Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-07-09
DEATH LURES OF WORKMEN
Human Life Tar Paid by TrOgres to the
Grim Reaper.
PERnous TASKS SET BEFORE ToltRs
skyscrapers and Tunnels Exact "a
Huge ToIl-BridEe work Fatal
ities-RavaEes of Panama
Canal Fevers.
pIRnous TASKS SET BEFORE ToltRs

That is the third light lost tonight"
Two women. whose apartments were
about a half mile from the Eiffel tower,
were sitting at their window, where they
seated themselves every night during the
early summer of 1855 when work was be-
ing rushed on NJ. Eiffels daring project
The great steel tower was to be completed
N good season for the exposition, which
was to be opened the following spring
Nothing like It had ever been seen-a
giant Of steel trusses. lattices aud arches
rising to a height of 800 meters. There
we've some who said the scheme was i'm
possible Of realization. But the engineer
was determined. The tower would not
only be finished. but the elevators would
he running to the top when the gates OF
the exposition were thrown open. To do
this In the short time allowed-only three
years elapsed between the acceptance Of
the design and the completion Of the work
lit was necessary to put on night forces
of workmen.
Night after night the two women took
their station at their window and watched
the lanterns moving about the high struc-
ture, "twinkling" or pusating like fire.
flies Across the Seine came the feeble
humining OF the riveters hammers. And
the women were entertained The monot-
ony of the fairy scene was broken occa-
Eionally by the fail Of a lantern; the women
were charmed. The falling lantern added
drop of excitement to their modest
pleasure. Some nights no lantern was OBJ
served to fall, and those evenings the
quiet spectators retired TO rest feeling dis
appointed.
Such Innocent Treat.
other evenings their patience was re-
warded by seeing one, two, even three
lanterns seek the earth by gravity They
counted them. compared notes and smiled
with satisfaction 1t was ssuch an inno-
cent treat. The lanterns did not cost
above Pa francs and the sight of their
spasmodic dropping was highly spectac-
Olar.
Ono evening while they were engaged
watching the flight Of meteors from the
Eiftel tower" as they called it, a physi-
clan, a friend OF the pair. called. They
had just counted the third lantern OBJ
served to drop that night. They were
willing to keep secret the source Of their
nightly enjoyment and informed their Wis
itor how they spent their time at their
| window.
Three, you say!' he replied in a voice
OF pity. us it posslble!"
You alarm u.s. cried one OF the women.
IL am sure there were three
| Pausing moment as II desiring TO pre-
pare the ground for his revelation, the
visitor then spoke. Did you know" he
asked calmly, that there is a man tied
to each lantern? Every workman wears
a belt around his waist To this is at
tached a lamp so that the latter may not
accidentally fall upon those working below.
Ny dear ladies. it is not the loss of a
| -
made your evenings amusing. Tonight, for
instance, you have seen three souls enter
| eternity"
The women shuddered. and every evening
thereafter they carefully drew the curtains
of their window, so that the flight of
meteors" might pass unobserved.
The Martyrs of Peace.
No wonder they shuddered; the tax prog
ress pays to death is enough to make any
thinking person uneasy The cost in human
lives of the wonders of modern civilization
has never been compiled. The totals would
be too appalling. and the world counts the
cost in dollars, for money is the medium of
exchange. There is something benumbing
to the senses in the thought that every
| skyscraper is a monument to some unfortu-
nate workman who has given his life that
It might be built. There are martyrs of
peace No grateful country remembers
them; in fact. no extraordinary efforts are
made to have their deaths recorded. Those
who are killed in battle are heroes. Those
who give their lives in building a bridge,
a tunnel, a railroad or a twenty-story build
ing the victims of progress, which.
like greedy giant, never fails to levy toll.
1t lie a singular fact that no attempt has
been made TO give the statistics of acct
dents, fatal and otherwise, which have &C.
CURED during the construction of some
great engineering work. Dimensions OF
buildings or other structures are given with
much completeness. The time occupied In
the construction and the cost in dollars are
available so far as the majority of the
engineering marvels OF modern times are
concerned The cost in human life is sell
dom referred to- Occasionally the fearful
slaughter is limited at in an epigram, which
tears away the veil for an instant
Many efforts are made TO prevent the
awful loss of life which accompanies every
huge engineering work. The generous ex-
penditure OF money and the employment OF
scientific devices and Of such helps as the
latest Ideals in sanitation and hygiene sug
gest have had their effect. But the engin.
GERS grow more daring. sometimes toe
much reliance is placed upon the assist
dnce new appliances ana fnetnOoS may give
The engineers of the Simplon tunnel, just
opened by the king OF Italy, have been
cheered by the fact that only eleven
deaths occurred in the works" The simp-
lon Is more than eleven miles long, and
required seven years TO drill The railroad
tunnels in New York, little more than a
mile I'm length. have lost more than that
number Of men in an afternoon.
Sacrifices In the Tunnel.
The statement OF the engineers OF the
simplon tunnel that only eleven men were
killed in the works, while It undoubtedly
is truthful. fails TO take into consideration
the numbers Of workmen who contracted
miners phthisis during the first year the
work was progressing. The contractors
used every device TO preserve life thai
seemed to promise success. yet many OF
the workmen fell III. The Blandt drill was
substituted, and as this suppressed dust
the dreadful disease peculiar to men who
delvs in the bowels of the earth was lie
duced TO an inconsiderable quantity How
many workmen returned 70 their homes
in Italy, Switzerland and France only tc
waste away with the dread consumption
? contracted in the tunnels, will never be
known.
II may be remembered that IN boring
? this tunnel-the longest in the world-th'