New Britain herald., 1916-01-17
CIVIC FEDERATION IN ANNUAL MEETING
Delegates Discuss Preparedness
 and Vital Topics
6 TO 9 P. M.


 Civic Federation opened it's sixteenth annual meeting with prominent civlc welfare workers from throughout the country present. Subjects for dis cussion included preparedness immi- grafton, government regulation of private industry and other problems. The woman's section of the federation opened a separate two days meet ing.
 National preparedness featured to- days program, which was given over largely to presentation of committee reports.
 Seth Low of New York, president of the federation, sounded the first note on preparedness when, in his open ing address he declared that If the United States is to prevent the An tagonisms and hates of Europe ana it's age-long tradition of empire, from, fnding lodgment on this con- tinent, after the war it must be ''by the strength of our own right arm, and by the willingness to die for what is certainely precious TO ourselves and for what we believe to be no less precious to humanity" ''Step in Right Direction" MT. Low said he favored the ad- ministrations defense program, not because he thought it ideally perfect but because it was a long step ill Ivy 1on continued, "I believe that a short service under the colors on the Swiss system, modified, perhaps, to meet our conditions, should be required of every young man in the United States and that we should no longer depend upon an army which, as in England, strengthens the view that it is the business of a few to protect all, rather than the business of all to protect each other.'
 Mr. Low expressed the hope, how ever, that the time would come when there would be mot only an interna- tional court with power somewhere to enforce it's decrees. but some inter national body for the adoption of in- ternational law
 Miss Wetmore Speaks.
 Any plan of military preparedness which makes the flag under which we live the emblem of our life, our all and not a rag with which 70 protect the corpse from which the spirit has fled, I welcome" declared Miss Maude Wetmore of Rhode Ts- land, in presenting the report of the women. She said, "They are the ones who carry the heavy burdens of ca tastrophe"
 Compensation Report.
 "rThe great assistance rendered by the federation to legislators in plann- ing drafts of compensation laws was indicated by August Belmont of New York, in his report on the years ac- tivities of the workmen's compensa- ton department. A bitter subject of dispute, he said, is whether private insurance or state managed insur- ance is the better. 'The extent to which the workmen gain from the compensation law" he continued, may be illustrated by the fact that it is reported that the net pawn ents to wage earners under employers i- ability in Massachusetts in 1911 were estimated at less than $40O,O00, of which large proportion probably went to their attorneys; whereas, un- der the workmans compensation law in 1913, $1,677,3SO was paid out Tn actual losses to wage earners.'
 Labor and Industries.
 A. J. Porter, chairman of the min imum wage commission, recommend ed that the departm of labor and commerce make a joint investigation of the relation of labor to the loca- ton of industries, ,and the effect of 1noic1atiOn on behalf of women and children on industries and workers.
 Far better than the low wage sys- tenn of Europe with compulsory so- cial insurance is the higher wage