Workers' compensation--Law and legislation

Frank Knox writes to Theodore Roosevelt about Michigan’s efforts to establish compensation laws. Knox has been working with Governor Chase S. Osborn on this issue. They have been working on a new system to eliminate the current common-law defenses, which make it difficult for workers to win damages from their employers. They suggest creating a state insurance which companies would contribute to based on their industry, similar to liability insurance companies. If an injured worker filed a claim, their award would be paid out of this insurance fund. Knox will be presenting this plan at a meeting of a large Republican club, and he asks Roosevelt to write a statement in support, which Knox can share at the meeting. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-29

Theodore Roosevelt suggests that the Progressive Party fight for the inclusion of Pullman porters in the provisions of the Compensation Bill. He believes that the porters are being discriminated against because the majority of them are “colored.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-08-28

Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary thanks Senator Bristow for providing an explanation of the workers’ compensation bill and its potential future. It appears that the telegram from the “Railroad Trainmen’s Brotherhood” was inspired by Senator Davis, who is opposing the bill.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-05-13

Theodore Roosevelt cannot write the letter of support Frank Knox requested. Roosevelt would want to review the legislation Knox plans to propose and compare it to New York laws and what has been is being tried in Wisconsin. Roosevelt agrees there are problems with worker’s compensation laws and there is much to be said about the different options for moving forward.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-04

Theodore Roosevelt has published an article on the Worker’s Compensation Act and has another article on the subject written for The Outlook .

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-02

On behalf of Theodore Roosevelt, his secretary thanks Alfred P. Thom for his courtesy in sending the brief on employers’ liability and workman’s compensation legislation. He looks forward to reading it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-12

Theodore Roosevelt thinks that Pennsylvania and New York are strange states. The bulk of working class men in Pennsylvania voted for Senator Boies Penrose, and in New York they voted for William Barnes’s candidates, “without caring for positive proof of their attitudes in such matters as the Workers’ Compensation Act and the like.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-11-07

Senator Lodge requests Theodore Roosevelt’s help with passing legislation that will fund new battleships. The Senate has had a very successful session. Three important measures have passed; the ending of the white phosphorus match industry, an improved immigration bill, and a workmen’s compensation act.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-05-10

In response to a previous request, Senator Bristow provides his opinion on a recent workers’ compensation law. Bristow is supportive of the law and reports that a majority of railroad employees are also favorable to it. Some opposition has been raised due to low compensation for some injuries but Bristow believes that this can be amended after the law has passed legal scrutiny.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-05-11

Judge Lindsey is embarrassed by a rumor that appeared in a Hearst paper suggesting that he is being considered as vice president on a Roosevelt presidential ticket. He believes the rumor is being spread for a “vicious purpose.” Lindsey also encloses a clipping on a mothers’ compensation law he is campaigning for and would appreciate a public statement from Roosevelt on the law.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-02-11

Governor Burke is sending the text of a speech he delivered before the Iowa Bar Association regarding the New York Court of Appeals decision that held the Employers’ Liability and Workingmen’s Compensation Act to be unconstitutional. He requests Theodore Roosevelt’s opinion of the speech.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-01-20

Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright relays to Theodore Roosevelt his thoughts on Daniel W. Moran’s biased criticism of the Compensation Act. Wainwright compares the Compensation Act to similar legislature at the national level and similar models in England and Germany. Wainwright believes that Moran “and all insurance men like him” seek to offer moderate compensation in all cases without regard to negligence–and act which the workmen will not stand for. Wainwright inquires what Moran wants Roosevelt to do in regards to the matter. While he sends along a copy of the final report dealing with the subject, he laments that there is limited public interest in the subject, as organized labor has not seemed interested in compensation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-05-25

Judge Lindsey was pleased with Theodore Roosevelt’s comments on the employer’s compensatory law. One of Lindsey’s primary goals is to protect children’s homes from the “injustice of industrialism.” He encloses a “refreshing” opinion from Judge Carpenter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-05-15

While fulfilling his position as President of the Minnesota Senate, Lieutenant Governor Gordon appoints a five-member committee to develop a bill on employee compensation for work-related injuries to be presented to the 1913 session of the Minnesota Senate. This intends to rectify the lack of agreed upon legislation produced by the governor-appointed Minnesota Employees’ Compensation Committee.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-18

Attorney General Bonaparte provides President Roosevelt with notes and suggestions on his upcoming message. In particular he suggests modifications on portions relating to labor liability laws and employee compensation for injuries. Bonaparte also suggests removing the words “good” and “bad” from the portion on trusts, as certain trusts are claiming to be “good” trusts to avoid injunctions. He also provides comments on changing wording to avoid accusations of naming specific individuals, and on the language in the delicate sections about judges.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-22

Written as a supplement to a paper by Edgar M. Atkin and H. M Edwards, the pamphlet details employers’ responsibility to offer compensation to workers injured on the job as described by the new Compensation Law, passed as an element of the Act of May 1908. The Secretary of Commerce and Labor is responsible for enforcing this legislation, and the grieved party must make its claim as soon as possible to be eligible for this compensation.

Comments and Context

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division