Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1909-12-30

+ Americans; tsat it was the ranks OF
steel workers md trainmen THAT srf.
fered the mos the pick of the work
ingmen in th district, and that -
| per cent of tn men killed were mar
ried, with families to suppotr.'
Taking UP the matter of accidents
to workingmen Mr.. Kellogg said:
when we made an analysis as to
where theS ecoEomic cost of these &C
cidents fell, ii cam ehome tous, with
terrific force that the permanent
method to keep down the accident
rate would be q make killing and in
jury come higher to the employer.
For instance, take six men who wee
totally disabled for life during the
three months studied lone of whom
lost an arm and leg, ONE Of whom is
paralyzed and four of whom will walk
on two crutches the rest Of their lives.
Our figures showed that, Of these men
one received 1858, one $125. one $50,
and three no compensation. Bearing
in mind the boosted policy of the Car
negie relief association, and of the
standards of compensation set by ex-
ceptional employees whose names are
known throughout. the Pittsburg dis
trict, the bald fact remained that the
tables showed that, in the case of
both injuries and death, including
both married and single men, no dol
lar. of compensation was received
from the employe rto take the place
of lost income in considerable over
half the cases.
BUT this question Of Industrial ac-
cidehts is only a part of another and
larger question of the relation of in
dustr to health (which cannot &C
into hereof trade diseases, work
room sanitation. strain, stress, speed,
heat. hTe plan Of Worcester manu-
features. in cooperation with Dr.,
Overlook, is this watched national in
terest.
Apart from dangers of accident of
speeding and Injurious processes, the
health Of a working force bears di=
rect relation to the length of the work.
ing force bears d direct relation to
the length Of the working day. The
tendency with reset to both hours
aand Sunday work III the steel indus
try in Pittsburg has been, for five
years, towards an increase, and there
is no indication that the end has yet
been reached. There is not the OPP
portunity here to ,analyze the time
scheduled Of the varied departments
of the steel industry, but in anna
jority of them the day of "a hours is
split between two shifts of workers,
and the men work not six days, but
seven week. And very consaer-
able share OF them, once fortnight
in changing shifts, work long turn
Of "a hours.
= Employers may differ a sto whether
they can get the most work and the
most effective work out of a man if he
works II hours day, or 10, or s.
But / hold that the community has
something at stake here. How muck
citizenship does Pittsburg get out of
man who works II hours a day
seven days a week.. Hoy much of a
father can man be who may never
see his babies except when they are
asleep; or who never gets chance to
go off into the country for a rol1fck
with the boys? The community has
claim on the Vigo rand intelligence
of it's people, on their activity in civic
affairs, which Pittsburg is letting &C
by default. 1t isk getting only the
tired out leavings of some of it's best
men.
Sharp resentment was to be ex-
pected in those quarters where our
hard sayings struck home, and dis
paragement from that type of citizen.
who, for fear of hurting his city's
business-or lbs would sup
press publicity as to his city's ills
rather than advertise its progressive
determination by cleaning them out
fearlessly and in the. open. For the
most part-to Judge by editorials, by
letters received, and statements from
Pittsburg sources we measureably
succeeded in putting out OUT findings
not SO harshly as to discourage frank
ness and loyalty of the men who
would improve things. not so softly
as to elav& the stupid, the exploiting,
an dthe criminaily negligent at peace
with themselves and their neighbors.
No better evidence of how deep the
Surveys findings reached could be
had than the quick resentment with
vvbso h4bo D;f+cb44re nrocO hoi1nd tho