The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-11-25

FROM the Boston Globe.
n HE regular reports by the inter-
Wy state commerce commission of
accidents ON railways have led
the public to overlook the important fact
that a much larger number of accidents
occur in the manufacturing and build
ing industries than on the great steel
roads of the country.
This ignorance of the multitude of ac-
cidents that occur to workmen in Amer
lean industries is excusable, for the rea-
son that there never has been much au-
thentic data gathered concerning the SUBJ
ject. The general public scarcely ever
hears of the many industrial accidents"
so called, that happen in mines, on high
buildings, on vessels, in mills, factories,
ETC. There is no complete compilation
of these casualties printed, although ac-
cident insurance companies keep a full
record of those which necessitate the
payment of money indemnities by the in
sured.
There always has been much specula-
ton as to- the number of casualties an
nually among the American industries,
OdiSi0S VI anu d WIlIeT IN
the North American Review has procured
some comparative data which are decid-
eddy interesting and worthy of considera-
ton by legislative bodies in every state
This writer finds that there were in
France during the year 1904 no less than
2l2,755 Industrial accidents, not including
those in mines and on railroads. Consid-
ering that our population is twice that
of the French and that we are more
careless of life and limb, he thinks there
can be little doubt that in a single year
we have at least 4250o0 industrial acct
dents, not including railway and mining
casualties
Similar results are obtained, it is
claimed, by entirely different data. The
records of one of the great casualty COM
panies of the United States show that,
under policies issued on a wage expendi-
ture of 81, 905, 1893 as basis. there were
reported 1s50Ss accidents. This insurance
was placed on workmen engaged In what
the census designates as manufacturing
and mechanical pursuits" To quote the
writer:
Assuming $500 to be the average annual
earnings of such workmen, many of whom
are highly skilled, the above mentioned
wage expenditure represents the employ
ment of 3,S11 $50 persons for one year.
which indicates that in such industries
one person in 20.59 is injured annually
or IS. 56 out of every 1000. At this rate,
the 7.0S5992 persons engaged in these in
dustries in 1900 suffered 344,096 accidents
There We're in that year about 100000
persons in the United States who were
engaged in gainful occupations other than
manufacturing and mechanical. We do
not know how many accidents occur in
these industries, except railroading; but,
only one-fifth as dangerous as the man.
ufacturing and mechanical pursuits, they
furnished in 1900 100000 casualties, which
would make total of $4,000 industrial
accidents in that census year."
1t is also pointed out that Wisconsin,
under a law requiring physicians to re-
port every accident which incapacitates
its victim for a period of at least two
weeks. will have soon a 12-months' record
of from 1900 to 10000 accidents. At the
same rate-15, OO0--in a single year, there
would be no less than 542,o 900 in the United
States.
People have "a great horror of war, but
the continual loss of life and money
from industrial accidents, far exceeding
the cost of wars. has escaped their OBJ
servation. There has been too much
apathy concerning this matter. and the
United States would do we'll to catch up
with European countries in projecting