Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-07-31
LABOR'S DEATH ROLL
Nearly Half of Pittsburg's Nor
tally Due to Accident.
LIFE THE PRICE OF INDUSTRY
Official Records of the Coroner of Al.
lesheny County Show the Awful Toll
ESaosod by Mill, Mine and Furnace.
Railroads Add to the Slaughter.

loeheny County Show the Awful Toll
E~aosod by Mill, Mine and Furnace.
Railroads Add to the Slaughter.
only those who study the statistics
OF corohers' Offices hayr any concep-
ZION ot the terrible price In flesh and
piooi this country has been for years
paying and is still paying to gain "in-
dustrial supremacy" And even such
statistics do not furnish Il complete
record Tor the reason that many cusu-
altics III large manufacturing cstab-
lishncnts are flushed up and never
reach the notice of the civil authorities.
Hut the Information obtainablc from
reliable sources Is sufficient TO stag
ger the scnsibilltics of MI who hold
human life MS one Of the cnrth's most
valuable possessions. writes Joseph II.
buchanan In the New York Journal.
When the story Is heard ON, il prone
to ask If. after all, progress. which
costs so much, Is Il good Investment
Tor the human race
Under the laws of PENNSYLVANIA tho
various coroncrs In the state are re-
qucstcd to compile records of the
their respective jurisdictions. setting
forth the details I'm each case. 4 cor
respondent has just been looking over
tho records In the Office OF the coroner
of Allegheny county, which he says
should bear the inscription. "IIunnn
lives sacrificed upon the altar of in
dustry." This record Is volume
which mutely proclaims what 1t costs
besides money for Pittsburg and It's
district to maintain the title of work
shop of the world"
1t shows that nearly 90 per cent of
the deaths In Allegheny county are
violent and are the result. directly
and indirectly. OF the rush and grind
of the manufactures OF the district.
The deaths resulting from accidents
In the mills. mines and railroads of
Plttsburg In 1906 reported by the cor
oncr were 01o.
Some of .he victims were burned by
molten metal blast furnace burst or
huge lndlc was upset In the steel
mills; others were caught IN the rollers
In plate mill ana some crushed In the
machinery Of the rail mills
Many were killed IN mIncs by falling
slate. some 10y gas explosions and
Others by falls from dcrriclis. scnfYolds
and like structures. Not fcw met
their death while working about the
numerous electric crancs-those huge
mechanical arms that with almost hu-
man precision pick up massive pieces
OF structural steel about the plants
and place item wherever may be indi-
Gated NJ the simple moving of lever.
For the FIRST i've months of the pres
cnt year there were l,O9l deaths. 3i4
OF which may he clnsscd MS "sacri-
fees" For the same period in the pre-
ccding year there were 1918 deaths. OF
which $50 may be put IN the same
category.
Comparing the loss of life by the ac.
cidcnts with the tonnage and produc-
tion OF the pittsburg district, one life
las paid for every 10000 tons of coal
shipped. and the annual shipment Is
about 50.00o00O tons. For every $500
cars that carry freight out Of or into
Pittsburg u life IS lost This is cxclu-
sive OF cars that are carrying freight
through to other points. Every 1000
tons OF the 100000 tons annual pro
duction of iron ana steel has been put
out Mt the cost of the life of one OF the
mnnipulators somewhere in Its manu-
facturc. and OF the 100000 tons annual
output Of steel rails every $40 tons hu,,
been put upon the market only after
some one of its producers has been
killed.
II the statistics were obtalnnble 1t
might be shown that Plttsburg does
not cynct n higher comparative sacri.
flee of life In the mad rush than many
other Industrial ccnters.
The pncking district of Chicago, the
sugar rciineries OF Brooklyn and the
building Industry of New York and
other cities of skyscraplng structures
could furnish a record that would rival
the Workshop Of the world In the
race for industrial and commercial SUI
prcmacy.