The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-11-14
The Death Roll

many head Of live stock have been
killed in the United States. but We
know almost nothing of the death roll
OF human life through accidents in in
dustry. In other words, We have lost
our sense OF proportion concerning the
value of human life. Through the wear
and tear OF industry. one life is sac
rificed every minute to industrial prog
ress. The cost of production has been
reduced to a science. yet the economic
loss entailed through the manning and
| killing of the wage-earner has been en-
tirely lost sight of.
England. Germany, France and Swift
zerland keep perfect records of the
awful loss sustained by wage earners
through accidents in industry The
United States, on the other hand, has
made scarcely any effort in this direc-
ton. Massachusetts, and New York
are the only states that have made any
progress in gathering statistics Of ac-
cidents in industry. Pennsylvania has
investigated the losses in the coal
/ fields and Illinois is now engaged in
the same work. The interstate COM
merce commission knows how many
lives are lost on railroads each year,
but, on the contrary, we have no rec
ords of how many lives are sacrificed
In the manufacture OF the rolling stock
of the railways.
Some years ago an estimate was
made of the number of accidents occur
ring each year in Germany. The first
investigation showed three times the
estimated number and, when complet-
ed, the actual number was six times
greater than the original estimate. In
France. where accurate records are
kept, it has been found that 222.124
workers were either killed or injured.
exclusive of mining and railroading.
With population less than one-half
OF our own and with laws admittedly
quite perfect, it is easy to see that
twice this number, or 444,24S, would
be a just estimate Of such accidents
in our own country, where our laws
are VIGOROUSLY inadequate.
From statistics compiled by the
American Institute of Social Service,
gathered from every available source
in our own country, 1t has been found
that 536.165 are annually killed and
injured in the United States, or over
one minute. These figures cover five
great ndustries-railroading mining,
building. manufacturing and agricu!-
ture.
For the year ended June so. 1904,
the interstate commerce commission
reports that S4,155 persons were in
jured and l0,046 killed. When you
board a train the thought may flash
through your mind as to the chance
you run OF being killed on the jour-
risk to the passenger is one in q mil
lion. but the man little further ahead
in the mail car is a 1-to20 shot The
man at the throttle stands one chance
in nine OF being injured and one in
40 OF being killed. The risk among
the yardmen is quite as great. Last
year 5000 of these were sacrificed
alone. No account is taken of the &C.
cldents in the carshops and engine
works.
OF the thirty-odd states carrying on
mining operations. only fifteen make
any attempt at keeping record of ac-
cidents and loss of life. Peter Rob-
erts has found that the average miner
is struck down when 1913 years of
age. He is removed in the prime of
life, when his family and the commun-
ity most need his services. For 1904
fifteen states reported that 1905 men
had been killed and 4,OS1 injured in
the mines. This total Of 1886 is cred
tied as quite correct by John Mitchell.
The latter also estimates, on the same
basis, that the loss in killed and
wounded in the other states would be
at least 5000. Including the lives laid
down in gold, silver. copper, iron and
lead mining, conservative estimate of
the annual loss of life would be II, 1856
in this field of industry.
The two industries, railroading and
mining, are the only ones covered by
reliable statistics in the United States.
New York state anole "a significant
comment in itself has reported acct
dents in factories for some years.
From these Investigations and from
the French statistics quoted above, it
Is conservatively estimated that 444,-
24S workers are yearly sacrificed in
building and factory operations.
In one factory in New York city re-
Gently seven men lost their hands in
two weeks by reason of defective ma
chiMery. In another-a brass factory
nine men lost from two fingers to the
whole hand from the same cause. In
the construction of the Manhattan
tunnels the price in blood per day is
one human life. In every one OF these
cases the accidents could have been
prevented by the installation of a SIM
pie safety device. AS result of this
lack OF protection, the mutilated men,
all with families, were discharged as
useless and, in five out of ten cases,
these families within three months be-
came public charges. Employers fail
to see the necessity of protecting their
men, but at the same time they forget
that they help to pay in taxes for the
support of these very employees who
have been sacrificed
OF all industries less is known as to
the loss of life in building operations
than in any other. The reports al
ready quoted respecting factories. and
admittedly the most complete in the
United States, give the total of injured
and killed in New York for one year
in building is 81. When 1t is known
that One-half this number are some
times killed in New York city alone in
one day it can be readily seen how
wide Of the mark these figures are.
From a record Of 612 cases of accidents
recently clipped from newspapers in
one month it is found that 1872 were in
some branch of the building trades
nearly 30 per cent. If this ratio we're
carried out for the United States 1t
would mean something like 225, 900 an
nually incapacitated by accidents in
building operations.
The simple life of the agriculturist
is not ordinarily considered danger
| nns 0no h,rt with tho int ~