New Britain herald., 1918-12-30
STATE funds FOR
INSURANCE URGED
Special Compensation Insurance
as Reconstruction Measure

sion Of worknien's com perfsa ton and
exclusi1c state insurance funds to
cover all persons gainfuIly employed;
the ado ption Of health insurance laws
to safeguard workers and their fam
lilies against sickness; the establish
ment OF special projections for. tho
safety and health and wages Of vvo~
men workers: and provisions for aft
er-war vocational training for chill
dren. were among Legislative meas
tires OF labor reconstruction suggested
for inmed action by Commission
OR Royal Meeker Of the United States
Bureau of Labor Statistics: John A.
Lapp, director of Investigations of the
Ohio Commission on Old Age and
Health Insurance: Mary Van K1eeck
director OF the Women In Industry
Division of the United States Depart
nhent of Labor; and Lucille Eaves, di-
rector Of the research department OF
the Won1en'S Educational and Indus
trial Union of Boston, at the conc1ud-
ing session Saturday of the twelfth
annual meeting of the American As
ISOLATION for Labor Legislation.
The first step in the future develop
n1ent OF workmen's compensation, &C
cording to Mr.. Neeker, Is TO secure
its adoption In the ten states that
have not yet acted which, with the
striking exception of North Dakota
and Missouri are all in the South. He
advocated broa dening compensation
laws to cover ali workers, especially
railroad employees who are still al
most wholly at the mercy Of anti
quated employers liability laws, and
urged the universal adoption OF ex-
elusive state insurance funds, better
medical care. larger cash payments,
and a shorter waiting period wher-
ever these are not up to the highest
stan 1ards. II think this Asso citation
has no more important function to
perform he said. than the en1ight-
eminent of the minds Of the people
generally on the necessity for 1nclud-
ing all employees under com pensation
laws and the economy and tndispensa-
bility of al exclusive sta te fund.-
Mr. Tapp declared that social
health insurance in the United States
has already advanced into the realm
Of practical politics. Most searching
inquiries into it's merits are being
made by official commission in eight
states. and by public spirited civic
bodies" he said. TN one state, New
York n comprehensive bill, including
maternity benefits is being pressed
for passage at ti1e next session of the
Legislature with tho powerful backing
of the State Federation OF La,bor.#Or-
ganized labor in most great indus
trial states is demanding health in
surance.">
The object under health insurance
as well as under compensation insur-
ance according to Mr.. Lapp, is to re-
l1abilitate the man and protect his
70 oeyt
ton. 1--WE cannot do less IN fairness
to the disabled persons and to
society,"" he said. THE cost argument
against social insurance is plainly
bugaboo Instead Of costing millions
it will, through better organization,
save millions which are now being
paid for the care OF sickness. Pre-
vention VS.. Insurance Is a subtle OPP
position argument made either in
ignorance or insincerity. It is a bait
to lure the unwary array from health
insurance by setting UP a program of
health protection. Insurance and pre-
vention are not antagonlst1c and
neither can take the place of the
other. The paternalistic argument |
has been used against every good |
measure that has been proposed In
this country for the last fifty years. |
Inc klnG or company tnaL TINS aTgu- !
ment has been keeping does not cause !
right-thinking men to put much con-
fdence in it."
Speaking Of the wartime advent of
women into industry. Miss Van
Kleeck declared that labor recon
struction will not demand the with
drawa1 OF women from suitab BILE occu-
pations but will require action to es-
tablish wages on the basis of occu-
patton and not on the basis Of sex.
while avoiding the danger that (
women will remain in certain indus
tries or be introduced into new ones
at a lower wage scale than is paid to
men.
This and other problems OF
women in industry she said, were
familiar before the war but are ao-
centuated in the period Of RECONSTRUCT
ton. Women workers should be pro-
tected against dangers to health from
insanttary working conditions and
hazardous occupations inadequate
opportunities for training and limited
chances to be advanced to more re-
sponsibIe work in many industries,
and the dangers to health involved in