The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-01-19
WASHINGTON NEWS
Insurance in England = What It Means to Work
 Ingmen
gRy c. H. Travenner, Special Core
 spondent of The Farmer.)

&By c. H. Travenner, Special Core
 spondent of The Farmer.)
 Washington. Jan. 1s-Now that An drew Carnegie has had his word be- fore the steel trust Investigating com rndttee, it is just beginning to be real ized by everybody concerned that the amount of light on everything except the subject at hand. When Mir. Car Segie was asked about the control of railroads, and pools through which Saess, he answered with a delightful little story about the Scotchman who. etc, etc. The former steel king prov cd as clever at evading questions as he did in building up the steel monop- I>ly. In fact, 1t was apparent that MT. Carnegie should not have been summoned to testify about the steel trust. He never was part of the trust. and knew nothing of it's opera tions. He admitted as much.
 When poor man is called In court to testify concerning the alegsd aus appearance of a. sack of flour or a bag of potatoes he usually is required to confine himself to those articles MT. Carnegfe. however, chose to answer legal operations of the steel trust with dissertations on triumphant demo- cracy', or some such matter wholly unrelated to the subject.
 DRIBLETS.
 It has been discovered that employees of the government fflch upwards of two million dollars annually from Un- cle Sam through padded travelling ex- A government official has occasion to go from Washington to New York, and he buys an excursion ticket at greatly reduced rates. When he puts in his bill for disbursements, however. he puts in a charge for two trips one each way, at the full fare rate.
 THE SHOE MACHINERY TRUST.
 The shoe machinery trust resents statements recently printed in a great many new pers to the effect that it had a practical monopoly on all the shoe machinery used in the United States It says these stories did it of fact, it has reduced prices mater
 Charles K. Fox. one of the largest shoe manufacturers in, the country, in a recent article in trade journal pub nshed in Boston, says Royalties have been reduced little, but the fact that J. l.. Walker, a Lynn man lIfacturer, found that he could use and what brought the reduction about-at least the two things happened almost simultaneously. The soles of shoes seem to be almost sacred ground If you stitch soles on any machine but the trusts you are hitting them a solar p1exus, and are warned that you are trespassing and must stop"
 Mir. Fox'g deductions appear to sup port his contention thai wherever re- ductions have occurred dt has been be- cause of competition
 INSURANCE IN ENGLAND.
 Members of Congress. of all parties, late to the National Insurance bill, recently passed in England after terrific struggle on the part of its legislation Is regarded in Washington as Q. good deal more radical than anything ever attempted in this coun- try. and of all who are watcnlng the more interest than the national law makers.
 Under the terms of the George bill with employers and workers in a vast scheme for the amelioration of hu- man suffering and the betternent of indalstrial conditions. The Insurance against the uaisfortuneS of Ill health for the 15.00os000 workmen of the United Kingdom, and limited insur- ance against unemployment for the D. 800, 900 men engaged in the two great trades most subject to fluctuations. Here are the benefits under the health
 When a laborer falls i'll. he receives $2.50 a. week for 26 weeks, If his H. l ness continues that long; after that period, SIPS a week indefinitely. If for at a government sanitorium. 1 Every wife of an insured person re- ceiyes $7.50 at child birth, in addition | to medical attendance. If she herself is contributor to the insurance fund l she receives an additional $7.50.
 The unemploymeht feature extends only to the building and engineering l trades and the benefits range from | $I25 to $1.75 a week for not more than fifteen weeks in any one year.
 To the American WOrkingmain the | benefits may seem small, but in Eng | land the average wage is only about | S a week, so the amounts are not dis | pFoportfonate. The bill fs designed to | encourage thrift, in that it will allow | the laborer to keep his savings ac- count intact until the time of heavy | trouble comes. Promoters of the bill | say the most important part is the | maternity feature. Lloyd George says | that every year in England there are born a million children under condi- tions not only detrimental to the little | ones, but disastrous to the future of the race.
 The insurance fund is made up of contributions from the employer, the ! employee. and the government Male employees whose yearly earnings are less than $500. give cents and the government contributes four cents for ~T-~vxn