The True Cost of Industrial Life in Washington
A scathing look at why injured workers in 1910 were left destitute by a legal system that favored insurance companies over human lives.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
One of the first startling conditions which confronts the visitor coming to our state is the large number of crippled workingmen found here, men who are destitute and dependent upon charity for the necessities of life. This leads to the question: How did it happen? The answer: They are victims of industrial accidents and courts of injustice. For ten years, we have struggled to secure liability legislation, but court-made law—specifically the 'fellow servant' doctrine—has developed to protect corporations. Employers in 1908-9 paid $1,336,626 for liability insurance, yet injured employees received only $686,686, with much of that absorbed by legal fees. We need compulsory workingmen's compensation to replace this gambling game, where only 20 percent of injured workers receive any compensation at all.
“Their condition is worse than that of the slave in the days of slavery, for he, if injured, was cared for, as upon recovery he again resumed duty.”
This 1910 critique of the 'fellow servant' doctrine and the predatory nature of insurance companies directly foreshadows the creation of Washington's pioneering workers' compensation system in 1911. It remains a foundational piece of the state's civic history, framing the struggle between corporate liability and the rights of labor.
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