The historic times. [volume] (Lawrence, Kansas) 1891-1891, 1891-09-19
PHYSICAL lNcAPACITY.
In Practice, the Human Organism Can
Not Work Every Day in the Year.

In Practice, the Human Organism Can
Not Work Every Day in the Year.
A question Of large interest TO all
persons III any way concerned in the
| business of the world is the discount
that must be allowed from constant
service for disabilities of one kind or
another. In theory the human organ
ism is a machine which should be kept
in condition to do work for sos days
out Of year, or with allowance for
vacation, say, 300 days in year But
in practice it is found that the service
obtained falls considerably below that
which might be theoretically expected.
M. Bertillon prepared a short time ago
certain statements of morbidity, based
| upon the military tables; that is, the
experience of all of the armies of Eu-
rope. giving as definition for sickness,
incapacity for service. Now, not only
are the statistics carefully kept IL
this respect, but they apply to
a class of men under peculiarly favor
able conditions. The European armies
are made up of men between the ages
of eighteen and twenty-five, who,
while in service, are not only carefully
and sufficiently fed, but are also put
through various forms of physical exer-
else in a manner calculated to keep
them in the best OF physical condition,
while not overexerting their powers.
) 1t might, therefore, be assumed that
the average of sickness would be quite
as small in this class as in any large
class that could be selected. Besides
this, although in France, Germany and
Italy every young man is expected to
serve in the ranks, there is an eXclu-
sion made in the cases of those who
are obviously unfit for the service, so
that the included class must stand
above the average on the score of Sc
: lection.
I. But the tables we have referred to
show that each soldier has, on an
average 10 or II days in the year when
: he is incapable of doing work, an ex-
{ perience which apparently holds good
: in each of the three great armies If
r this is the experience of loss of time in
: consequence Of ill health under such
> favorable conditions, it may be safe to
assume that the wastage thus Occa-
stoned is greater among older men and
those living under more unfavOrable
physical conditions. There will, of
! course, be & great variation found, for
II the reason that what one person would
s consider an ailment Of sufficient sever
# ity to cause temporary incapacity for
a service would be passed over by an
- other person as matter of slight i'm
portance, while those who have from
J time to time the opportunity afforded
Il of relaxation, or have comparatively
II short hours of daily service or relative
lv light work, may fare better in the
long run, and show on this account a
smaller ratio of disability than those
> whose conditions of life are more exact
= ing.
d. Such statistical examination would
ii be interesting if it could determine what
% would be the result upon the average
&c health of wage-earners by a service o.
eight hours a day when compared with
that of a service of ten hours per diem
+ If, under existing conditions, from foul
Is to six weeks in year are on the aver
IT age lost on account of sickness, it nigh
OF be made apparent that considerable
or part of this could be saved by change
to eight hours a day. In the report o
the commissioner of labor on railroad
s- labor it is shown that laborers in rail
ay road service are employed on an aver
re age less than 100 days a year; brake
IN men and firemen a little over $50; tele
graph operators, 1G4; switchmen, 17G
conductors, 207; the engineers on al
OF average, 237. Col. Wright attribute
-. part of this to the migratory charac
= ter of railroad labor, and
VI part also to the fact that j
er' some lines of work a cOnsiderabl
ne number of days of rest are needed
ur while in some instances train crew
to who are kept steadily employee
=, throughout the year work only fou
DAYS in the week. with an occasiona
= Sunday duty extra.
'0' From 21O to 240 days are assumed t
'ut mean for a conductor or engineer stead
ew EMPLOYMENT, and are said to represer
his full annual earningpower But Q
this assumption either there is a cOnsiC
lar cradle waste of time through non-en
on plovment, or a discount has to be mad
lie in consequence of the average inabilit
to work due to physical disablemen
The subject is one which, if it shout
be taken up somewhat in the manne
we have suggested above, might lea
to highly important results, partic1
'ed larlv if it could be shown that by VIII;
To- might seem from a superficial consi'
nc Grafton. to be a loss of time by redu
nd ton in the daily hours Of labor, w;
inn merely provision by means of whic
III the average sum of constant lab'
'e0 could be very materially increased
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