New-York tribune., 1907-09-01
MAKING CITY SAFE.
Tests for Employees on Whom Pubic
Depends for Safety.

Fully fftv persons are injured or killed each
day in New York it Is estimated, as the result
of carelessness on the part of employers IN
choosing their workmen. Reckless driving IN
the street. bad management of cars disregard
of precautions by chauffeurs and ignorance IN
handling elevators are responsible for the ma
jority of these accidents. though blasting, unpro-
tected street openings and crossed electric wires
also claim their share of ambulance calls
OF late elevator accidents have had a high
percentage in the City of Skyscrapers, and the
public is beginning to realize that the man who
an elevator in q twenty or thirty story
building in the rush hours must be physlcaily
fit. In one skyscraper alone nearly sixty thou
sand persons are carried in the elevators on an
average day
One of the coroners who investigated q num-
ber of elevator tumbles gave as his verdict that
they were due for the most part to the ignorance
of the elevator operators. who. In time OF erner-
gency. could not think quickly. and when they
did think didn't know what to do This coroner
has announced that he will try to get passed
state law which shall prohibit any enc from
running an elevator until he has passed an ex-
animation and secured a state license as elevator
operator which testiffes to his mental and phys
icaI qualifications for being trusted with the
safety of a carload of persons.
Other people are beginning TO demand that the
handling of trolley driving OF horses ana
the use of high explosives shall be limited TO
men who are intelligent enough and have good
enough eyesight to carry their work without
danger to the people the streets The matter
of high explosives is particularly important in
Manhattan. with its rocky backbone, out OF
which foundation space for the tall buildings mas
to be blasted with dynamite.
The most recent movement for protection OF
the nublic through the examination into the
fitness of employees is that among owners OF
automobiles and those who operate schools Tor
training chauneurs. The large number OF auto
mobile accidents has started car owners thihk-
ing as in many instances such accidents nave
nro,-ed TO be very costly. even If the owner
escaped the remorse Of having manned or killed
a fellow human being. Investigation OF many
of these accidents established that they were
attributabIe not 20 carelessness. but to some
physical shortcoming. such as short slghtedheS7
or other eve defect on the part of the man at
the steering wheel
As A result many OF the wealthier car own
ers are convinced that it is extremely hazardous
to employ a chauffeur whose eyesight Is not
nerfcct. and who in addition. Is not in such
good phvsicaI condition that he Is in no danger
~ collaDsing suddenly from heart failure iii
time Of emergency.
The idea of a physical test for a driver-at
least as far as eyesight is concerned-is gam
ing hearty support from automobilists who are
returning from tours IN Germany In that
country many of the leaders OF the medical
profession and a number of prominent govern
,,ent officers are advocating the requirement or
4 thorough eye test as preliminary to the IS
e,,ance OF n chauffeurs license by the govern
ment They point out that such an examination
is reauired of railway operatives. and that
raad TO read
ored signals, accuracy of eyesight is just as inn
1ortant to pilot a car through a crowded street
among pedestrians it Is to train over
= fixed track which is not a promenade.
No official action 10 the chauffeurs has yet
been discussed in America, but many individual
owners for their own protection are having
their own physicians pass upon applicants As
a consequence, chauffeurs are beginning to
realize that physical certificate. well as one
testifying TO mechanical skill. is valuable as
set.
In order to meet this demand of owners. the
largest school in the world for the instruction
Of chauffeurs and motorists. conducted by the
West Side Young Mems Christian Association
of this city has made arrangements to give
complete physical examination to sight. hear
ing lungs and heart, to its students. beginning
with the fall term, which opens September
+ The school Will issue, to those who pass the
test, certificate, signed by the physical d.
rector, reading follows:
This is to certify that - has passed
a satisfactory test for sight. hearing and other
senses; that he is sound physically. and is free
from any nervous disorder that would unfit him
for the Office Of chauffeIr'
While no student who objects need take the
physical examination. and this will have no di-
rect connection with the proper work of the
school It Is believed that the men who
show their physical certificates will be most in
demand AS the Young Mems Christian Asso-
citation automobile school had SIT students last
year. 1t will be interesting to see how many of
the men will take the tests and what proportion
viii pass. Many owners contend that in issuing
this certificate result of optional examna-
tion the school Is only anticipating by a few
years condition which will be required by the
employers of chauffeurs and possibly by the
state for all motor operators.