Daily Kennebec journal., 1913-08-30

bundrsa = vears srsssas 81, 5av Il n
Joined, but | never heard of it until yes
terday' Mr. Pattangan never hxSss ~
the merits of the compensation bill until
yesterday. At all events, he never heatA
of it's merits until after he became7sa cam
didate for Congress. But now so zeaiolis
is he that he proposes to jump both feet
into the manufacturers of Maine and re-
quire them to bear burden of cOrnper- t
sation hundred and fifty per. cent.
greater than that borne by manufactur-
ers in Massachusetts. New Jersey and
other states
In the issue of August a. the Water
Vile Sentinel says, referring to Mr. Rats
tangalls speech in Hartland, thar ne
explained that by the schedule of COM
pensation in the bill proposed last wn-
ter am employee totally isabled~ could
collect but half of his weekly wages TOR
a period of six years. This amount, in
no case to exceed $40 per week. He says
that such an employee might bring suit
and recover as much as $5O0O = a.
Now disregarding the proposition
taat $lo week for six years amounts.
20 S5eoo and that certainty of getting
s3ouu Het Is better than possibility of
getting S5e00 and paying lawyers fees
,at of it, Disregarding the fact that un-
der the terms of the bill no employee
is bound to be insured under it, but
may waive his rights and retain the
privilege of suing his employer; dis
regarding these arguments / beg to
assure you that the schedule of COM
pensation in the bill proposed, last
winter" is not anything like what he
ic Tn ne IL
It provides for $40 a week for 500 weeks
and for further compensat ton, but at a
somewhat reduced date during life;
$40 week foI 500 weeks is equivalent to
$4,000 1t seems to me that Pattangail
must agree that certainty of getting
$4,000 together with certainty of get
ting further additional. compensation
in case disabled workman lives more
than 500 weeks is better than posi-
bility of getting $4,000 clear of expenses
ut the end of a law suit. ,Nsse5x
In the same speech, as reported In
the same Journal, he said that he. had
been employed by the Brotherhood snf
Railroad men who earn very large
wages. Il would have been ashama6 to
have gone home to those men some sof
them earning $50 a Week, and ilayip tnld
totally disabled. but so week for dix
years could be collected" ae93
In urging the passage of the Work
| mans Compensation Bill have met q
| good many men who claimed thai the
compensation was too high, shsve
! caught, sight of others in the lobby
who claimed that injured workmen
should haveano compensation aaf All
4 iT ri 10
| man whose opposition to the bill DO
| tased upon his sympathy for an asso-
citation of workmen who are strug-
Cling along on $50 a week and who.
while they would not be affected finan-
| cially by the bill, would be put 90
the extreme inconvenience of deciding
whether to accept its provisions and
the compensation provided by 1t orsto
| reject its provisions and rely on gers
ting Pattangall to sue the railrOadEs
l have no doubt that Mr. Pattangall.
IN opposing this bill, represented ran
| association of men whose income Ia At
!. least $50 per week, but strongly sub
pect that these men never did any
manual labor more arduous than cut
ting coupons. . a.ss ss.. 6. .ss.ss1.
In another speech reported in tire
same paper he says:
| Il shall be glad to argue this bill
| before any labor union and get any
one to argue in favor of the bill. and
| I'll guarantee to get ten votes to one
| against it.
Now labor organizations all over
the world have been struggling for
| years 10 secure the enactment OF
workmen's compensation bills with
! compensation features just like those
| of the Maine bill. Partly through the
| influence of labor unions, bills con-
| tanning similar schedules of compen-
sation have been adopted in nearly ev-
| cry Northern state& Now if Pattan-
gall can go before, any labor union and
| secure vote of ten to one, or even
| one to ten, against the competition
features of the Maine hill he Is very
| smart man. He is too smart to be sent
To Congress. It would be-, dangerous
| to let such a man loose in Washing
| ton. He ought to be sent to Mexico.
If his powers of persuasion are aA ir-
resistable as he brags they are he
could obtain old Huerta's resignation
| before breakfast and within twenty
| four hours he could convince lConsQtu-
tionalists and -constftAtionahsts
and all other Mexican hrigands OIL the
| beauty and desirability OF peaeA and
| have them marching arm in arm
around the bull ring singing Onward
Christian Soldiers,
| submit that such men as La Fol-
| lette, Johnson, john Mitchell !, and
| Theodore Roosevelt who hase for
years recommended workman,s cou.-
pensation laws with compensation fea-
| lures exactly or substantially like that
of the Maine bill are not swindlers.
+, submit that Governor Wilson when he
recommended .to the New Jersey Leg
| islature. a bill containing the. same
compensation features awas not hand
ing out a Gold Brick that the, HUNDREDS
of thousands of working men who are
living under worknlanss .cosnpensation
laws all over the country. providing
flor the same rate of compensation as
was provided by the Maine bill, and
who having a right to reject the COM
pensation law and retain their COM
mon law right of litigation are not
rejecting the compensation, are not all