The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-09-09

constitutes the A days following the injury, in which no compensation is allowed the injured employee. I might state that this has been a sub ject for general complaint among the employees, and probably one feature of the law that Is as unpopular as any with which have met, on account of the fact that great majority of in hjuries are of short duration and ex- tend over periods varying from a couple of weeks to three or four, and employees feel very reluctant to lose the 2 weeks, and I am inclined to think that it would be an improve ment which would meet with popular approval if the waiting period were reduced to days. Of course, there are valid reasons why there should be 8 waiting period, and in countries where there is no waiting period, there seems to have developed a pe- riod of pension hysteria, in which case people seem to be willing to lay off a few days and take a vacation, and so the waiting period has it's good as we'll as its bad features. If the whole human race were absolutely honest, these checkmates to a person who is always willing to take advantage of something to which he is not justly entitled would not become a real ne- cessity.
 Agreements No Compromise.
 While the vast majority of eases are settled by agreements between employer and employee, or their res pective representatives, there can in no way be a compromise. The law must be adhered to in all it's essential features, but we frequently meet with employers, or their. representatives or adjusters, who attempt to settle a compensation case by making a conn promise, but in every instance this has K
 ment made strictly in accordance with i the Statute.
 'sThe agreements and awards must l be filed with the Clerk or the Superior lCourt In case of an award either l party has the right of appeal, provid- ing notice of appeal is given in ten days from the filing of the award.
 otherwise it must stand as a final Judgment It has been the aim of the Commission to encourage informal l hearings and settlement of all cases l by agreement wherever possible as it tends to lessen. the expense and leaves a much more agreeable feling be- l tween employer and employee.
 Statistics.
 tsOne statistician has estimated that about 3O,O0o people are injured each
 day in the United States, that is one l to every 2,800 in population. It is es- l tirnated that the death rate caused by | G l persons over 5 years of age. The
 average age at death from an accident ] is 8 3 years.s A person is more liable 1 to accidental death5 it is said, than 1 any other single cause except con l sumption and pneumonia, and a per-
 son is twice as liable to die. from an 1 accident as from old age, so it is lvery plainly evident to the merest l observer that a radical departure in
 legislation, tending toward the care
 of those injured in industrial occupa- l tions, is something which was well
 considered and along the lines of up- i to-dates legislation. It became evil l dent to men interested in this lins I of thought that a remedy was neces I saFy, and the passage of Compensa- i ton Laws seems to be the answer. I While the compensatton law at I present may not be entirely ideal, ii I has it's vast advantages over the old I method Of suits in tort, in which great I expense had to be incurred by the em-
 ployee in getting his just deserts.
 Possible Improvements.
 I There are several features in con- lnection with the Law which I think ] might be improved, and those which strike me most forcibIy at present are I the reduction Of the waiting perio6 I to seven days, and also there should
 be additional compensation paid to in
 jured employees for specific injuries 1 for as the law now reads it simply I gives one half of the average weekly
 wage in the settlement of that class l of injuries, and the maximum and
 minimum do not apply. In other
 words, if a boy were earning $4 Q
 week and he lost an arm, he would I get but $2 a week for the specified
 number of weeks for the loss of tha1 T arm, and the compensation in tha1
 case would be sadly inadequate. For I tunately there have been very few ot
 these cases presented, but in order tc
 meet any possibility which nigh
 arise, think there is an improvement
 which might be made in this parttcu. lar direction.