The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1915-04-02
COMPENSATION
LAW A SUCCESS
Labor and Capital In Massa-
ChusettS Agree on Its Worth



Massachusetts as maintained
under the provisions of the
workrnen's compensation act Ii
now In Its third year, and from the
point of view Of the employer, the elm
ployee. the insurance companies ana
the state. IN a success.
The Massachusetts law provides for
the insurance Of employees under state
supervision. 1t Is optional whether nd,
vantage Is taken Of this opportunity to
insure against loss by accidents and
suits
The workings Of the industrial ne
cident board are simple. A great ma
jority Of the employers in the state are
insured under the act and adjustments
because Of accidents are made almost
automatically. In fact. the board gen
orally advises the insurance company
to settle. and the board then examines
the justice of the claim. In case of
dispute. the issue goes to arbitration
before a committee Of three. consisting
Of one member OF the industrial &C
cident board, a representative of the in
surance company and representative
Of the injured employee.
A report is then made to the full
board. At the board hearing all red
tape is eliminated. Any effort on the
part of counsel to befog the issue is
stopped short, there Is not even a wit
ness stand. and. briefly. the case is
brought right down to the main point
in dispute.
The injured employee or the In
surance company may appeal from the
decision Of the board to the superior
court and so on to the supreme court.
but such appeal is rarely taken. and.
almost without exception. on the few
cases carried up the courts have sus-
tanned the finding OF the industrial ac-
cident board.
In Massachusetts. however, the pres
sent rate Of insurance averages 1.2 per
cent Of the payroll. This means that
insured employers pay annually In
Massachusetts, about S3.5O0,OO0 to In
surers for compensation protection,
based on an estimated payroll of in
sured employers Of s340.000.000. The
total payroll for all wage earners in the
commonwealth Is estimated at $44O.-
100000 The value Of manufactured
products in the state annually Is about
81 500. 1874. 445. Assuming all these fig
ures to be correct. as they are approx
mately. there is charge OF only 22-1o
Of cent for the cost Of insurance to
the consumer in each dollar of product
In other words. the consumer pays IL
cents on every S. unit purchased as his
part of the burden" Of insurance un
der the workmen's compensation act.
for furnishing just relief to the vic
tins of Industrial accidents.
The commission. headed by John
Mitchell. which recently reported the
results Of countrywide investigation
of workmen's compensation legislation
credited Massachusetts with having n
good law, which lis given the greatest
possible breadth by the excellent and
humane way In which the commission
in charge administers It"
The Industrial accident board. more
over in a report made lately to the
United States commission on industrial
relations, stated that the law Ia uni
formly In favor with all the parties
concerned. and that. as far as EN-
ployees are concerned. only lie Of ]
per cent of them eligible to receive
benefits under the law elected to re-
tain their right Of action at common
law. The employers attitude is shown
by the fact that more than 80 per cent
Of them In Massachusetts have elect
ed to come within the protection of
the workmen's compensation act
Organized labor and organized capt.
tai seem to have satisfied themselves
that under this act social justice has
been established in behalf Of the vic
tins of industrial accidents, who for
many years were compelled to fight for
every dollar they got and were then
obliged to hand half Of every dollar to
an attorney.