The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1913-05-02
TRADE DISEASES.
Compensate the Sick as Well as
Accident Victims.
CASE OF POOR SCHROEDER.
lnoapaotated In the Service of Uncle
Sam, but Received Not a Penny
Lost on acknowledgements
kern's Proposed Law.
JOHN b. ANDREWS In Survey.

Al you were ldlu up anu your
wages stopped and you began to
worry for your family as your saw
ings dwindled away, how much diff
ference would it make to you whether
the trouble came through an accident
or an illness due to your work?
There was The case Of Schroeder,
who went to work for Uncle Sam
in the Brooklyn navy yard. One of our
big warships, the Ohio, came to the
dock, and Schroeder was sent down
into the water tight cofferdams to
burn of the old coat of paint In prepa
ration for a new. As a result Of
breathing the fumes OF the lead paint
Schroeder was incapacitated for work
by acute lead poisoning. He lost
thirty-seven days on this account, and
he applied to the government for the
payment Of compensa ton equal to the
wages he had lost.
But Schroeder got not one penny. 1t
was not an accident" but 'neces-
sary incident in his job. The law
only covered accidents. Said the at
torney for the government:
"It cannot be said that these fumes
were inhaled by accident. The fumes
were necessarily produced by the
work he was engaged upon The in
halation of such fumes was to have
been expected and probably could not
have been avoided. Lead poisoning
under the circumstances was the nat
ural il not the inevitable result"
A few months after the unfortunate
Schroeder case q man named Hill was
employed at placing floor plates in the
engine room of the warship St Louis
In the Puget sound navy yard, Mean
time lead and white lead paint were be-
ing applied to the bilges of the vessel
As a result of this exposure to lead
fumes Hill contracted q disease Of the
eyes which incapacitated him.
But Hills claim for lost wages was
approved because he was the victim Of
an accident Said the attorney for
the government: THE injury to the
claimants eyes was neither reasonably
to be expected nor the natural or in
evitable consequence Of the work he
personally was engaged upon. The in
jury must therefore be ascribed to ac-
cident. The claimants particular work
had nothing to do with the painting op-
erations going on about him. His work
as a ship filter related to the laying
of plates in the boiler room. The paint
ing was being done by others"
Suppose however, instead Of Hill,
one Of the painters had been poisoned
and incapacitated by the fumes Of lead
paint. He would have had no valid
claim for it would have been a neces-
sary incident of his job
The federal government since 1908
and fifteen states during the past two
years have recognized the wisdom and
justice Of the compensation principle
In dealing with the victims of indu-
mand that the American people,
through congress, adopt exactly the
same principle in dealing with federal
employees who are incapacitated for
work by occupatiOnal diseases.
The present federal workmen's COM
pensation act Of May 80, 1908, IS
Americas pioneer compensation law.
1t was a step forward, but only step.
1t applies to only about one-third Of
our 350,000 civilian employees and Is
so deficient that its original sponsors
now waste no words in its defense,
but frankly apologize for its short
comings Not a revision" says one
in a position to know, "but new law
is needed
The draft Of a new law, prepared
after months of careful investigation
of experience of this and all other COM
pensation acts and drafted with in
finite care at the instigation Of the
Association For Labor Legislation, has
been introduced in congress by Sena-
tor Kern Surely the United States
should now provide for Its own gov
ernment employees incapacitated by in
dustrial accidents and occupational
diseases a system OF safety and sani-
tation coupled with compensation at
least equivalent to that furnished by
the progressive nations Of the world.
Nor can the state legislature longer
ignore the injustice of this arbitrary
distinction between accidents and dis
eases due to the peculiar conditions OF
employment.
The arguments used so effectively
by advocates of compensation for &C
Gidents and now so generally accept
ed by all men apply with even greater
force in the consideration of relief for
the victims Of occupational diseases
No one will doubt, for example, that
placing the financial cost of lead poi
soning upon the lead industry will pro
mote greater cleanliness in the lead
trades. 1t will pay to clean up. A con
siderable part Of the money now paid
30 employers liability companies and
to ambulance chasers could under q
1ust system of compensation, go where
it belongs--to the injured workman
or his family Expensive, annoying
and unsatisfactory litigation could be
reduced to minimum. Information
concerning special danger points in In
dustry would be automatically pointed
out t. the factory inspectors In a man
ner both prompt and sure. Unneces