The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1923-08-23
LADIES and GENTLEMEN:

the enactment of the proposed state
wide stock law; and that l would,
If elected. fight the passage of the
so-called Employers Liability ACT,
or Workman's compensation Law.
did not have sufficient space to go
into an elaborate exposition Of the
principal features of the provided
infamy. Suffice it to say that it is
nroposed to incorporate in it all OF
HE main provisions of the so-called
louisiana Workman's Compensation
law (Act No. 20, 1914, as amended
bv Act No. 243, 1916 and Act No.
az 1918). which provides amdong
other vicious features, that no per-
son NAV or can claim any OF the
rights and benefits Of the act, unless
he be engaged in a hazardous DC
cupation-a man working as nooh-
keeper may have the roof fall on
him, and he cannot recover; the IN
iured person, or if death follows the
injury the administrator has the Dur
den of proof to show that the EN-,
ployer was guilty of negligence and
that the injured or dead person
was wholly without fault; that when
liability is established, if 1t can De
the function Of the jury IS at an end
and the law, speaking through the
mouth of the judge, catalogues. the
different limbs and other parts OF the
human anatomy, at prices 1ixed py
the law, even as a butcher prices tne
several quarters of beef or the
carass of sheep; there is no pre-
sumption Of negligence, as with u.s.
upon proof that the plaintiff was IN
iured while in the pursuit OF nus
employment; there is no doctrine Oh
comparative negligence as with u.s.
but the injured person has the Dur
den of establishing by preponder-
ance. otherwise the court will dis
miss his case.
From all of the above, which is
very brief statement Of only some OF
the inc,utious provisions OF the nor
riblv unjust law that is now how
ering like a sinking vulture over
this fair and heretofore free state
and from purusal thereof it does
not require a prophet to convince
YOU that in every case that couio
come under it's ghoul-ike provisions,
a man would need lawyer and
mighty good one, even worse IMAM
now. ~,
Here is just one example OF the
beeficent workings of the Louisiana
Act: Young Melvin Quave, 16 years
of age. working as slab tripper Tor
a small saw mill in st. Tammay
Parish, had his right hand caught
in unguarded live roll gears and MS
hand was so badly mangled that 1t
was necessary to amputate the sec
ond. third and fourth finger and the
three metacarpal bones connecting
these fingers with the wrist; all
that was left of the hand was the
index finger and it was stlff, De
formed and entirely useless. The
employers. of course, denied liability;
young Quave, by his father, secured
the services Of Ex-Congressman
Lewis L. Morgan, perhaps the ablest
lawyer in the parish; he filed SUIT
and established the liability of the
defendants. Then the case was ap-
pealed by the employers to tae
Court Of Appeal and that court dis..
agreeing with the district court,
5 to the price Of so much OF a
Young boys right hand, reversed the
deree, but Mr.. Morgan appealed to
the Supreme Court of Louisiana,
which overruled the decisions Of both
the lower courts and constituting the
statute from another angle, cut the
amount still lower than either had
fixed: after this loss of time, ex-
penses of attending courts, securing
the presence of witnesses and the
payment of the fee of high class
lawyer, that august tribunal de-
creed that the boy Was entitled to the
l nanificent sum of SALT per week,
| for a period OF 800 weeks, aggre-
eating the sum of S625.00. payable
n 800 weekly installments. Soon
after the Judgment was rendered
die defendants aba adant operations
, n Louisiana, moved TO another state
N ssissippi in fact) and the boy
as received no further payments
81 | am informed. However may
b, wrong about this feature What
W., YOU think o. the proposed law
10 vou want It? If not, then vsts
for man of expert nee, educated
and trained to meet and combat
men of ability as debaters and who
Will know how much better how tc
protect you than an antried young
man. no matter how likeable he
may be personally.
There are many other Louisiana
cases in line with the QuaVe case,
and any one wishing to see and
read them, has only to call at my
office.
Has anybody heard Charlie
Blackwell say he is in favor of the
statewide stock law and the Louis
lana Workn,an's Law, so-called?
Have any of you heard him say he
is against? No, he is mute as an
oyster on both these measures.
: At the June Term of the Circuit
Court, in Walkers Restaurant, be-
fore Mr.. Blackwell had announced
his candidacy, I asked man, who
was then and there dining with Mr..
Blackwell and of course everything
said was within the sight and hearing
of Mr. Blackwell, if he, the said
man, who is a small employer of
labor, and whom / had the painful
necessity of sueing in behalf Of a
mighty good man, and by the way
secured judgement against him,
would vote for me in the coming