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Of the fatal cases for which accounts were closed, 91 involved dependents, and in 87 such cases compensation was due, though it was paid in but 78 cases. In 13 cases burial expenses not required by the statute were voluntarily paid at an average cost of $166.92. Of the 78 cases in which compensation was paid 35 received commutations to lump-sum payments, while in 43 the payments were made weekly.

The amounts of payments were calculated for 37 of the foregoing cases, the average weekly payment being $6.97. The total number of dependents in these cases was 74, the average payment per week for each dependent was $2.54, and the total payments at the end of 300 weeks were computed to average $2,091.

In 46 fatal cases there were no dependents, and in 43 of these burial expenses were required by the law. The number in which such expenses were actually met was 37, the average cost being $135.30. While the percentage of persons receiving compensation is much larger under the compensation law than under the old liability system, the commission felt the necessity of some plan being devised for guaranteeing payments when due, but was unable with their present experience to make any recommendation. It was shown, however, that as compared with conditions under the liability laws of New York the law of New Jersey presented great advantages to employees under it. Thus of 103 fatal accidents occurring in Erie County, N. Y., 78 per cent of the dependent families received no substantial support, the compensation ranging from nothing (received by 37 per cent of the cases) to $500. Under the New Jersey law beneficiaries would have received at the end of 300 weeks $2,091 if weekly payments were received, while for commuted cases the amount averaged $1,258, and 89 per cent of all the cases received these substantial benefits.

A careful calculation of 164 fatal cases where full information was obtainable, under old conditions, shows the average amount received per case was $475. Under the operation of the workmen's compensation act of this State the dependent families received on the average about three and one-half times as much. Another significant fact in this connection is that the payments in the various cases are in a measure uniform as to amount, while under the old conditions the amounts varied extremely.

NEW YORK.

The elective compensation law of New York provides for the affirmative action of employers and employees to bring themselves within the provisions of the law. This consists in filing with the county clerk written agreements between the employer and each employee who agrees to the plan signed and acknowledged by both in the same manner required in the conveyance of real property. While the law does

not specify that each employee must make such separate agreement, its words are such that they seem practically to necessitate such formality. This is far removed from the simple election provided for in other laws and still further from the presumed election requiring disaffirmance provided for in several of the statutes. Whether the cumbersomeness of the plan has led to its neglect, or whether there are other reasons, it is evident that the law is of no practical effect as a factor in adjusting claims for damages, since but a single firm in the State has taken advantage of the provisions of the law, and of the 440 shop hands which it employed in 1910 but 36 consented to accept the compensation provisions. This action was taken March 16, 1910, and up to July 10, 1913, no other firm had taken any steps to come within the law.

OHIO.

The Ohio law provides for the operation of a State insurance fund under a State liability board of awards (after October 1 a State industrial commission), and as annual reports are required on or before November 15 a report is available for the period January 1, 1912, to November 15, 1912.

At the date of the report there were 22,774 operatives protected by the insurance system, with an estimated pay roll of $8,429,412. The average rate per $100 of pay roll was $1.25, the average premium payment per employer $227.54, and the average number of employees protected in each establishment was 49.

The number of injuries reported as of November 15, 1912, was 796, besides 3 deaths. Awards were granted in 502 cases, were waived by the employee in 14 cases, and were disallowed in 5 cases, making 521 cases finally disposed of, leaving 278 pending for consideration.

The amount of premiums received during the year was $107,857.74. The earned premium to date was $56,008.70, less a 10 per cent contingent reserve amount of $5,600.86, leaving a total net earned premium of $50,407.84 and a working balance of $57,449.90. The net earned premium is distributed as follows: To awards, $12,067.02; deferred awards, $6,372.52; unsettled claims (estimated), $11,340.99, which, with the contingent reserve fund of 10 per cent, leaves a total net balance of $20,627.31.

An interesting feature of this report is the one relating to medical attendance. The law provides for medical and hospital service in each case in an amount not exceeding $200. A difficulty that has been practically uniformly reported on in the administration of compensation laws in which medical services are furnished by the State or by the employer is the excessive charge of medical practitioners in cases of simple injury. The chief medical examiner of the board prepared the following table to show the costs for medical and hospital

service, etc., showing both the amounts claimed and the amount granted for the different classes of expenses:

MEDICAL, ETC., SERVICES, JANUARY 1, 1912, TO NOVEMBER 15, 1912.

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The above figures are approximate in some cases and can not be made exact. According to the statements made, the amounts saved by the scrutiny of the board amounted to $906.50 in the 521 cases passed upon, and the average cost for medical attendance was $7.85 per case, including all items. The cost of administration, if all employers in the State were contributors, is estimated at not more than 7 per cent.

WASHINGTON.

The most detailed report yet published on the subject of the operations of a State law is that of the industrial insurance department of Washington, covering the year from October 1, 1911, to September 30, 1912. The report is a volume of 516 pages, in which are presented a discussion of the general idea of compensation, a history of the legislation of the State on this subject, the organization of the commission and its policy and problems, and the subject of accident prevention and safety education. There are more than 100 pages of statistical results and comparisons, and 35 pages are given over to the report of the chief medical adviser. Alleged defects and suggested amendments, recommendations, and appendixes presenting related matter complete the volume.

Reports of accidents cover their nature, the month, day, and hour of occurrence, the sex, age, and nativity of the injured person, the days survived (if the injury subsequently proved fatal), the number of beneficiaries, the relationship and benefits paid to them, the industry, occupation, and daily wage of the injured workman, and a brief description of the accident; also summary tables of costs, causes, duration of disability, etc.1

The statute is a compulsory one, intended to cover all the industrial activities of the State, and the rates of premiums to be contributed are fixed in the law itself for the 48 classes of industry into which the industries of the State are grouped. In the eleventh class, however, the legislature placed no employments, while in administration the State board construed classes 26, 27, 28, 32, and 36 to be overlapping,

1 The report for the year ending Sept. 30, 1913, was received too late for more than a very limited use.

and they were therefore omitted. In the remaining classes there were, on September 30, 1912, 138,084 employees; accidents reported numbered 11,896, but for 1,703 of these the files were incomplete, leaving 10,193 cases for consideration. Of this number 6,356 were for total temporary disability; and 378 were rejected for cause. Claims were suspended in 1,552 cases, in which the injuries were trivial and the workmen presented no claims, while in 348 cases the board was unable to locate any claimants. Total permanent disability pensions were allowed in 2 cases; 257 accidents were fatal; monthly benefits for temporary disability were allowed in 314 instances; payments on account of reduced earning power or partial payments were made in 33 cases; while 953 cases were in process of adjustment.

For the year ending September 30, 1913, there were 12,380 injuries, causing 340,728 days of temporary total disability, and receiving awards amounting to $460,498. The total number of awards made during the year was 14,536, aggregating $1,377,271.

The following table gives the condition of the funds for the various classes of occupations at the close of the 12 months ending September 30, 1912; also the number of employees in each class and the number of accidents. The table has been condensed somewhat in the following presentation by reducing the amounts of money to the nearest dollar:

STATEMENT OF CONDITION OF ACCIDENT FUND, state oF WASHINGTON, at CLOSE OF 12 MONTHS ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 1912.

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STATEMENT OF CONDITION OF ACCIDENT FUND, STATE OF WASHINGTON, AT CLOSE OF 12 MONTHS ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 1912-Concluded.

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1 Deficit.

980, 446 5, 9212445,528 2243,985 2290,933

2 These totals do not agree with the items, but are given as presented in the report.

It will be observed that in all but two classes there is an unexpended balance ranging from 16 to 100 per cent of the premiums collected. In one class, that of powder works, a single accident early in the history of the operation of the act involved costs in excess of $8,000, while the principal contributor to this class refused to pay premiums assessed, and the question involved had not been decided at the time of the publication of the report.

In the cases of the first eight classes, it may be noted that premiums were collected monthly, these employments being in the nature of contractors' work, so that it was considered unfair to establish a general fund from the contributions of those contractors who might happen to be at work at any given time and use the accumulations to meet the costs of accidents occurring to the workmen of contractors not then employed. In the other classes of occupations the number of assessments varies from three to nine, except in the last class, nonhazardous elective, in which the initial payments appear to have been adequate to establish a sufficient fund.

As indicated in a foregoing statement, there were 257 fatal accidents reported and disposed of during the year, besides which there were 22 in which the accident reports were incomplete. The classes

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