The Medina sentinel. [volume] (Medina, Ohio) 1888-1961, 1914-08-28


any departure from the paths of old,
and its vision was so clouded, both
by fetch and obsession, that it was
either unmindful Of conditions that
made government a burden rather
thai. help to the people, or 1t had
profted so long by campaign contri-
buttons from the interests that enjoyed
unfair and special privileges, that the
welfare of the rartv was regarded as
The surest guarantee of the prosperity
and happiness of the state. Ohio now
leads all progressive states, and stu
dents of political ecor my conce1e
that her new laws bring the common
wealth to a plane approachin a rea'
democracy, under which government
Is not only a genuine agency for the
promotion of the general welfare, hut
it is placed completely and absolute
ly in the hands of the people
Wisdom Of Legislation.
No one up to this time has made
any impression on the thought of the
state, contending against the wisdom
of recent enactments, and when we re.
feet upon the widespread blessings
that have come, it is difficult to re-
strain feeling akin to bitterness over
the stand-pat policies which so long de-
MED them to the state. Proud Of her
achievements and mindful of the we'll
balanced program of legislative relief,
the Democracy faces the battle Of 1914
with a miitancy that will soon reveal
the feebleness of the opposition. In-
stead OF the dockets Of the courts be-
ing congested in industrial centers
with personal injury suits, legal &C.
ton growing out of accidents to work
men are now rare thing indeed. Tbs
vast economic waste Of legal proceed
ure and disputation between liability
insurance companies and injured me-
chanics is at an end. To the mills
march daily hundreds Of thousands Of
operatives with a contentment they
never knew before. A tragedy in tho
shops now means instant relief In
stead of law suit. The hospitals are
aI aIailable for the injured without cost
to them, skilled medical service is
guaranteed without financial burden
to them, and If tragedy results there
is positive assurance Of relief for the
dependent families-all of this under
the auspices of the government. Can
any student of events fail to measure
the increased reverence which this
breedsffor the institutions of a repub-
lie? Can anyone deny that it will be
more potential in allaying unrest in
the minds Of the masses than all other
social and governmental factors COM
bined? And with this boon to the in
dustrial classes, we observe the rath-
er anomalous development of de-
creased and constantly diminishing
cost to the manufacturer. The conf
pensation to the injured and families
of those whose lives are offered up in
the great industrial struggle Of the
day, is 30 per cent more than in any
other American state or foreign do
while the cost to the employer
is only from onethird to one half what
1t is elsewhere. This demonstrates
clearly that the workmens cothpensa-
tion law Is not only advantageous to
the workman, but to his employer as
well, and 1t offers positive proof that
society, SO called, has always been
contributing enough to make possible
the relief now afforded, but the bene-
ficlaries have been the liability insur-
ance companies. For forty years the
stand-pat Republican party has been
preaching protection to the American
workman and the home. In less than
two years the Democracy Of our state
has done more for the laborer through
the compensation law, and more for
the home through the mothers pen
sion act, than the opposition party has
contributed in the whole OF its exist.
ence.
Genuine Regulation Of Saloons.
A policy Of artful discrimination with
respect to the liquor question, so long
deplored by thinking people, has been
changed by the Democracy to the con-
crete, effective and widely approved
plan Of genuine regulation Of this bus
mess. The dignity Of law has been
established and the liquor licensing
act stands out as the sanest temper
ance measure in the states history.
That the people in voting this into the
constitution acted with a full under
standing Of the Ills Of the past and
the necessities Of the future, is dem.
onstrated by the complete transforms
ton in conditions which came as
though by magic the day the law be.
came operative. Whatever regulatory
measures the community or state may
adopt or retain are certain Of en-.
forcement because the liquor license
is possessed only by those who re
Spect the laws.
Rural Problems solved.
Not only have the complex prob
lens Of the great cities received at
tention, but as proof that the evolu
tionary period through which we arc
passing brings better conditions II
life to every section, urban and rural
we ace revealed changes Of mighty