The Washington herald., 1912-11-26
COMPENSAT|ONFO FOR
WORkMEN URGED
National Civic Federation Speakers
Discuss Progress Made Toward
Compulsory Law.
AUGUST BELMONT PRESmEs;
ENTIRE COUNTRY REPRESENTED
Model Act to Be Framed and Will
Be Pressed for Adoption in
All States.

New York, Nov. 25.-Delegates from
nearly every State in the Union met in
convention here to-day under auspices
of the National Civic Federation to dis
cuss the subject of workingmen's COM
pulsory compensation. Besides the dele
gates appointed by the Governors of the
various States in which workingmen's s
compensation acts have not been passed
or incomplete laws have been adopted,
there were at the conference delegates
Of industrial, labor. and employers or
ganizations, and members OF civic bod
les. 1t is the aim of the gathering to
frame a model compensation act, mod
eled directly upon the plan drawn up
by the Civic Federation, which will be
adopted as the standard and eventually
will become q law in all States.
August Belmont, a leading figure in the
federation, presided at the convention.
His address 20 the delegates described
the progress that has been made, the
difficulties encountered, and the pros
poets for the eventual adoption Of a law
that will protect workingmen from loss
of wages resulting from industrial acci-
dents, and the families OF workingmen
from poverty following the death by ac-
cident of their breadwinners.
Discusses Dummy Corporations.
workingmen who have struggled long to
obtain the existing liability laws, which
give them the right TO sue for damages
and the right of trial by jury. pause
when they see the claim that through
the act system in the State Of Washing
ton the man is assured his compensa-
ton. and it raised in their minds the
question, How may the injured workman
be guaranteed his compensation in case
insolvency on the part of his employer?
We recognize the unfortunate state of
affairs which permits so-called dummy
corporations to come into existence, and
that undoubtedly effort must be made to
protect the wage-earner against any
such. a corporation with $4,000 paid-up
capital stock may proceed to do a bust
ness of $l,OOO,OOO. and II an employe be-
comes injured the amount Of his COM
pensation or damage would wipe the cor
poration out of existence.
Il can, without discussing this, say to
you emphatically that the law ought to
suppress fake corporations. which really
have no capital, and that a corporation
should not be allowed to be an employer
which has no right to exist except as is
represented by the paper In the office of
the Secretary of State. Many believe
that We should find some way in con-
junction with our compulsory model
wOrkmen's compensation act which places
the burden upon the employer to guaran-
tee the workman his compensation"
Senator Sutherland Speaks.
The general opinion appeared to be
that the employer should be compelled
to protect himself by insurance in COM
panies attending to that line of risk and
that such insurance should be effected
under State superVision
Louis B. Schramm, chairman of the
federations national committee on the
improvement of State inspection of fac
tories. in a statement on progress dur
ing the past year. said ar important fac
tor in advancement was the adoption by
the International Association of Factory
Inspectors OF the committee S model
safety act and its minimum essential ac-
Cident reporting blank.
George Sutherland, United States Sena-
tor from Utah, and chairman of the fed
Grafton compensation commission, and
w. S. Carter, president of the Brother
hood OF Locomotive Firemen and En-
glnemen, also spoke.