CHAPTER I. THE EXTENT AND NATURE OF THE DEMAND FOR A CHAPTER V. THE EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY LAW CHAPTER VI. PRIVATE INSURANCE COMPANIES: "INDUSTRIAL SUMMARY OF EUROPEAN LAWS ON INDUS TRIAL INSURANCE1 The book of Willoughby on Workingmen's Insurance represented the situation in Europe and America up to 1898. Since then great progress has been made, and it is desirable to give a brief sketch of the essential facts in relation to existing systems. 2 GERMANY In Germany there are two forms of sickness insurance of workingmen, compulsory and optional. According to the imperial law of 1883, with its subsequent amendments up to 1903, all workmen and employees with an annual income up to 2000 marks ($480), engaged in manufactures or trade, must be insured. By special regulations this requirement may be extended to agriculture and household industries. Many employees in excepted classes are permitted to insure themselves who are not required to do so. In the year 1906 the German Empire had sixty-one and two-tenths million inhabitants, of whom fifteen and four-tenths million were wage earners. For these there were 22,940 funds or insurance associations, with twelve and four-tenths million • members; $72,240,000 premiums paid, or $5.76 per person insured; $63,840,000 were paid out, or $13.20 per sick person and $.67 per day of sickness. The form of insurance is the local insurance association based on the principles of mutual help and self-government, under the general law. 1This summary, prepared for Charities and the Commons, is reproduced here by permission of the editors with some additions. "I have used chiefly Zacher, Leitfaden zur Arbeiterversicherung, 1908, and the report of the International Workingmen's Insurance Congress of Vienna, 1905, and of Rome, 1908. In these local associations the workmen pay two-thirds of the premiums and the employers one-third of the premiums, which are based on the rate of wages. There are also free associations for insurance in which the employers have no share. The benefits received under the law are: (a) Free treatment and sickness money (50 per cent. of the average wages); or, free treatment in a hospital and one-half the sickness money paid to dependent relatives for twenty-six weeks; (b) lying-in women receive at the same rate during six weeks; (c) death benefit of twenty times the wage of one day. The indemnities seem small when given in American money; their actual value in Europe is much higher than the amounts appear to offer. By special enactments this minimum scale of benefits may be raised. In case of dispute the matter is settled by a supervisory board without costs for litigation. Accident insurance was introduced in Germany by the law of 1884-87, revised in 1900. Insurance is compulsory for all workmen and foremen with annual earnings under 3,000 marks ($720), in manufactures and agriculture. By special enactment it may be extended to foremen and petty employers with more than 3,000 marks ($720). Employers and other persons not required to insure are permitted to insure themselves under the same scheme. If an accident has been wilfully caused by the employer he can be sued criminally under the old liability law of 1871 and obliged to pay the indemnity fixed by that law, less the amount paid by his insurance association. Such suits are rare, as the process is long and doubtful and the ordinary insurance is adequate and easily collected without suit. Employers are permitted to insure themselves in their own associations against this liability. The insurance is effected by means of insurance associations of employers (of which there were, in |