The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-07-09
INDUSTRIAL INSURANCE.

Industrial insurance is attracting
much attention in England, Germany.
Norway and other European coun-
tries. In England, following the pass
age OF Lloyd Georges industrial-insur-
.ance bill two years ago, at one stroke,
fourteen million working men and
women, many of whom were unable
to pay for medical services under the
old plan, 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 industrial insurance
has been in force for number OF
years and its scope has been gradual
" enlarged, until, in some districts.
95 per cent OF the people are said to
be affected by it's operations.
DR.. J. w. schereschewsky OF the
United States public health service,
recently read a paper on the subject
before the National Association for
the Study and Prevention of Tubercu-
losis. Considering the social and evo-
lutionary phases OF the question rath-
er than the practical and administers
tive side, DR.. Schereschewsky finds
the explanation for the development
of industrial insurance in the gradual
growth Of appreciation of the conse-
quence to anL, the interdependence on
each other Of the individual members
OF the society. 'The bitter lessons
taught by the ravages Of devastating
epidemics, the concentration OF popu-
lation in cities, the high degree OF
specification In manufactures and SIM
liar conditions have all increasingly
emphasized mans dependence upon
his Fellow and shown us how properly
to assess the value of the individual
unit to society at large" The eff
cheney Of the social unit Is conditioned
more by the physical status OF the in
dividual than by any other one fac
tor Inefiiciency due to i'll health con-
stitutes 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
a whole, Is responsible end which
should be borne by 1t, unless the
causes for such disability are plainly
the fault OF the individual. Industrial
insurance is the method by which the
burden Of physical disability is equit-
ably distributed. In this field, as in
all others in which it 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. Consequently,
as soon as any system OF industrial
insurance has been In operation long
enough to acquire definite data as to
the cause Of disease, 1t Is inevitable
that systematic efforts for the preven-
ton Of disease will follow, just as
systematic efforts for fire prevention
have followed the development Of fire
insurance. This involves, as DR..
Schereschewsky points out, the detec-
ton of incipient defects and diseases
among workers and the prevention of
the development of diseased condi-
lions by proper precautionary meas
ures. This can be secured only by
frequent periodical examination of en-
ployees and frequent inspection OF
their environment. Not only bad shop
conditions hut the total environment
of the worker must be included. This