Imperial Valley press., 1912-10-19
CATCHING Up WITH EUROPE
NY samuel MerwinI

The platform of the national Prog
ressive party marks the first intelli
gent. consistent effort on the part of
any American political party to in
sure the conservation of human re-
sources through an enlightened meas
ure of social and industrial Justice"
The carrying out of this sweeping
promise means nothing less than "ef
fective legislation looking to the pre-
vention of industrial accidents, occu-
pational diseases, overwork, involun
tary unemployment and other injurious
effects incident to modern industry"
The problem of yesterday was to
build up industry and commerce. The
problem of today is TO build up a
people; for without a strong people
the industries themselves will fall. The
new understanding of social and in
dustrial justice" is based on this tre-
mendous fact--on the fact that an in
dustry which in building its own sue
cess tears out the heart and fiber of
its workers and throws its human
husks on the great vague national
scrap heap as an unconsidered charge
on the community is an unsound in
dustry.
The new party recognizes at the
start that in this day of colossal in
dustries whose operations are neces-
sarily interstate, that have really ma
tionalized themselves, no uniform, con
sistent legislation and control can be
expected from IS different and differ
ing states. The problems are national ;
the solution must be national. There
ba ba
committed to the great task of estaI :
| fishing, for the first time in our his
tory as a people, something approach
/ ing this social and industrial Justice
! The solutions proposed are new-to
/ US. Are they new to the rest of the
/ world If not must we admit that the
| United States is behind the rest of the
world in approaching them? Must We
face the thought that perhaps we stant
( today as the most ignorant and back
ward great nation in the world? We
\ chuclIled. 4 few years ago, when ,
! speaker of The national house declared
| This country is a hell of a success
{ Must We now admit the chastenins
thought that he and we were wrong
/ that these rather Revolutionary new
proposals are not in any sense dariA.
= and dangerous experiments, are not a
all devastating "anarchistic" dreams
but are actually today part of the set
tied governmental policy of the grea
commercial nations that are our rival
in the worlds trade-that this partic
ular country which was founded on tn
supposed rights of man" today limp
haltingly one, two, three decades be
hind Europe in the very essentials n
= progress.
Every detail of the social and in
dustrial plank in the Progressive plat
form is today settled fact of Law
of business policy and of governmental
, action in Austria Hungary, Belgium
? Denmark, France, Germany. Great Brit
ain, Italy, Norway. Russia. Spain an
sweden.
All of these nations have adopted th
; general principles of ''soc.a! insurance
covering C1) accidents. t2) sickness, &c
f maternity, a. invalidity, (5) urem
, ployment, 90 widows and orphans
Disregarding acts effecting only Sc
lected groups Of workmen, the follow
ing list shows tae order in which til
various cOuT tries enacted laws pro
viding for national systems of acclocl,
comper - or amending and extt.,:
, ing the application of laws alreadr i
force:
Germany-E Employers liability ac
: Reichsg sgesetzblatt, 1871. p. 2O7; 1896 (
: 616. Industrial accident insurance Law
| Reichsg sgesetzblatt. 1900, PIP. SAT and 5s;
Law of June 80, 1900, amending the ac
cident insurance laws, Reichsgesetz
blatt, 1900, PIP. 335 and 573
Austria-Law relating to the acci
dent Insurance of workmen, Reichsges
etzblatt, January l, 1888. Law relatin
TO the extension of accident insurance
Rcichsg sgesetzblatt August s, 1894, NJ
1853.
Great Britain-Workmen's cOmpea