The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1909-04-29
THE GERMAN SYSTEM OF
GOVERNMENT INSURANCE


GOVERNMENT INSURANCE
Columbus, Ohio, April 29.-The Ger
man Ambassador, Count Won Bernstein
delivered an address dealing with the
system Of government insurance now
in effect in Germany, before the board
of trade, last evening. The address
follows:
Mr.. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: ::
Permit me to begin my address by
expressing my most sincere thanks
for your kind invitation to visit this
great and beautiful city, where so
many descendants from the German
stock have found a new home and
now form a natural bond of an ever
increasing friendship between Ger
many and the United States. The
splendid reception / received here WAS
exceedingly gratifying to me, and |
will never forget your kindness and
the pleasant day l spent at Columbus.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me say
that it is a great pleasure for me to
see so many charming ladies here. |
am, however, rather afraid of over
taxing their patience, as my subject
may seem rather tedious, all the more
as I am not speaking my own Ian
guage; but / have been asked to say
something about social legislation in
Germany, and 1 hope in so doing to
foster your friendly feelings for my
country, which has in the domain of
social legislation shown an initiative
worthy of admiration.
This legislation was initiated by a
message of Emperor William l. in
1881, which ran as follows:
I'VE consider it our Imperial duty
to impress upon the Reichstag the
necessity of furthering the welfare of
the working people. We should re-
view which increased satisfaction the
manifold success with which the Lord
has blessed our reign, could we carry
with US to the grave the conscious
ness of having given our country an
additional and lasting assurance of
internal peace, and the conviction
that we have rendered the needy that
assistance to which they are justly
entitled. Our efforts in this direction
are certain of the approval of all the
federate Governments and we conf
IDENTIFY reply on the support of the
Reichstag, without distinction of par
ties. In order to realize these views
a bill for the Insurance of Workmen
against industrial accidents will first
of all be laid before you, after which
a supplementary measure will be sub
mitted providing for a general organ
ization of industrial sick relief inSur
ance. But likewise those who are dis
abled in consequence of old age or in
validity possess a well-founded claim
to a more ample relief on the part of
the State than they have hitherto en-
joyed. To devise the f1ttest ways and
means for making such provision, how
ever difficult, is one of the highest OBJ
legations of every community based
49, l4{ So ,,,.- 4So,,
ity. more intimate connection with
the actual capabilities of the people,
and a mode of turning these to ac
count incorporate associations, under
the patronage with the aid of the
State, will, we trust, develop scheme
to solve which the State alone would
prove unequal"
AS our social legislation covers, as
far as may be, the whole range of
life and action, it would be quite i'm
possible to deal with more than one
subject this evening. / would not ven
ture to engage your attention for such
a long time. l chose the Industrial
insurance laws as subject of my ad
dress, because these laws have a spe
cial interest to you just now. The
wages of the German workman have
of late been much spoken of in this
country, but the fact has mostly es-
capped notice that the industrial in
Surance laws must be taken into ac-
count il we wish to pass fair judg-
ment upon the wages and standard of
life of the German Workman.
On the one hand the employer is
heavily taxed by these laws, a tax
which must be added to the cost of
production: and on the other hand,
thanks to the insurance laws, the en-
ployed enjoys benefits such as the
workman of other countries cannot
count on. The gloom of sickness is
relieved owing to the fact that the
needs of the sick workman and his
family are supplied by the insurance
fund. In case of accident, liberal al
lowances come from the same source.
When the age of decay and helpless
ness comes, a pension awaits the
weary soldier of industry.
The first of the three laws l intend
speaking of without going into more
tedious details than absolutely neces-
sary, requires insurance against sick
ness in the case of all persons who
are regularly employed for wages and
do not earn more than 1000 marks
yearly. There are six groups of in
surance agencies-the local sick funds
established by parishes for branches