Norwich bulletin., 1913-11-29
Explains Workmen's Compensation
Dr. J J Donohue, State Commissioner Gives Instructive Talk Before Norwich Business Men-Assocation Goes Record Opposing Order to New Haven Road to Sell Sound Steamship Lines.


 | in the Shannon building. and at which others particularly interested in the 1 subject were present. Dr. J. J. Dono- hue, Workmens compensation commis- l sioner for this district. gave compre- 1 hensiye and instructive talk upon the l provisions and the operations of the new state law on this subject, explain l ing it in detail and afterwards answer | ing numerous questions which were put to him by his audience.
 l The information that he gave upon the subject and the satisfactory way in which he answered the inquiries | that were put to him indicated how l thoroughly he was informing himself upon the provisions of this new law 1 which goes into effect on the first of 1 January.
 Against Sale of Steamship Lines. Another important point to which the attention of the meeting was called and upon which action was taken was the passage of the following resoIu- ton:
 Resolved. That the Norwich Busi- ness Mems association view with alarm the action of the interstate eom- merce commission compelling the New York, New Haven and Hartford Rail- road company to dispose of their in terests in the sound steamship lines on or before July IA. 1914; and be it
 Resolved, That we believe the sound steamers cannot be operated with profit save in conjunction with or by owner- ship of the same by the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad, which no wserVes them through it's system of interchange of both passen- gers and freight; and be it further
 Resolved. That should this order be enforced, we believe that not only the merchants of eastern Connecticut will be greatly annoyed and suffer great inconvenience and loss through delays In shipments to and from New York city and points beyond, but the manu- featuring interests of New England will be vitally affected as well, not only through liability of delay to shipments but an increase of all rail rates as over those now in force via sound lines; and be it still further
 Resolved, That this association goes on record as being opposed to the movement, believing il to be retrogres- sive, and that a copy of these resolu- tions be forwarded to the commission CTS by the secretary.
 New Members Received.
 In the business meeting of the di. rectors at which President Herbert R. Branche presided, the following six new names were voted into member ship: James E. Fuller Insurance com pany, Barrows Shoe store, Shore Line Electric company, c. J. Isbister, Irving c. Elmer and Joseph Mahchessault
 Consolidation of JaiIs.
 new matter upon which the as- sociation is interested is the consol- idation of the Norwich and New Lon don jails and meeting upon this is to be held between December 8th and l2th, at which it is expected to have the county commissioners and the sheriffs and the members of the East ern Connecticut Development commit tee present
 Farm Bureau.
 W. o, Rogers, E. c. Jewett and c. Smith were named as a committee with power to handle the matter of the establishment of farm bureau here which has been proposed.
 Annual Dollar Dinner.
 It was voted to hold the annual dol lar dinner of the association in the latter part of January or the first of February. This will be the second the association has held. It is hoped to secure President Howard Elliott of the New Haven road as a speaker.
 Bring Secretary Hne Here.
 At some future meeting of the as sociation it was also decided to en- deavor to secure State Secretary of the Board of Education Hine to come here to speak upon the subject of a trade school and explain the way it might be secured.
 Learning by Experience of Others.
 In beginning his talk upon the workmen's compensation act Commis sioner Donohue referred to the Ger man and English plans and spoke of the experience of Michigan where compensation act has been in force year and usder which 10000 cases have been handled, with only eight appeals to the courts and only 200 arbitration cases in the whole num- Der. He spoke at length of the Con- necticut law which includes all the better features of the laws of other states with the objectionable reatures eliminated He said that eighteen states now have compensation laws and others are considering them.
 The Main Points.
 The second district, for which he is commissioner includes New London, Holland, Windham and Middlesex counties, with it's office in Williman- tic
 Speaking from a bulletin which has been prepared by the state commis- sion, he explained the various main points taken up in the bulletin as fol- lows:
 The General Plan of the Act.
 The act consists of three parts, part A, part and part c. Part c has to do with the organization of mutual in surance companies, and for the pur- poses of this bulletin may be disre- garded Part A is modification of the present law governing employers Iia- bility; part B comprises the new com pensation plan. Every employer and employe has the power of choice be- tween these two parts under the con- ditions and with the resulting advan- tages hereinafter explained.
 of Less Than Five Persons. A general impression has exstied that of less than five persons are exempt from the provisions of the act. Tn the opinion of the attorney general. such is not the case. Every party to g. contract of employment, irrespective to the number of persons in the em- ployer's service, falls automatically under the provisions of part B unless notice of refusal to accept the act is served upon the commissioner of the district and the other party to the served by either party, the present status of the contract remains un- changed and suits may be brought and defended, as in the past, under the ex sting laws governing liability for per sonal injuries
 of Five or More Persons. Every contract of employment in his class falls automatically under | part B. with the option to the em- oloyer and employe of choosing the 1 following alternatives:
 The Employers Alternative. (a) Any employer of this class may come under part A by notifying the 1 of the district and his | employees of his refusal to accept the | of part B; but. if he does 1 I. {f. ' tax1f f] 1NNyo