The Nevada County picayune., 1912-09-13
Real Service He Rendered b
 New Jersey Workers
FOUGHT BY INSURANCE MES
They Threatened to Raise All Their Rates Y Employers Liability Law Were Passed. but Became Quiet at Hint of Stato Offering indemnity.
Sacramento Cab Union. ]

When Woodrow Wilson became gov ernor of New Jersey he found that wealthy employers had been given the laws they desired regardless of the welfare of the thousands of men, Wo- men and children on their payrolls He found that in the factories of the state scores had been killed or maim- ed for life and that there was abso. lutely no provision for the protection of the families of those workingmeh engaged in hazardous occupations. He found that the bosses had been carry ing out the wishes of the interests, from which they had obtained cam paign contributions.
 That was the situation in corrupt New Jersey, where the conditions of labor had been notorioHsly oppressive and seemingly hopeless for a genera ton But Governor Wilson determin- ed to change it and with his custom arv vigor tackled the problem.
 Employers Liability Law.
 One of the reforms he effected was the enactment of a strong employers Mobility law But for this he had to tight with the same grim and un- swerving purpose that had obtained the Geran primary election law, After the bill had been introduced in the leg islNure and became known as one of the governors measures the Insurance companies sent representatives to the tvrJ |, hAU 10 nd reprisal. If. you enact such law we'll raise the rates on all insurance throughout the state. We'll pile them up on every body" they said. But the bluff didn't work
 "very we'll gentlemen. AS you remember that if you try anything of that kind it may be necessary for us to establish system of state insur ance" After that the insurance com panies decided that silence was the better part of wisdom.
 The employers liability law was passed. and an apparently fair statute it is, essentially fair to the employer as well as to the employee, for Wood row Wilson is not a demagogue who plays for labors support He merely believes in justice to the whole people within the authority of his office
 Prevents Long Litigation.
 The law prescribes the liability of an employer to make compensation for in juries sustained by an employee in the cOurSa pf oatu bo. an elective schedule of payment and strictly regulates the procedure for de termining the liability and compensa ton It relieves an employee who is injured of the necessity of institu.ins suit to obtain damages by providing definite schedule covering the differ ent classes of injuries and fixing the employers liability for each.
 Employers now regard the law as fair because under It they can calcu. late with reasonable certainty what their maximum liability for any one year will be instead of leaving this tc be determined by jurors. Employee are greatly benefited by it because in case of accident it secures to them without delay d fixed income at time when money Is most needed and he cause it avoids long drawn out itiga tion. with its attendant expense and suffering.
 Real Service to Labor
 Governor Wilson meant it for both He supplemented 1t shortly with a law compelling the erection of fire escapes on all factories and buildings housing number of employees-not one or two spider ladders. but equipment sufli cient to prevent recurrence in New Jersey of the horrors that had shocked the people of the New England manu featuring cities.