Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-29

the imposition upon the Interstate rail.
road companies Of the liability for the
injuries to, its employees on an insur.
ance basis.
The third objection Is that the right
Of trial by jury guaranteed by the
seventh amendment is denied. AS a
matter Of fact the right is preserved
in this act by permitting a jury to
pass on the Issue when duly de-
manded in accordance with the limi.
tation OF the act.
l sincerely hope that this act will
pass. I deem it n Of the great
steps OF progress toward a satisfac.
tory solution Of an important phase
of the controversies between employ
er and employe. that has been pro.
posed within the last two or three
decades. The old rules of liability
under the common law were adapted
to n different age and condition and
were evidently drawn by men imbued
with the Importance Of preserving the
employers from %burdensome or unjust
sldDllity. IL Wdp tlCulcu dS u per-
sonal matter Of each employee and
the employer and the employe were
were put on a level Of dealing which,
however It may have been in the
past, certainly creates injustice to
the employe under the present condi.
lions.
One Of the great objections to the
old common law method Of settling
questions of this character was the
lack Of uniformity in the recoverles
made by injured employees, and the
representatives Of those who suffered
death. Frequently, meritorious cases
that appealed strongly to every sense
arbitrary rules limiting the liability
Of the employer. On the other hand,
often by perjured evidence and the
undue emotional generosity of the
jury, r]ecoveries were given far in
excess OF the real injury. and some
times on facts that hardly justified
recovery at all. Now under this sys.
tenn the tendency will be to create as
nearly a uniform system as can be
devised; there will be %recoverles in
every case, and they will be limited
by the terms Of the law so as to be
reasonable.
The great injustice of the present
system by which r%ecoveries of ver-
diets Of any size do not result in
actual benefit to the injured person
because Of the heavy expense Of the
litigation and the fees charged by the
counsel for the plaintiff will disap-
pear under this new law by which the
fees Of the counsel are limited to a
very reasonable amount. The cases
will be disposed of most expeditions.
ly and the money will be distributed
for the support OF the injured person
over a number Of years so as to make
its benefit greater and more secure.
or course the great object of this
act Is to secure Justice to the weaker
party under existing modern condi-
tons, but a result hardly less i'm
portant will follow from this act that
l can not fail to mention.
The administration OF justice to.
day in clogged in every court by the
great number OF suits for damages
for personal injury. The settlement
for such cases by this system will
serve to reduce the burden Of our
courts one-half by taking the cases
out of court and disposing OF them by
this short cut. The remainder OF the
business in the courts will thus have
greater attention from the judges and
will be disposed OF with much greater
dispatch.
In every way therefore, the act de
mands your earnest consideration
and I sincerely hope that it may be
passed before the adjournment OF this
session of congress.
There accompanies the letter Of
transmittal of senator Sutherland no,
only the report OF the commission
but also the hearings Of witnesses by
the commission, all of which Is here
with submitted.
WILLIAM II. TAFT.
The White House.
n rNIrnAtaarkI ANN sar - - -