Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 8.djvu/739

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an element in the nature of man. It is not dependent upon the accuracy of his thought. It appears in the dawn of intelligence in the savage, who sees God in the clouds and hears him in the wind, and manifests itself in every age and among every people in the philosopher, who seeks to harmonize his life with what he regards as the eternal and unchanging spirit of the universe, as well as in the saint, who looks upon the Lord as a very present help in time of trouble. Science is its handmaid, winnowing the chaff from the beliefs it has produced. The present demand is for recognition of the stability of religion, and the fearless and unsparing criticism of pre- vailing theological conceptions." IRA A. HOWERTH, International Journal of Ethics, January, 1903. T. J. R.

Insurance against Enforced Idleness through Workingmen's Syndi- cates. The object of a trade union is in part to study the interests of the trade, to discuss the conditions of work, to study the application of labor laws, and to encour- age professional education. No small amount of success has been achieved in these directions, but success cannot be complete nor assured so long as the unions do not provide some security against and in case of enforced idleness. It has been said that out-of-work benefits ought to form the base of trades unions. To insure the workman against idleness would serve the interests of industry, would tend to amelio- rate the condition of the working class, and would assist in maintaining the social peace.

Among the causes of idleness on the part of workingmen are the new inventions, often operated by a woman or a child ; the sudden closing down or the completion of some great undertaking ; the change of seasons, making work in some trades impossible ; overproduction, political crises, abuse of credit, war, and strikes. Any provision that will help to avoid such unhappy events, and that would mitigate their evils when present, must certainly be worthy the attention of our officials and of the labor unions. Especially should this receive attention when the demoralizing influ- ence of idleness is taken account of.

As means to prevent enforced idleness may be cited especially : (i) the recogni- tion of the right to work, (2) the intensification of production, (3) the development of professional education, (4) charities, and (5) insurance. Of these, insurance is the most practical. It respects the dignity of the workingman ; it cultivates his foresight, his saving. The other remedies are based on a social error; but, especially, they have proved ineffective or uneconomical.

Who should provide this insurance ? Should it be the state ? Some attempts have been made in Germany, in France, and in Switzerland. They failed. Should it be banks ? When tried at Hamburg this failed. Fraternal or mutual insurance is the best form. Such an organization facilitates (l) the classification of risks, (2) efficiency of control, (3) the re-emplovment of those enforcedly idle, and (4) the best equalization of the work. Experience confirms this position.

We would suggest some things necessary to the practical working of an out-of- work-fund organization: (i) Payment from such fund should be only on account of being out of work. The fund should not be used to insure against sickness, acci- dent, old age, or lack of employment caused by the change of seasons. (2) The idle- ness must not have been provoked by the laborer. If he loses his place on account of bad conduct, laziness, or unjustifiable insubordination, he loses his rights to any indemnity from the out-of-work benefit. But should he be forced to quit work because of an unjust diminution of his wages, or because of continuous vexation by his employer or his fellow-workmen, he would be justly entitled to a share in the benefit fund. Such regulations, instead of encouraging strikes, would be strongly conducive to industrial peace. (3) The indemnity from the out-of-work benefit should be appre- ciably less than the wages, so as to encourage seeking re-employment ; and the pre- miums paid by any member should be regulated, not only by the amount of the indemnity such member should receive in case of enforced idleness, but also by the coefficient of risk of his being thus thrown out of employment in his trade. (4) The privilege of the indemnity should not be extended until sufficient time should have passed from the time of discharge to allow investigation so as to prevent fraud. (5) A minimum age limit of perhaps sixteen years, and a maximum limit of about fifty years, should be determined upon for members. (6) Transference of membership