St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1914-08-12
PRESS COMMENT



d before the Vermont legislature mex
b winter is the question of a work
d mems compensation law. Over thir
ty of the states now have these law
s which are, in the main, found fa
/ better than the old system of letting
( the victim of an accident and his
unfortunate dependents shift fol
| themselves. New York has recently
enacted such law and the Satur-
| day Evening Post makes the follow
ing interesting comment on it's work
: ing:
Experts on the subject say that
: the Workmen's Compensation Law
: which went into effect in the state
of New York at the beginning of
July is the most liberal yet adopted
in this country. Except household
and farm labor nearly all wage
earners of the state come within it's
terms; and every employer must ar
range to compensate his employees
for accidental injuries by taking out
a policy of insurance in an approved
liability company, or by insuring in
the state fund, or by joining a mu-
tual insurance company or by writ
ing his own insurance under condi-
lions prescribed by the law.
When the act went into effect
more than fifty thousand employers
had taken insurance in one or an
other of the above forms, and ex-
perts calculated that the annual pre-
m1ums on this insurance would cost
| employers quite twenty-five million
/ dollars a year. That is a large sum,
and conservative critics made much
of it.
How much the barbarous old con-
- e. 10
er style of compensating for indus
trial accidents cost employers no
body seems to know. 1t was certain
ly many millions of dollars, and GER
tainly a great part of whatever it
cost employers was utterly wasted in
! lawyers fees and court expenses;
but suppose the twenty-five millions
a year this civilized scheme of acct
dent compensation costs employers
were an entirely new tax on the
states industries.
The last census says that manufac-
turing alone in the Empire state en-
ploys more than million hands and
turns out a yearly value exceeding
three and third billion dollars. The
twenty-five millions, therefore,
amounts to considerably less than
one per cent of the annual product;
decidedly less, in fact, for the law
includes employment in fields other
than manufacturing.
If this expert forecast of the cost
of compensation insurance is correct,
we should say the burden imposed by
the new law-after allowing for the
cost to employers of. the rotten old
damage-suit method, and including
employers other than manufacturers
would probably figure out about a
quarter of one per cent of the out
turn.-Benningto Banner.
Governor Fletcher's Ambition.
1t is being currently stated that
Governor Fletcher is ambitious to
become the Progressive nominee for
the United States Senate. He has
perfect right to this ambition but it
cannot be that there are any Pro-
gressives who would lend him any
support in this direction or for any
other office on the Progressive tick
ct for that matter.
Only two years ago Governor
Fletcher was the opposing candidate
for Governor of the Progressive |
party. He has repeatedly heaped ri |
dicule on the Progressives and has
as often declared himself to be a
Republican. While Governor Fletch-
er has of late been favoring some |
measures that are progressive in |
their nature yet those who know him |
for what he is worth do not think /
that he is sincere. His past record, /
not only in the Vermont legislature
but before he came to Vermont, does
not harmonic with the advanced
ideas that are interesting the Amer
ican, voters today. All along Gov.
Fletcher has shown by his actions
that he wants to go to the United +
States Senate but he is SO secrettve
and willy that even his closest
friends hold a certain amount of dis
trust in regard to the sincerely of
his methods
But just witness the spectacle of
the Governor junketing around the
State with Mason Stone under the
cloak of the Educational Commission
to fix up his political fences. Above
ali the educational department ,
should be free from the evil infHu-
zHces Of politics. The right of the ,
governor cannot be questioned to go
about the state in the interest of his z
candidacy for any Office when done
In the open and with that purpose in
view. But when he calls public .
meetings in the interest of educa-
ion and turns the meetings into po- (
ltical rallies for building up his po-
itical fences he is bringing dfshon-
n on the Office that all true Yer
nonters will resent.
Governor Fletcher's record does I
lot harmonic with Progressive
IDEAS and it is ridiculous for the
to even consider his
Iame in connection with the party
icket this faIl.--Burlingto Clip
er.
The Legislature
Discomfort over the ever-mountfng
ost of state government has led to
many suggestions of possible reduc-
ions and among them is one that
alls for a 60-day session of the
legislature. There is no doubt that
he suggestion is made in all good
aith, and that it is confidently ex~
ected that it would bring about
of the legislative expense.