The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-08-09
Supreme Court Says Buzz-saW
 Isn't Unsafe
But Wisconsin Won't Swal- low This Judicial Lie, and
 Is Helping the Victims

Madison, Wis, Aug. 9.-There used to be law on the statute books of Wisconsin which said something 70 this effect: "AH gears. tumbling rods, belts, belt wheels, set schews, and all other dangerous machinery shall be securely guarded"
 A workman lost a hand in using an unguarded buzx-saw.
 Presently he got a Judgment for damages under the above quoted law.
 Then the supreme court. of Wiscon- sin, casting an eye over the crude on the ground that "all other dan gerous machinery could mean only the kinds of machinery specifically enum hence a buzz-sawq could not possibly be piece of dangerous machinery in the eye of the court.
 Get it? A buzz-saw is not dan gerous machine. That iss not legally.
 Yet everybody knows that a buzz saw is a. dangerous mach1ne-lp fact And realizing that g. buzz-saw would remain dangerous till the cows come home, in spite of the courts, some Wisconsin radicals got together, kick ed all the old labor and safety laws down the back stairs and set to work making new ones. As a result Wis conSin now has workmen's compen- sation act that is loaded, a safety ap- pliance law that means what it says,
  over employers with a club and see that the provisions of this regulation are carried out.
 The law creating it gives the com mission absolute command of the whole field of labor in its relation to the employer.
 Turn to section of the act" says c. H. Crownhart. chairman of the new commission. "It says: Every employer shall furnish employment that shall be safe for the employees thersin and shall furnish a place of emplo. .ment therein and for frequent CTS thef aof and shall furnish and use safety devices and safeguards, and shall adopt and use methods and pro cesses reasonably adequate to render such employment and place of ern- ployment safe, and shall do other tect the life. health, safety and well fare of such employees and frequent ers.'
 Now turn back to the first sec tion one is a dictionary. It carefully defines what certain words used in the law mean as used in the law No chance for anybody to denaturize this law by Interpreting it.
 Clause 10 read: '"The term welfare shall mean and include comfort, de- cency and and moral well-being.'
 Thus you see," continues the com
 
 mission not merely power to admin ister the compensation act, to see to the installation of safety devices, to investigate labor conditions and order steps for their betterment, to hold hearings and compel witnesses to tes- ister the child and woman labor laws, to establish free employment agencies and to promote arbitration, but also power to guard the moral as we'll as the physical well-being of the work CT.
 Welfare as here defined, is broad enough to enable us to deal with the question as to whether or not con- ditions are right for the moral we'll beinf of the workers.
 Tn the workmen's compensation act we have measure that safe guards the employer as we'll as the worker. Based on loss or wages, it divides that loss so tsiau ehe employe stands 35 per cent. and the employer 65 per cent, and makes it possible for the workman to get, in reality, the money that the employer pays in com pensation. Under the old laws the workman got but fl per cent. of the money the employer paid out in dam ages. The courts and the lawyers got the rest.
 The present commission that is to see to it that hereafter no court
  saws as safe and innocuous machines, consists of c. H. Crownhart, chair man; J. D. Beck, and Prof. John R. Commons.
 Abolishes employers time-honored defense under assumption of 'trisk" and fellow servant" clauses
 In accidents employers must pro- vide medical and surgical treatment for 90 days.
 In cases of total disability employ CTS must pay to the injured 65 per cent. of his average weekly earnings of not less than $375 nor more than than s750 year. )May be increas- ed to 100 per cent. in extreme cases.)
 In cases of partial disa bility, em- ployer must pay 65 per cent. of week ly loss in wages during period of pa-- tia1 disability.
 Aggregate indemnity for one acci- dept must not exceed four times av- craze annual earnings, and indemnity period shall not exceed 1 5 years.
 In cases of death. beneficiary gets four times average annual earnings