The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1914-10-23
MONEY NOW GOES
TO WORKINGNAN
TOiIer Receiving Fees That
Formerly Went to Liability
Companies Attorneys.
MILLIONS SAVED TO INJURED
In the "NeW Ohio" There ls No More
Bargaln @" for Settlements
With Poverty Stricken De-
pendents, But Protection
Is Given by State.

Whenever workman is injured, his
earning power instantly ceases, He is
an engine run down. He is q motor
with no dynamo. He is a ship drifting
| with the waves. Unless there is an
instant replacement of energy, unless
other engines take the lead, unless
other boats steam to the rescue, there
is imminent danger for the workman,
his family-society
Nearly everybody can realize the
danger now. Compare the broken
workman to the ship whose propeller
goes bad in storm and you visualize
the danger more clearly. Consider the
mans family the ships passengers and
the mental picture grows. Consider
night coming on and no help at hand
for the buffeted, crippled craft, and
you get ever nearer the real situation.
Is the comparison overdrawn? Well,
take a specific instance John Smith
has a wife and four children. He
works in a steel mill and makes $l2 a
week. Every week he pays out $12 for
Abhh anu AbAh anu AlbiAlAEs ollb hel9
something goes wrong at the plant
and Smith goes to the hospital minus
foot or a hand, his earning power
gone, his future hopeless. His wife is
unequipped to take his place. His
children are too small. The income
ceases, but the family and Smith him
self must eat and have lodging and
live
Could the plight of the ships pas
sengers drifting be much worse than
the family of John Smith?
Under the Old System.
But, strange as it may sound, there
was a time, and it was not very long
ago, when the actual suffering of the
Injured workman and his family was
not generally realized. There was no
effective replacement when the engine
broke down and the ship began to
drift. If a good-hearted captain hap
pened along, he took the passengers
off and provided for them temporarily.
So it was that the family of the in
jured workman became dependent
upon charity.
Reused by the Injustice to Labor.
When James M. Cox was elected
governor in 1912 he saw the liability
companies reaping a harvest. These
companies had established the system
of insuring employers against damage
claims that might ensue when EN-
ployes were injured. The companies
represented to the employers that |
they, the companies, would not only |
protect the employers interests, but /
would relieve the suffering of the in !
jured by paying to the latter's family |
a liberal portion of the premium or |
tolls which the employer paid. So in |
nearly every case the employer felt no
concern for the interests of |
his injured men.
The liability companies "professed"
to take care of the injured employe
and his family. But they took for
one-half of all the tolls
they received from the employers. If,
in one year, for example, they re-
ceived $2,000,000 in premiums or tolls,
.heyNtook $1,0O0O0O for profits and for
The expense of running their business,
The insurance business, and even If
hey gave the other half to relieve the
of the injured, it wouldn't
lave been so bad. But investigation
If the methods of the liability insur-
lnce companies showed that instead
If giving money to the distressed, they
ought against giving it, paid large
ees to attorneys and agents to strike
bargain" settlements with poverty
stricken dependents, and when de-
refused to accept the meager
offerings, the insurance companies, it
vas shown, paid huge attorney fees to
lrag the damage suits through the
ourts so slowly that ultimately the
Plaintiffs we're starved" out and quit
n hopeless despair. The result was
hat of all the tolls collected as pre-
NUNS the liability insurance people
we're in the habit of permitting less
han one-fifth to get into the hands of
he people for whom it was originally
Intended.
Caused Bitter Fight.
This was the situation that aroused
he ire of Gov. Cox and that started
he war between the Cox administra-
lon and the combined liability insur.
nee companies of the state. Ulti-
lately, after a bitter fight, the com
anies were defeated. The real reason