The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1907-08-01

In the same period in the United
States alone the great army of Ameri-
can laborers engaged in manufacture
ing and building operations suffered a
loss of 425,OOO killed and injured; o.
600 more lives were sacrificed to in
dustrial progress in one year than dur
ing the greatest conflict of recent
times.
Statistics of the interstate COM
merce' commission show that S4,115
people were injured and 1O,046 killed
on the railroads during the year end
ing June 80, 1904. Sufficient data has
been accumulated by the United
States government and other re-
sponsible authorities to show that at
least 5,1OO men are annually killed or
injured in anthracite mining alone,
and 425,OOO in factory and building op-
erations, making the grand total ap-
proXimately $4,000.
Total Death Roll Greater.
These estimates are conservative.
If the exact number of accidents was
known this total would be greatly in
creased.
In converting facts into figures Mr..
Clarence Marx, who, with other re-
sponsible investigators, has given sew
eral years of study to the relation of
crippled and unemployed persons to
industry, presents startling array.
OF the $4,000 workers mentioned Is
per cent, or 445,OOO to struggle
per cent. only are killed, leaving IS
against their handicaps Estimating
that at least SO per cent. or $4,000 of
these are able to earn 1925 each an
nually, which is SO per cent. of the
annual average earnings of able
bodied artisans, we have total of
$49, ,950,000. This is the loss in earn
ing power.
Safely assuming that these persons
would create twice as much wealth as
they earn we would have loss in
production of approximately $780,
100000 annually.
I But this is only half the truth. If
these $4,000 wage eaEners are not re-
established they must sooner or later
be supported by the state 1t is also
evident that the other $4,000 who are
totally disabled will also become a
burden on the taxpayers.
Poor relief statistics show that 1t
costs $4,000 to support pauper dur
ing hie natural life time To be con-
servative again, let us estimate this
cost at $4,000, to make allowance for
those who may be supported by rela-
tives and friends, or who may become
partially self-supporting. Since under
our present system the partially dis
abled are not reestablished, the total
number, minus a small percentage,
must be supported at public expense.
To do this COSTS approximately two
and one-half billion dollars. In other
words, we contract each year to meet
debt of two and a half billion dol
lars within the lifetime of the persons
thus injured. .&
Figures That stagger.
These are staggering figures, but
they are only forecast of what we
may expect if this wasteful destruc-
tion of life and limb continues.
In New York state, according to the
estimate of the state labor commits
sioner in 1906, Al workers in every
1000 are incapacitated in the course
of the years work. That means, for
instance, that at least 10000 purely in.
dustrial accidents occur in New York
city alone every year. The ratio of
injured and uninjured is not as high
in some other parts of the country, or
the total number of accidents in the
United States would be over 100000
annually.
/ In one section of New York city,
the Borough Of Manhattan, there were
last year 2,160 deaths by violence; as,
tonishing as it may seem nearly one
third Of these deaths, or 684, were
caused by falls, explosions, caving' in
of earth, premature blasts and falling
rock. The river tunnels were con
structed at the cost of 68 lives, 43 in
the, Pennsylvania terminal works, 2C
in the Belmont tunnel, two in the sub
way borings and three in the Hudson
companies terminal.