Omaha daily bee., 1911-04-16
A PROPOSITION PASSED UP
Insurance as n Cure for Industrial
Discomfort Considered by
Paul Morton,

One of our younger philosophers had
what must have been a most interesting
talk with the late Paul Morton sometime
ago-which never got into print, and
probably never will. The late president of
the Equitable was understood to be casting
about very enterprisingly for big new
propositions with which to startle the in
surance world. or at least start something
that would build up the business OF the
Equitable, and that was very important at
the time because the investigation had
Topped off millions from its revenues as
we'll as from the revenues of the other
two big companies This young visitor to
the president of the Equitable had some
thing on his mind. He saw a country
wide agitation for workmens compensation
deveioping-a demand. whether real or just
imaginary and poisy--that the present en-
pIoyers's liability system Of the United,
states, or Of the various states. would be
s1pplanted by another system, imported
from England made in Germany" one
or the other, by which every employee, even
IL ne were only washing your front steps
or picking up stones in the corn lot should
be compensated by his employer for an in
jury that he received 1t was stated boldly
to Paul Morton that agitation was going
to fructify in something very strange. II
not very dangerous, in a socialistic way
for this country, provided something
wasn't done to see what was the matter
with the scheme, and tell the public about
it. and stop the flood OF compulsory laws
intended to put ct into force and introduce
the same system or better one by means
of private enterprise and private capital.
IL. to hon
the legislation could be combatted, though
he had known more or less about politics
in the Roosevelt way. He could discern
much more clearly that in the matter of
writing Industrial insurance, though the
innumerable agents of the Equitable and in
the innumerable factories of the country,
direct and by wholesale, there was a
chance to make a pile of money or at
least to compel It to be saved, provided
new policy could be devised that would
appeal TO the average workingman. whether
union man or not, as about the thing for
| safety and economy; and better stlll, as
the son of our earliest real secretary of
agriculture could see a tremendous social
service would be done for the country
through this widespread application of
correct and liberal Industrial insurance
| system to the producers of the land not
with the patronage OF the state and com
! ing out OF everybody but by means of
common fund, to which everybody had
contributed and from which, therefore,
everybody would be entitled TO draw-not
gratuity, but something which the man
himself had saved and was entitled 70
because he had earned IL and saved II.
He neved did anything with this-I don't
know why. Perhaps Paul Morton cGcSdn't
move his directors. Perhaps he simply
never got to IL. II so, II was not because
he did not look a long distance ahead. He
distinctly assented that day to the gem
eral proposition that just as Industrial in
surance would be developed here on some
English and German plan, under the