There has never been a time when I was not in favor of a workmen’s compensation act. The human breakage in industrial plants should be as much a part of the fixed charges of the business as the mechanical breakage. This principle is now well-nigh universally recognized in all enlightened nations.

For a number of years the General Assemblies of North Carolina have accepted this fundamental principle. Several efforts have been made to pass a workmens’ compensation act, but in every case the effort has failed because it was impossible to agree on the details of the bill. This failure was largely due to a lack of time during the session of the Assembly to investigate the facts and reach sound conclusions.

Therefore, I recommend that this General Assembly appoint a special commission, fairly representative of the workmen and the employers, whose duty it shall be to make a careful investigation of this question, and submit for the consideration of the General Assembly of 1921, a modern, model workmens’ compensation act.