The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1910-06-25

correctly, for the injured worknen
from from the hn amount here given must pay
least one-half of the amount received.
Thus it will be seen that OF. every doll
lar paid for insurance by the employ
cents eventuaiiy gets into the pockets
of the injured workmen. There Is q
waste then Of approximately 80 per
cent, under the present system:
dom carry employers liability insur-t
ance. Even with them there Is q
wastage that. might be eliminated. An
attorney tor large railway corpora.
winter that In one case tried In Min
neapolis it cost his client $4,000 for ex-
pert testimony to head off g. $1,000
mo1ey paa Sy e 50 nd taes Of the
corporation in Northern Minnesota in
settlement claims growing out Of per-
sonal Injuries reaches the men who,
were injured.
III This sc cruel system Of the present Of,
speculation on the mangled bones and
crushed lives of the working classes.
This point might be illustrated with
while carrying hod Of mortar up
ladder was struck on the head by a
brick carelessly dropped by. the brick
layer above him: After being laid up.
damages in the hands of an attorney.
A settlement was made for 5000, from
which the attorney deducted 800 as
his share: whats this?" asked the
portion Of his claim handed him by
the attorney. There's your SHARE" re-
sponded the lawyer: where's the
rest?' queried the 1rishman. "oh, I
have kept the rest as my fee for set
ting the claim the attorney replied.
Say" said the injured man rather
earnestly, "between you and me, which
one of us was hit with the brick?"
Too many men who haven't been hit
with bricks, or ground in the wheels
of industry are getting altogether too
much, and the in ured laborers are get
ey paid by employers on account OF
accidents. And yet no one can right
fully blame the personal injury attor-
ney for exacting> his large fee, or the
tits. for both are engaged in game
surprises and disappointments >
Because Of the failure Of the press
compensate workingmen for injuries
suffered at their employments the pub
Tic is put to much expense, not usu-
ally considered in treating this cues
charitable institutions financed; reiieff
societies supplied, and Individual citi-
zens are greatly harassed by private
charity as. result. Oh, what a sad
ton. {
At the present time our nation ID
greatly aroused over the question of
conversing our natural resources. We
have suddenly become aware of the
fact that our mineral products are be-
our water power left undeveloped. But
what natural resource Is of as much
Importance to a nation as the health,
happiness and intelligence of its citi-
Zens? :.
In every phase Of our commercial
life except in this one, experts are u.s.
ing all of the scientific knowledge they
possess in attempting to ascertain how
so very long ago in the meat industry
the offal was cast aside as worthless,
Today there. is not morsel in car
cass Of beef but what is utilized.
sible for the stockholders in the great
packing companies to accumulate for.
tunes
When the art Of refining crude pc
was known of the value of the waste
substance after the refined oil was
extracted; Now there is practically no
uthg exerS as sun Of eS sy
and a half hundred or more marketa-.
BILE by-products Of petroleum is the
result. The conservation Of the wastes
in petroleum manufactured by the
Standard Oil company gave it an ad-.
vantage over it's competitors and made
it possible for that corporation to be-
come the most profitable industrial in
The United States Steel corporation
stands out boldly as the greatest
achievement Of modern industry. tits
ganized Of all the great commercial
and industrial institutions. By elimi-
mating the wastes that formerly OBJ
tanned in "the production Of iron and
steel it has Transformed what vas
into one Of absolute surety, and own
ers Of preferred stock in this great
corporation find their investments as
returns almost twice as remunerative.
Where there has been a wastage
that could be turned into Increased di-
vidends capital has lost neither time
nor opportunity in diverting. it into
wastage under our system of*employ-
ers; liability presents different as
speet.-f it's conservation would mean
a greater number Of Of Injured Injured Work.
men, so there is little in it to attract
that kind of corporation stockholders
whose eyes ARE solely riveted upon
and other foreign countries that the
prevention. Of accidents and proper
Compensation for. injuries have in the
lOuS run IcSulLCu Ill luCTcdSeU pTOllLS
to the manufacturers themselves.
Just and adequate compensation to
workingmen for injury to health or
body sustained in industry is not pure
ly an Industrial question. 1t is socfe-
tvs problem, for beyond the misery
and suffering of labor and labor's fam
lily. the real financial burden falls
upon society.
The. cost Of liability insurance. and
lawsuits are charged by the employer
to the cost of production, and the con-
sumner pays for 1t in the end. The pc ,
pie support the courts by taxation;
here all share in the expense. This is
also true Of the almshouses where, the
Chicago Daily News declares, ten per
cent Of our crippled population are
ultimately forced. A goodly number,
whose pride prevents them from seek
ing refuge in the poorhouses, are aided
by private charity. All of them must
be fed some way, for christian ma
ton cannot permit even the most un-
fortunate of cripples to starve. So
1t can be admitted as an economic
truth that the final burden of cost falls
upon society. No one can study this
question fairly, honestly and intelli-
gently without being impressed with
the simple fact that the present sys-
tenn of employers liability based upon
negligence, has outlived it's usefulness.
AS matter Of fact. none who are
concerned in the matter, employers
lawyers, insurance companies, econom-
In axnarfc ~ ri,opr do "