782 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY
evidence of its novelty could be adduced. The special guar- antee in this case is a guarantee fund as in the case of many insurance companies.
A further comparison of advantages reveals points of inter- est. In the first place all of the systems make some pro- vision for securing employment for insured members when thrown out of work. The German and Swiss systems do this by means of local government bureaus. The Chicago associa- tion will work at first through several local employment bureaus and in time will organize a special department of its own to serve this purpose. In all such cases there is no additional expense to the workman insured, though refusal of suitable employment renders void further claims. Thus an important social as well as private function is performed.
The superior advantages offered by the Chicago association in regard to sickness and accident have been mentioned. In case of death it also provides that the heirs of the insured are entitled to the total amount of monthly payments which have been paid in up to the date of the death. The only similar pro- vision is in case of the Cologne society, where, if a person dies or becomes permanently disabled before he is entitled to draw an allowance, he or his heirs shall be entitled to the subscrip- tions paid during the current year a provision of much less advantage than the previous one. In regard to permanent dis- ability, provided for in the Cologne plan as above, the Chicago plan provides that for total disability from any cause not his own fault such beneficiary shall be entitled to the indemnity for a term of twelve months following the date of the beginning of the disability ; provided further that all monthly payments due during that twelve-month period, and any sum which he may have before received as indemnity, shall be deducted therefrom. At the end of this twelve-month period the contract is to be considered dissolved.
There is a savings feature in the Chicago plan which offers great financial advantage to the insured over and above those given in the European systems. It is provided that at the end
