place of denying the employee any compensation at all in case
of "wilful misconduct," his compensation is reduced, say,
10 or 15 per cent. This minimizes contests in court over
"wilful misconduct," but, at the same time, forces the work-
man to contribute when he is plainly responsible.

This and other devices illustrate the differences between
legislation with its court procedure, which penalizes the in-
dividual for past acts, and administration based on insurance
which induces him to avoid future acts. The matter resolves
itself into a series of adjustments which balance the motive
of pecuniary gain or loss against the carelessness, greed, or
oppression that produces misfortune and suffering. These
nice adjustments can be worked out only through the ac-
cumulated tests and trials of administrative investigations,
where employers, employees, and officials join together, and
not through partisan conflicts in legislatures or legal battles
in court.

Thus "solidarism" is that goal of labor legislation, where
it can be truly said that "an injury to one is the concern of
all." On the financial side it is such an arrangement that all
will equitably bear the burdens that fall upon each individual.
On the side of human motives it is a departure from litigation
and the fear of occasional criminal penalties to the adoption
of continuous inducements for the prevention of misfortune
and oppression. On the side of administration it is the co-
operative investigation of conditions by employers, employees,
and the state through representatives and officials in whose
ability and integrity all have confidence. On the side of a
broader social philosophy it is the recognition both of class
struggle and common interest as permanent facts, and then
the adjustment of laws and administration so as to equalize
the struggle and utilize the common interest for a public
benefit.

NOTE, May, 1917. -- In 1917 the principle of unified administration of all labor laws,
including workmen's compensation, was adopted in Illinois and Utah.

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