The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-23


proper national legislation on these sub
jects? Shall we fritter away our time in
piece meal appeals to the various state
| legislatures for piece meal legislation,
| however model its character, or, instead,
| shall we look to the national legislature
| for carefully thought out and comprehen-
| sive legislation?
The great railways. steamship INES
and manufacturing and distributing cor
porations all do Interstate business. Mil
lions of men and women are engaged
with the railways the steamship lines,
| the steel companies, the wholesale stores
and the great manufacturing industries
of the country. Many of these employees
work IL hours day, and seven days q
week, while many other worthy citizens
| find 1t difficult to get any work at
all. so unevenly is work distributed. Wom-
| en- and children work hopelessly long
days. and too many of them, while other
women or children are unable TO get
any work because of this unequal distri-
button. In many places the working con-
ditions are unsafe and insanitary, while
| in others they are good.
Fl, Is II not plain that all these employers
and these laborers should have some more
uniform and just rule of law to govern
their relations to each other and to their
work2 Should 1t not be possible to take
all the model laws and from them frame
a national act that will cover the per-
missibe hours and days of labor for
men, women and children, the permissible
sanitary conditions for them. the per-
missible conditions for them as to safety,
and that will prescribe what eompensa-
tion shall be received by them in case
of injury, OF by those who come after
them In case of their death?
Should it not be possible to prepare
| legislation definite and clear enough to
| or representative, easily to determine
| what their rights are in order that with
| out the Intervention of an insurance COM
| panv or a lawyer. a fair settlement may
| be made with the employer? After Civ
| ing reasonable time in which to make
such settlements, and providing that set
| Elements brought about by fraud or uD-
| fairness shall be void, should not such
, legislation provide for a competent ad-
| juster in each federal district, appointed
| by the judge, who shall take proof to
the facts in case of dispute, and report
to the court his opinion as to liability? If
a lawyer or a claim agent is engaged,
should not his compensation be subject
| to the action of the court that the in
justice of so per cent contingent fee
for merely making a settlement. or con-
| Quoting an easy case shall no longer be
possible?
If either party is dissatisfied with the
| report of the adjuster, upon filing ex-
| ceptions to that report. should the party
not have the right to come into the
court and try the case out before court
and jury in the usual manner?
| If we had such a statute applying to
| all corporations substantially engaged
| in interstate commerce and all such
corporations were compelled to file
within reasonable time their written
| assent to it's terms of liability or be
N f,-p. rfv,,r
commerce, 1t is not difficult to believe
that an immense amount of injustice
and litigation could be avoided
| Would 1t not be better to have such
| simple legislation, laying stress on
| sanitary conditions and safety, reason.
able hours of work and reasona BILE
compensation in case of injury or death
than 1t would be to have crude state
1 insurance laws that encourage mailing
ering, enormously increase the expense
of taxpayers for needless officials and
fail to put premium upon the side
of health and safety?
| Doubtless such statute cannot he
drawn in a day. 1t would require the
mature consideration of labor leaders
and employers of labor, and the most
| experienced and broad-minded counsel
| that each can bring to their consider
alton. There have been objections in
/, the past and there will be objections
L IL.
because of states rights
Right or wrong, however, the CON
| stitution of<the United States. the de-
cisions to which we have called atten-
| ton, and the business conditions of to-
day. have made it impossible properly
to settle this broad question by appeal
| ing to first one state and then another
For long period of years experienced
and able lawyers have labored for uni
form state legislation on matters so
simple that 1T would seem easy to
obtain 1T and yet as the result of all
these labors there are but very few
laws that are uniform in different
| states and usually these laws are to
be found In but very few states
! In the welfare of the workers in in
! terstate commerce. however. we have a
matter of national concern and II can
be adequately dealt with only by ma
tional lawy Upon no other basis can
| the employers or the employees be mt
on equal terms with each other every
where in interstate commerce If the
relation of employers and employees to
each other in interstate commerce is
thus regulated by national law, the
states, in self defense, will be compelled
| to adopt substantially the same regula-
tions. 1t is only just and right that
a subject of national Importance and
scope should be settled by national
law. and it Is doubtful it il will even
be settled right by any legislation short
| of that.