The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1913-07-24
TO MAKE MANY INVESTIGATIONS
Legislators Unwilling to Take Final
Action on Progressive Measure With
out Knowing Something of Cost to be
Saddled on the Counties Of State.

which has so far attracted a great deal
of attention and which is fraught with
vast possibilities for the future is the
measure which creates Joint commit
tee OF the legislature to Investigate
the question of old age pensions 1t
is expected that the committee will
convene very soon after the legisla-
ture adjourns and that it will begin a
minute investigation into the subject.
The investigation must Of necessity be
very broad in its scope and viii I'M
doubtedly take a good deal of time.
In the first place it is a many sided.
question, and every phase will have
to be gone into carefully. In reality
it is a state annuity scheme and the
state should not go into it haphazard
as it did into the teachers pension
question.
! There are many questions also to
be decided in regard to the matter.
Three possible sources Of levy are of
fered from which to obtain premium
for the old age pension. In the first
place there can be contribution from
che people expecting to be pensioned.
In the second place, employers of la
Dor will probably be asked to contri-
butte proportionately to the number of
men they employ, while in the third
place the state itself will doubtless
give some kind Of contribution on
the theory that the state owes some
responsibility to it's inhabitants when
they are, no longer able to take care
of Themselves
1t is the intention on the old age
pension question to go at the subject
very carefully and pursue much the
same plan as was carried out in the
building Of the Workmen s compensa-
ton act One of the reasons why the
workmen s compensation act became a
law with SO little difficulty and is so
universally favored by employers of
labor is that it was given careful
study and all the questions. in connec-
|.tion with the act were weighed care
fully in advance before the measure
n 4oI T@
ployers knew exactly what they were
doing when they gave their support to
the act and while, without question,
both the original act and the law Of
this year have added a financial bur-
den to employers, this did not come
as a surprise and was for this reason
little opposed.
The same will probably be true Of
old age pensions. The average EN-
ployer Of labor is recognizing that
sooner or later some such system must
be put into effect. 1t is already in
effect in Germany and also in England,
and the workingman Of today is de-
handing that it be placed in effect in
this country The committee which
will be selected to carry out the terms
of the act for the investigation of the
subject, is expected to meet both en-
ployers and workingmen and obtain
their views upon the subject with IA
view of obtaining bill finally which
shall work out the problem and give
protection to the workingmen. En-
ployers, most Of them, too, are ready
for this kind of legislation, and the
resolution for the creation of a joint
committee to Investigate the subject
met with very little opposition when
1t was pending before the legislature.
Many employers, however, think that
any help which the state will extend
on his subject will be only temporary
and that in way the entire question
of an old age pension system is fed
eral question which sooner or later
will have to be taken up by the nation
1t is argued that any pension system
which any state will be able to put
into effect will be more or less make
shift for the reason that it will be inn
possible to put burden on Wisconsin
manufacturers who are in competition
with manufacturers in other states
sufficient to make any material or
adequate pension possible and that for
this reason the nation viii have to
take hold of the problem and sooner or
later make the collections and 5istri-
buttons necessary for the installation of
a pension system
It is probable that when the COM
mittee meets for the discussion Of the
subject economists Of national repu-
tation will be asked to meet with the
committee to give their views as to
how far the state should go on the
subject. Besides passing the bill for
Investigating committee to look into
the old age pension question, this
legis ature went further and loved
aow strongly it viewed the pension