Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-01-26
Aancastrr fntelligenrer.
FRIDAY EVENING. JAN. 20. 1889
An CncaIled-fOr Bill.

n
House of the state Legislature, which
REQUIRES employers to make compensa-
ton to their employees for personal IN
iuries suffered by workmen in their ser
vice. That such proposition should Ee
seriously discussed in law making body
is not complimentary to its good sense.
It shows how completely a One-sided
conception of q subject may make wise
men silly. The person who conceived
this bill has been penetrated with live
ly conception of the lamentable state OF
Door workmen who are injured III lilo
course of their employment, and ne has
Immediately leaped to the conciu'ioi'
that the remedy for this particular ia
stance of human distress "Ss 20 MAKE
the employer pay the employed the value
of the damage suffered in his service.
Probably he justilies his conclusion upon
some idea that the employer IS responsl-
ble for the injury received, perhaps be-
cause he has not sufficiently protected
his workmen, or perhaps On the general
urinciple that the master IS Responsible
for the acts of the man done III inc
course of his duty. Just what it IS tiias
moves men of muddy intellects IN the
conception of their ideas is never cleal'
hut this person has about as little
GOOD foundation for this particular
evolution of his intellect as can well
he imagined. If employers were 10 pe
called upon to pay for the injuries done
their employees while in their service
the elements OF disturbance between
labor and capital would bn greatly III
creased and they are sufficiently many
already. And there is neither JuSAce
nor practicability in the proposition. II
if WAS confined to a demand Illat ell
p,oyees shall be responsible for damage
suffered through their own negligence
and fault. there would be reason ana
iustice in it, instead of folly and wrohs
But this requirement is already emb'a
led in the law, and has been from li'ht
immemorial. To make the employer Il!
swerable for an injury that has cone u
the employee thruagll hlSo"n negligence
or hv the act IF God, without fault IL
anyone, has no. until now been enacted
in any law in any place SO far as Oh
knowledge goes. And it never VIII ID
in any sensible and civilized state.
There is no nect! of such measur
for the workmen's ) protection. HIS rat'
Of wages is regulated by the difficult:
and danger of his employment. If n
ACCEPTS dangerous employment it Is d
his own volition. If the Legislator
considers that the position of Il railroa
brakeman, for instance, is not SuilicieiiCi
comuensated. because of its extreme dal
ger, Il sufficient answer is that the app
cauts for the place are more numcrnu
than the places. If the Legislature pro
poses to regulate the wages OF labor 1t
if do SO directly and enact that ralroa
brakeman shall not be paid less tina
what it thinks ne earns. 1t, OF course
would be foolish legislation, as a
experience demonstrates, tut ii The Lee
islature is Of this mind We would like
see it show it plainly, instead OF GrlVil!
at its object in a roundabout way by n
during the payment of damages
workmen for the injuries they suffer.
is really none of the business OF the s'a'
what a man is paid for his labor IN
risk. unless he is forced to take 1t. ;
long as his assumption Of it is voluntaI
it is entirely his own affair. lie IS Il iie'
man who acts for himself not 4 slave
who is fed and guided and aoc!ur"d by
kind master. The freeman has his n
sponsibjlities as well as his privileges
and certainly it is his business to taR
care of himself. Let the state let In!
alone.
Aid he does care for himself.
he is 4 wise man he is a member OF Oh
of the numerous benevolent association
formed expressly to provide those VIII
labor for their daily bread with IN;
bread when they are incapacitated it
labor 10y accident or sickness.
he is wise, too, he will insure his ii'
If he is particularly exposed TO accldel
by reason OF his employrent he ma
take out an accident Insurance polio.
AS the Legislature is aware, OF ought
be, the acciden, insurance complnl'
have special rate Of charge for woil
men iu every branch CT labor, gauge
according to it's hazard. \ thouSan
dollars is the amount for which ii life
insured, except we believe, IN tie case I
railroad brakemen, where hazard oi hi
five hundred dollars is taken on each lii
A certain weekly payment, while kel
from work 10y accident, is made 10 eac
insured and the results are certainl
benefcent. Accidents TO men empioye
on railroads and mills are very numeron
and they certainly require to plote'
themselves from these results. If I'll
Legislature should require tie Ell
plOyers OF these men to pay their ace
dent premiums i, might be proper legi
latiOn but the result would prObabl
he that the employed would pay IL
premiums, since they would he taki.
from their wages. Anl the only dtfel
ence would he that every worl
man would have his life insure
instead of only those who ch00s
to have and pay fer this protection
We do not see that the state has an
concern in forcing them to insure then
selves, except it he to keep them fror
being thrown on the public for supper