The terms of the act are also a hardship in prohibiting payment in cases where the accident is in any way due to the negligence of the employee.  It is inevitable that daily familiarity with danger will lead men to take chances that can be construed into negligence.  So well is this recognized that in practically all countries in the civilized world, except the United States, only a great degree of negligence acts as a bar to securing compensation.  Probably in no other respect is our legislation, both State and National, so far behind practically the entire civilized world as in the matter of liability and compensation for accidents in industry.  It is humiliating that at European international congresses on accidents the United States should be singled out as the most belated among the nations in respect to employers’ liability legislation.  This Government is itself a large employer of labor, and in its dealings with its employees it should set a standard in this country which would place it on a par with the most progressive countries in Europe.  The laws of the United States in this respect and the laws of European countries have been summarized in a recent Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor, and no American who reads this summary can fail to be struck by the great contrast between our practices and theirs—­a contrast not in any sense to our credit.

The Congress should without further delay pass a model employers’ liability law for the District of Columbia.  The employers’ liability act recently declared unconstitutional, on account of apparently including in its provisions employees engaged in intrastate commerce as well as those engaged in interstate commerce, has been held by the local courts to be still in effect so far as its provisions apply to District of Columbia.  There should be no ambiguity on this point.  If there is any doubt on the subject, the law should be reenacted with special reference to the District of Columbia.  This act, however, applies only to employees of common carriers.  In all other occupations the liability law of the District is the old common law.  The severity and injustice of the common law in this matter has been in some degree or another modified in the majority of our States, and the only jurisdiction under the exclusive control of the Congress should be ahead and not behind the States of the Union in this respect.  A comprehensive employers’ liability law should be passed for the District of Columbia.

I renew my recommendation made in a previous message that half-holidays be granted during summer to all wageworkers in Government employ.

I also renew my recommendation that the principle of the eight-hour day should as rapidly and as far as practicable be extended to the entire work being carried on by the Government; the present law should be amended to embrace contracts on those public works which the present wording of the act seems to exclude.

The courts.