Excerpt from The German System, of Workmen's Insurance in Practice

May it be far from us to find fault with this noble zeal, or even to laugh at it, which sees in the working-men's insurance the first ripe fruit off the tree of the social right of the future. This unselfishness in the aims and pur poses of the law is a further proof of the idealism existing in classes of the popu lation which to-day are much abused. But all the same, it was not prudent according to the old saying, here, too, less would have been more. At all events, it would have been wise to st0p in time so that the getting accustomed to the insurance would not degenerate into a spoiling by the insurance. This, above all, would have been the task of the insurance organs for it was to them that the law had entrusted the duty to manage the funds of their associations like good guardians. The far-reaching encouragement meted out to the insured made it necessary to increase continually the claims on those classes who had to participate in providing the requisite means. This has recently been demon strated very carefully and clearly - especially with reference to the sick fund by Dr. F. Ritter-oldenburg (privy Medical Councillor) in the Grenzboten (1910, No. In this article he shows particularly that (not to speak of simulation, disinclination to work, etc.) the sick funds suffer in consequence of the continual extension of the number of the insured, not only by including their families, but also by the continuation of the insurance on the part of such persons who, it had been calculated upon, would no longer come under the insurance law in consequence of their rising income, and that the claims on the funds are increased more especially by these latter members. In consequence of the considerable increase of wages, the contributions to the invalidity insur ance have automatically increased in the course of the last few years and with reference to the accident insurance, it may suffice to mention that the total expenses of the trade associations have risen from marks per insured and from marks per accident notified, in 1888, to 7 °40 marks and 303 marks respectively in 1908. From this it would appear that the highest possible point has been reached; if, indeed, it has not even been exceeded.

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