FOREST LABOR 57 
workmen's compensation acts 
For many years the responsibility of compensating laborers 
injured in the performance of their work was regulated by Em- 
ployers' Liability Laws. These held the employer liable for 
accidents which occurred by reason of his failure to conform to 
the laws. Lawsuits were frequent and usually proved expensive 
to all concerned, often resulting, on the one hand, in a denial by 
the courts of compensation to parties to whom it was due, and 
on the other, in granting heavy damages to those who were not 
entitled to them. 
The employers protected their interests through liability 
insurance companies, but a great waste of money resulted since 
only from 29 to 50 per cent of the premiums paid reached the 
injured employees or their dependents and fully 40 per cent of 
this was expended by the injured party for attorneys' fees. 
Compensation through liability laws has tended to create an 
antagonistic feeling between employer and employee, and for 
many years this method of settlement was regarded as unsatis- 
factory. 
Many states have abolished the liability laws and have passed 
Workmen's Compensation Acts, which provide, without trial by 
court or jury, for the payment of specified sums for injuries re- 
ceived. The injured workman secures a definite compensation 
without legal expense and without regard to the cause of the 
accident, provided his injury was not self-inflicted. In return, 
he waives all rights to the common law defences of "contributory 
negligence," "assumption of risk," and the "fellow servant 
rule," which were prominent features in litigation under the lia- 
bility laws. 
A further advance in accident prevention has been the passage, 
by some states, of State Safety Laws, which provide for the es- 
tablishment of standards for the various industries, such as, 
(1) a safe place in which the employee may work, (2) the proper 
safeguarding of machinery, (3) the education of the employee 
by safety engineers in order that laljorers may be fully aware of 
the dangers incident to their occupation. 
The importance of the educational feature has received much at- 
tention in recent years. It is stated by some authorities on accident 
prevention, that three-fourths of all deaths and serious injuries 
in industry are preventable, but that more than one-half of this 
