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VER a million workingmen
are killed or maimed In the
course of their work every
year in this country.-. What provi
sion have we made for the families
of those who are thus stricken
down?
This problem hps never been sat
isfactorily seitleil in. this couutry.
From time to time within the past
twenty-fire years commissions have
been appointed by various States
and by the Federal Government to
frame adequate legislation, but
nothing definite has been accom
pltsheti. Laws designed to cover the
situation have been passed by State .
legislatures, but have been declared J
unconstitutional by the courts. 4g
'In no Stato of the Union to-day a
can a workingman be sure that if 1
he is killed or hurt in the course
f his work hia family will bo com- ;
pensated by his employer or the
State. In most cases. Indeed, he may
be tolerably sure that In such a
contingency those dependent upon
htrn will have to look elsewhere for
relief. '
Even In cases where the employer
Is held liable there Is no csrtaluty
at all as to the amount of compen
sation the Injured workingman or
his survivors will receive. It de
pends entirely upon that most un
certain of Anglo-Saxon institution: -the
petit Jury. For the loss of a leg
a jury to-day may award a work
ingman five thousand dollars. To
morrow another workingman in the
same community and doing the
same claBs of work at the same
wages may be awarded only five
hundred dollars for a similar in
jury. Kate Smith, the widow of John
Smith, a bricklayer, thirty-fire years
old, who was killed in the course of
bis work, receives $3,000 from, one
Jury, while Bridget McKane, the
widow of Patrick McKsne, thirty-six
years old. anetber bricklayer, who'
was also killed In the course of his
work, recovers $10,000 from another
Jury under precisely similar circum
stances Of course, accident Insurance of
fers a solution of the problem for
those who can afford to pay for It.
.Indeed, many famous, artists Insure
themselves in this way. Thus Pad
erewski Insures his arms for $100,
000, Maud Allen her feet and arroa
far $.n,0UO, KuhelUc hia arms for
llM).OQ0,.and Miss Claire Lynch, the
English actress, her seek and eyes
fox $40,0t)8i Humble worklngmen,
1 ' v t It
t . '', , r
V: A ' . ' n
. Vk . : . W
How Various Cutunltirt DiminUK th Value of
a Workingman It Shown by tha Above Compara
tiva Diagram. Tha Man on tha Laft la in Full
Potietiion of Hia Limba and Faculticsi No. 2,
to the Right, la Leas Valuable, Became He Hai
Loit a Noitril; No. 3 It Minus an Eart No. 4
Haa a Dislocated Shoulderi No. 5 Hat Lot! Ilia
Left Index Fin
grrj No 6 the
Right Indes Fin
ger; No. 7 the
Left Th u m b;
No. 8 the Right
Thumb) No. 9
One Eyei No.
10 an Arm; No.
11a Foot 1 No.
12 a Leg, and
No. 13 a Right
Arm.
How France Has Set
an Example to the
World by Arbitrarily
Fixing' the Relative
Value of Its Work
ing People's Eyes,
Arms, Feet, Leg's
All Their Working
ttr-
Machinery.
VerliRii. iK'iir.isiliciilM and neuro
piitlili! iriuilili ra lined by accident
destroy from ."( to till per cent of n
niiin'M value, lieiifnexs tn one ear lit
t'Hlnmtert at fi per cent. Total doiif
iick! nt 40 per cent.
Marked decreuso of sharpness of
siRlit iu both eyes destroys 55 pc
rent of a man's value, the loss of
one eye ill! 1-3 per cent, and the Ions
of two eyes 100 per cent. Two nos
trils destroyed htc calculated at 4
per cent and one nostril only at 3
per cent. Two or more vertebrae
joined together and made HtlfT and
Immovable are calculated at 50 per
cent, inability to move the rlsht
shoulder 50 per cent, putting the
right shoulder out of joint 10 per
cent, and breaking the collar bona
7 per cent.
From these figures It Is evident,
that If a whole workman is valued
at $18,000, as the Trench courts
have held In the case of the nverase
workingman, his right arm is worth
It, 2 ;.n, hia left arm $9,000, one of
his left legs $12,500, one of bis feet
$10,500. one of his ears. Including
the hearing faculty, $1,050. An eye
Is worth $6,000, but two of (hem are
worth $18,000, or as much as the
whole nimi. A nostril costs $540, a
shoulder $1,800, and a collarbone
$l,2t0. The right thumb Is worth
$:t.00. and the loft $2,700, while the
right Index finger is worth $2,700.
and the left Is worth $2,150.
Some singular deductions follow
from this arithmetic. A man Is
worth two left arms, or two eyes.
Two eyes are calculated at the same
value as three separate ones. A lefl
thumb is worth a right Index finger.
It Is the belief that accidents arc
much more common at the end of
the day than at the beginning; at
the end of the week than Its begln-
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' , for.
TJufT j $100,000.
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: ,.....awaamaaasW-aaaJy
Mu Gire Lynch, the Beautiful English Actress Who Ha Had
Her Eyet and Neck Her Chief Charms Insured Against
Damage. 0
however, are obviously denied this
costly protect Ion.
They do these things differently
and better in Europe. Every nation
there Is far In advance of the United
States in that respect. In most Eu
ropean countries a system of work
toymen's Insurance, paid for by the
employer and administered by the
government, prevails, aud every la
borlug man realizes that if he is
stricken down while at work hi
family, at any rate, will be amply
provided for.
In France the system has been
developed to 11 wonderful state of
ftlclency. The Trench law has been
iu force for twelve years, and has
been found to work adinirubly.
livery employer is charged a certain
;ifrcentHge of the wages he pays a
flfth of 1 per rent and the fund
so created is paid out in a most sys
tematic manner to the employes
who are injured or to the survivors
of those who are killed.
Wlibin the past twelve years over
two million worklusinen, or their
survivors have been thus provided
for. Such a large number of cases
has naturally enabled the authorities
tn make some valuable deductions
sod to estimate with a considerable
degree of accuracy the relative value
of human members and faculties.
In caso of death the wlfo or hus
band has n right to an annual in
come equal to 20 per cent of the sal
ary previously earned. For orphans
the indemnity is proportionate to
their age and the seriousness of tint
loss suffered.
The amputation of both legs or
their paralybis is equivalent to de
priving him of all power to work.
The same is true If both arms are
lost, although this case has nut oc
curred yet.
Ttu loas of the right arm or mere
ly the right h:ind takes from the
workman 8i per cent of his working
power. The same calculation would
HPply to the left arm or hand If the
victim happens to he left-hunded.
The loes of the left arm or hand
varies vrry much, according to the
occupation of the Injured. The ex
pert forms nn average baed on va
rlous indemnities, given for this
Jury at 50 per cent of the work
lnz valuo of the man. One lear ren
resents about 70 per cent of the J fc'
working value of its owner; one foot jj
CO per cent.
The man who Is Injured so that
he cannot move without crutches
loses 1)5 per rent of his value. Ho
wlx Is attacked with partial partly
sis of ills face, accompanied by ner
vous trouble, tones 91 per cent of his
valuo.
$500,000 to Save a Church Dome Fifteen Centuries Old
The Arms and Feet of the Dancer Maud
Alien Are Insured for $50,000.
HE oldest of the world's architectural
marvels the Byzantine dome of St.
Sophia's, in Constantinople Is threat
ening to collapse beneath the weight of Its
fifteen centuries of existence. At this mo
ment a commission of French, Italian and
Turkish experts are considering' means of
preventing such a disaster, which would be
lamented not only by every traveller In the
East, but by Christiana and Moslems alike.
Not only the centuries, but humidity, earth
quakes, conflagrations, bombardments, have,
each and all. contributed their share of dam
arv undermining slowly but surely the
strength and solidity of a proud memorial of
Hellenic Inspiration and Hellenic achieve
ment. The Emperor Jobs VI. Falaeologus in the
fourteenth century did much to preserve the
temple. In more recent times (1847) the en
lightened Sultan Abdul Medjld undertook the
reparation of the damage done by time and
earthquake.
Last year the Ottoman Government en
gaged the wellknown Italian architect,
Slgnor Marangoni, who had restored the Cam
paulle on the Piazza St. Marco in Venice,
to investigate St. Sophia's dome and submit
a detailed account of necessary repairs. Signer
Marangoni estimated the cost of these re
pairs at about $50tt,u0. The Ottoman Gov
ernment considered thia was too high a sum
to be spent on an object that is, after all,
of no paramount national Interest to the.
Moslems themselves, since the edifice 1b, of
course, a Christian house of worship.
Accordingly the work necessary to pre
serve the venerable monument to Chris
tianity mill be performed under 'an inter
national plan.
Rita Hart, S - - .. kamA
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In France the Value of
an Average Working
man's Life la Put at
$18,000. How hii var
ious Members and Or
van Mttmj-e u Upon
That 6i.lt 'l Shewn in
the Accn.-rp-n vine Dia
gram. Tl.n B-th Eye
Ae Cecn to Be Worth
a Much 0 Mn'i
Warklni I-:fc, WhiU
Ona Eto I Werlh Only
One-Third. The Vs'ua
of the Voriout Member
la Set Porta in American
Money.
limes Alun p;en
ring; In short,
are fatigued.
Tho dlmlnvtlnii In Hie v.uue of i
workman basfd ! Ui- tr.ivny '
nn Injury nvelve.i l w?ll i;i!si r. - I
by the coiuparatlve dli'.-.m: on t'ti.
piise. Thus we p;);; fn:ii e ti',i'''..
and rohiin! v.'ovl.iuii'.i on t i'1.' -i
workmua who Is VfMfcer" L.- .m-.
has lose oce noaiill. wliile No.
lost an ear. No. 4 h.ix miff.-r.-J ;i
location of the shoulid. .. !
lost the left index finger. No. 1;
right Index linger. No. T t!ie
thumb. No. 8 the right thumb. No
one eye, No. lu an arm. No. 11
r.i-
h:
tlai
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Hew Our WnulJ ,ek If ur'm
lii.
Oinaea aad Mrmbera re rreeei
i..- itt l-irarh taluatlee.
foot. No. Vi a leg, No. 13 a ruut
arm.
In France It is immaterial" on
which side the blauw) lies. The em
ployer is resiOii.-i'.il' for all acci
dents without any regard to the cir
I'umstaucea of the c;uo. n:d lluic
au be no contest r Miits ou (Li?
point. As lon as tiiv nixldeiit to.-U
place during woihiri: Uoi is ut
jlace of work or In t'ie c,ju:o i f
work required by the employer, tiui
victim is enthlcd to Inuemultv. An
Injury purposely sustained by an em
ploye, of course, gives no t
rompensaliou.
This system Is uudoubirdly a ben
efit to tho employs, but 11 Is equally
advantageous to.' the employer, be
cause he fears uo unexpected acci
dent and kuows exactly what fee has
to pay.
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