The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1907-02-08
Employers Liability
Law We Want

There is big fight on in the legis-
lature over the enactment of an em-
ployers' liability law, and it behooves
workingmen to get busy to prevent
a botching of the job. The McMullen
bill, which seems to be the bill settled
on by a lot of the house members, is
not all that the wage earners Of the
state want. And it is whole lot
less than what they have a right to
expect. in view of the declarations in
the republican and democratic plat
forms. The McMullen bill includes
only common carriers within its pro-
visions, and it contains an attack on
the Burlington Relief Bureau that is
resented by the older men among the
Burlington employees. These old en-
ployes claim that the bill, if enacted
into law, will destroy the relief bur-
eau and thus deprive them of sick
accident and death benefits They base
! this contention on the ground that
they are now too old to secure insur-
ance, and that even if they could the
extra hazardous nature of their en-
ployment would make the rates ex-
cessive. McMullen and the support
ers of his bill declare that the Bur
lington is merely making this as a
| threat to stave off the enactment Of
any liability law.
The Wageworker is not interested
in the Burlington relief bureau save
to the extent that it wants it retained
if the men who are paying the money
into it want it retained. But this
paper does oppose he McMuilen bill
on the ground that it is not what the
| workingmen of this state want. II we
are correct in our understanding Of
what legislators should do, it is not
question of what Mr.. McMullen or
any other legislator wants, but ques-
ton of what the people want who have
employed Mr.. McMullen and other leg
islators to act as their lawmaking
| agents. If the Burlington men are
satisfied with the Burlington relief
bureau certainly Mr.. McMullen ought
to be satisfied with it. And if the
wage earners of the state want a
broader law, one that will be an en-
ployers' liability law in fact as well
as in name, Mr.. McMullen and his
colleagues ought to be willing to give
test of the courts the workingmen
will take their medicine and try it
again.
| What the wage earners of this state
want is liability law that is general
in it's application. The McMullen bill
affords no protection to the lineman
who is roasted by coming in contact
with live wire. It affords no pro-
lection to the machinist who is In
jured by the carelessness or incom-
petence of a fellow servant or the de-
fectiveness of a piece of machinery
in the shop. 1t affords no protection
to the man horribly burned by the
explosion of defective carboy of acid
or the carelessness of fellow servant
who fails to properly secure the car
boy. It reltaes solely to employees
of common carriers, and that kind of
a law has just been declared unconsti.
tutional by two federal judges on the
ground that it is class legislation. The
eight hour law enacted by Nebraska
legislature sixteen years ago was de
clared unconstitutional on the very
same ground that will be urged
against the McMullen bill if it is en-
acted into law. The eight hour law
excepted farmers from it's provisions
and because it did not apply to ali
classes alike Judge Wakeley declared
it UT constitutional.
To be effective, and to give wage
earners what they want, the employ
ers liability act must be universal
in it's scope. Here is a bill, introduced
by Senator Burns known as Senate
File No. 233, that is just what the
wage earners of this state want:
A bill for an act to render employers
liable for damages on account Of In
iuries inflicted upon persons in theil
employ through the negligence of fel
low servants of such injured employe
and to repeal any act in conflict here
with.
BE it enacted by the legislature OF
the state of Nebraska:
"Sec. 1. Whenever any action shall
be brought in this state to recover
damages on account Of personal in
juries received by one who was, at the
time of such injuries, in the employ
fthe party against whom such actor
is brought, and the ground of sucf
action alleged is carelessness or negli