Evening star., 1934-10-31
BY LOUIS M. LYONS.

It was no radical regime, but the
mild liberalism of Herbert Asquith's
government that started England IN
the business of insuring her workers
against unemployment. That was in
the quiet of 1911 and it fell to SO
thorough a Tory as Winston Church
III to announce the first British in
surance scheme.
Conservative. not labor, govern
ments have been in charge of the
unemployment fund during most of
the years of its steady development
until it is close to the core of Britain's S
home policy. 1t may be supposed
to be the pressure of circumstances
in an old industrial community,
rather than any particular political
philosophy, that has gradually
brought England to her present COM
prehensive care Of her industrial un-
employed.
Beginning with a little over 2.000,-
600 workers in a few of the heavy
industries, unemployment insurance
has been extended to cover nearly
100000 workers, and to include
nearly all occupations outside farming
and home work.
Stretched to Dole.
England has felt her way in this
social security field and has received
some bumps. Her experience with
unemployment insurance has had its
ups and downs, one of the downs
reaching all the way to collapse of
the fund under a burden that it was
never intended to bear. Successive
governments of all shades of party
color were in turn responsible for
allowing what was conceived as in
Surance TO be stretched into an in
definite dole. The result of this fun
damental breakdown in policy has
been a careful reorganization SO that
Unemployment insurance now rests
upon an actuarial basis with con-
trlbutions figured to meet the unem-
ployment experience Of industry.
Along with this change has come a
reorganization in the whole system of
relief of persons not within the scope
OF the insurance. So that all unem-
ployment relief is now administered
on a national scale, with uniform
treatment of beneficiaries instead of
on the former local relief basis.
Unemployment insurance in Britain
Is contributory, three ways. The en-
ployer, the employe and the govern
ment all contribute equally. Payments
into the governments unemployment
fund are made weekly, on a sliding
scale running from about a dime to
q quarter week for each worker.
Benefits Cover Year.
Benefits begin after one week Of un-
employment and under the amended
act Of 1884 may cover an entire year
lay-off.
The fund has its definite limitations
that distinguish it from general relief
To be eligible one must be employed
for a specific minimum period and he
cannot continue to draw insurance
benefits after a whole year of idleness
The employable person outside these
limits comes under the more general
relief administration which industry Is
not expected to support as its own
burden. Unemployment insurance
therefore, is no longer dole" in Eng
land. 1t undertakes in no way to
bridge the gap for unemployed youth
as the c. C. c. camps Of the New Deal
have done in a measure for $50, 1000
American young men.
Britain now has unemployment in
surance policies on 1888 900 of her
workers, including women and boys
and girls over l6 Just over 1000 900
are unemployed. Benefits are paid ac-
cording to the dependents Of the un-
employed worker. A single man would
get about 81 a week and a married
man with four children about So
These rates are rather below the well
fare scale of payments In Massachu-
sets and decidedly below the E. r. A.
rates for work relief. But living stand
ards are not absolutely comparable in
the two countries. The insurance does
not apply to persons earning above
81 200 year.
Non n-PoIitical Policy.
Impartial administration of such a
vast human program calls for a high
oroer of government personnel. Eng
land boasts that her unemployment
fund administration is utterly nom
political.
The fund is protected by strict rules.
Part-time and seasonal workers are
entitled only to payments for such
partial employment as was their nor
NAL portion. Unemployed persons to
continue to receive benefits must apply
for work at the national employment
exchanges and must accept the
chances Of employment offered. The
act provides, however, that no unem-
ployed person shall be required to
accept employment as strikebreaker
or at wages or under conditions less
favorable than are customary in the
occupation.
But no unemployment benefits are
paid to workers on strike. The union
is expected to support its own strikes.
Workers, however, whose employment
stops because somebody else strikes
are entitled to benefits.
Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins,
who is chairman Of the committee
President Roosevelt has set the task
of preparing bills for unemployment,
old age and health insurance for
submission to the coming Congress,
said:
THE immense and still inadequate
dole which We in the United States
have had to establish has cost us far
more and given us far less security
than the British unemployment
scheme"
(Copyrirht 1884 by the North American
Newspaper Alliance. Inc)