The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-06-23

ening. Brandeis is a true soldier of
 the common good. What he says is
 well worth the attention of every man and wOman.-EditOr.
 (By Louis O. Brandeis) Time was when distress among wage earnerS was regarded as "mfsfortune"
 and 1t was thought that charity was
 the means to meet it.
 We have come to know now that
 sickness; invalidity, old age and even accident nor the premature death of
 the bread winner is a natural incident to industry. A certain per cent. of wage earners will inevitably meet ill.,
 ness, accident, death and unemploy-
 ment and this certainty must be met with something more definite than
 sporadic or emotional charity, espec- ially as constantly increasing pro- portion of our people are being con-
 verted into employees
 Sickness and death benefits have been
 resorted to, but these have only made
 clearer the need of a comprehensive
 system for the protection of wage
 earners and their widows and orphans.
 Germany and France and latterly
 England, have advanced far in meeting
 the problem.
 The United States must follow the
 same path for the same conditions
 that have forced workingmens insur-
 ance abroad operate here
 American democracy rests upon the
 basis of the free citizen. Politically
 the American workingman Is free, so
 far as law can make him so. But
 is he really free. Can any man be
 really free who is constantly in dan
 ger of becoming dependent for mere
 subsistence upon somebody and some
 thing else than his own exertion and conduct?
 If the government permits condi- xv;r ,l~i~ es of citizens financially dependent, the great evil of dependence should at least be minimized by the states assuming, or causing to be assumed by others in some form, the burden incident to it's own shortcomings.
 The cost of attaining freedom is us- ually high; and the cost of providing to the workingman, as an essential of freedom, comprehensive and ade- quate system of fnsurance-will prove to be no exception to this general rule. The expense of securing indem- nifty against accident sickness, inva- lidity, premature death superannua- tion, and unemployment, should be recognized as part of the daily cost of living, like the more immediate demands for rent, for food, and for clothing.
 Few intelligent property owners omit to insure against fire and the cost is a current expense. And yet the | chance of loss by fire is very slight as compared with the chance of loss of earnings by sickness, accident or premature death. Every intelligent l manufactures makes in some form regular charge for depreciation of l machinery and plant. And yet the depreciation of man through invalidity | and superannuation is no less certain | and frequently more severe, than the depreciation of machinery. Every in- | telligent manufacturer recognizes ex- penses which continue although his | plant is idle. He allows for this in | the cost of production as | an extra charge to be met from the | earnings of active days. But the cost | to the employer of carrying an un used plant is not as great relatively | as the cost to the employe of carrying | himself and family while unemployed
 The manufacturer who fails to rec ognize fire insurance. depreciation. in- terest and taxes as current charges of the business, treads the path to bankruptcy. And that nation does the like which fails to recognize and part of it's wage earners.
 What sum would be required an- nualIy to provide an adequate system of ,workingmen's insurance cannot be determined from existing data. The cost would obviously vary greatly in | Ten per cent of cur rent wages would go far, but even so large a charge would afford merely alleviation and complete indemnity would probably cost 25 per cent. of the average daily wage. Of this in- demnity from sickness, accident, in- validity, premature death Or old age would aggregate three-fifths of the cost and unemployment two-f1fths.
 This huge and apparently prohibi- tive expense should. not. however. de- ter us from taking action now. On the contrary, it brings clearly to our minds the enormous waste incident to present social and industrial conditions. Once this waste is realized by the people 1t will be cured.
 For example, the industrial insur- ance companies find that the deaths per 1000 among Workfngmen, insured at various ages are as follows: Twen- ty years, 10.5; 25 years, Al; 35 years, L7.2 and 55 years B. The death rate in England at the same ages is from , one-t third to one-half lower.
 Here we have an average death rate among the workingmen at their most productive age-25 to 35 years-which is nearly twice as great as the death rate among those engaged in other occupa tions. And this does not in- ,lude extra hazardous trades.
 Can there be any doubt that if this heavier udu lO De | " compensated for by the state or the and the insurance cost paid rom current earnings. Its cause would be investigated, and the evil conditions remedied? Society and in- lustry would find how much cheaper t is to conserve than to destroy.
 How near at hand the remedy for nigh mortality lies is illustrated by { he experience of the model factory f village at Bonneville near Birming- ' nam. While the average death rate :, Or all ages in England and Wales in 7 he years 1902 to 1907 was 157, the . leath rate at Bonneville was 6.3; and ret the occupations of the inhabitants If Bonneville were fairly representa- ' i've of the whole country.
 Prof Fisher tells that On the : .verage every American is sick 13 2 lays in the year. f
 Possibilities of lengthening lives and f avoiding sickness and invalidity, |, ike the possibilities of preventing ac- | idents, will be availed of when busi- 2 ess as we'll as humanity demands it. | ',
 The factory inspector of Illinois U