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Show 254 Our children still remember the sad day I sat them down and told them what had happened to their father. It soon developed that more than his leg was gone: his work experience for the varied jobs he had held all his life. When the first compensation check came, still sixteen dollars per week, I noticed a neat little contract on the back of it. If it was endorsed it relinquished all claim on the Kennecott Copper Corporation. When he was conscious enough I pointed this out to him, feeling that I should run, not walk, to a lawyer. "That doesn't mean anything, " he said. "They know they are liable. They will do all right by me. " To bolster this belief he had a visitor, sent by the company, who had lost both feet. "They gave me a home and a new car, and I still work for them, " he said. For fear of upsetting his already shattered nerves, I signed the check. Kennecott paid him in compensation the exact amount the state forced them to: $3, 000 final, total settlement. We found that, while he was still being rushed to the hospital statements were collected from the stunned men and rushed to the State Capitol proving that he had disobeyed orders, placing the blame entirely on him. When w.e met with their lawyers for final settlement they bolstered him with words, told him he had a fine "little woman" who would stick by him and see him through. Out on the sidewalk we looked at each other. "Now we know where we stand, " we said. I wanted to fight, but more than his body was hurt. "They can have the whole, damn shebang, " he said. "I can make it without them. " And he did. |
