upon their ability to labor. When provision for such in-
surance is made through legislation, it marks the development
of a settled policy on the part of society to provide protection
for one group in the community which either is in greatest
need of the protection or which on account of insufficient
income or forethought fails to buy such protection through
private commercial channels. It is therefore natural to term
this insurance social insurance.

The most substantial reason why wage-earners do not
voluntarily insure themselves against the risks of accident and
illness, invalidity and old age, early death and unemploy-
ment, is insufficient income. Reliable information from con-
servative private and public reports amply confirms the
statement that the average wage-earner with a family is not
receiving pay for his labor sufficient "to secure the elements
of a normal standard of living." ¹

A further reason for the failure of the underpaid masses to
insure themselves is indifference or lack of foresight concern-
ing the problems of the future. Although thrift in the pres-
ence of subnormal living occasioned by low wages may at
times become a positive social vice, provision for the future
is on the whole necessary and beneficial. Furthermore, it
is recognized that for millions of laborers saving will take
place only under a distinct incentive. This "enforced sav-
ing" against the inevitable rainy day in the life of the work-
ingman is most effectively brought about through the periodi-
cal collection of dues or premiums for the support of the various
forms of social insurance. Moreover, it has been discovered
that community of interest in directly bearing the financial
cost of insurance furnishes a kind of cooperative pressure on
employers ² which can be utilized effectively in the elimination
of risks in so far as they are preventable. The rapid develop-
ment of the "Safety first" movement which followed so
closely the enactment of workmen's compensation laws is
sufficient evidence of the preventive power of social insurance.

Thus, although beginning in each case with some form of
private organization, there has been developed, to meet the
peculiar risks which modern industrial workers must endure,

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