Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1920-10-22
REPUBLICANS GAVE
BUCKEYES FIRST
( COMPULSORY LAW
Continued d from Page u

Dlllty insurance, Senator FRANK rat
terson, Republican from Ashland
county, introduced into the Senate a
bill which as passed provided for the
creation of commission to inquire |
into the question of employers liza
bility and other matters. The bill was
passed May 10, 1910, and the commits
sion which was appointed reported |
early in 1911 to the 10th General AS
sembly. Within month afterward |
the law was passed which with few |
amendments is still upon the statute |
books. At this time Governor Cox was |
q resident of Dayton, Ohio, and a |
member Of Congress from the Third |
District. He had no part in the agi-
tation for the law, did not appear be-
fore any of the committees of the
legislature during the hearings held
upon it, or before the commission ap-
pointed to investigate and report
upon the subject.
This law lacked the compulsory fea-
ture and was insufficient in other re-
spects. The Constitution of Ohio as
then existed did not permit Of the
enactment of compulsory feature.
The Constitutional Convention Of 1912
made provision for submitting to the
people of Ohio the question of COM
pulsory feature, adopting Article II.
Section 35, which provides that:
For the purpose of providing
compensation to workmen and
their dependents *** laws may be
passed establishing a state fund
to be created by compulsory con-
q tribution thereto by employers $50
Acting under this Amendment, dur
ing the first administration of Gov
ernor Cox, slight changes were made
In the Harmon Compensation law.
The bill introduced to reenact this
law was Senate Bill No. 48, known as
the Green Bilp' the title of which
sets forth it's real purpose as follows:
''To further define the powers,
duties and jurisdiction of the
State Liability Board of Awards,
with reference to the collecting,
maintenance and disbursement Of
the state insurance fund for the
benefit of injured and the depend
ents of killed employees and re-
quiring contributions thereto by
employers and to appeal - ETC."
From the reading of the foregoing
| title of the Green law, 1t is certainly
evident that it is not a new law, but
merely law proposing certain
amendments to the law AND THESE
| AMENDMENTS REPRESENT Gov
ERNOR COX'S CONTRIBUTION TO
THE wORKMEN'S COMPENSA-
TION LAW IN THE S0TH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF OHIO.
To be specific, the material changes
made by the Green law In the 1918
legislature to the workmen's law may
be summed up as follows:
~ 1t relieved the employe
from contributing to the state in
surance fund and required the
employer to contribute the whole
amount as provided in the consti-
tutional amendment referred to
above.
(2) It provided that the Indus
trial Commission should make an
/, award against an employer who
had not complied with the law,
! and collect the same from the
said employer by a civil action in
II the name of the state.
i This amendment recognized the
right Of an employer to continue in
business and refuse to comply with
the provisions of the law II he wished
to incur the possibility Of litigation.
Many of the employers of the state
have never complied with the act, and
In many instances their financial con-
dition was such that judgment rend.
cred against them was worthless. This
deprived the workmen Of said employ.
ers of any benefit under the act.
This condition continued until the
iEighty-third General Assembly, in
which both House and Senate were
composed of a majority of Republi
cans, enacted Senate Bill No. 20B CLOS
Ohio Laws, part IL, P. 1145) which
was drafted by John q. Price, Repub
lican Attorney General and introduced
by Senator Frank Whittemore, Re
publican president pro tenn of the sen
ate. This bill amended the compen
sation law by providing that any EN-
. ployer who engaged In business In thii
state without complying with tht
Workmen,s Compensation Law would
be subjected to fine and also b.
subject to having his business. placet
in the hands of receiver and dis
posed of as in all other cases of re
! ceivership. This amendment abso
lutely prevents an employer from en-
gaging in or continuing in business
in the state without complying witt
: the Workmen's Compensation law
: This law was passed January %, 1920
I and filed in the Office Of the Secretar!
r of State on February 10, 1920, and Il
r the first and only ABSOLUTE com
: pulsory feature contained in the Com
!, pensation law. 1t has been the mean
Of compelling the employers who hat
: heretofore ignored the law to cornpl,
with the same, and has given all tn
9 workmn of the state the full benefit
]. of the act.
y The only real compulsory work cor
o tanned in the Compensation law whicl
8 Ohio has ever had is, therefore, tn
work of the present Republican Attor
ney General, John G. Price, and tn
last Republican General Assembly.