The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18

Ut seems to me-" said Fred M. Jack son, formerly president of the Alabama Coal Operators, and general manager of the old Standard Coal company, that all this trouble about damage suits in Birmingham could be done away with, or at any rate materially lessened, if more interest were manifested by the employer generally in the meritorious case.
 We never used to have all this trouble in this district in the old days. Some of us scarcely ever heard of dam age suits. There were accidents of course+cant always help that, you know, in coal mine--but the men who were injured were usually treated with such consideration and kindness that they never thought of suing the com pany. .t
 Whether the company was liable or not didn't make a bit of difference; it provided for every injured employe and his family I don't suppose in the en- tire nine years we lived out at Brook wood that we had more than one dam age suit against the old Standard Coal company.
 "So far as 1 can see it, the root of the whole trouble today simply lies in the fact that the employe who hap pens to get seriously injured does not always get his right dues, and this circumstance leads to the multiplicity of fake and trivial suits
 q might mention incidentally that the humane policy of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company in this particular matter is a wonderful thing for the laboring man and for the Bir- mingham district as a whole"
 Blazing the Way
 As a matter of fact, the voluntary
 A .NAl Otnt. Steel corporation, which was put into effect in this district by the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company just one year ago. Is as yet, scarcely known outside of company circles
 It's text in full and certain features of it's results as so far tried in Bir- mingham will be the subject of the next paper in this series.
 So far as thes Alabama state law goes in reference to the compensation of injured employees 1t Is generally conceded according to persent day lights of justice and intelligence to be fundamentally wrong and upwise, and greatly in heed of change
 Too much of the burden of the in- jury rests upon the workman injured in. his employment. The hazardous na- ture of his calling is not sufficiently considered by law and only in a few instances are the wages of men rela- lively higher in the most dangerous trades.s When this is tho case it is provided by the policy and protective sense of tho company not by the law.
 In fact it all depends on the com pany.
 According to Paul U. Kellog. direc- tor of the rfttsburg survey, there Is scarcely a country of modern Europe but has brought it's statutes abreast or industrial progress and wrought out for itself as we have not. some sensi ble adjustment between civil rights, human needs and the ceaseless opera tions in which groups of men and pow erful appliances are joined in produc- ing what the world wants.
 No Regard for Life
 The lives of men, the fair living of familicsAthese are worth conserving to the uttermost against the risks of work. These the industries of America he says, waste without tally"
 As far as the law goes in Alabama. certaNn of the attorneys here state that one feature of it's requires the work man to assume the risks of the trade and gives him right to sue his em ployer at law only when the accident is due to the fault of the employer. This system is adjudged grossly un- fair and. inherently unfitted to mod ern industrial conditions in dangerous employments.
 It has been discarded by every other industrial country on the globe except ing the United States.
 ."The United States and Turkey said Walker Percy, stand together here'
 "Alabaraa is not" said another att torney tine least bit different as re- gards its employers liability law than most of the other states. They all be-