The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1913-02-22
.W0RKMEh !. CONSIDER |
COMPENSATE ACT
Mass Meeting Of Duluth Laborers
Protests Against Low
Payments in Bill.

The meeting at the Armory last
Saturday evening to discuss working
mems compensation bills now pend
Ing before the legislature, was fairly
we'll attended. Speeches were made
by A. G. Mcknight, w. E. McEwen
and Morris Kaplan. Richard Jones
presided. :;
Mr.. Mcknight, who was the first
speaker, discussed employers .liabili-
ty from the lawyers standpoint. He
spoke on the doctrine of assumption
of risk. the fellow servant and con-
tributory negligence. He referred to
the waste under the present system
and declared that any kind Of a.
workingmen's compensation act was
preferable to. the present system Of
employers liability.
w. E.: McEwen told of" the large
number of, accidents which annually
occur in America, many Of which
were preventable. Statistics, he de-
clared, showed that 81 per cent Of
the accidents were due to the, negli-
gence Of neither. the employers nor
the employees He held that but II
per cent Of the people injured in In
dustry received any compensation
whatsoever. +: - :
McEwen Voices Protest.
The purpose: Of workingmens
COMPENSATORY act should be to COM
pensate all worKingmen without ref
erence to fault. HE gave a review :of
the three bills: now pending. before the
legislature and said that it was gen.
orally believed that if any bill passed
it would be the elective bill proposed
by the Minnesota Employers asso-.
citation.
Mr.. McEwen stated that this bill
contained many good features, but it
was wrong in principle in several re-
spects. He maintained that the words
"willful negligence" in the bill, and
the definition given of "willful neg
lisence,' practically. preserved the
fellow servant rule and placed a pen
atty upon an :ernpleye for negligence
that would be escaped by the employ
or. He did mot: like the definition of
an ACC ident," and strongly protested
against the low. compensation pro-
vided for in the ;bill. :
He gave it as his opinion that la
Dor was more: interested in immunity
than in compensation, and he wanted
to see the compensation sufficiently
high: to make 1t. cheaper to prevent
accidents than to pay for them.
kaplan sAWakens Late.
Morris Kaplan. was the last speak
er. After directing a shot or two
against the Minnesota State Fedora
ton of Labor, he pointed out in de-
tall many haws::in~ the bill. He as
serted that: the whole matter would
have. gone by default, had it not been
for the: vigilance of the unorganized
Finnish. and Italfantworkmen of north
ern Minnesota "*3zr:e T.
However, as the speaker had just
begun to study the subject and was
not familiar with the work of the
Minnesota State Federation of Labor
during the past four years, he seemed
to be- under the impression that the
awakening: of the: workingmen~oft this
state against the: bad features in the
employers bill dated from his awak-
ening. g..
As a matter: of fact, long before
Mr.. Kaplan became familiar with the
ooCJSSI Va "OIn1A6HACu0 COulp0uSd-
ton, officers of; the Minnesota State
Federation of Labor: were giving the
subject their sincere and earnest con-
sideration and study: They at the
very outset protested. against every
feature of the bill that was made an
issue at last Saturdays meeting.
AT the conclusion of the speaking a
telegram was sent to Representative
Hillman in, the name Of the meeting,
protesting against the passage of any
kind of a workingmen's compensation
act, unless the schedule of compensa-
ton was raised to provide for a:75
per centum payment for all disabili-
ties to continue during the entire per-
iod of incapacity:
The meeting also. demanded that
the $4,000 maximum to be paid in
case Of death be- changed to a mini
mum Of $4,000. ~s:;:.
BUY: 0VERCoATs