The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-11-29
TIE SCRANTON TRIBUNE FRIDAY. NOVEMBER %. 1901.

au assurance benefit. II is this. No matter how
cohscioniousiv the hnnnocs ct death benchs
may DC reserved Tor the purpose for which IL has
hcen accumulated there may come crisis when
to fuSlain The living may hc OF more Importance
than to provide tor the ceremonial or. IS IL is
called. the Christian intcnnent cs the dead In
other words, in order 20 preserve tie integrity
oi an organization all The funds at is disposal
must be used toward shat end The Circumstance
has occurred frequently
ID
have blicily summarized. too n!eny. tAc adj.
'dhtagcs wlcN accrue 81 tiade organization 70
taNc dcsth and sickness funds attached TO IL
and the possibilities that may initiate against
them IN practice. These are fundamental not
theoretical, they are Obvious, not obscure; they
lIsfc occurred not that they may occur. strik.
ing balance between the advantages and dis.
advantages likely 10 ucrnr. should SAY that
ihey are about ,qualiHcd ;or ihc purpose OF some
trade organizitionSi that they ave ,lniay yorab'c
IN otictS and impracicablc i'll the rest u all
depends upon the strength and character oi the
organization. IT. small organization where Tie
conditions Of work ate not hazardous and conso.
qiently the dealt! rate 'ow, working out death
benefit assurance pLn is ,rplc; in an oigani1a.
ton like the United Mine WORKERS, such an in.
stituiion would he extremely complicated; for
an Organization such as tic Marine titemcn a.lh
sailors union IL is altogether ,nfcasible. htIt
taking All the militant facts Under .icw boldly
assert that the Discrimination sle,co;yped and
impdcable as u seems 70 be. made by the ma
jorIiy oi friendly associations and social orders
against the assurance Of miners Is unjust and
detrimental to their own best interests.
--u---
one is forced almost to tlc conclusion thn, The
majority OF peiipltctic gentlemen one ,as;lally
meets in a mornings walk arc In one way or
another agents or ca'yasscrs for insurance conf
panies, yet they cschow the miner a. II his Uccu.
patton wis certain prelude to sudden. death.
His arises. ! am certain, from actuarial ignor-
ahcc OF asccrtaincd or ascor.ainabc facts. No
one will deny, least OF MI shall do 50. that
mining is an occupation extremely hazardous 20
the individual What | Ito contend is that the
aggregate death rate among Miners il cxtraotdih.
aiiIy or exceptionally high. all things considered
IT. Is twenty per cent less than that among
brcwcly workers aud dstillcry workers: IL is
somewhat less than that among printers ard
type founders. where some subtle poison in me
metallic ingredients used IN the type probably
arsenic produces phliisis Painters are not free
from accidents, while their occupation is said
to shorten life. Indeed. IL holds true Of almost
all occupations that their practice is detrimental
To average longevity. Even in the so.ea'lrI
learned professions the same rule holds good.
The average life of doctors is said TO be no more
than forty wears. brought on more by WOTry, IT
is malciously said in collecting their bills, than
by the trouble of rcs,lscitatinu their paticn.s.
Clcrgvmcn too, lave their own apprchcnsions OF
premature call TO Il world where they may
take much needed est / am adducins these
instances to show that sudden deaths among
miners do not greatly exceed the ratio among
other occupations. In this intense and ncnsi'
fyinp. life of ours sudden death is the rule a
protected old age the exception.
%.
What is sudden death? As take It, p,enl.lure
death whether it ovcr,yh.lms a mortal through a
sudden break in the nh,scal machinery from the
inside or sav through a fall OF rock from the
ont side may hc nl,cad in the same category
man calrviur "A heavy Insurance policy may
drink himself to death in a week; yet YOU may
stand at the mouth of Il mine any ,.av and
converse with men vino have worked in the mines
ten fifteen twenty or even thirty wears who
never ,yo, :, scratch in tbeir lives Yes but slvs
The sopicn a,;uarv. "Lool, at cur figures, fig
urrs you lnow. cannot lie. These statistics ere
as ,cieut6cnll, and mathematicaIlv accurate us
that two and two make four. We cannot tel
Won when this man or that shall die, but take Il
given number OF men, their AGES and occupation,
+, tvcIveuonth" | admit that figures cannot
lic hut tbcir msanplic ,tion il a falschood Now
,bove all thc ORDINATIONS in which working mon
are euo1rcd pcrh1,,s mining is the least .a is.
factory for drawing conclusions from statistical