The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-02-25


 He showed that under the German
 system the workers do not contribute
 to the accident fund-they contribute
 to the sick benefit fund and the total
 cost Of the accident fund is borne by
 the employers.
 The German system includes three
 classes of insurance,-sick insurance e, accident and death insurance, ana oid
 age insurance. For the accident fund
 the state taxes the employers in ac-
 cordance with the hazards of their
 particular business and in accordance
 with the number and quality of the
 safety devices installed for the pro- i lection of their workers. The 1n- stallation of safety devices is thus 1 directly encouraged by taxation and
 the records of Germany show a mark ed decrease in the number of ac- beneficent system.
 MT. Hillquit vigorously attacked the eight-year limit placed upon the pay ment of compensation by the Fisher bill.
 Theories are all right" he exclaim- ed, "but how will this work in prac-
 tice? A permanent injury is never cured-that's why we call it perma-
 nent. When a man loses both arms, or both eyes, or both legs, he never will get them back again. Suppose man at the age of 25 meets with an accident which totally incapacitates ! him. Under the Fisher bill he will get $5 or $1o week for eight years and
 then at the age of B. all compensation ceases. And what is left for him then. Beggary, theft or starvation!
 ''That is not a compensation act. That is not doing man social justice. When a man sustains injuries in the course of his employment, he sustains
 them in behalf of his fellow men. He nrntantiOn
 the injured soldters-indeed, the work ingmen are the soldiers of peace. To cut off all compensation at the end of eight years is an inhuman hard ship. It has no place in any mea-
 sure designed to remedy the existing evils.''
 MT. Hillquit then compared this with the far more liberal provision in hts own measure, which has no eight year limit and which provides a far | greater rate of payment, based upon ! the earning powers of the injured man.
 | He also attacked the portion of MT Fishers bill which provides that com pensation shall cease upon remarr.age and warned the committee that 1t is an extremely dangerous step to put ] a tax upon marriage. and sure to lead to disregard of the marriage rela- | tion.
 
 widow after a time. wishes to marry again. said MT. Hillquit. 'it isn't likely that she'll marry an English duke, and thu $5 Or $6 or $7 a tweek will mean a great deal to her. To put | a penalty upon marriage will mean either that she will not marry at all i or will enter into a loose and illeg1t1- l mate relationship
 Another feature of the Fisher bii
 to which MT. Hillquit objected is thu
 clause providing for appeal to ths
 courts. MT. Hillquit declared tha
 the only proper way to handle tht 1 question is to keep the courts out, fol 1 the absence of litigation is one of tht strong requisites of a Compensation act.
 Two other features in the Fisher bill which he scored were the one:
 which require that if a workingmar I accepts a single payment, he shall b'
 obliged to take the Compensation ac and be debarred from suing in tn, ! ordinary procedure. He also object 1 ed to the clause requiring notice, al l injured workman as a rule not beins
 in condition to give any formal no I tice to his employer.
 l Then taking up the question O. 1 constitutionality, MT. Hillquit deliver | ed a very able defense of his measure | on the ground that it comes within the policing powers of the state. Tn, | f1lllQu1C u10dSuTc, pTOVlu6S pIOLSCIlOl for the following classes:
 l ''Workmen engaged in or about an,
 or all railroads, ferries, docks, ol l caissons; in the service of expres!
 companies, telegraph or telephone
 companies; ges or electric companies ! or operation of buildings, structures
 bridges, subways or tunnels; in o1 about any packing houses, slaughter l houses. factories, mills, machine shops foundries, blast furnaces, mines, guar.
 ries, or other works in or on which l is being used any machinery driver 1 by steam, water, electricity, com pressed air, or any mechanical pow. 1 CT; in or about the operation of ele. i vators, e1evating machines or der. ricks, or hoisting apparatus used with. | in or on the outside of any bridge l building or structure for the hoistins | of materials; in the construction | operation, alteration or repair o1
 wires, cables, switchboards or appara.
 tus charged with electric currents, ol
 in any work necessitating dangerou: 1 proximity to gunpowder, blasting | powder, dynamite or any other ex. l plosives."
 1 This provision, as may be seen
 covers an extremely wide class o1 | operations, much more so than any l consideration. MT. HiIlquit was a ! once put under rapid fire of ques- tions concerning the constitutionality | of the measure, to all of which he gave prompt reply.
 Your proposition" said George B Chandler of the committee. ,''is to ex- 1 tend the police powers of the state te a point beyond anything to which | they have been assigned before, an6 then expect us to stand or fall in the courts upon the constitutionality o1 the measure?"
 "I will say in reply" said MT. Hill. quit, "that if MT. Chandler or any other gentleman on the committee | will quote me one single instance ir l any state in the union where the DO. l lice powers of the state have beer placed at any definite limit, then will humbly say 'yes,' to Mr. Chand- l ler's proposition"
 MT. Chandler had to laugh and ad. | init that MT. Hillquit had him corn cred.
 In connection with this question 9 very interesting point was brought | out little later by Delegate Terry o1 | the railroad worker who read a de. ! court, handed down within a couple | of weeks, regarding the very point ir question. The decision gives the l broadest scope of the police powers 1 of the various states and declares that these powers are extremely elastic and may vary and increase according
 as the necessities arise.
 1 Senator Judson asked MT. Hillquit | if he proposed to make certain trades
 dangerous" by legislative enactment Not at all," replied MT. Hillquit | "the statistics will show you that ev' | cry trade covered by my bill is haz. | ar6o11S and no 1apiS1atiuo on-