imprisonment with hard labour for
not less than one year and loss of the rights specified in section 30, nos. 1, 2
and 3, of the Penal Code.
51. Any person who persuades a young woman who is liable to compulsory
labour service to disregard the calling-up notice of the communal authorities,
or who persuades a young woman who is already rendering service to make
her escape, or who gives such a young woman shelter or otherwise assists
her to conceal herself, shall be liable to imprisonment for not less than six
months and not more than three years.
52. Any official who makes a false statement respecting the family circumstances, financial position, or health of a young woman liable to compulsory
labour service, or who deliberately issues incomplete or incorrect calling-up lists,
or permits the substitution of another young woman for one already called up,
shall be liable to imprisonment for not less than one year and not more than
three years and loss of the rights specified in section 30, nos. 1, 2 and 3, of
the Penal Code.
53. Any official who through negligence draws up incorrect or incomplete
calling-up lists shall be liable to a fine of not less than 100 and not more than
500 leva.
54. An official who through negligence fails to utilise the labour power placed
at his disposal shall be liable to a fine of not more than 5,000 leva or to imprisonment for not more than one year; if the offence was deliberate, the fine
may be increased up to 10,000 leva or the term of imprisonment up to two
years.
55. Contraventions of these Regulations shall fall within the competence of the
district court as a court of first instance; actions before this court shall be
dealt with as matters of urgency and shall be completed within a month.
56. Any worker who fails to complete the work entrusted to her in proper
time, or who violates the rules in force in the undertaking, establishment,
model farm or institution, shall be liable to the following penalties:
(a) a private reprimand by the manager;
(b) a reprimand before the group to which she belongs;
(c) a reprimand before all the young women working in the same undertaking;
(d) transference to another kind of work;
(e) transference to another establishment;
(/) a summons before the courts for punishment in accordance with section
48 of the present regulations.
The penalties provided above under (a) to {d) inclusive, shall be imposed
by the head of the undertaking; those provided under (e) and (/) shall be
imposed by the communal labour council (in villages the communal council),
subject to the approval of the district labour office.
The penalties shall be imposed in their respective order and according to
the magnitude of the offence.
57. Supervision of the activities of the management shall be within the competence of the Central Office for compulsory labour service, irrespective of
whether the said management is directly dependent upon the Central Office
or not. In the event of the commission of an offence by any member of the
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management, the Central Office shall take steps to punish him in accordance
with the present regulations and the Act respecting compulsory labour service.
58. Ail orders issued by the Central Office for compulsory labour service
respecting the interpretation of the present regulations shall be binding both
on the communal labour councils (in villages the communal council) and
on the district labour councils.
59. The present regulations shall come into force on the day of their promulgation in the Official Gazette and all regulations contrary thereto shall simultaneously be repealed.
A P P E N D I X IX
Compulsory Labour Week in the Schools
Extracts from Statements by Mr. T. Bakaloff, Minister of
Public Works, and Mr. Omarchevski, Minister of Public Instruction,
made after the completion of the first series of productive work
in schools in April 1921 (l)
Mr.
BAKALOFF'S STATEMENT
In almost no town or village now can the kind of school yard or garden
be found that used to exist — uneven, dirty, covered with mud and rubbish,
poisoning the children with its miasma — until these recent days of labour
service in schools. Now the school grounds are levelled, cleaned, planted
with trees, covered with sand which the pupils themselves have fetched from
distant river beds. Gardens which had been deserted and neglected for years
have been cultivated, sown and cleaned as had never been done before. And
even more astonishing, the beds in these gardens, cultivated by so-called
untrained hands, need fear nothing from comparison with the symmetry
and artistic appearance of the work of trained gardeners. I myself had occasion
to see some of these gardens cultivated and remade by pupils, and I was much
struck by them. In my native village I saw a whole steep, impenetrable
wood of former days turned into an admirable park, with plants, chalets,
and fountains which the pupils had made in a few days
We must each of us have been convinced by this week of school service...
that we have committed in the past, and are still committing, a crime against
the young people in our schools, even as our fathers did to us without making
us any more intelligent and virtuous than we are, or than the conditions
of life have allowed us to become. Truly the time has come to cry, Out of
these four dark, damp walls of school ! Away with this system of education
which dries up the body and brain of the child, and forces thousands of young
people, furnished with university degrees and copious learning, to fix longing
eyes on life, anxiously awaiting the future without the power to help themselves, with no initiative or practical experience !... Out from these walls
that darken the soul ; out of the window with these blackboards used for drawing diagrams, flowers, animals, and minerals for the education of the child;
out into Nature ! There is the wide field of life. In her vast forests and mountains will be found the diagrams, the landscape, the minerals, physics, chemistry, astronomy, philology, style, poetry, everything, absolutely everything
(i) Echo it Bulgarie, 6 April 1921.
— 157 —
that the pupil ought to know. Labour week at the schools cries out against
the present principles of instruction, cries out for the sun, for air, for freedom
in education. Let us introduce as soon as possible the system of a week of
lessons on one subject, so that our schools may have a history week, natural
history week, one for mathematics, one for the Bulgarian language; and instead
of lessons which nail the pupil to the school bench and turn him into a beast
of burden laden with books and ink-pots, give each child a good knapsack,
in it only a textbook, paper, and pencil, with a pickaxe and a spade tied on
outside, and out with him into the fields. Minor excavations of Roman antiquities may serve as an introduction to the study of the whole of Roman
history.
Animals, plants, minerals, the animated words of the shepherd, the song
of gleaners, mills, factories, fields and gardens, all supply inexhaustible material
for practical lessons in every subject in our school curricula. I appeal to all.
Let us at once repent of our errors towards the young people in our schools
and organise education in accordance with these new ideas.
Mr. O M A R C H E V S K I ' S S T A T E M E N T
From the outset my scheme met with opposition. There were people, even
politicians, who refused to recognise the great educational importance, the
real pedagogic value of young people's service, and accused me of illegality
in compelling children, especially girls, to work. The Communist School
Committee of Plevna tried to hinder my plans, even threatened me with a
revolutionary tribunal, but it got the punishment it deserved at the hands
of the young people of that town, who gave evidence of unexpected energy,
and obtained admirable results.
The Communists talk much of a school of labour; yet they declared themselves opposed to compulsory labour week, which is only an application of
the principle of labour. We talk less and do more towards turning this principle
into practice. No doubt under the Act children are not subject to compulsory
service, but it is not compulsory service we are applying to children, but a
didactic principle. And it is just by the application of this principle in practice
that the school population of the whole of Bulgaria has given a perfect example
to older persons, showing them the zeal which should be put into all public
service, and the results that may be expected when labour in common is
animated by love of work and the recognition of duty, and is undertaken with
pleasure. I have personally seen small children carrying little sacks filled
with pebbles and sand for paving their school-grounds, digging to level the
garden, even giving up their pocket-money in order to buy whitewash for
their corridors and classrooms. I have seen children washing, cleaning, whitewashing — even children who may never have done such work at home, who
have never touched a broom, and who now did everything with pleasure,
singing with joy and thinking that their parents could not but be pleased.
The children themselves, when I visited the schools, thanked me for having
given them a chance of doing manual work. Compulsory labour week was
welcomed and accomplished throughout Bulgaria with the greatest joy by
all children and teachers.
The enthusiasm with which the young people welcomed my plan was so
infectious that even the schools which did not come within the competence
of the Ministry spontaneously asked to join us. Schools of other denominations (Turkish, Jewish, etc.) did the same. The Turkish School Committee
of Chumen asked me by telegram to allow the Turkish pupils and teachers
to join the Bulgarians, and of course I agreed with pleasure. It was yet another
proof that my plans for labour week in schools were opportune.
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Now we have information from almost everywhere, and I can place it at
your disposal so that you may see how everything has been carried out, and
what brilliant results have been obtained. The material value of what was
done may be estimated at about a hundred million leva, but still more important
is the pedagogic and educational value of the young people's work, of public
work in common, of manual labour in the open air, and of the general eagerness of the pupils. No less valuable is the example given to the citizens of
Bulgaria by these young people under the guidance of their conscientious
teachers; an example which will be fully apprecied by foreigners.