The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-07-09
INDUSTRIAL INSURANCE.

1uOuStrlal insurance 10 attTaCtlu6
much attention In England. Germany.
Norway and other European countries.
In England. following the passage OF
Lloyd-George's industrial insurance
bill two years ago. at one stroke. four
teen million working men and women
many of whom were unable to pay 1of
medical services under the old pian'
were taken out of the field OF private
practice and were provided with these
services, largely at the expense OF the
state. In Germany, governmental In
dustrial insurance has been In force Tor
a number of years and its scope has
been gradually enlarged, until In some
districts, IS per cent. of the people are
said to be affected by it's operations.
DIR. J. w. schereschewsky Of the
United States public health service. re-
Gently read a paper on the subject be-
fore the National Association for the
Study and Prevention Of tuberculosis.
Considering the social and evolutionary
phases of the question rather than the
practical and administrative side. DR..
Schereschewsky finds the explanation
for the development Of industrial insur-
ance in the gradual growth of appre-
citation of the consequence to and the
interdependence on each other OF the
individual members OF society. Tine
bitter lessons taught by the ravages OF
devastating epidemics, the concentra-
ton of population in cities, the high
degree of specialization in manufac-
lures and similar conditions have all
increasingly emphasized mans de-
oh no
how properly to assess the value OF the
individual unit to society at large.
The efficiency Of the social unit Is con-
ditioned more by the physical status
of the individual than by any other
one factor. Inefficiency due to i'll health
constitutes a burden to be borne by the
whole of society rather than by the
Individual This is the addition to our
social concept which may really be re-
garded as a new discovery. The sick
ness and disability of the individual is
not a burden which should be borne by
the individual alone, but is rather =
liability for which society. as whole.
il responsible and which should be
borne by it, unless the causes for such
disability are plainly the fault OF the
individual Industrial insurance Is the
method by which the burden of physi-
cal disability is equitably distributed.
In this field, as all others in which 1t
is possible to ascertain the aggregate
result of a limited set of causes 1T
is inevitable that efforts at prevention
should at. once be inaugurated. Con-
seQuently, as soon as any system OF
industrial insurance has been In opera
ton long enough to acquire definite
data as to the cause of disease. it is
inevitable that systematic efforts for
the prevention Of disease will follow.
Just as systematic efforts for fire pre-
vention have followed the develop
ment of fire insurance. This involves.
as DR. Schereschewsky points out. the
detection of incipient defects and dis
eases among workers and the preven-
'ticn of the development of diseased
conditions by proper precautionary
measures. This can be secured only
by frequent periodical examination. OF
employees and frequent Inspection Of
their environment. Not only bad :hop
conditions but the total environment
of the worker must be included. This
means that the unhygienic workshop
must be found, recognized and cor
rected, and the entire surroundings of
the individual subjected to careful
scrutiny The inauguration of such a
system. no matter on what basis or ex-
actly at what point the dividing line
would be drawn between the insured
and the uninsured. would result in the
establishment and maintenance of suit
able hygienic standards Of living for
all classes. Enormous economic gains
would result through the reduction in
the loss OF working time, the saving in
expenses for medical attendance. nurs-
ing, drugs, etc, and the largely in
creased wage-earning capacity through
increased efficiency.
Labor unions and wOrkingmen are
coming to realize more and more that
sound physical health is the only cap
ital which the laborer possesses, and the
belief is growing. says The Journal Of
the American Medical Association, that
it Is as much the duty of the state to
protect and conserve the capital Of the
laborer as it is to protect the capital
of the employer. When labor unions
fully realize the Importance of this
fact, the workingmen of the country
will demand that the state take suit
able measures for the protection of
their health.