Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-11-25
LIVES LOST IN INDUSTRIES
Workshop Accidents more Deadly Than
Modern Wars
MOVE FOR GREATER LIFE PROTECTION
Railroad Casualties But Small
Proportion of the Mortality
Record of the Indus
trial World.

Taking the lowest OF our three estimates
Of industrial accidents, the total number
Of casualties suffered by our Industrial
army in one year IS equal to the average
annual casualties of our civil war, plus
those Of the Philippine war, plus those
Of the Russian and Japanese war.
Thing OF our carrying on three such
wars at the same time world without
end,'
This is the rather startling way in which
DR. Josiah Strong, president of the Amer
lean Institute Of Social Service, emphasizes
the fearful sacrifice of life to our indus
trial juggeTnaut'
The comparison between the loss OF life
in the industries and in war fails, of
course, at one point War is altogether
destructive, while the industries give some
thing in return for lives taken.
Dr. Strong at the outset OF his article
in the North American Review calls at
tention to the fact that while the railroad
casualties attract great deal of atten-
ton, they are only small proportion Of
the casualties that take place in the in
dustrial world.
1T is important to gain some idea Of
the great numbers who are annually sac
rhced by accidents in our American in
dustries" says DR.. Strong. LAS compared
with European governments, our state
legislatures have generally been strangely
Indifferent TO the whole subject. The laws
of only eleven of our states require the
reporting of accidents in factories and a
careful examination reveals but a single
state whose laws require the reporting OF
accidents in all industries"
Record of a Year.
Working. however, from data derived
from widely divergent sources, Or. Strong
shows the minimum number Of industrial
accidents in this country in a year must
be considerably more than 10000.
when in all history" no asks, have
two great armies been able to inhict on
each other a total Of $4,000 casualties in a
single year? This is 90 per cent more than
all the killed and wounded in the late war
4 between Japan and Russia.
There are more casualties on our rail-
ways in a single year than there were on
both sides Of the Boer war in three years.
Last year. on our railways, we killed
as many every thirty-seven days and
wounded as many every twelve days as
i all our killed and wounded in the 1851 en-
gagements of the Philippine war. Or, in
other words, there were twenty-four times
as many casualties on our railways in
4 one year as our army suffered in the Phil
| pplne war in three years and three
months.
| AT that rate We might have continued
the war for seventy-eight years before
equaling the record of our railways in a
I twelve month And we must not forget
that less than one-fifth Of the losses OF
our Industrial army are suffered on our
railways. That is to say, We might carry
! on a half dozen Philippine wars for three
quarters of century with no larger num-
Der OF total casualties than take place
yearly in our peaceful industries.
I'VE are waging a perpetual war on hui
mainly" says Dr. Strong land one which
: is apparently growing boodier from year
20 year"