Reviews, Notes and Comments. 557
"THE OHIO WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION
LAW."
Since the publication of the QUARTERLY
for January, 1920,
frequent complaints have been made by
the representatives of
one of the dominant political parties in
regard to the article en-
titled "The Ohio Workmen's
Compensation Law." It has been
charged that the author of that article,
Mr. Mengert, is a par-
tisan; that he has not stated fairly the
leading facts in regard
to the attitude of prominent public men
toward the law; that
the views of former Governor Frank B.
Willis, now United
States Senator, and Governor James M.
Cox are not fairly
presented; that the article in fact is
political propaganda in the
interest of a party and its prominent
leader; that due credit has
not been given former Governor Harmon
for his influence in
the inauguration of workmen's
compensation in Ohio; that
Governor Cox was not originally in favor
of the state monopoly
feature of the present law; that
workmen's compensation was
not an important issue in the
gubernatorial campaign in 1914;
that both Cox and Willis and their
respective parties favored
workmen's compensation in that campaign;
that the favorable
attitude of Governor Willis toward the
law through his adminis-
tration has not been fairly shown in the
article. The complaints
have come from individual Republicans
and those connected
with the state organization of that
party. They have said that
while they have not brought political
discussion into this publica-
tion and do not desire to do so, they
are unwilling, without pro-
test, to have the article on "The
Ohio Workmen's Compensation
Law" written down for the perusal
of the present and future
generations in a publication of the
dignity and authority of the
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Quarterly.
The Editor wishes to state in this
connection that the article
in question was published in the
interval between his appoint-
ment as Secretary and the death of his
predecessor, Honorable
E. O. Randall. The Society was without a
Secretary and the
QUARTERLY without an Editor when the article was
published.
Workmen's compensation in Ohio has been
a subject of
partisan controversy since the year
1912. The literature issued
by the campaign committees of both
parties teems with charges
558 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
and counter-charges on issues growing
out of this subject. Those
interested are referred to this
literature and the newspapers for
the attitude of men and parties toward
workmen's compensation.
No good purpose can be subserved by the
publication in the
QUARTERLY of the views of
representatives of political parties on
this subject. It should be sufficient to
record here the fact that
a protest has been made. The Society
desires the interest and
support of prominent Ohioans of all
parties. The QUARTERLY
cannot afford to devote its space to
matters of current political
controversy. If a mistake has been made
in this matter in the
past it cannot be corrected now by
repetition. We are sure that
upon mature consideration this will be
the view of members of
our Society and of all persons
interested in its work or in the
controversy to which we have felt it
necessary to make this
reference.
JOSEPH S. BENHAM.
Joseph S. Benham was an eminent lawyer
of Cincinnati at
the time of Lafayette's visit to that
city. His fame preceded
that event by a number of years. It is
celebrated in Horace in
Cincinnati which was published in 1824. In this poem he is re-
ferred to as follows:
With person of gigantic size,
With thund'ring voice, and piercing
eyes,
When great Stentorius deigns to rise,
Adjacent crowds assemble,
To hear a sage the laws expound,
In language strong, by reasoning sound.
Till, though yet not guilty found,
The culprits fear and tremble.
He was an orator of impressive power and
personality.
Levasseur paid fitting tribute to the
address of Benham on the
occasion of Lafayette's visit to
Cincinnati. References to the
eloquent advocate are found in The
Centennial History of Cin-
cinnati, page 629, in Carter's Reminiscences and Anecdotes of
the Courts and the Bar pages 38-41 and in Masfield's Personal
Memories pages 164-165.