The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1908-12-19
Census Reports Shows American
Workmen Subject to High
Accident Liability.
IRON AND STEEL WORKERS
ARE THE MOST EXPOSED
Over Thirty Thousand Wage
Farmers Killed in Course
of A Year.

discussed in Bulletin No. 7S of the
Bureau Of Labor, Department of Com
mercc and Labor, by Frederic L. Hoff-
man.
The Importance Of this subject is at
once apparent when it is considered
that between 10000 and $4,000 work
men lose their lives in accidents in
the course of their employment in this
country during a year.
Death Due to Accident.
BY means Of statistics from official
sources and from insurance expert
ence, Mr.. Hoffman clearly shows the
high accident liability to which Amer
lean workmen are subject. Census re-
ports covering the years 1900 to 1906
show that out Of over 100000 deaths
of males, more than 9 per cent were
due to accident. A large proportion
of these deaths are due to causes more
or less related to the occupations of
the injured persons
Classification Of Industries.
The liability of the workman to ac~
cidental injury or death is brought out
in this discussion for important occu-
pat1ons under broad classification in
five general groups, viz, factories and
workshops electrical industries, mines
and quarries, transportation by rail,
and transportation by water.
OF those employed in factories and
workshops probably the most exposed
class are the workers in iron and
steel. Reports Of S,456 accidents to
this class Of ;workmen during the years
1907 to 1905 show that Al per cent
OF the accidents to men employed in
rolling mills resulted fatally.
Among nut = and bolt = workers in
Pennsylvania the returns Of the chief
factory inspector show the fatal acct
dent rate during ten years to- have
been 5.4z per 1000. and in n1iscellan- :
eous ste eland iron work 4.3 per 1000.
Deaths in Particular Trades.
According to the Industrial insur-
ance experience the fatal accident rate
of electricians and Of electric linemen
is excessive. ON 645 deaths Of cleo
tricians 14:7 per cent and of 240
deaths Of linemen 467 per cent were
due to accidents.
In the anthracite mines Of Penn
sylvania the state inspectors have
found that during ten years there have
averaged annually 3.18 fatal accidents
for every 1000 men mployed. and the
rate Is even higher than this for GER
tain specific occupations in the mines.
That this is excessive is shown by
comparison with tn death rate from
accident of t1.2s per 1000 in the Brit
ish coal mines.
The reports of the Interstate Com
merce commission have shown that
during ten years 1868 railway train
men lost thir lives in accidents. This
is equivalent to 7.46 deaths per 1000
employees.
OF sos deaths Of sailors ACQUIRING
in the experience of an industrial in
surance company It's per cnt were
due to accidents.
Rational Methods of Prevention
OF the more than 5000 wage earn
ers killed by accidents in the course
Of year it should not be impossible
to save at least one-third and perhaps
one-half by intelligent and rational
methods of factory inspection, legisla-
tion, and control. In addition there
were approximately not much LESS
than two million nonfatal accidents,
that not only involve a vast amount
of human suffering and sorrow, but
materially curtail the normal longevity
among those exposed to the often
needless risk of Industrial casualties.