University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1914-10-19
JOHNNY McGRAFF, SWITCHMAN.

couplings one night quick enough.
The box cars bumped together and
the iron jaws of the couplings bit
off his three fingers between the
thumb and the little one. They cart
ed Johnny home in an ambulance.
Came a claim agent of the railroad
company to settle with Johnny. But
he didn't want to settle at what was
offered for his missing fingers. He
hired a lawyer to buck the high
salaried legal staff of the o. H. &
P. Railroad
Perhaps he won his case after many
delays - perhaps he didn't. Juries
are usually unfair to railroads. Yet
an able lawyer can make a good de-
fense out of the old common law al
lowances for contributory negligence
by the employe and the theory that
men doing such work receive higher
wages because of their dangers. The
common law says they assume this
risk for such wages, and that this
should be considered even where
there is defective equipment.
But win or lose, Johnny found at
the end of the legal tangle he had not
got as much for the missing fingers
as he would have received had he
taken the offer of the claim agent.
Lawyers and court delays had eaten
up the most of the money which he
may have been awarded. And the
railroad may have been the victim of
a jury much prejudiced against rail-
roads. They often are.
Johnny also had been without work
for many months. Several times he
had started to work for railroads in
positions where the loss of his fing-
ers did not bar him from working.
Each time he had been dismissed in
about two weeks. His record had
been traced. 1t was found he had sued
another road for personal injuries.
Such men were not wanted. So John
ny had to go; he didn't know how to
do anything else.
But such cases as Johnny's do not
happen in nine states today. These
states have adopted Employers Liza
bility and Workmens Compensation
Laws. Both the employe and employ
er have found it much fairer than the
old system. The law as it now stands
in Connecticut may be cited as fair
example of the way the nine more
progressive states take care of the en-
ployer, factory workers, railroad work
srs and other employees engaged in
dangerous occupations.
To begin with, it is assumed the law
is accepted by all employers of such
men and their employees unless eth
er the employer or employe notifies
the other in writing that the law is
not accepted by him. Also the Com
pensation Commission must be notified
in writing. This commission is made
up of five men, one from each con-
gressional district, who serve d term
of five years at a salary of $4,000
year. Each commissioner must hav.
an Office in his district.
An employer who does not file no.
tice that he will not accept the law is
not liable for damage on account of
personal injuries to men in his en-
ploye and furnish such medical or hos
er under this law:
He must provide a competent ply
sician or surgeon for his injured en-
loye and furnish such medical or hos
pital service and attention as the doc
tor sees necessary, for thirty days.
No compensation starts until two
weeks after the time of the injury.
Then the injured employe gets so per
cent. of the loss of earning power, not
exceeding $40 week, during the Pc
riod of incapacity but no longer than
312 weeks, for partial incapacity.
There is a scale arranged in ac-
cordance with the nature of the injury
by which the men are to be paid. For
they get one-half of their
average weekly wage 20S weeks for