Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-11
DEVICES 10. IS SAVE 4 LIFE
EFFORTS TO FOUND A NEW MU-
scum OF SAFETY CoNTRIvANCEs.
Amsterdam Has One Where Inventions
to Prevent Accident Are Dis
played in Operation.

| From the New York Tribune.
More lives are lost in the United States
| from accidents than in the countries of
Europe. Some Americans have attempted
an explanation by saying that their coun-
| trymen are more impetuous of disposition,
and in the hurry and scurry of getting
there they often take a false step, where
| the more phlegmatic European might look
second time. They say that the American
mechanic oftentimes works his muscles be-
You'd his BRAIN and as consequence he
| tears off his arm In a belt, or cuts his hand
| on a circular saw, or kills himself in an ex-
| plosion of 'firedamp."
Whether these are the fundamental rea-
| sons of the large loss Of life among work.
| men In this country. 1t is, indeed true that
Americans have not taken as many safe
| guards against accidents as have the in
habitants of the old world. In Germany,
| for example, the Yankee traveller feels al
most insulted when confronted in railroad
station with signs commanding him not to
| board the train until 1t Is at a standstill nor
to let go the hand of child under twelve
years old He wonders at first If man is sup
posed to have any brains of his own in Ger
| many. And should he take a pedestrian
tour and attempt short cut by walking
the ties he would find himself summarily
| expelled from the railroad track by the
first guard he met. German tramps never
have a chance to travel and kill themselves
on the break beam of freight cars, as their
brethren in the United States are wont
to do.
Deaths of Miners.
A comparison of the number of deaths
among miners In the chief Industrial coun-
tries of the world shows that the United
Statesis far in the lead For every thousand
miners employed in England. the average
killed Is LIS. In Italy the average is 1.3O;
in Germany, 1SS; in France .S5; In Bel
GUM, 1.62. and in the United States. 236.
BY comparing the total number of dealt
from every accidental cause it is found that
five men are killed in the United States
where three meet their death in Europe.
In the United States there are thousands
of devices to prevent death and accident
among workmen, but, they fare the products
of individual inventixeness and enterprise.
In Europe, on the contrary, there Is at
present united movement among manu-
facturers and other employers of labor to
reduce death and accidentsjn their various
lines Of industry to the minimum This has
led to the establishment. lin certain cities,
of museums of security, ,, In Amsterdam
and in Milan there are such museums,
where a visitor may see IN how many diff
ferent and often simple ways the work.
man may be safeguarded from injury or
death. The museum at Amsterdam has
proved especially successful Chiefly be-
featuring countries OF England, Germany
and France. Though primarily Dutch in
stitution. its halls arso open to the workers
of all the world. DC a.isTeb;ac'si -
Machinery Worrking. ri ''' 80.
On entering the Amsterdam museum one
might think at first that it was factory.
There Is the roar of machinery, and every
one who belongs to the place is at work.
A second glance, however. discovers that
almost every machine is different in con-
struction and represents a different line of
industry. Beside the forge Of the IRON
worker Is the lathe of the worker In wood.
There are grindstones and dynamos. con-
trivances to filter air and to pump air. And
here and there. in marked contrast ito the
activity around Them there are eftigies.
clad in peculiar costumes and whose faces
are of wax.
Another feature of the place which natu-
rally strikes the eye of the stranger as ex-
traordinary is the apparently indiscriminate
use of red paint. He sees this color every
where. in circles, in rhomboids, in squares
and in almost every other design. If he
looks carefully, however, he will see that
the red parts are nearly all in motion, and
that In each instance they indicate danger
Thus the flywheels Of engines are in red
and the shafts and pistons are in red
Wherever there Is the scarlet signal one
also finds a contrivance which has been
specially planned to safeguard the danger
Some Of these devices are so elaborate that
only an engineer is able to comprehend
them. Others are so simple that they evoke
the smile of the layman.
Guard for Buzz Saw.
Around the whizzing disk Of an ordinary
''buZz' saw, for example. such are in
operation by the thousand throughout the
forests and planning mills Of the United
States, there Is a circular sheath which pre-
vents hand or arm from approaching the
teeth. Yet the machine Is rendered In no
way less practicable. Between the Sheath
and the table there Is a space where the
timber may slide. Another simple, con-
trivance to prevent truckmen from break
ing their legs while loading and unload
ing barrels. is a pair Of skids with a kind
of ratchet teeth, SO arranged that the cask
is caught as soon as 1t starts to roll back.
rapidly revolving emery wheel is sur
rounded by clamps, which do not hinder the
revolution OF the wheel in the least. but
winch would shield one from death should
it fly to pieces, as emery wheels often do
The motlonless efhgtes also perform mis-
sion. One is to illustrate how miner or a
sewer d1gger may work surrounded by nox-
ious ana even asphyxiating gases and yet
breathe fresh, pure air There is a helmet.
which Is alright, and out of which leads
a pipe to an air pump above. On the faces
or other images are spectacles resembling
the goggles OF the automobilist. These are
designed especially for amotormen of street
cars, or stonecutters or p1asterers, whose eyes
are In danger of being blinded by dust or
powdered stone. Sorlts of the figures wear
ball players and these IRE to show how
the chemist or the srnefterf may protect his
lungs against corrodiqs YaRors.
reb10 BIZ
Cotton Test lnt4iberia.
From the New York Evening Post
In the return of nine W9ebegone negroes
from an unsuccessful attempt to grow cot