Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-02-19

Now, however. industry Is conduct
ed en-. IA large scale. Employer and
emps0Ee and fellow employees often;
know little. OF each other or have little
choice OF conditions. Swiftmoying
and complicated machinery is the rule
Accidents are necessarily ! frequent
WHISTLER there - negligence. Or not.
and u y often difficult to determine
whether there is negligence, or, If
there As. 10. whom it is attributable,
The old rules are, no longer fair. They
have been gradually modified or abel-
ishad IN many states and yet without
fully meeting modern, requirements,
for the evil lies largely ip the system
and not satirsly IN the details or rules,
OF lawsuits, sssA. ssn..eg III fs s,ssss,
consequently, state after state Is
now adopting what are known as
Workman compensation acts, which
have long been n vogue in various
other. countries, These acts are usl-
ally confined to what are called the
hazardous Industries and proceed en-
the theory that accidents are ineFin
table j. such Industries and that such
industries. themselves. should bear the
! loss OF their men as well as Of their
machinery, the loss to be estimated in
the cost of produetiQ ion. discounted in
prices, and paid Indirectly, By, those
who demand and use the product Re-
coveEy for. injuries IS based on the fact
of injury rather than the fault ri some
iniurer Simple remedies are pT0vidr
ed and rules are prescribed for deter1
mining and hitting the amount Of rer
covery, WHICH often, IS payable, in iRr
stalme1ts rather than ia lump sums
for the support OF the injured and
their dependents These get more N4-
der the new system than under the
old, while. the employers pay Little or
no more, for both ewDlQEer and eHau
plpge are relieved for the most part
of the, cost OF ATTORNEYS, courts and ins
suranee- companies. Compensation is
more uniform; there are not the ex-
damages. Relief is definite, cer-
tain, speedy, cheap and falrlgellylllet
tain, speedy, cheap and largely auto
matte, Actions for damages are abol-
ished with their accompanying de-
lays, uncertainties, cost, competition
for witnesses and hard feelings. HUI
man life and limb are conserved. The
inducement to provide proper safe
guards leads to reduction in acci-
dents. Potent causes of industrial
discomfort are removed. The state is
saved much in the cost of poor houses,
orphans, asylums, courts and jAils.
Employers are coming to see the adj
vantages Of the new system to them
selves.
/ The federal government has enact
ed provisions in this direction and a
carefully prepared, more comprehen-
siye bill is now pending in congress.
Two states have followed the German
method by adopting form of state
accident insurance for employees but
most Of the states that have thus far
taken action have followed the Brit
ish system of requiring each employer
to make compensation directly to his
own employe in case of accident. A
model form of bill. to which invite
your careful attention, has been pre-
pared by the conference Of commission
ers on uniform state laws in coopera-
ton with the legal committee of the
national civic federation and with the
assistance of the special committee on
workmens compensation of the Amer
ican bar association and of the legis-
latiye drafting association.
Working Hours Of Women and
/ Children.
The hours during which children
under certain age and women may
be employed, especially in occupations
other than domestic and agricultural,
are now regulated by statute in many
of the states. 1t is usually provided
! that these classes shall not be en-
ployed more than specified number
of hours in any one day or more than
q specified number of hours in any
one week, and the more advanced and
effective statutes provide also that
children at least shall not be employ
ed before or after specified times In
the morning and evening respectively.
While, owing to favorable climatic
conditions, the character of most
forms of employment, the absence of
excessive competition, and the human.
itarian views that prevail in this Ter
ritory, the need of legislation of this
kind has not yet become so pressing
here either in degree or extent as it
has in many other places, there is
nevertheless already a real need for 1t
that is appreciable; and 1t would seem
wiser to. enact such legislation now
and thus avoid worse conditions than
to wait with q view to remedying such
conditions when they become. estab-
lished and when opposition on the
part of employers may become power
full. Undrly prolonged employment of
women and children especially in
standing positions or when the work
is of an exacting or unvarying ma
ture, tends. by producing chronic ia
tigue. to produce mental and physical
disorders, moral dissipation, reduced
birth rate, infant mortality, and race
decline generally On the other hand,
the observance of reasonable hours is
apt to result in more and better work
! and less industrial discomfort. Thus,
the employer, as well as the employe
and the community generally, is like
ly to be benefited by such legislation.
SOCIAL AND EUGENE.
These are large subjects upon which
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