Cañon City record., 1908-10-29
Act Provides for Compensation to
Employees Injured in Govern-
- ment Service.
Receive Pay for One Year-secretary
of Department Of Commercs and
Labor Administers Act-Familiss
to Be Taken Care OF.

ceive from it compensation for In
juries sustained in the course Of their
employment" which came into effect
on August /, is a measure OF great inl-
portance in the domain of labor legiS-
lation. Under previous laws. compen-
sation in case Of injury is paid to en-
ployes In the railway mail service and
in the life saving service. The new
law applies to persons employed by the
government as artisans or laborers In
the following services: Arsenals, navy
yards, river and harbor construction,
fortifcation construction, hazardous en-
ployment in the reclamation service.
namely in construction and in control
and management of works, hazardous
employment under the Isthmian canal
commission, government manufactur-
ing establishments.
Scope of Law Large.
According to a rough estimate made
by the department of commerce and Ia
Dor, about 5000 government employees
come within the provisions of the law.
Compensation will be paid under this
act only for such injuries to an EN-
pioye as occur in the course of his EN-
ployment and cause inability to pursue
his employment for more than fifteen
days. Compensation is not paid II the
injury Is due to the negligence or mis-
conduct OF the employe himself. The
act applies only to injuries received on
or after August l.
The compensation consists Of con-
tinuance during the period Of disabil-
ity, but not over one year, Of the same
pay which the employe was receiving
at the time of the injury. II the en-
ploye is killed by the accident or dies
from the results Of the injury received
and leaves a widow or children under
16 years of age or dependent parents,
the same amount Of compensation is
paid to these dependent relatives until
the completion of the twelve months
period.
Discretionary Power in One Man.
The administration of the act is in
trusted to the secretary of commerce
and labor. All questions of negligence
or misconduct are to be determined by
him, and in case OF death from injury,
the distribution of the compensation
among the dependent relatives entitled
to it must be made according to his or
ders. Cases of injuries to employees
coming under this act must be reported
to the secretary of commerce and labor.
when approved by him.
No compensation will be paid either
for injury or for death unless the per-
sons entitled to such compensation
make application for the same. This
application must be made by the in
jured empIoye. or. In case of his death
by his dependents and forwa r,ied by the
official superior of the injured employe.
accompanied by n physicians certifi-
cate, through the regular official chan
nels to the secretary of commerce and
labor. The secretary Is authorized by
the act to demand such additional In
formation. or order such investigation
as is necessary for the proper admin
istration Of the law.
Regulation. of Law.
Regulations have been prepared by
the secretary of commerce and labor
for the guidance Of officials and en-
ployes in the government service, and
the necessary forms and blanks have
been prepared. printed and distributed
among the government Offices through
out the country, where persons are en-
ployed who come under the provisions
OF this act. According to these regu-
lations, reports Of injuries must be
made by the official superior of the
employe to the secretary of commerce
and labor not later than the second
day after the accident. Application for
compensation must be made as soon as
possible after the first fifteen days Of
disability. If the application is ap-
proved the compensation will be paid
during disability, but for period not
exceeding six months. at the end Of
which period. the injured person must
make application for re-examiuation
by n physician provided by the secre-
tary OF commerce and labor. and after
this examination has been made and
reported, a new approval by the Iec-
retary for further payment of compen-
satiou Is necessary. This procedure Is
demanded by section 3 OF the act. The
only other condition required is n pres
entation to the disbursing officer on
each pay day OF physicians certiti-
cate as to the disability Of the In
jured person, approved by the official
superior.
Faraish Accident Statistics.
Applications of dependents for COM
pensation In case OF the death OF an
employe from accidental injury must
be made within 30 days after such
death. The records OF the applicatIo
OF tuiS AT VIII iuruiSu Nuustu'e ua-
terial for statistics OF accidents, which.
for this country are quite meager. In
order to make the statistics more COM
plete and valuable. reports OF all acci-
dental injuries to government employees.
rega rdless OF the application OF this act.
have been requested from all govern
lpent establishments and Offices. A the
number OF Cnlted States government
employees exceeds 10000. these statis-
tics Will prove Of great scientific value