The Calumet news., 1912-08-17
REVIEWS STATE
LIABILITY ACT
Copper Country Men Given Credit
for Assisting

Senator W. Frank James of Han
cock and Attorney Allen +. Rees OF
lloughtOn are given credit ty the
Crystal Falls Diamond Drill for their
efforts in behalf OF the employers iia-
bility act which goes into effect on
Sept : The "Drll" reviews the bii
as follows.
'rhe first definite step in the lireC-
tion of a general COMPENSATION act Was
made by "a. NJ. Duncan, general super
intendent of the Cleveland cliffs Iron
company, i'm a paper presented 10y him
To the mining institution i'm Ishpem-
ing some three or four years ago.
In this paper. Mr.. Duncan exhaus-
lively reviewed the several compensd-
ton acts i'm force IN the United States
and i'm European countries, particular
| ll the, acts i'm force in Great Britain
and Germany. This paper at the time
and since, brought forth a great deal
of favorable comment. not only from
the newspapers of the upper peninsula.
but from the press of the entire state
| In the carly summer of 1910 Chase
:. Osborn. then candidate for the Re
publican nonination for governor
| cnunciated as one Of The blanks I'm the
platform ON which he intended Ia rum
| the proposition THAT all employees
injured in the line of duty. should be
promptly and adequately COMPENSATED
for the injury sustained" After Gov
crnor Osborn's election i'm November,
1910, the Michigan Manufacturers as
isociatior through its general attor-
! Iney. Hal. II. Smith of Detroit, prepared
a draft of a compensation bin moicicd
somewhat upon the British Compcnsa-
tion act At about the same time W. =.
Belden attorney for the Cleveland
Cliffs Iron company, I'rank Bell, attor-
ney for the United States Steel com
pany. and Allan T.. Recs, attorney for
the Calumet q Hccla Mining company,
tion bill, also modelled largely on the
| British and German CompensatIcu
acts. modified of course. TO suit Amey'.
can conditions.
When the legislature met i'm Jdu-
uary. 1911. tho Michigan Mamfactur-
ers association's bin was introduced
into the Hodse and the Senate by
members from Wayne county The bill
prepared by the three upper peninsula
attorneys above named was inlro-
duced into the Senate by Senators
Morarty and James. Certain members
of the House, seeking . little news
paper notoriety and personal assr1r-
dizenent. had copies of the two 1boN -
named bills made and introduced a.
their own. However, the only bills
considered during the general session
OF 1911, were the Michigan Mangfac-
bill No further progress was made
however than the Introduction aud
passage of bill providing for com.
mission oc five members who should
further investigate the subject and re-
port back their findings to the COVER
nor al an early date. AS q result. u
commission was duly appointed, con
sisting of three representatives Cf the
labor organizations OF the state. ana
Hal II. Smith, representing the manu-
lacturers of the lower peninsula. aud
| w. =. Belden. reprcsenting the mit,ir"
interests of the upper peninsula. Az
ter an exhaustive study of the several
compensation acts IN force in the Unit
cd States and i'm European countries,
an exhaustive report was made TO the
governor which embodied a proposed
compensation law.
In pursuance of his determiuatica =
| expressed Willie seeking the nomIna-
| tion. Governor Osborn called a special
session of the legislature and placed
before il the report of the special COM
mission and urged the immediate pas
sage Of law embcdying the principles
set forth in the report. The bill pee
pared by the commission. was again
introduced in the Senate under the
name Of the NJ -riarty james bill. and
after n full discussion. passed both the
House and the Senate In the Senate.
there was hut one dissenting vote, that
Of senator Niurtha and In the House
the bill encountered no opposition aud
In it's passage received the unanimous
vote of the members present
The compensation act marks dts
tinct forward movement in the indus
trial history Of Michigan ard much
credit IS due the men who took so ac-
tive and prominent q part m educating
rublic sentiment TO the passage of SO
J INST ard humane "A law