The Elbert County tribune., 1907-08-01
OUer Half q Million Men and Women
Annually Are Killed or Injured in
the United States While Engaged
in Productive Labor--- Enormous
Sum Needed to Support Those In
copocitated.

L
| sponsible authorities to show that at
least 5,100 men are annually killed or
injured in anthracite mining alone.
and 425.Oo0 in factory and building OPP
erauons, making the grand total ap-
proximetely $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 525. 900 workers mentioned Is
per cent, or 445,OOO to struggl.
per cent. only are killed, leaving S5
against their handicaps. Estimating
that at least so per cent. or 1921 900 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 a total of
S4s,950,O00. 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 a loss in
production of approximately $780,
00O,0 900 annually.
But this is only half the truth. If
these 222.000 wage earners are not re-
established they must sooner or later
be supported by the state. 1t is also
evident that the other 222, 900 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 his 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 reestabished, 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
a debt of two and a half billion dol
lars within the lifetime of the persons
thus injured.
Figures That Staaaer.
These are staggering figures, but
they are only forecast of what we
may expect il this wasteful destruc-
ton of life and limb continues.
In New York state. according to the
estimate of the state labor commits
Sf0 in, A
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 800 900
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 6S4, were
caused by falls, explosions, caving in
of earth. premature blasts and falling
rock. The river tunnels were con-
structed at the cost of 6S lives. AZ in
the Pennsylvania terminal works, 20
in the Belmont tunnel, two in the sub
way borings and three in the Hudson
companies terminal.
In the huge, smoky workshop called
Pittsburg, one human life is sacrificed
for every $4,000 tons of coal that are
shipped out of the city. For each
1900 tons of steel products one of the
manipulators. somewhere in the pro-
cess of manufacture, lays down his
life; and for each 10000 tons of steel
rails another laborer makes the last
sacrifice.
OF the 1850 deaths reported in
Pittsburg in 1906, 919 were due to ac-
cidents in mills, mines and on rail-
roads. The number of accidents was
not computed. but it was undoubtedly
in the thousands.
Causes of Fatalities.
How does 1t all happen, you ask? II
huge ladle of white hot steel is up
set. the molten stream burns alive its
writhing victim. 1t may be that a
man or woman is whirled to a horrible
death In mill machinery; or a miner
is blown to eternity in an explosion
of damp in a mine.
Publicity is given to accidents on
railroads, but little is heard of the
thousands annually killed and manned
In manufacturing and building end IN