Evening star., 1917-05-27
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING

WHAT THE GUYEI
From the point Of view Of the daily
discipline and control Of the army, say
experts Of the War
Heviin9 the Department, perhsps
War Articles. s years s'ss h.. Been ~ NOR.
helpful than the revision Of the articles
OF war. For many years army experts
have felt that these needed revision.
Many Of these articles have remained
unchanged for a century. while new
theories Of discipline have been cur
world. and in our own country profound
notifications have taken place In the
administration Of both civil and crimi-
nal law.
The extension Of the field operations
of the army Of the United States be-
yond our continental borders and other
changes in the domestic and interna-
tional situation of the United States
have presented conditions which the old
articles were not adapted to meet. The
revision of the articles. therefore. It is
touch with this work, was most needed,
and the work of the Judge advocate
general in preparing the revised arti-
cles is considered very fine. introducing
throughout characterised by moderation
and a conservative attitude toward an
established and well understood disci-
plinary system.
At the time that Congress authorized
the changing of the discipline it also
provided for a revision and codification
OF all the military laws Of the country.
This Is a huge task and a very difficult
one, and yet, say the experts. one that
is very necessary to be performed. For
great variety of laws, some Of them
directly military in character and
others touching the military establish
ment only at a tangent, SO that scat
tered through the statutes is q lot of
piecemeal legislation requiring the most
expert and trained knowledge for its
use. Army authorities are agreed that
1t will be a great advance in the con-
have all of these laws brought together,
placed in their true relation to one an
other. their accidental conflicts elimi-
mated and a consistent and plain body
of laws erected for the guidance of
those who come within the scope and
operation of our SO called military laws.
-:
In the rapid spread of workmen's
compensation legislation in the United
sta es the
Workers Compensation fact is often
Legislation Spreads. 100000 oa ediooAeu' ~
experts of the Department of Labor,
that many OF the laws adopted are far
less comprehensive than their mere IT,
ties would indicate. Because thirty
five states and territories, with some
40 per cent of the employed popula-
tion. have adopted such laws it is fire.
duently assumed, say the experts, that
a similar proportion of the wagework-
ers OF the country are now fully and
properly insured against loss and suf-
fering occasioned by industrial acci-
dents. Officials of the department en-
phasize the fact that this is not true. ;
Inc experts have worked out a de-
tailed comparison OF the principal fea-
lures OF the various state compensa-
tion laws. These comparisons bring
out the most striking differences, par.
tlcuiarly as regards the proportion of
workers covered and the scale OF COM
pensation benefits. 1t was found dur
ing the study made by the Department
or Labor officials that no state COM
pensation act covers all employees In
the first place. most of the acts are
cept are penalized, but in spite of this
there are always some, it has been
found. who refuse to elect. In the sec
ond place. all of the acts purposeIy ex-
ciuae certain classes Of employees. Thus
agricultural workers. domestic sery-
ants and casual employees are almost
everywhere excluded. Also there is an
important group of acts which apply
only to certain employments declared
to be especially hazardous, although in
practice they may be no more hazard
Gus than others not included. Aeain.
considerable number Of acts appiy only
TO EMPLOYERS having less than a GER
tain NUMBER OF employees, the minimum
oeing IN one case as high as eleven.
According to the view taken by tbe
experts Of the department the result
or these limitations and exclusions is
20 restrict the benefits Of compensation
tion Of the total numbers Of workers
which. in their opinion, Is a bad fea,
ture. rough estimate of the propor-
tion covered in each state. based on a
nneraI assumption that election has
been made by all employers affected in
states having elective laws. shows that
IN only two instances. New Jersey and
Hawaii. do the acts include at best as
many as 80 per cent OF the total work
ers and only seven states cover 80 per
cent or over. One covers less than
20 per cent and nine less than so per
cent.
Ihe experts OF the department have
come to the conclusion that practically
all Of the state compensation acts now
in force need enlarsinE. and liberaIiz-
ing before they can be regarded AS
furnishing adequate protection to the
whole body Of wage earners. This.
they point out. has been general
tendency Of recent amendments. In no
case has compensation system once
introduced been repealed. But in a
number Of instances inferior acts have
been superseded BY better ones. and in
all cases where the courts have held
particular acts Unconstitutional the
states affected have proceeded to enact
new laws that would meet the neces-
sary legal tests and. if no other way Of
fered, state constitutions have been
amended.
In connection with the great shortage
OF tin cans in the United States and the
idea which has been ad-
Tin Can vanced by the government
Shortage. trv VIII have 70 'e e,vs .'um IN