The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1913-06-26
GREEN MEASURE :
UP TO PEOPLE
Opposition to Substitute Expect
ed to Disappear,
WEAK FEATURES POINTED OUT

Bill as Passed by Legislature Does
Not Guarantee Compensation For
EmpIcyes-Does Not Define Metho5
Of Ascertaining Average Weekly
Wages Of Injured Parties-Neither
Does 1t insure Right of Employers
to Garry Own Insurance.
Columbus, O.-(Spec.al.) "A not un.
natural prejudice against the cam,
paign of the Ohio Equity association
to substitute for tire Green compensa
tion act another that will give justice
to all those concernc7 has developed
an opposition that will disappear as
understanding comes. Particularly
has this opposition been manifest
among some of the larger employers
of labor. 1t is not unlikely that these
employers have been misled by prom.
ises made by members of the present
state liability board of awards, VIII
hope to become members of the indus.
trial commission, which will admins
ter the Green act, il 1t ever becomes
operative.
Employers in Ohio, and employees a.
well, will find safety only in the Law
under which they will pay and receive
compensation. Promises OF taXspend
ers are unreliable, for taxspenders
come and go; and the last taXspender
holding the job has the last guess
Some of the larger employers believe
they have assurance that they will be
permitted to carry their own compen.
satlon insurance. At recent meet.
ing at Toledo Mr.. Duffy, member oi
the present board, who hopes to be,
come member of the new board
stated that only in exceptional cases
would an employer be permitted to
carry his own insurance under the
Green act.
This Green act does not guarantee
compensation for employees; it pur
ports to provide compensation for all
employees but as a matter of fact pro.
vides compensation only for some EN-
ployes. 1t sets forth that injured EN-
ployes shall receive as compensation
sixty-six and two thirds (66 2-3) pet
cent of their average weekly wages,
but it does not define how the averag
of an employees weekly wages shall
be determined; this is left to the in
ri al b.
is final and irrevocable. The Green
act makes the industrial commission
supreme in all matters; there is ne
appeal from its decision if it awards
an injured employe so much as 3
penny. He must take that or nothing
OF 422,076 decisions rendered by the
industrial unions of Germany in 1905
in compensation cases, 1882 were ap
pealed against. OF these appeals III
per cent were on the question of the
exact amount of a claimants loss o
earning power.
The Green act provides that :
widow of a killed employe shall b(
deemed wholly dependent only if She
time of his death; and that child j,
wholly dependent only if it lived will
the parent at the time of his death
On these points the substitute meas
ure which the Ohio Equity associa
| tion is initiating makes the widow
wholly dependent if she was not legal
| ly separated from the killed employ
| at the time OF his death and makes TIL
child wholly dependent no matter witt
whom it lived.
| The Green act imposes a great in
| Justice on the taxpayers in that it pro
Vides that all the cost of administra
tion of state compensation shall b.
paid out of the general tax funds
Compensation is properly an indus
trial charge and a part Of the cost o
production. The cost of administrs
tion should be added to the cost O
the manufactured article and paid b.
the consumer. The cost of administrG
ton under the Green act will, in
few years, exceed two million dollar
year Sevanty-five per cent of tn
manufactured products of Ohio ar
sold in other states and in other coul
tries. The taxpayers of Ohio are II
quired to hold the bag for these ou
siders.
Efforts have been made to justif
placing this cost ON the taxpayers b
claiming that compensation would r.
| nTnn nd CT
Ciety of that burden How does til
Green act offer any relief to the ia,
payers? 1t takes little of their bu
den off in one place and puts more G
in another, Further, in Germany til
experience under compulsory compe
sation has been that pauperism, i
stead of being decreased, has Il
creased, according to DR. F. Frieden
burg, who was at the head of the il
perial insurance office.
The Green act pretends to give er
, ployerS the option of carrying the
own insurance or of participating
: a mutual. The word ''pretends"
4 applicable and justified by the ia
that, under the Green act, every Ell
ployer who does not pay premium
4 into the state fund is penalized by b
! ing compelled to pay to the state Q
amount equal to 10 per cent Of Il
premiums he would pay if he were i
sured in the fund. Neither the el
ployer nor his injured employe cs
ever get one penny of benefit out
mi