The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1932-10-21
Unemployment Insurance Legislation
In America
BY MARJORIE MCFARLAND
Secretary of the Ohio Committee for Unempoymen

effectively calls the bluff of employ
ers who claim that 1--WE will do it
ourselves"
In 1881, after a year of depression,
there was naturally greatly increased
interest in unemployment insurance
and proposals were made in Indiana,
California, New York, Connecticut,
| Massachusetts, Michigan and Penn
sylvania, as well as in Wisconsin and
Ohio. In January, 1881, Governor
Roosevelt called conference of the
governors of the six other great in
dustrial Massachusetts, Con-
necticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania and Ohio--to consider
unemployment insurance with view
to having it enacted in all those
sion composed of representatives of
these seven governors has since re-
ported in favor of unemployment in
surance. In 1881, also, Senator Rob-
ert M. Wagner introduced a bill in
the United States senate, which was
defeated, providing for federal aid to
states which established unemploy-
ment insurance. The movement has
been growing steadily, and DIR. John
Andrews, of the American Association
for Labor Legislation, states that
thirty legislatures will have unem-
ploynlent insurance bills during the
coming winter.
Several of the bills proposed dur
ing the last couple of years are of
the Wisconsin type (Which is similar
to IAN American plan" drawn up by
the American Association for Labor
Legislation. Others are of a third
kind, modelled on the Ohio Reynolds
Keifer bill. (Also called the Harrison
bill, because it was drawn by Marvin
c. Harrison, of Cleveland)
The Reynolds -Keifer bill combines
, two points of view The European
laws, as has been seen, consider in
surance only as a method of relief.
Unemployment they take for granted
and their purpose is to make the bur-
den as light as possible. The Wis
consin law goes to the other extreme
and in its enthusiasm for american
initiative" considers that employers
can do away with unemployment if it
is made profitable for them to do
| so. In Ohio we took the attitude that
these purposes should be combined
Employers can undoubtedly do more
than they are to stabilize employ
ment and should be encouraged to do
SO by premium rates graded accord
ing to their employment records, as
| workmen's compensation rates are
based on accident records. We set
| the rates from one-half per cent to
1917 per cent, with an average of 2
per cent But even when employers
| have done all they can, most of the
causes of unemployment are outside
their control as individuals, SO we
| believe the benefits themselves are of
practical Importance and that they
must be more nearly adequate than
can be provided out of employers
contributions alone. By adding con-
| tributions of 1la per cent of wages
from employees, we were able to pro-
| vide maximum benefits of $18.72 a
week for thirteen weeks, or S243.75
| compared with $100 in wisconsin,.
This is an illustration of the point
emphasized in the first article; you
can get no more out of an insurance
fund than you put in. 1t is very pos
sible to pass bill taxing employers
2 per cent of their payroll. This
amount could not possibly bankrupt
them or drive. industry from the state,
Double it so as to provide adequate
benefits and the argument would be-
gin to take on weight, at least in the
minds of legislators who are already
L
afraid of ''burdening industry" When
!, the choice is made clear, workers US
ually prefer this "contributory"
form.
There is another point in it's favor.
That is that when workers contribute
to the fund they will have a right
to demand real share in its admin
istration. To my mind it is essential
that labor share both control and re-
sponsibility. Not only will this make
certain that workers receive their just
dues; it will give labor an interest
in protecting the fund against dead
beats and others who should not re-
ceive insurance This is the best pos
sible safeguard against insurance be-
coming a "dole." How can that word
be applied to a fund to which work
ers contribute and which they help
to administer?
! VDCDC cCTEQQATE