The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-09-04
VALUATION OF HUMAN LIFE
What Fifty Widows GotSums Paid At Cherry Mine Disaster
 How the Family Fares In Ordinary Accidents
BY S. c. KINGSLEY Superintendent United Charities of Chicago

A torch carelessly exposed and bale of hay, on Saturday afternoon, Novem- Der IS, 1909, caused one of the most dra- matic mine disasters In industrial history and cost the lives of Andrew Dovin and 257 fellow workmen. Thrilling rescues by a heroic band of men who finally per- ished in an act of supreme sacrifice; seal ing the shaft in the presence of an in- effably pathetic group of women and children; the recovery of revoting hu- man shapes, the rescue of q men buried alive for eight days-all this for weeks kept the press pusing with stories of intenest human interest. This publicity acted with compelling unction upon the employing company, the giving public, city councils and the state legislature. In this, the wives and children of An drew Dovin and his fellow victims were most fortunate. These men died "a con | gregate death in a disaster that was dra-
 matic, thrilling, spectacular.
 One year before this disaster, an ann | bulance backed up to r Bond street, the
 home of Abe Miller. Abe was in the ambulance. He was a worker in a steel mill and he was injured in handling hot metal An accident occurred in which
 
 resulted in his death. The only news paper mention of Abes case was three line statement in list of accidents. The company settled for $500 and promised permanent employment to Abe's wife. She went to work, and her inadequate earn ings were supplemented by charitable relief.
 The circumstances of Abe's misfortune are fairly typical of 50 other fatal acci- dents of which information was obtained through charitable organizations in 10 of the largest cities of the country.
 I want to consider the information about these 50 accidents, which occurred one at a time in commonplace obscurity, and to contrast the circumstances of the wives and children of these men with what happened in the way of compensation and relief for the wives ana children of An drew Dovin and 49 other victims of the Cherry catastrophe. The families of these 50 men, suffering obscure, one-at-a-time accidents, received in compensation $S749- $1S7 apiece. The 50 Cherry families re- ceived from the company $so,ooo-$ls0o apiece.
 In the case of Cherry, on account of>the publicity and activity of the Red Cross, the press, business associations, the 10 families received in contributions from the legislature, miners unions, etc., $Si, 900 in addition, making total of $1T,o0o, In the other, the families received $Sl4s plus an indefinite amount In relief and pensions from charity societies and still more indeterminable sum from institu- tions-nurseries, hospitals. etc The aver age income in the 50 fatal cases before tho accident was s66S E. Twenty-four oc- cupants were represented. The present average income, after period or llt- tie more than year since the accident the wife and children gong to work. talk ing boarders, renting rooms, etc.-was S23S 80 a decrease of 624 per cent. The average number in the family was five wife and four children. The average age of the children was years and months. The average age of the 50 men killed was 34h years. A car inspector lost his life in crib fire at Chicago two years and three months. ago. He left wife and three children, aged ', and years. He earned s75O a year. The emp:oyer offered $l5O0 in settlement This offer was not ac- cepted and suit was begun and is still pending.
 Had the laws of the rollowing, coun tries been in operatioh m lillnols the l family would have received, provided the | widow did not marry and all the children lived to working age aid in the form of annual pensions in the total amounts  lsiven below:
 Austria, until youngest child is 15, | S4 PCS. .23; France, until youngest child is Iffteen, s5, 162 50; Germany, until young est child is fifteen. s5,0625o; Great Brit ain, three times annual wages, $2.250; Hungary, until youngest child Is sixteen, $5,615.06; Italy, purchase of annulties un- til eighteen, $3,75O; Norway, until young est child is fifteen, s426S.2S; Russia until youngest child is fifteen, S5,SOO.
 The compensation to the victims of fifty fatal accidents ranged from S3OOO to nothing. In two cases $7000 each was awarded but they were appealed from court to court and the victims finally got nothing. The uncertainty and delay had a most demoralizing effect. both mor- ally and physically. These people were in suspense, setting their expectations on sums of money that would make them independent, huge fortunes in their eyes, and after living in this anticipation, some times adopting a scale of living &C., cordingly, so far as they could, they were finally disappointed and got noth- ing.
 Some of these excessive awards were an injustice to the employer, but when they were reversed nothing was received, it certainly was an injustice to the em- ploye. This engenders bad feeling be- twen employer and employe.