The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-12-09

is treated in connection with making pro-
vision for wornout and crippled workrnen.
Legislation Needed.
Pending thoroughgoing investigation
and action there is certain legislation
which should be enacted at once The
law. passed at the last session of the con-
gress. granting compensation TO certain
classes of employees of the government
should be extended to include all en-
ployes of the government and should be
made more liberal in its terms. There is
no good ground for the distinction made
IN the law between those engaged in haz-
ardous occupations and those not so en-
gagged If man is injured or killed in
any line of work. il was hazardous in his
case. Whether l per cent or 10 per cent
OF those following given occupation ac-
tualiy suffer injury or death ought not
to have any bearing on the question of
their receiving compensation. 1t is a
= grim logic which says to an injured
y empioye or TO the dependents OF one =
y killed that he or they are entitled to =
4 no compensation because very few y
y people other than he have been in \
y 1ured or killed in that occupation. y
y Perhaps one of the most striking y
y omissions in the law is that IL does =
y not embrace peace officers and 9TH y
4 ers whose lives may be sacrificed in =
7 enforcing the laws of the United +
y States. The terms of the act pro- +
y Viding compensation should be made =
y more liberal than in the present act. y
years compensation is not adequate
for wage-earners 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
months after the accident, the family
would only receive as Compensation the
equivalent OF one or two months earn
ings. in this respect the generosity of
the United States towards its employees
compares most unfavorably with that of.
every country in Europe-even the poor
! est.
United States Behind Europe.
The terms of the act are also a hard
| ship in prohibiting payment in cases
where the accident is in any way due to
/ the negligence of the employee. 1t is in
evitable that daily familiarity with dan
ger will lead men to take chances that
is this recognized that in practically all
countries in the civilized world except
the United States, only a great degree of
negligence acts as bar to securing COM
pensation- Probably in no other respect
is our legislation, both state and national,
so far behind practically the entire civ
llizeq world as in the matter of liability
and compensation for accidents in indus
y try. 1t IS humiliating that at Eu- y
= ropean International congresses on +
y accidents the United States should y
y be singled out as the most belated \
= among the nations in respect to en- y
y plOyers' liability legislation. This y
4 government is itself large employer =
y of labor, and-in its dealings with its y
y a
y this country which would place it on =
y a par with the most progressive y
= countries in Europe. The Laws of \
the United States in this respect and the
laws Of European countries have been
summarized in a recent bulletin of the
bureau of labor and no American who
reads this summary can fail 70 be struck
by the great contrast between our prac-
tees and theirs-a contrast not in any
sense TO our credit.
Model Law for District.
The congress should without further de-
lay pass a model employers liability law
for the District of Columbia The en-
plOyers' liability act recently declared I'M
constitutional on account of apparently
including in its provisions employees en-
those engaged in interstate commerce,
has been held by the locals courts to be,
still In effect so far as its provisions APP
ply to the District of Columbia. There
should be no ambiguity on this point. If
there IS any doubt on the subject the
law should be re-enacted, with special
reference to the District of Columbia
This act. however. applies only to en-
piOyes OF common carriers In all other
occupations the liability law Oof the dis
trict is the old common law. The sever
| ity and injustice of the common law in
! this matter has been in soome degree or
another modified in the majority of our
| states. and the only jurisdiction under
! the exclusive control of the congress
should be ahead and not behind the
states Of the Union in this respect.
| comprehensive employers liability law
should be passed for the District of Co
| lumbia.
| 1 renew my recommendation made in
previous message that half holidays be
granted during summer to all wage
workers in government employ.
l also renew my recommendation that
the principle of the eight-hour day should
as rapidly and as far as practicable be
extended to the entire work being car
ried on by the government; the present
law should be amended to embrace con-
tracts on those public works which the