New-York tribune., 1908-06-08
MUSEUM OF SAFETY DEVICES.
Permanent Exhibit of Means Of Preventing
Death and Injury Advocated.
the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: II is gratifying to see The Tribune this morn
ing paying deserved attention the exhibit of the
American Museum of Safety Devices and Industrial
Hygiene at No 231 seth street If we are really
learning comprehend more rightly the lnteroe-
pendence of employer and employe upon each other
and the value of an Industrial asset 10
the community, this important exhibit should re-
ceve much earnest attention Capital is inanimate'
but labor is animate and means heart and muscle
and brain. with whole mans or woman's wei1are
behind 1t, and all these can be largely affected oy
the use neglect of these wisely designed NE
saving devices.
While visiting this remarkable museum 1 noted
particularly the following devices: There was A
quadrant davit by which two men can lower ire
beat filed with people from a vessels deck IN one
minute Safety lamps. 81 fire automatic detector
for houses and vessels freproof sprinklers ana
doors and portable fire escape ladders
Here are cunningly devised guards which in ma
chimes whose saws and knives make thousands OF
revolutions a minute permit the workman's hahus
to push his work rapidly without danger. while not
interfering with but rather acceleratng the output
As presses and punches very prolific sources
OF peril in cutting off fingers here. there is shown
press with arm which operates automatically at
right angles to the descending press, knocks away
the operators hand and saves the hand from
injury. Here patent respiratory and face guards
preventing minors and workers in factories from
inhaIing poisonous dusts and gases and safety ele-
vators rail Joints automatic gate crossings, life
buoys and coIlapsible ifeboats, safety hatchets.
safety clothes lines and life guns.
But striking example Of the truth OF the
proverb, Necessity is the mother Of invention, IS
shown In the exhibit of signal system for rail-
ways, which is intended to prevent collisions and
all derailments due excessive speed. broken rails
or open switches. Fully to understand the full i'm
port of this invention, few facts regarding rail-
ways necessary.
In the railways of the United States three times
as many people killed per thousand who
travel and five times many injured. as in
England. This ratio is true OF nearly all
other countries, thus making railway travel in
the United States five times dangerous as any
where else in the world.
Why?
Owing to the dense population of Europe the
revenue per mile of road is much larger than In
our country thus permitting larger expenditure
for the safety and comfort of travellers. In Eng
land where good be had at comparatively
low wages, they place at practically every
corner to safeguard train movements, and
another by his side to that he makes no mis-
takes.
Such system great mileage would bank
rupt our railroads. This invention provides
for the automatic recording in the dispatcher's
office of the location of trains they advance
along the track and places in the hands OF the
dispatcher the power to signal direct to the eng-
neers of the various trains. in their cabs. while
the trains are in motion. The engineer and dis
patcher are directly connected by telephone
A
will give the oncOming train danger signal
automatically. II the engineer fails 10 obey a
signal to stop, the airbrakes automatically
applied and the train is brought to a standstlH
This one man. the dispatcher by using an electric
device which does the bulk of the work can take
care of one hundred miles of road. eliminating
the necessity any telegraph operators along the
road.
This signal system has passed the experimental
stage as a section of several miles on the Santa
Fe road in California IS being thus successfully
operated every day Any road, even the poorest
can afford to IT. II can be Installed and
maintained for less yearly than the rail-
roads now pay to maintain their present tele-
graph train order system
The object of this whole humanitarian exhiblt
is to call the attention Of the public 10 the need
for a permanent museum of safety and industrial
hygiene Berlin Paris, Vienna. Milan. Stockholm
Zurich Moscow and Munich all have such nu-
seums and when the plan has been approved. as
believe il will be. by board of underwriters
the Health and Fire departments and the Mer-
chants Association. trust the municipal govern
ment will take the matter in hand and make this
exhibit a permanent institution
JOSIAH c. PUMPELLY.
York