The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-02-20


notification In any country, under
any system of insurance or compensa-
ton, the institution of compulsory
system of accident notification would
have the same effect-the number of
accidents would seem to rise, and the
oompleter the record the greater the
apparent increase. But 1t does not fol-
low, does it, because insurance has
been accompanied by notification, and
notification by a paper increase, that
the rate of accidents is increasing?'
'Then this difficulty has followed
you up to the present and accounts for
the annual increase recorded?'
Yes, we have been taking one step
after another to get our system of no.
tiflcation more perfect Every em-
ployer now puts up notice in the fac
tory or workshop to say that any la
borer who meets with an injury must
notify him within three days. SO we
get reports of thousands of the most
trivial injuries. Then you must under
stand that in the earlier years many
workmen did not know about the new
law and their right to accident allow
ance AS knowledge and education
have spread, they have learned what
could be done, and this has been
large element in the apparent IN
crease
But / interposed, might ! ask
why some categories of accidents nave
increased so much more than others!
The rise in the permanent partial dis
ablement class of injuries cannot be
wholly accounted for, can 1t, by
general Improvement in notihcatlon!
mo, this is also largely due to the
more liberal Interpretation OF the law
by the imperial arbitration courts.
workman brings his case UP to us
Perhaps his injury is a comparatively
trining one-say the loss of finger
Joint. But if it interferes in the slight
est degree with his normal EMERGENCY
the tendency is to give INN some az
lowance. Those judgments nave leu
Tho employers associations to enlarge
the range of this category OF accl-
dents"
.oTbev are test cases, as it were"
"Ouite 50 These courts are not clVli
courts--they are much more liberal
and thev do not raise technical difficult
ties IF thew are satisfied that the
workman has met with an accident N
the course of his work, that is enough
for them
"But people in England will ask,
Does not this liberality make the work
man careless? You treat him SO hand
somely whether the accident is due TO
his own fault or not"
mo one said he, will lose his hahd
or his eve for a pension. DO you thihk
he would?"
mo, perhaps not but take the case
of some slighter accident Might not
the certainty Of the pension make
man more careless?"
you cannot tell In machine industry
whether carelessness will cause siight
| or a serious accident. There Is nothing
| in it-nothing we have no evidence to
| bear out such a suggestion. In view Oh
| the apparent increase in these slight
accidents we made inquiries amongst
the employers associations on this
point. The answers give evidence OF
increased precautions, more stringent
safeguards on every hand
And now, Herr President, may | re-
turn to the misgiving sometimes eX-
pressed in England that insurance
weakens responsibility on the part of
the employer, and thus exposes the
workman to greater dangers?''
"The employers are professionally
more careful said the president, en-
phatically. How could it be other
wise? They do not desire to be penal
lied for q high accident rate. / know a
big mill where the proprietors pay forty
| thousand marks year into the insu-
rance fund Accidents have been fire.
quent there, and they are consequently
| put on what we call the danger tariff.
| IL an accident occurs through the neg
lect of the employer, then he must pay
| the pension out Of his own pocket.
The result of compulsory indemnifica-
ton is to make it to the employers in
terest to keep down accidents. Injuries
are expensive, and the trade group will
bring this home to him If there is any
negligence. There is the power of rails
ing his danger tariff, and there is a
system of fines for the breach of pro-
tective rules. l will refer you to those
who will be able to tell you all this in
detail as to special aids"
"That seems quite clear" I replied,
"and your statistics as to the decrease
of deaths and more serious accidents
speak for themselves. I see that the
French Office du Travail use them to
rebuff the charge of a general increase. .
Yes; the deaths and the permanent
complete disablements are being re-
duced And in view of the points
mentioned just now, the new machines,
| the inexperienced workers, the great
pressure, and all the circumstances OF
an Industrial Transformation, we should
think we did well If we kept the rate of
accidents constant. AS it is there are
several kinds of serious injuries-you
will find particulars in my book-which
have been swept away entirely, and we
are pulling down the serious accidents
rate
"To turn to another part of the sub
ject. In England the plan is to pay
down a lump sum as compensation and
have done with it. In Germany, I be-
,ieve. you keep the wife and family and
you care for the injured man. Has this
pension system affected the question OF
cures?"
This morning." replied the president
Gin that room yonder, we have had a
conference in which you may be inter-
| ested You know that an injured