Evening star., 1923-05-17
j. S. WORKERS WIN
COMPENSATION FOR
0CCUPAT|ONAL ILLS
Department of Justice Over.
rules Controller in Granting
Pay to Sick.
COMMISSION VERDICTs
ARE FINAL, is RULING
100000 Government Employees A.
fected by Decision-Harding
in Fight.

Government employees today won a
| victory when the Department of JUS
| tice overruled Controller General Nc
carl in a decision granting to the
| United States Employees Compensa-
tion Commission full authority to pay
compensation for disabilities arising
from "occupational diseases"
| The decision, which was returned TO
President Harding for the commits
sion. reverses the decision by Con-
troller McCarl. who had held that oc-
| cupational diseases were not COM
pensatory under the law and that the
government could compensate only for
personal injury.
More than 200 employees Of the gov
ernment whose claims have been held
up under the McCarl decision will
shortly benefit. Some Of these are
| residents of Washington.
Decision Is Final.
The opinion overruling Controller
General McCarl was signed by Acting
Attorney General Augustus T. Sey
| mour. and held that the compensation
| commission has the power. by virtue
of the act under which it was created.
to construe the terms of the said act.
and that any construction so render
ed is final and beyond interference by
other government officials"
This feature of the Attorney Gen
erals decision was interpreted to-
day as being directed against Con-
troller General McCarl. with a view
to preventing his control over the
finances expended by the commission.
| through which the controller claimed
the power to prevent payments foi
occupational diseases.
Commission Pleased.
THE commission is highly pleased
over the opinion of the Attorney Cen
eral." said Mrs. Bessie p. Bruegge-
man. chairman of the commission. 1t
! has always been felt that the con
struction which the commission has
! placed upon the term personal in
| jury was in accordance with the in
tent of Congress. and that Congress
| had placed upon the commission the
! responsibility for passing upon such
| questions without review or revision
by any other authority.
1T is understood that the Attorney
General felt that the commission had
power to make the final decision upon
questions arising under the law,
without review by the controller.
since the controller's powers are de-
rived from an act of 1894. while the
commission derives its powers from
an act passed twenty-five years
later"
The opinion today from the Depart
ment of Justice overruling the
/ controller general Of the United
o. %oty
as being the most open break which
! has resulted from a contest between
| the controller. representing and re-
sponsible to Congress alone, and
| executive branch OF the government.
| What Significance may be attached to
the action of the Department of
Justice in the fight was not entirely
commission announced that it con-
! sidered the Depa rtment Of Justice
ruling final and was making plans to
| operate Hereunder.
100000 Affected.
Five hundred thousand government
employees fall under the benefits of
the compensation commission and will
be subject to the more liberal in
terpretat:on Of its powers.
! Dissatisfied with the decision of the
controller general which restricted
the benefits OF the commission, Mrs.
Brueggeman took the problem direct
| to President Harding, who asked the
Department Of Justice for an opin,
! ion.
"McCarI," Mrs Brueggeman ex-
| planned today, had asserted a right
| to pass upon activities Of the com
, mission wherein a payment was in
! volved. and in so doing had ruled
hat nIrId ho
for disabilities accruing to federal
employees by reason of 'occupational
diseases
The commission challenged the
| right of the controller to interfere
with its functions and also the legal
Ily or his construction Of the term il,
question. In the meantime. the dis
! bursting officer for the commission
had been notified by, the general ac
! counting office that by reason of the
controller generals ruling. disburse-
ments made for "occupational dis
| eases" would be disallowed.
200 Denied Pay.
continued, that further payment to
approximately 200 unfortunates was
discontinued. These employees suf-
fered from a variety OF occupationaI
, diseases, some of which were lead,
mercury. carbon monoxide and INT
poisoning. anthrax and. in some cases,
tuberculosis. Applications for COM
pensation for kindred Ills continued
to come to the attention Of the COM
mission, but were OF necessity disal-
, lowed
"The opinion of the Attorney Cen
eral is exhaustive and discusses the
question in detail, going into the his
tory of federal compensation from the
beginning of the original act Of 1908
to the present time"
Ruling Approved.
The Attorney Generals ruling de-
clared "the fundamental purpose of
an employe compensation act is a
humanitarian one. 1t should be, there
fore, administered with some regard
for humanitarian principles. The EN-
ployes' Compensation. Commi ssion, act
Ing in accordance with powers con-
ferred on 1t by law, has construed
term personal injury In the man
ner best suited to carry out the pur-
pose of the law. ! am, therefore, OF
the opinion that the Federal Employee
Compensation Commission Is endow-
ed with the power under the act OF.
September Z. 1915 (public number
267 64th Congress), finally to deter
mine questions arising under said
act and that the Interpretation Of the
term personal injury to include In.
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