Hon. Lee OTT Kanawha County, West Virginia Biography of Hon. Lee OTT ************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: Material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor. Submitted by Jennifer Johnston , June 1999 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume II, pg. 41 The Hon. Lee Ott was the first and has been the only state compensation commissioner of West Virginia, and it is stating only a consensus of opinion to say that the admirable workings of the Compensation Act and the official administration created thereby had been primarily due to the exceptional executive ability, the broad vision and sympathetic interest of Mr. Ott. West Virginia was the seventh state in the Union to put compensation laws into effect, though such laws had been enforced in European countries for years. Similar legislation has since been enacted by nearly all the sates of the Union. These compensation laws to a large degree supply the object of old liability insurance and substitute a process of orderly administration for the old system of damage suits and other costly litigation. When a candidate for governor in 1912, H. D. Hatfield incorporated into his personal platform a plank advocating the passage of such a compensation law. The first law providing for the Public Service Commission was in the nature of a compromise and faulty in many directions. The amended law providing for the office of state compensation commissioner became effective in May 1915, and the law was again amended in 1919. The present law and system are regarded as among the very best found in operation in any of the states. It is the duty of the state compensation commissioner to administer the compensation fund as created and provided for by these laws. Mr. Ott has had a lifelong and very sincere and heartfelt interest in the welfare of miners and their families, the class that is most largely benefited by the compensation laws of West Virginia, since coal mining is the state's greatest industry. He was a leader in having enacted the present compensation law, and in order to constitute himself a reliable reference authority to the legislators who had the responsibility for the legislation he made a thorough study of the compensation laws of Belgium, Germany, England and other European countries as well as those already in force in the United States. After the passage of the original legislation Governor Hatfield appointed him a member of the Public Service Commission on July 19, 1913, and he was chairman of that body until June 30, 1915, when again by appointment and express choice of Governor Hatfield he became state compensation commissioner. His first term expired in June 1921, and Governor Morgan then reappointed him for a second term of six years. Mr. Ott was born at Hopewell, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, January 5, 1859, son of John and Liddie (Weimert) Ott. He acquired a common school education, spent his early life on a farm, and at the age of 16 went to work in the mines of his home county in Pennsylvania. He worked as a miner and in various positions in mines leading up to mine foreman, superintendent and general manager. In the meantime, he took a course in mining engineering, and until he was induced to accept public office mining and mine operation were his sole business. He came to West Virginia in June 1898, being appointed superintendent of the Thomas plant of the Davis Coal and Coke Company in Randolph, Tucker, Grant, Barbour and Mineral counties. Under his management these mines and coke ovens were brought to a fine state of efficiency and economical production, and he also had charge of the great improvements inaugurated by the corporation. It was therefore a genuine sacrifice financially and otherwise when Mr. Ott was induced to become compensation commissioner, and in time it was one of the best moves made by Governor Hatfield in his vigorous administration of the state. For many years Mr. Ott has been actively identified with business and enterprise, particularly in the eastern section of the state. He is now president of the English-Ott Lumber Company of Charleston, lumber manufacturers with a lumber mill in Bland County, Virginia. He has been a director of the Davis National Bank of Piedmont. Under his wise and skillful administration the State Compensation Department has been a source of genuine benefit to the miners and their families. When the present compensation law was amended in 1915 there was a liability deficit of $795,000 in the compensation fund, due to the inadequate provision of the first law. By October 1919, Mr. Ott had been enabled to bring about such changes and improvements in the law and its operation that there was an actual surplus of something over $750,000. The compensation to injured persons had increased, and up to the fall of 1921 there is a pension payroll of $85,000 a month. Under the direction of the office more than $5,000,000 have been paid in lost claims. When working conditions are normal in the state this office handles about 100 accidents per day, with a total payroll for compensation premiums (medical and Funeral service, etc.), of about $225,000 per month. There are on the payroll today 1,400 widows and about 3,700 children under the age of 15. Mr. Ott is a member of the executive committee of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards, is an official of the affiliation board of the Coal Mining Institute of America, and a member of the executive board of the West Virginia Coal Mining Institute. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and Shriner, being a life member of Logan Lodge No. 490 of Altoona, Pennsylvania, and his Consistory and Shrine affiliations are at Wheeling. He is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church at Charleston. He has always been a republican, but his chief interest in politics has been in the activities and the office already described. Mr. Ott married Miss Elizabeth Jenkins of Pennsylvania. USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other presentation.