The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-09

come the property of absentee land- lords who farm by tenants, nor yet
 so small that. the farmer becomes like Europesfi peasant. Again, the de-
 number over one-tenth of our entire
 population. These are all capitals
 who through the savings banks loan
 in many. cases to themselves--to car " on their various industries. The
 more we increase their number, the
 more we introduce the principles of
 increase in the number of small stock
 holders In corporations is good
 thing, for the same reasons; and where
 the employees are the stockholders the
 result is particularly good. Very
 much of this movement must be out
 plished by legisiation; but legislation
 banks win make 1t easy for the poor
 est to keep their savings in absolute safety. The regulation of the national
 highways must be such that they shall Corporate e ate hnSPcss s mus must ' Se supsrvissd 80 as to make it far safer than at
 present for the man of small means
 . s9 avsss s s eRsg in of sSah sSd asor Thsss
 dininution of woman labor, shortening
 of hours of aii mechanical labor; stock
 watering should be prohibited, and
 discouraged There should be pro
 gressive inheritance tax on large for
 tunes. Industrial education should be
 encopraged. As far as possible we on the small man. We should put
 premium upon thrift, hard work. and
 business energy; but these qualities
 cumulating e fortune long before that
 fortune reaches a point where 1t would
 be seriously affected by any inherit iance tax such as l propose; It is emi; mi;
 fix the terms upon which the great
 fortunes are inherited, They rarely
 do good. and they often do harm to
 those who inherit them in their en-
 Protection fer wagewOrkers.
 The above is the merest sketch, hardly even a sketch in outline, of
 woe work. s'RsS But there % is e one matter Ni with which Congress should deal at this session. There should no longer be any paltsring ,Si with v. the the
 workers who, under our present in- dustrial system, become killed, crip-
 pied, or worn out as part of the. reg Tss Esr saltH DsSSnt' sxenk SS'nsss mSsi have their rights secured for them by State action; but the national govern
 ment should legisiate in thoroughgo- for all employed of the national gov ernnent, but for all persons engaged in interstate commerce. The object sought SSr Slas SSgIa be saT ss those proper enpioyers liability laws. As far as concerns those who have been fact that definite steps toward proyid- lng old age pensions have been taken in many of our private Inaustriss; These may be indefinitely extended d contributory schemesl or through the the recent Massachusetts plan. To strengthen these .praSE;tieal pS; 0,9n meaSerees es not at present necessary to consider the large and more general govern mental schemes that most European goxsrnnents have found themselves
 our present system. or rather no sytem, works. dreadful wrong. and is of beneit to only one class of people injured what he needs is not an ex- psnsive and doubtful lewsuit, but the certainty of relief through immediate seeiaenss seseSi WhicS ''rS result fs in death or crippling of wage-workers, Tn the On- ion at large. is simply appalling; n a very few years. 1t runs up total dead and wounded ii any modern war: No academic theory. about freedom of .contract or "constitttional liberty to contract" should be permitted to in nnents. Progress in civilization. has everywhere meant a limitation and reg ulatfon of contract. call your espe- Bureau of Labor which gives a state- ment of the meth odB of treating the unemployed in European countries, as this Is subject which in Germany, for instance. Is treated in connection with making provision for worn out and crippled workmen.
 Pending a thoroughg going fnvestiga- iatlon which should be enatced at once. The law, passed at the last ses- sion of the Congress, granting conn pensetion to certain classes of em- extended to include all employees of more liberal in It's terms There is as soHS S sw fGr Setwsn saS thGse e gagged in hazardous occupations and those not so engaged. If a man Is in- jured or killed in, any line of work 1t was hazardous in his case. Wheth-' CT one per cent or ten per cent of those following given occupation actually suffer Injury. or death ought not to have any bearing on the ques- tion of their receiving compensation, It Is Q grim logic which says to an Injured employe or to the dependents of one killed that he or they are en- IlLlCQ 10 no COHlpSHbdLiQh uGCauSG very few people other than he have been injured or killed in that occupa- ton. Perhaps one of the most strIk- ing omissions in the law Is that 1t does not embrace peace officers and others whose lives may be sacrificed In enforcing the laws of the United States. The terms of the act provid ing compensation should be made more liberal than in the present act A years compensation Is not adequate for Q wageearner's family in the event of his death by accident In the course of his employment And in the event of death occurring. say. ten or eleven after the accident, the family would only receive as compensation earnings. in this respect the gener- osity of the United States towards its employees compares most unfavorably with that of every country in Europe
 The terms of the act arc also hardship in prohibiting payment in cases where the accident Is in any ploye 1t is Inevitable that daily fa- with danger will lead men to take chances that can be construed 1 Into negligence. So, well Is this reoog- nized that in practically all countries In the civilized world, except the Uni- ted States, only a great degree Of negligence. acts as bar to securing 1espsct is our iesisiation' both State | and national, so far behind practical- | y the entire civilized world as in the | 'or accidents in industry. It is hu- | that at European interna. .ional congresses on accidents the | United States should be singled out | Is the most beIated among the na- | Ions in respect to employers' liability | egislation. This government is itself | ! large employer of labor. and in its 1 lealinas with its employees it should | Iet standard in this country which | would place 1t on par with the most |