The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1885-01-24
INSURANCE IN GERMANY.


HI is TO be Wade COmpuIsOry-Six Diff
Gerent Kinds of Benefit Funds RecOg-
nized by Law.
A new law. of great Importance to
the industrial population OF Germany,
which was passed June Is, 1888, comes
into force December l, 1884, and is of
sufficient interest to warrant a short
outline of its scope, which is, broadly
speaking, the making insurance against
illness a compulsory matter, not only
on the part of the working class proper,
but of a much more extended section of
the industrial community than has
membered that the principle of obi
gatory insurance is not new in the Ger
man Empire, or at all events in several
parts of it, for it has been acted on
more or less both in Prussia and Ba-
varia. 1t was left to the communes to
carry out, but so much latitude was
allowed that it became in practice q
kind of local option, and was generally
more honored in the breach than in the
observance. In the future, however,
the case is to be different, and the COM
munes will doubtless acquiesce all the
more readily in the obligation, mas
much as one of the powerful effects of
the legislation will be to diminish the
calls upon public assistance, or in other
words, to keep down pauperism. 1t
will be, therefore, as much to the inter-
est as it will be the duty of the COM
munal authorities to see that the new
law is properly carried out. The COM
pulsory insurance of miners against ac-
cident and sickness has been made an
industrial feature in Prussia and Saxony
for long time past and since 1916 has
been regulated by an ordinance, that
every one working underground should
become member of the miners ben
eft fund (Knappschaftsvereine). An
industrial law was passed in Prus-
STA in 1849, by virtue of which
the workmen of any particular locality
could be compelled to be members of
existing benefit societies, and in 1854
this was made little more stringent,
inasmuch as it became obligatory on
the workmen to form mutual societies
among themselves. In South Germany
the commune had the right of levying
a regular contribution from the work
men to the benefit fund, while in Bava-
ria all servants, apprentices, workmen
and day laborers had the right. when
away from their legal domicile, to seek
relief for the period of ninety days,
which relief the commune was bound
to give. In return the commune would
enforce weekly contribution of fifteen
pfenninge although previous to 1875 it
was only nine pfennige), this relief
being in no way connected with the or
binary poor-law relief for paupers. By
the law of 1876 the communes through
out the Empire were given the power of
compelling all workmen under sixteen
years of age to become members of the
Communal Benefit Society; but in con-
sequence of the small amount of ardor
that was shown in the matter, and the
general socialistic agitation that pre-
vailed ABOUT this time, the Government
determined to rearrange the whole
system, and to close considerable
number of the existing societies. At
that time (l880), there were in Germany
1901 registered benefit funds, with $50,
602 members participating in the same.
To these must be added 100000 mem
bers in non-registered societies, and
$4,000 belonging to the Knappschafts-
vereine or miners benefit funds, making
altogether about 100000 persons
availing themselves of sick insurance,
of whom / 100000 were workmen.
The new law, which is so shortly to
come into operation, distinguishes two
catagories of insurers: First, those who
are obliged by the law OF the land to
insure; second, those who come within
the scope of the communal authority.
The first embraces all persons perma-
nently engaged in manufactures, trades
and commerce, including employees of
the lower grades, who, from the small
ness of their salary, are little, if any,
better off than the actual workingman.
In the second category are the small
masters and those who work at home
for the large firms, as also those who
are employed on tramways and in
hauling agricultural laborers and for
esters, and, in fine, all those who are
working on daily wages. The law
recognizes six different kinds of benefit
funds, viz: First-The local fund,
which embraces one or more kinds OF
industry, and can, if preferred, be es-
tablished by several communes acting
together. Second-The factory fund.
Third-The public works and building
fund, which is of more or less tempo
rary nature. Fourth-The guild funds.
Fifth-The mine fund. Sixth-The
funds of previously registered and
recognized societies; and to these may
be added the communal fund, which i,
generally established as a pis aller,
when there is none other to fall bach
upon. Communal insurance is, in fact