These  laws  are  sometimes  spoken  of  as  though  they  were  a
benevolence  to  the  working  classes.  The  fact  is,  that  they
cost  the  worker  heavily,  though  tho  necessary  contributions  are


THE   WOEKMAN  157

willingly  paid.  The  ontiro  cost  of  accident  insurance  falls,  of
course,  upon  the  employers ;  of  the  cost  of  sickness  insurance,
however,  the  workpeople  bear  two-thirds,  the  employer  the
remainder ;  and  towards  the  cost  of  invalidity  and  old  age  in-
surance the  workpeople  and  employers  contribute  in  equal  pro-
portions, while  the  Empire  adds  £2  10s.  per  annum  to  every
pension  granted.  The  burden  which  is  imposed  on  capital  by
these  three  insurance  laws  is  considerable,  yet  as  industry  has,
so  to  speak,  "  lived  into"  the  system  of  insurance  and  accom-
modated itself  to  its  obligations,  the  contributions  have
gradually  passed  into  the  costs  of  production  as  an  item  as
inevitable  as  rent  or  interest.  Not  only  so,  but  probably  a
majority  of  employers  would  be  willing  to  acknowledge  that  the
direct  gain  to  themselves  caused  by  the  operation  of  the  laws
is  more  than  worth  the  sacrifice  which  they  entail,  inasmuch  as
they  make  for  the  workers'  physical  welfare  and  as  a  consequence
for  their  efficiency,  and  help  to  maintain  their  standard  of  life
at  a  higher  level  than  would  be  possible  if  they  depended,  in  the
eventuality  of  sickness,  accident,  and  invalidity,  upon  their  own
unaided  resources.
