New-York tribune., 1909-03-28
THEY REPORT TH4T MEN
WORK TOO HARD THERE
This Toll Is Voluntary, of Course
but Does Not Produce Best
Glass of Citi1ens.

an
ethical survey Of the CITY OF Pittsburg and have
published their report what they found there in
the official publication Of the couJnittee
may be summarized showing AN almost in
credible amount Of overwork by everybody reach
ing its extreme in the tveve-hour shift for seven
days IN the week in steel mills and railway switch
yards"
or course. such so called overvrorlz is vo1,,rt.-v
but all the same. II does not elevate manhood or
turn out the best type citizens On the contrary
& tends TO produce the same kind Of inferior phv-
sique that Lord Roberts complained of when tbe
British army was seeking recruits in the English
factory towns during the Boer war In Pittsblrg.
It would appear the laboring must be saved
from his own over-eagerness % earn high wages at
the expense Of his physical and moral weIlbeing
Certainly, says the editor Of The Survey no
community before. in America or Europe. has ever
had such surplus. and never before has D great
community applied what il has so meagerly TO the
rational purposes OF human life Not by gifts OF IL
braries. galleries. technical schools and parks but
By cessation OF toll day seven and sixteen
hours in the twenry-four. by increase Of wages
By the sparing OF lives by prevention Of acct
dents and by raising the standards domestic
life should the surplus back 10 the people Of
the community in which it is created.
There are many Indications that the community
is awakening TO these adverse conditions and that
it IS even now ready TO deal with them. Il
creasilE number OF citizens. city officials officers
Of corporations. business men. social workers and
others entirely ready o enter with others
with another the dispassionate search for
causes and remedies, recognizing that the adverse
conditions there. recognizing that distinction
lies not ostrichlike refusal 10 them. but
s-aresmanlike Willingness TO gauge them and to
understand them and 50 far as it is possible TO
remove them
'Fittslurg is unique only in the extent to which
tendencies which observable everywhere have
here actually. because of the high Industrial de-
~zlopment and the great industrial activity, had
the opportunity 10 give tangible proofs Of their
real character and their inevitable goal
accuracy or tnaccuracy Of the findings OF these
vestigstors. but what follows is Transcribed from
their report and Is given TO our readers for what
# is worth.
About two hundred thousand OF Pittsburgs six
hundred thousand-odd inhabitants were ban in
another country than the United States. Upward
OF one-hslf Of this number from Southeastern
Europe Poles. Italians and Jews head the list,
while Idthuanians, Croatians. Servians, Slovaks
and Ruthenians numbered by the thousands,
and Magyars Greeks. Bohenians and Rumanians
srs there IN lesser groups It waE estimated that
the negro population IN Allegheny County was
Eooeo In 1907 the population Of greater Pttsburg.
CT what is known as the Pittsburg District was
rated IOo0,0po OF whom $4,000. including 26lls
women and 6,S63 children, were wage earners EN-
pIoyed in $500 different establishments. A large
proportion OF these unskilled workers The
tonnage Of the mills Of Pittsburg District in
1905 was 100000 a tonnage unequalled by any
similar area the world In this district 5000"
tons CT coal mined in the course OF a year
A
4sel mills work in t1eIve-hour shifts and go home
TOO tired 10 any interest in life for the brief
remainder Of the day OF this number about 1900
work seven days a week A good many, in addi-
ton TO this. once every two weeks work continu-
ously through period Of twenty-fOur hours. This
q when the night and day shifts change places
SPEEDING up THE WORKERS.
-l,ese workers are .speeded up" Speeding up
means working the men beyond the normal speed
hy stimulation. They are encouraged to make
records for their mill. and these then adopted
ss the standard on the ground that what can be
accomplished given period ought to be feasible
al the time Speeding up has also been ac-
cornpushed by reducing the rate OF pay for piece
work from time 10 time. To the same as be
fore Il becomes necessary 10 work faster and with
less thought for .he personal consequences.
AZ on. foreman put II: IF the machine depends
upon the man for speed. We put him on piece work
AZ the machine drives the man. we pay him by the
day"
s1ued and sr 11ncounted number are injured each
year IN the industries Of Allegheny county. FROM
July / 1903 70 80 1907. 526 men were klied oy
work accidents and more than 200 were Injured
% inch an extent that they required hosTital care.
< the injured more than one-Quarter were manned
for life. or the fatalities less than one-thTo ol
thoEa who lost their lives we're In any way re-
Fponsible while the employer was directly response
be IN more than one-third- The main causes OF
4s accidents we're attributed 70 faults In construc-
don long hours Of work, too great speed mann
ss,e5 ,- almost all lines OF work, inadequate IN
suectiou failure to remedy known defects, made
ouate warning and Eignal systems and inaoequa'e
Instruction and direction OF ignorant workers Inc
cost OF these conditions was figured OUT IN 'ills
fashion. The loss OF TO the families OF ISS
men based On their earnings at the time OF oeath
sn6 the rrobat, bic length Of their lives according
70 the standard mortality tables, subtractng >Jo
year To cover the maintenance Of the man Killed
would amount TO 81 754 S57 The total coTnpe"sa'io
paid 70 these 1s3 families was S'-'O5' 20 pei ~
total loss.
vi .c.to.11,, ,ronossibIe to obtain definite sta
tstics regarding the observance OF lle 9I~'9
factory laws IN Pittsburg. for there Is no centra
cnc. ~ the state factory inspector in this great
manufacturing centre and his brief reports arc
incon9DIete II is generally believed that the laws
are not enforced as they should be-
TYPHOID AND FLOODS.
On. b,nd-ed and tuenty-nine towns and ooroughs
snr,, ,+sr ssz,aga into the rivers which flow past
pst+.S,,-v and from which Il takes its water sup
ply T,ynboid fever ha. been epidemic IN FIlIsDuIe
fcr TWENTY-FIVE years. Last year there were ''4-t
cases OF typhoid fever and go deaths Inc Io.di
number Of cases reported in the course OK llie
quarter century was "a .s55- The stausticS % 80.
rsis in large cities in United States snow thaI
Pt.sburT and Allegheny have been among the
three having the highest every year since 4SV''
Ptsburg led the list for four years, and was sec
ond in two other years. In round numbers SS,l7-'
600 was the minimum economic loss 70 greater
Fzttsburg 1907. due TO typhoid AFTER TOUR e0ts
delay. while the plan vas held up through Ile
lights between rival politicians. filtration plant
costing $4,000 has been constructed. The effect
upon the TYPHOID death rate has been marked The
delay cost the community 900 and. 1oSS IFes
were unnecessarily sacrificed, IT has been estl-
mated
Pittsburg is cursed twice every year