The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1913-10-09


mems compensation and employers |
liability law has reduced the work OF
the supreme court, as there are COM
paratively few personal injury cases |
arising from accidents to employees. |
Some of the cases which are now being |
deciding were started before the new
law went into effect.
Superintendent of public instruc-
ton L. l.. Wright says the new text
book law passed at the last session
of the legislature, which is known as
the King bill, will in his opinion re-
suit in a saving to the people of the
state approximately $4,000 per year.
"In estimating the saving in money
to the people of the state OF Michigan
through the operation of the new
text book law / am compelled to give
estimates only" said Superintendent
Wright. az have not sufficiently exact
information in the Office to make an
accurate statement.
There were sos, 1877 school children
enrolled in the public schools OF Michi-
| gan last year. The amount of money
spent for school books in that yea" APP
proximated $425,000. This has been
about the average yearly expense for
school books in Michigan. Many of
| the books were sold directly TO pupils
by book dealers who charged an aver
age of twenty-five per cent over the
wholesale price. The usual discount
allowed by the publishers to the deal
ers was twenty per cent from the list
price.
Under the workings of the new law
which prohibits the dealers from
charging more than fifteen per cent
of the wholesale price as scheduled in
this office by the various publishing
companies, boards of education are
buying the books with district money,
turning them over to the dealer to sell
and giving him the profit. l estimate
the average discount now allowed,
from the list price at least by the
larger companies, as twenty-five per
cent.
Under the new law books must
be sold by publishers to Michigan
people or dealers at the lowest whole
United States and If the district board
buys the books with district money
only ten per cent profit may be charg-
ed. / estimate that the discounts al
lowed by publishers to dealers and to
districts is increased from twenty per
cent off to twenty-five per cent of
from the list price and that the per.
centage of profits charged by districts
and dealers is reduced from twenty
five per cent average to ten per cent.
l estimate a saving to the people Of
the state annually of $4,000"
Although Secretary Drake of the
industrial accident board gave yer.
bal ruling several weeks ago to the
effect that members of the Michigan
: National Guard are In reality state
employees and as such are entitled to
: the protection afforded by the work
: ingmen's compensation and employ.
er's liability law, Attorney General
J Fellows has rendered an opinion to
the effect that the compensation law
| is not intended to protect members OF
, statute which enables the board OF
state auditors to compensate national
guardsmen in case of injury.
r The decision resulted from the death
r of Ora Green, the Lansing boy who
died as the result of injuries received
I in the copper country while on duty
I with Battery A, First Michigan Field
g Artillery. 1t was thought that Green's
t widow would receive compensation
5 from the state and that the case
: would be acted upon by the industrial
!. accident board.
: However, inasnuch as the compen
Q sation act makes no mention of pro
d tecting the militiamen, Attorney Gen
: eral Fellows says that a law passet
s several years ago which authorizes
l. the board of state auditors 70 compen
a safe the widow out of the genera
S fund of the state treasury. This sec
r ton of the law provides that the audi
l. tors shall determine what shall con
e situte just and reasonable settle
ment.
T. In Wisconsin the industrial acciden
n board held that members of the Ma
n tional Guard were covered by the stat
II compensation law, but Attorney Ger
n eral Fellows points out that IL Il ha
r heen the intent of the Michigan legii
e lature to bring the National Guar
IT under the provisions of the act som
n provision would have been made {
T. take care of an extra ordinary liabil
a ty which might result from a seriou
IN riot
sr The mines Of the state reported les
ID fatal accidents during the month 9
n September than ordinarily Only tw
s. men were fatally injured in the mine
a. of Michigan last month. One was a
Vt employee of a Saginaw coal mine an
the other was employed in the iro
a. mines of the upper peninsula Ele,
IN trfcity, which is usually responsible
for numerous deaths, caused onl