The daily Alaskan., 1918-05-25
ALAsKA's UoNPENsAFtoN LAW


 tied States jurisdiction which does not have any kind of provision for payment of claims under it by short and simple proceeding, avoid ing the delay and expense Of an ordinary action at law. The follow ing states and territories have com pensation laws or industrial insur- ance:
 Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Hawaii. H. linois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Ken lucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada. New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Porto Rico. Rhode Island. Texas, Vermont. Washington, West Vir- ginla, Wisconsin, Wyoming, the Un- tied States for civilian employees.
 Each and every one of ths juris- dictions named provides for set clement Of disputes regarding the amount due in any case arising under the law, either by arbitration, decision by industrial board, or by q court in 6 summary manner. This latter term means by q court sitting as arbiter without the Tou- tine of an ordinary civil action. The only exception that might be claimed is New Hampshire, in which questions not settled by agreement are determined by suit in equity.
 Alaska alone compels sn injured miner to bring an action at law in the usual manner if he is unwill- ing to accept the decision of his employer as to the amount due. That this was intentional for the purpose of giving the mine operator power practically to dictate the amount he would pay seems prov an by the following clrcumstantia. evidence:
 l. The Alaska law is largely a copy of the Kansas law, but in adapting it the compilers skihully stripped the Kansas model of every provision designed to give the work man simple and easy notice or his position under the law and to obtain the benefit of its provisions speedily and inexpensiyely. The Kansas law provides a simple method, or arbitration of disputes which is omitted from the Alaska law. The Kansas act compels- the employer to post in his place or business his acceptance or rejection of the law. The Alaska act allows the employer to file notice in the recorders office of the precinct which may be 100 miles away, and to change his position as often as he likes by the same filing.
 3 The Alaska law applies only to mine operators employing five or more men, ignoring all other haz- ardous employments. and thereby limiting interest in it.
 These facts ought to be conclusive prcos to any candid man that the Alaska law was enacted at the be- hest of the big Juneau mining cous pauies, whose attorneys drafted it, solely as a limitation of the amount of their liability in case of accidents and to place it's administrator prac tically in their hands in the case Of their own employees
 If the workingmen of Alaska want en honest compensation law, such as any of those enacted by Congress for federal employees. and by thirty-four states and territor- io3. which will give TDrkingmer all hazardous compensation injuries, quickly and easily recovered, they can get 1t by mak- ing their demand known to candi- dates for the legislature at the coming fall election.
 Fhe substance of the various state compensation laws can be found Tn the World Alamanac for 1918, beginning on Page 252. The full text of all of them can be seen in Bradbury's Workmen's com pensation Law in my office
 F. E. RITCHIE.
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