The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1922-03-17
HOW 1T WORKS
WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION BY LIABILITY IN
SURANCE COMPANIES
President John I'll. Walkers Report Thereon to Illinois
State Federation

President John II. Walker, of the
Illinois State Federation of Labor. in
his annual report to the thirty
annual convention thereof, held in Au-
rora, H., October 1922, 1921, dealt
with the Illinois workmens compen-
sation law The Illinois law provides
for the writing for workmen's com
pensation by liability insurance COM
panies. We quote from President
Walkers report SO that our readers
may have brought to them again the
outstanding reason for the constant
attack upon the Ohio law by the LA
bility insurance companies and their
camoufiaged organizations and agents
and the demand of the workers in
other states for the Ohio plan.
President Walker said, on this
phase of workmen's compensation:
"@ 8 . There is another aspect of
this question Of compensation and ac-
cident insurance that | want you to
consider with me- Every intelligent
man or woman agrees that no private
insurance company or private individ-
ual should be permitted to make pro
fits out of the death and injury of
the victims Of accidents IN industry
and that the industry should take care
Of those victims and their dependents
that it should take care of them
generously, and above all that they
should be taken care Of Immediately
after the accident takes place when
the need is greatest. And practically
every well-informed person in the
world agrees that this cannot be
brought about except through the
elimination of private, proft-maling
insurance corporations and the estab-
lishment of government insurance
fund
"The administration and application
of our present compensation law IS
becoming so involved by allowing the
introduction of legal controversies
and technicalities in the settlement of
the cases that dockets are being clos
ged, cases are being delayed six
months and year-sometimes even
two years-that should have been set
tied within forty-eight hours. These
delays are occasioned by lawyers IN
tervening in the hope that by tricllery
and intimidation the amount will be
materially reduced, they are creating
these delays for the purpose of wor-
rying the victims into agreeing to ac-
cept less than they are entitled to,
Such practices are defeating the real
purpose of the law
"The present method Of the employ
ers insuring themselves with private
insurance corporations to cover the
cost of these industrial accidents, and
the fact that the overhead cost of
a private insurance company aver
ages better than 40 per cent of the
amount of all of the premiums paid
to them is adding a still greater bur
den on the people The establish
ment of state insurance fund out
Of which to pay the amounts due these
victims of our present methods of in
dustry who lose their life, their limbs
and their health, would only cost about
two to two and half per cent. This
means that at least 3713 per cent of
the money that now goes into the
Golfers of the private insurance COM
panies could go to either the victims
of industry or to the public in the les
ser cost of the products of that in
dustry which they consume
"The insurance companies or men
who have some connection directly
or Indirectly with the insurance com