The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-01-21
To INTRODUCE OLD
AGE PENSION BILL
First Socialist Congressman
Writes Interestingly on
Proposed Measure
OLD WAGE-EARNERS
TO GET $144 A YEAR
Workers Who Reach Age OF
Sixty Will Go on Pen
sion List for Remain
ing Years

workers, the ideal of the Socialist,
may become a reality II law which
Congressman Victor l.. Berger. the
first Socialist ever elected to that
high post has framed. Is enacted into
law. Berger expects to introduce his
pension plan bill Immediately he takes
his seat in Congress-
Congressman elect berger thus out
lines his plans for the United Press:
Copyright, 1911. by the United Pressl
By Victor l.. Berger.
We have in our platform plank
which reads az follows:
To enact a law granting 10 every
wage Garner over sixty years OF age.
who has earned less than $1,000 q
year and has been citizen of the
United States for sixteen years, PEN
sion OF not less than si2 month dur
ing the rest Of his or her life as an
old age pension.
Under our plan there will be not
quite a million men and women re-
ceiving a pension of Si44 year. That
would amount to about $l44,ooo.po
year---a mere bagetelfe for Uncle Sam.
who spent s16b.sli,7es for the army
In 1919 and $123. III for the navy.
not figuring the new battleships
Moreover. the United States paid
$Is0,Sso,4I6 in 1910 to the veterans Of
the civil war and their dependents.
There were still in 1910 quite num-
Der pensions OF the war of 1872. And
II the bill which has just passed the
House should pass the Senate. that
will add about s5o,oo0.ooo next Year
TO the pension list.
Plan I'm Other Countries.
Other countries have been paying
old age pensions TO the workingmen
for q long time. Germany enacted
a sick benefit law in 1883 and an old
age pension law In 1889.
BY the three kinds Of insurance
sick, benefit, accident and old age
pension. every wage worker in Ger
many earning not over s4s7 year
Is insured--a total OF over ls,0o0.1e
persons.
Australia establishes compulsory in
surance for sickness and accident in
1883. and In 1898 a plan for old age
pensions " -----
France has had compulsory acct
dent insurance fer miners since 1874.
The government Ia now working on a
bill 10 give an old age pension TO every
working man and woman In France.
A bill of the same kind was adopted
10y the English parliament
Denmark. Switzerland. Sweden and
Norway are all now considering va
rious forms OF compulsory accident
assurances and old age pensions. Mar
Gus Hanna, the brightest statesman of
the Republican party OF the latter
days. forced an old age pension plan
into the Republican national plat
form OF 1909. But the plank was
quietly dropped by those who sue
ceeded him in the leadership of the
party.
II Is ridiculous to claim that such a
system would encourage Incidence
and make paupers OF the workers.
The average wage OF the American
workman is less than $45e a year.
His earning ability begins to decline
with the age of As. Some railroads
set even lower limit. And. as a rule,
the capacity for earning a livelihood
ceases at the age of so.
The Problem of Old Age.
How Is a man, especially II he
has a large famiiy--and workingmen
usually serve their country also by
bringing up family--to save a corn
petence for his old age out of an aver
age wage OF $3.50 per annume
Moreover. We have To take care OF
our old disabled workmen. anyway
either through charity or the poor
house, both of which are degrading
and costiy---or by means of an hon
orable pension. which Is the cheapest
method In the end.
One Of the first bills / shall intro
duce will treat this subject.
The term wage Garner means wo-
man as well as a man. 1t denotes any
person working for wages. whether
clerk. stenographer, hired girl or
washerwoman. or railroad engineer,
type-setter or bookkeeper.
The fundamental question as to
who Is to foot bill 10 a question cas-
lily answered. Why, Of course, the
workmen will foot the bills. They
are raising many thousand millions
every year for the capitalists. for the
officials. for the army and navy and
for innumerable other things. They
ought to be able to get back at least
q little share of all. that for them
selves, as in an old age.
Furthermore. the life work of the
wage-earner In the factory. mine,
railroad. steamship and so forth II
far more dangerous than that Of q
soldier--and Is infinitely more useful.
There are more men killed and
disabled In the mines and factories
and the railroads every year than
were killed and disabled during any
year of the civil war.
Therefore, even from the stand
point of risk, the workman. the SOL
dier OF the Commonwealth. who works
and dies for the country, ought to
be fully az much entitled to q pen-
sion AZ the soldier OF the common foe
who. In the time OF peace. lives and
idles for his country.