The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-12-21

| islation that will provide for sickness insurance for workingmen, in an in- teresting address before the Ladies auxiliary of St. Joseph's hospital, Will Iimantic,1 Sunday night.
 MT Godfrey's address covered in a Eeomprehensive manner the scope of work being done by many agencies in the state working to stamp out tuber- eulosis. The address follows: l The State of Connecticut has gener- l ously. provided four Sanatoria, or hos pitfalls for the use of tubercuIous pa tients; situated in Norwich, Hartford, Meriden and Shelton. These Sanato- ria have a full corps of physicians, 1 specialists in tuberculosis work, with day and night nurses in attendance, 1 and they are kept up to that state of up-to-date efficiency determined by the commissioners to be advantageous. Not wishing to, place these hospitals in the category of charitable fnstftu- tfons, the State has arranged that each patient taking advantage of the benefits, derived from these institu- tionse shall pay $4.00 per week. Last year we expended over $12.00 per week for each patient, and gradually as the years go by the perfection of detail and the addition of those neces- sary Improvements found essential, is putting Connecticut in the foremost
 
 the fight against tuberculosis.
 Being thus copnmitted to this policy the first among the problems con fronting the people of Connecticut in their attempt to eradicate tuberculosis, is the question of support of the fam fly while the bread winner is being restored to health in a Sanatoriun. One of the most pathetic and com mon incidents constantly brought to our attention, is that a workman, hap py and contented earning fair wage and with happy family, who sudden ly develops a cough and then the usual procedure and its unhappy termina- ton is almost fnyaria.ble.
 When a patient fears he has incipi- ent tuberculosis, he will not go to a Sanatorium for the reason that his family would be without funds for their support while he is being cured. How can we meet such a condition :? Here we have some of our finest and best American workmen, who for lack of proper .hygfenic education and with no insurance for their families sup port, are suddenly stricken in the prime of life with so awful a tragedy, that it is pitifu1 when we recoIIect that it could easily have been pre- vented.
 We. all feel that every wage-earner should be insured so as to receive sick and funeral benefits for himself, and medical care for both himself and family, with special provision for his wife during childbirth. CertafnL lys no man should be married without being compelled to take out insur- ance for his prospective family. this insurance if general in it's scope, would not be expensive for the workman, esz pecia1ly as is the case in Germany, if the employer, the employee, and the State, all contribute towards the pay ment of the annual premium.
 The wage-earner is the bone and sinew of the land. To preserve his physical, mental and moral integrity should be an important aim of Iegis- lative action
 No foreigner is allowed to enter this land if there are reasons to believe he may become a charge upon the state for his support; but this State is ex- pending hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for the care of cfti- zens in the Sanatoria, who when they were in good health were able to sup port themselves and families. How can this glaring inequality be reme- died Universal Sickness Insurance would do it. But it stands to req son that Health Insurance to be uni versal throughout the State must be compulsory. Is 1t not possibles to save enough of what we now spend in caring for the sick and dyine. in our Sanatoria. to balance the cost. of some proper system of workmen's insur- ance? Is not this a. question of eco monies for our lawmakers? Is it not infinitely more valuable to the State to increase the sturdy independence and integrity of our workingmen in a way not measured by dollars and cents Would it not then be advisable to place our .wage-earners in a posi- ton so that if inca pacitated, for work themselves. their wives and little ones need not be compelled to choose be- tween starvation and charity?
 Compulsory Insurance.
 Let us then look the facts boldly in the face. Compulsory insurance is right. It is coming. It is coming quickly. It will be better for the workInen, for the employer and for the State when it is adopted. Let us hear what some prominent men say on this subject: pr. Arthur Dean Be van, who is Chairman Council on Medical Education, American Medical Association, stated last May, we are every day coming nearer the time when in this Country we shall see laws enacted to provide for some state in surance scheme, medical care for the poor.''
 Ferdinand c. Schwedtman, Chair man of Industrial Betterment Com rnittee, National Association of Manu- factures, July 1st 1914. says: ''I give it as my opinion that sickness insur- ance of some kind, with compulsory contributions on the part of the em- ployers will be enacted into law by many states of the Union within the next five years, and that now is the time to go into this subject thorough 1y.'
 This is what we also hear from La Dor Union Bulletin, Sept. 4, 1914: 'The American Association for labor Iegis- lation is the proper body to propose and carry on to fruition plans for sickness insurance. Labor repfesen- tatiyes and organizations will lend ev- cry aid to such a campaign, under standing best of all, because of indt- yfduaI and collective experience, the