The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-07-24
EXPLANATION OF METHODS AND OPERATION OF THE SYSTEM

dhis valuable description Of the German
workmens insurance. a. conducted under the
supervision Of the Imperial Government. was
prepared for readers OF The Republic by the
kindness Of Doctor Fritz Kestner Of the Ger
man Commission to the Worlds Fair)
Tho Worlds Fair encompasses objects
OF tho most varied description. From the
imposing royal structure OF the German
Castle to the rustic Robert Burns cot
fege. from the sashes Of the Igorrotes to
the lace-covered Partisan evening robes,
visitors find every kind of art, OF Indus
Try. Of products Of the most diversified
character represented.
The educational feature Of tho Worlds
Fair finds its clearest expression in the
Palace Of Education and Social Economy.
In the western part Of the building. which
Is dedicated to social economy, is installed
q German division we'll supplied with
books. tables and statistical material
This division will be avoided by the casual
visitor of the Worlds Fair. but the
searcher In the province Of social econo-
my and the earnest student OF public az
fairs will derive therefrom an abundance
Of interesting material
On the initiative OF the celebrated Amer
lean social economist Carroll l.. Wright,
from the Department OF Labor, Washing
ton, D. c., the German Imperial Govern
ment has resolved to explain, with the
heIp OF pictures and tables, TO the Amer
leans at the Exposition, the grand crea-
ton OF the Geruidn Workmens . lnsur Ahce.
Ibis - the most characteristic creation Oh
Germany IN Ine province OF social econo-
my, enIrely dlEerent from Slnliidr lnSti-
tuuons In other countries. Ine Eerhan
institutions are more and more initiated
by otner European countries, ana there
arises the great question. which IS lett TO
the future to solye. whether the United
states could likewise undertake simIiar
organizations.
AIM OF THE INSURANCE.
Tho aim Of the German workmen's in
surance Is to guarantee to working men
and women protection against the conse-
Quences Of accident, against sicknes and
me QeDlllty or OLD age, as Well as against
invalIdIty brought on IN any way. There
are I,0u,00 laporers insured against ac-
cident, lU5O0.OV against sickness ana
u oU0 against old age and inyaiidIty. E;x-
empt from the insurance against sickness
are agricultural laborers, as they are
taken care or by another method.
Whoever In the pursuit OF his avocauon
has met with an ACCIDENT receives medical
treatment tree Of charge. Is supplied with
medicine. and. moreover. Is enlilied To q
daily allowance for the support OF him
BILE to restore him to full health he will
draw q so-called accident rent for tho
duration Of his impaired working capacity.
eventually to the end OF his life. The
amount Of this rent is 20 regulated that 1t
will equal two-thIrds OF his usual wages.
Any workman VINO becomes Ill likewise
receives medical treatment free OF charge
and medicine. at his home or at hospital.
and. besides. daily sick dement, for him.
self and his family. Should an Illness last
longer than six months he VIII De consid.
fnvu and HON
advantages Of invaiidity insurance
AGED PERSONS INSURED.
Every laborer who has completed his
sever tieth year of life, or before this time
has become an invalid 30 that he could not
any longer attend to his work with full
energy, receives so-called inVanuity
rent. Chi0 rent varies in proportion to the
dues heretofore paid by him. and the lat
ter are regulated with regard to the wages
he has received. Moreover. tho time dur
ing which he has belonged to the invahd-
lty insurance ID taken into conslaeratl9n.
This rent is never high enough to arord
comfortable livelihood; nevertheless 1t Is
fully sufficient to supply the necessaries
In l9O2 not less than $4,000 invalidity
rents wero paid. lS0 ,00v old-aRe rents. lA,Vvo
accident rents, and IN conformity with the
insurance against sickness 4,OVo.VD cases
of sickness were treated. To achieve TINS.
enormous means are required In iSVi a
total Of approximately $lUVOO.u wv was pad
TO the insured. lnlS tdSt " pS SuAS'
is raised by widely different methods. Ac-
cident insurance is paid exclusively by the
employers, as 1t is a firmly grounded con-
ception Of German law that whoever gives
occasion for enlargement Is responsible
tor the consequences resulting thererrom.
For this purpose the employers are or
Kanixed In so-calied 'Berufs Genossen-
schaften." upon whom 1t devolves to pay
the rents and then to assess the required
amounts to the individual employers. or
the amounts for the insurance against
sickness two-thirds are contributed by the
workmen themselves and one-third by the
employers.
SICK FUND FOR LABORERS.
All laborers Of q certain factory. or
(and this Is the rule) OF a certain place.
belong to q so-called sick fund. which IL
administered to them In conjunction with
the employers. The dues are paid in week
" installments upon the payment OF the
wages. For old age and tnvandfty 1nsur-
ance the dues are likewise paid In weekly.
This Is done by the pasting In Of stamps
in little book. these stamps at the same
time serving the purpose OF controlling
srch payments. Employers and employees
pay the same amounts. In addition where
to the German Imperial Government. from
state funds makes q yearly payment OF
so marks on each rent. For the adminis-
tratiou Of the amounts paid In the regu-