Ohio History Journal


OHIO

OHIO

Archaeological and Historical

PUBLICATIONS.

 

THE OHIO WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION LAW.

 

 

BY H. R. MENGERT.

 

 

FOREWORD.

Because the Ohio Workmen's Compensation Law has been

looked upon as the very embodiment of what Col. Theodore

Roosevelt called "social justice;" because it is being copied in

other states of the Union; because of the praise bestowed upon

it by King Albert, of Belgium, who, upon the occasion of his

visit to Ohio, pronounced it one of the greatest pieces of legisla-

tion upon the statute books of any country; because it has im-

mensely improved the relations between employers and em-

ployees; because the praises of its authors and friends have been

sung by the injured, and by the widow and the orphan; and,

finally, because the law itself stands as a vindication of the great

principle that the plastic instrument of democratic institutions

can be remoulded to suit changing needs and conditions, this

contemporary history of the Workmen's Compensation Law in

Ohio, for the period from 191O to the end of 1919, has been

attempted.

The law is vindicated. Watchfulness over it, however, is

doubtless yet the concern of those who desire to see great social

and industrial questions settled in the American spirit of fair

play. Ohioans must watch to see that it does not fall the prey

of designing interests, akin to those who have brought into

question a similar partial experiment in New York.  Eternal

vigilance is the price of other things than liberty.

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