The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-05-22
Effort Will Be Made to Safeguard
Lives of Workers in actories
An Conducted Boston Scientists
to Res in Effective Some of the
Dang heir Cause sandth

! to reducing the unnecessarily high death
rate in long list OF industries. The sug-
gestion emanateS naturally enough from
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
which has been so closely associated with
the State Board of Health in the study OF
sewage disposal and other branches or
sanitation. And il is also an indication or
the present-day relations between great
technical schools and their communities
no longer sequestration. as when the insti-
tutions were regarded as little else than
training shops. but. since they have de-
veloped the best features of a university
spirit, broad cooperation and public use
fulness.
DANGER TO HEALTH
That very many trades and occupations
have some specific danger to health has
! been shown by the mortality tables of vari-
Gus European countries On this side Of
the water unfortunately. the question has
never been satisfactorily investigated.
though in the 1903 bulletin of the United
, States Bureau of Labor one may find
| figures according to which the average
life of the factory worker in Massachusetts,
| is only 1858 years compared with 65.3
years as the average life of a Massachu-
| sets farmer. The cause of this startling
! disparity lies altogether in the different
occupations; in other words. the farmers
! life is the safest and most heaIthful. while
| less in varying degrees.
Trades In which there is the greatest
liability to accident play the most obvi-
Gus part in making these mortality tables.
| but there are many occupations in which,
| although there is practically nothing to
| be feared from sudden accident there is.
nevertheless, serious and usually pre-
ventable tax the vitality of the worker.
| And this danger lies often in the excessive
hn lafn lQ1 nil f.1. 81
steel, stone, cloth or miscellaneous what
not, and constantly taken into the lungs
| of operatives. In England, where the mat
| ter has been carefully investigated, over
thirty-eight varieties of injurious dust have
been cited and ii has been shown that in
nineteen different dusty industries the
death rate from tuberculosis and other
| diseases OF the respiratory organs is more
| than that of farmers. Such Investigations
| have practically compelled legislative
ton abroad that has greatly improved con-
ditlons and is looking toward even greater
| Improvement. Dust in fact, has been
found the most assiduous foe of the work
| mans health, though, Of course, tempera-
| ture and moisture are important, and
again often remediable, factors in making
certain employments unnecessarily I'M
healthful. Another series of internal dis
| orders arise from the chemicals handled i'm
| making many commodities, lead poisoning
and mercury poisoning being common ex-
/ Finally there are the diseases, such as
anthrax that may be taken" by a work
man handling some trade material that has
/ not been thoroughly disinfected.
| These unfortunate and dangerous condi-
| tons, according to the institute authori-
| ties, are not yet so prevalent in this coun-
| try as they were in the old world. when
/ their existence forced itself upon public
attention and compelled remedial legiSa-
| ton. They are, however, all too prevalent,
| and likely to become more so unless facts
| are squarely faced and both lawmakers and
| sanitarianS devote themselves 10 n thor
| ough investigation of each trade and oc-
ton xtrffh anfVa a1a-
| ment of danger TO the lowest possible limit.
| Dust, for example. can in most cases be
| removed by properly arranged ventilation
| no excessive amount of dust is produced.
| Temperature and humidity of manufacture
| ing plants can be regulated-provided such
| regulation is Systematically enforced; and
| the dangers that arise In operations re-
| quiring the of poisonous gases are
| equally amenable TO preventive treatment.
WHAT INVESTIGATION SHOWS
In Massachusetts alone the 1900 census
shows 1900 persons employed in trades
| shown by Investigations in other countries
to be more or less prejudcial to health un-
! less conducted under special precautions.
Judging from analogy" Mr. c. +. A.
| Winslow, of the institute, said recently in
| bringing the question before the Massa-
chusetts Association OF Boards of Health,
lit seems probable that the unregulated
conduct of these industries and certain
others is causing constant drain upon
| the health of the community; and in spite
of the absence of good vital statistics or
scientific factory inspection specific in
stances every now and then attract notice"
In one town. for example. there is an
| axe factory that has been responsible for
many years for the disease called grind
er's consumption so-called because pro-
4 Nv he ,1,,1, - tone
| from a grindstone which has in that time
| practically destroyed three sets of work
men: Forty years ago. according TO
| resident physician, the grinders were main
| ly Americans who worked eighteen TO
twenty years before being Frustrated by
the slow process OF the disease; THESE
were followed by French Canadians whose
working period averaged about a dozen
years. and these in turn by F1nnns and
Polanders, whose vitality apparently rs az
fected even more quickly. From 1871 10 1873
the death rate from consumption for the
whole state OF Massachusetts was 20. While
in this one town IL was 81 And In the
| particular factory I'm which chance dis
| covery of unhealthful conditions now
| seems likely TO produce new regulating
law. conditions were such that the OBJ
servers declare IL possible to judge from
the appearance Of persons leaving the
works the particular room-for there we're
several degrees of unnecessary unhealth-
| fulness under the same roof-in which each
was obliged TO exist during working
| hcar:.
| Mr.. N1nSlOw mas brought together many
| similar cases which. while he admits them
to be isolated instances. sufficiently
striking, when combined with the few
statistics available, 10 point the immediate
| need OF better statistical knowledge OF the
| relations between our American industries
| and the workmen who are employed In
them The time Is distinctly opportune
for raising the question. for the Massachu-
| sets state census of 1905 could easily fur
nish the machinery for collecting statistic )
that would be valuable not only here but
| to practically every state In the Union,
| and Senator A j. Peters has recently
| reported from a special joint committee
on relations between employers and en-
ployes a resolution directing further IN
vestigations by the State Board OF Health.
. The movement, therefore, has taken den-
| mite form and its future progress will Ger.
| tainly be watched with interest.