Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-02-05
~Workingmens Compensation" in Nebraska

pense to the taxpayers of New York City
in maintaining their judicial system, Of
which so per cent is chargeable to negH-
gence or accident cases; but not one penny
Of this great sum is OF any direct benefit,
or aid, or compensation to the victims OF
the accident"
1 say the system lie wrong. It makes
capital a prey for an ill-informed jury, and
on the other hand, capital brushes the
wage Garner In his efforts to collect in
demnity, by carrying case on and on at
time when the compensation is needed
most. In a great majority OF cases when
the breadwinner OF a home is killed or
MANNED. or his earning capacity destroyed,
his family, usually above the average in
numbers, Immediately becomes charge on
the community and the accident thus Gre
ates another expense TO the taxpayer
Coal mining, OF all Industrial occupations,
demands the greatest toll Of human life,
and in America, where We are supposed to
DO well advanced in mechanical and safety
devices, and where natural conditions are
most favorable the toll is the greatest
Out Of each 1000 employed in the coal mines
In this country Give years average) 339
per cent are killed and for each 600 900 tons
of coal produced there is an average of 59S
lives blotted out. No other country pays
so dearly. Then there are the thousands
who are injured and permanently disabled
The dependents OF these killed and MANNED
workmen must be taken caro- of and a
means OF doing so must be found. II Is
great problem and years will be required
to get a system on an adequate perpetual
and necessarily scientific basis. Conditions
( are far different here from those I'm Europe
and thus the problem is more complicated.
To compel by law, claimant or damages
or indemnity, TO accept a stated sum may
/ be unconstitutional in that the claimant
would be deprived OF his liberty, but an
J. election should be Offered him; that is, he
may elect 10 accept the stipulated amount
provided by law or he may elect to take
his case through the courts. but under no
circumstances can he make. more than one
election.
The cost of the operating OF the court
machinery Is expensive IN more ways than
one The value OF the time lost by bust
ness men in sitting on juries and acting as
\ witnesses is an item OF no small impor-
lance. Meanwhile the wheels OF industry
grind more swiftly and relentlessly In 1905
for example, there were nearly $500 fatal IN
dustrial accidents and approximately .OOl
non-fatal accidents. Every day lives and
limbs are sacrificed TO speed and produc-
ton leaving men. women and children
helpless or dependent The employees first
thought Is. can get anything And the
| employer Is concerned with "Am I legally
liables" Now we arrive at the menace 90
peace and profit, litigation. Largs. employ
ers are today asking themselves. "Is~not
safety a good investment and Is not in
slant compensation cheaper easier and bet
ter business IN the end, than a damage
: sutT' Under present tRntiquatedl laws,
an injured workman can recover only when
Il Is proven that the accident was the fau',
OF the employer and then the compensation
h fixed b. court and Jury. The workman
must assume AL the riak Of trade and IN
many occupations continually expose him
self He must take chances with the Eel
low servant rule. which protects the en-
ployer IN case the worker Is hurt through
oareiessness Of a eo-Worker. The present
laws therefore DO not cover over about 81
per cent Of the cases. as about that per