St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-01-21
MUST BE ABOLISHED.

Corporations Must Not Be Pro-
tected in Slaughtering Human
Beings.
The attempt on the part Of por ton
of the house Judiciary committee yes
terday to at least delay bill that seeks
to abolish the lnhuman law which
makes $1,000 the limit of damages to be
recovered for a human life will call the
attention of the people to the present
law and go far toward securing a
change. Under the heading of the
Newest Phase of Death Insurance"
the Chicago Herald yesterday said:
Citizens who are gradually coming to
an understanding of the conspiracy that
has so long protected corporations in
Strengthening human beings are not ac-
quainted with the entire range OF re-
sources that exist to protect the slaugh-
tererS against the paltry penalty the la W
allows, as made by the corporations
themselves.
The law restricts juries to $1,000 as
the price of a human life. 1t makes no
difference whether the life taken Or
phan family, rob the state of its high
est citizen, or only hasten the fate of Il
poor tramp. The presumption that a
corporation ever pays even this sum TO
heirs would make corporation lawyers
smile. They try, through tricky set
Ting agents, to induce the heirs of
their victims to accept small
amount under threat of unpleasant
disclosures or by showing to them that
f action be brought at law years must
elapse before Judgment in the court of
last resort shall be reached. On trial
of actions of this nature medical evil
dence is used to show that deceased
was not in good health at the time or
that his fate was due in some measure
to his own carelessness. By these and
like devices that prey Oil human nature
the corporations have found slaughter
| of human beings on their tracks not so
expensive as to induce them to con-
template raising or depressing the
tracks so as to keep their locomotives off
the level of the streets, where most OF
these crimes are committed.
But the immunity of the slaughterlng
corporations does not consist in their
own resources against payment of even
| a small sum for human life. The newest
| phase of their security as Slaughterers
| lies in the casualty insurance compa
| MES. These organizations relieve their
| patrons of entire responsibility for
taking life or mangling human beings.
n COI pOIdtlOu pays iilO llO IlCdoull VI
| one of these concerns a sum agreed to
and receives in return insurance against
| the consequences of crimes committed
| by Its agents or agencies. Defense of
| damage suits in the courts imposes on
| the corporations the employment of de-
tectives, experts, attorneys, appraisers,
| doctors and miscellaneous as
sortment of dIlapidated human be-
ings who live by outwitting
| the suspicious or deluding the credu-
lous. The corporation that places itself
| in the hands of a casualty company es-
capes all these details, human and fiscal,
| and by a sum net to its insurer is en-
| abled with improved comfort and gen.
| orally lower expense in year to keep
! on Strengthening.
The people are thoroughly aroused
on this subject, slow as they have been
to understand its colossal proportions.
| The $1,000 maximum for life taking
must be abolished. Every man at
Springfield is going to be watched by
| his constituents in relation to this pro-
| posal. We shall find the corporations
| burroWing at the capitol in due time.
| They are, of course, at work already.