Bisbee daily review., 1911-06-09
BRANDE|S URGES
 WORKERS INSURANCE
Attorney Would Assess Wages to Provide Against Life'S
 Many Ills

i BOSION, June o.-A he uuSe MaStf
 of the present industrial system in
 America was heavily scored by Louis D. Brandeis of this city in an ad-
 dress on 'Workingmen's Insurance the Road to Social Efficiency" before lthe National Conference of Charities and Correction here this evening
 Mir Brandeis said in part:
 1 Throughout the civilized world a developing sense of social responsibil- lity has compelled the community to support in some manner it's needy members, Whatsoet CT the cause of their inability to support themselves. In granting this aid We are passing
 from sporadic, emotional charity to
 organized charity. and from mere re- lief to preventative measures. We
 have to learn that financial depend
 ence among the wage earners is due lin a large part to sickness, accident.
 invalidity, superannuation or unem ployment or the premature death
 of the bread winner of the family Contingencies like these. referred to
 in individual cases as misfortune,
 are now recognized as ordinary incl
 dents of the lives of the wage earn CTS, and must be met by a compre-
 hensive system of workingmens
 insurance.
 American democracy rests upon the basis of the free citizen. Political ly an American workinsman is free so far as laws can make him so-but is he really free, can any man be . really free who is constantly in dan ger of becoming dependent for mere subsistence upon somebody and some ' things else than his own exertion and } conduct Men are not tree while 5 financially dependent upon the will 3 of other individuals Financial de
 pendence lis consistent with freedom ! only where the claim to support ? rests upon right and not upon favor t The cost attending freedom is r usually high and tie cost of provid l ing to the workinsman, as essential l. to freedom, q comprehensive and ad Q equate system Of insurance vii - 'Brove to be no exception to this ,- general rule. Few intelligent propert, Q owners omit to insure against fire ' Everybody recognizes the fire insur n ance premium as a current expense i. and yet the chance of loss by fir
 lis very slight as compared with tn n chance Of loss to a man by sickness . accident or premature death. Every 2 intelligent manufacturer makes q . some form a regular charge for de l, lpFeciation Of machinery and plant !, and yet the depreciation ot maj r through invalidity aud superannuatioi
 is no less certain and frequentl a more severe than the depreciation o i, machinery. Every intelligent mant . facturer recognizes rent, interest am q taxes as a current daily charge whicl
 continues, although his plant is shu
 down or operating at less than ful
 capacity: but the cost to the employ
 CT of carrying an unusued plant
 mot as great relatively as the cos F to the employe of carrying himsel
 and family while unemployed.
 What sum would he required ar
 uually to provide an adequate syster
 of workingmcn's insurance cannot b
 idetermined from existing data. Tn
 cost would obviously vary greatly T
 different occupations and diheren n communities An amount equal 70 l
 per. cent of current wages would g U far towards relieving in many II
 dustries the distress now incident [
 sickness. accident, invalidity, premf , uure death, sunerennuauon and UT - empIovmeut of the wage earner. Bu ! lf IS teF'HNt fidt fNF lApNNNAo " |. even SD large a charge as 10 pc ? cent Of the veraga daily wag - would, under present conditions, a
 ford mere alleviation of and no
 indemnity for the losses now attend a ant upon the contingencies in tn <, life of the workingman. The cost t1 providing complete indemnity wonl a probably reach an amount equal - a5 per cent of the average dall ,, wage. for the premiums requisite l securing indemnity from losses inc ,o dent to sickness. accident, invaliditl premature death or sperannuatio " would probably aggregate E per cer - Of the laily wage, while the avera2
 ,,arcentage required 10 indemnify fC unemployment due to lack of woT " would probably reach about 10 pe ~ cent. This huge a6parenty prohi m ,m rive expense should not, howeve ,d de-er ne from taking action no ,a it should. on the contrary, incii ,o us to immediate and vigorous mea
 ures. It would disclose now val s inc waste incident to present socii |, and industrial conditions is, an o~ when the extent of that waste sha er have been deteruined and mad o- clear to our. people, a long step fo S, ward will have been taken on tf o road to improvement and resultin