s issue accident policies
against death and total or partial disability from accident while on
duty; but there are two defects in the form of this insurance. In the
first place, the definition of total disability adopted by the companies
is much stricter than that of the insurance departments of the railway
brotherhoods. A typical insurance company's definition of total
disability is incapacity for "prosecuting any and every kind of business
pertaining to a regular occupation from the loss of both eyes, both
hands, both feet, or one hand and one foot;" while partial disability is
"the loss of one hand or one foot or any injury preventing the
performance of one or more important daily duties pertaining to a
regular occupation." In other words, to secure the indemnity for total
disability, the insured must be disabled from performing any regular
labor whatever. In the railway organizations total disability is so
defined as to cover inability of the insured to continue in his
position. Secondly, the disability insurance offered by the regular
insurance companies is joined with accident insurance affording a weekly
indemnity during the period of illness due to accident. The railway
employee, if he insures against totally disabling accidents, must also
insure against temporarily disabling accidents, since the companies do
not separate the two forms of insurance. The inclusion of all accidents
in one policy necessitates a heavy premium. For example, to secure
accident insurance including, besides a weekly indemnity of $20,
provision for the payment of $1000 in case of death or total disability
resulting from accidents, an engineer must pay an annual premium of
$50.40 or $56 according to the section of the country over which he
runs, or the system by which he is employed. The combination of life
with disability insurance meets the need of the ordinary railway
employee better than any other combination.

The formative period of the two older organizations furnished
opportunities for a study of the disability benefit and showed its
usefulness in strengthening the national unions. These organizations,
however, experienced grave difficulties in their attempts to administer
disability insurance. The Engineers included "totally disabled members"
among the beneficiaries of the fund provided for in 1866.[40] The
by-laws of the insurance association founded by the Brotherhood on
December 3, 1867, provided for assessments of 50 cents pe