The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-09
HUGE WASTE OF OUR
 INDUSTRIAL SYSTEM
The National Conference of Charities and Corrections
 Holds Meeting

Boston, June s--At the National Confer ence of Charities and Corrections tonight, standards of living and labor were dis cussed. Miss Jane Addams of Chicago presented some results of her observa- tions under the heads "s.andards of Edu- cation of Industrial Life" while Paul U. Kellogg, assistant editor of the Survey. talked upon the immigrant labor tariff. Other interesting addresses were deliv- cred by Mrs Florence Kelley of Chicago and Louis D. Brandeis of Boston.
 The huge waste of the present indus trial system in America was heavily scored by MT. Brandeis of this city in an address on "Workingmen's 1nsurance-the Road to Social Efficiency" before the National Conference of Charities and Cor rection here this evening.
 Mir Brandeis said in part:
 Throughout the civilized world a de- veloping sence of social responsibility has compelled the community to support in some manner it's needy members, ~whatso- ever the cause of their inability to sup port themselves. In granting this aid we are passing from sporadic, emotional charity to organized charity. and from mere relief to preventive measures. We have to learn that financial dependence among the wage earners Is due in a large part to sickness. accident. invalidity, superannuation or unemployment, or to the premature death of the bread winner Of the family. Contingencies like these re. ferred to in individual cases as misfor- tune. are now recognized as ordinary incl dents of the lives of the wage earners, and must be met by comprehensive system of workingmens insurance.
 American democracy rests upon the basis of the free citizen. Politically an American workingman is free-so far as laws can make him so-but is he really free, can any man be really free who is constantly In danger of becoming de- pendent for mere subsistence upon some body and something else than his own exertion and conduct. Men are not free while financially dependent upon the will of other individuals. Financial depend ence is consistent with freedom only where the claim to support rests upon right and not upon favor
 "The cost attending freedom Is usually high and the cost of providing to the worxingman, as essential to freedom, q comprehensive and adequate system of insurance will prove to be no exception to this general rule. Few intelligent prop erty owners omit to insure against fire. Everybody recognizes the fire insurance premium as current expense and yet | ,f1 r. lx, apa ic eli aa compared with the chance of loss to a man by sickness. accident or premature death. Every intelligent manufacturer makes in some form a regular charge for depreciation of machinery and plant, and yet the depreciation of a man through invalidity and superannuation is no less certain and frequently more severe than the depreciation of machinery. Every intelligent manufacturer recognizes rent, interest and taxes as current daily
 charge which continues, although his plant is shut down or operating at less than full capacity but the cost to the employer of carrying an unused plant is not as great relatively as the cost to the employee of carrying himself and family while unemployed
 What sum would be required annually to provide an adequate system of work ingmens insurance cannot be determined from existing data The cost would ob viously vary greatly in different occupa- tions and different communities. An amount equal to 10 per cent of current wages would go far towards relieving ir many industries the distress now incident to sickness, accident invali6ity, prema- ture death superannuation and unem- ployment of the wage earner. But it Is certain that the proceeds of even so large charge as 10 per cent of the average daily wage would, under present condi tions, afford mere alleviation of and not indemnity for the losses now attendant upon those contingencies in the life of the working man. The cost of providing indemnity would probably reach an amount equal to 9 per cent of the average daily wage, for the premium. requisite to securing indemnity from losses incident to sickness, accident, in- validity, premature death or superanu- alton would probably aggregate 15 per cent of the daily wage. while the average percentage required to indemnify for un- employment due to lack of work would probably reach about 10 per cent. This huge and apparently prohibitive eNpens1 should not however deter us from taking a action now It should, on the contrary, in- cite us to immediate and vigorous meas ures. It would disclose how vast the waste incident to present social and in- dustrial conditions is, and whens the ex- tent of that waste shall have been de- termined and made cl ear to orr people, 8 long step forward will have been taken on the road to improvement and resulting social economy"