The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1910-06-25
SECRETARY TREASURER {.
s McEWEN'S REPORT
Continued from Page Six. \

and women who are killed or maimed
pr crippled through the fault OF no one
and by a mere assumption Of the risk
Sf, the industry? We sit before. a
AS the consuming heat gradually turns
che coal to ashes we seldom give
= thought to the human life 1t re-
Els Of the EARTH Yet nearly u 1000
men sacrifice their lives and limbs an
nually in the coal Industry.
ia In computing the c. cost OF the coal
Item of expense. such as the wages
paid to miners, railroad freight rates,
loss from .shrinkage, taxes, insurance
Invested. depreciation. Of machinery,
original cost Of exploration. ! opera
tors, Wholesalers and retailers pro-
Ats; everything in facing the per1ls Of
the industry.
An engineer on railroad takes out
the continent like meteor. Before
him are the red and green lights which
tell In the Of the rai n1ssr
With the daring man at the throttle
everything depends upon the care and
VIGILANCE Of his fellow servants on the
trips successfully, and so he soon
learns to rely upon the men ahead Of
him. - :
Then when it is least expected,
fault Of nobody-possibly by an act
Of God in the elements-the train
leaves the track and is dashed into the
ditch. An investigation is made. The
railroad company is exonerated be-
cause its negligence cannot be proven.
The verdict Is that the accident was
due solely to the hazard of the indus
try.
But in the wreck 1t is found that
the engine is badly demolished, and
the brave engineer, is, severely in
response. An ambulance waits at the
next station to carry the injured en-
g g1Hsr to the s h8Spta his Then n, is
deep in his own anguish. At home
there is the worry and suspense of
loved ones. and the earnest prayer
that a. husband and father may soon
be restored to them.
!, Weeks pass, strength returns, and
the injured man hops to his home on
clutches, on one leg instead of two.
Brotherhood Of Locomotive Engineers,
and turns over some fraternal insur
ance money; not very much, but usu-
ally a sum equal to the amount of
yet large enough to bring just a little
sunshine into the hearts Of a. sad. and
sorrowful family. S~''''
But What Of the future. when hen the the
is gone, for railroad companies have
no use for men with one leg. They
scarcely use them on railroad eros
they have any Jobs for such cripples
they are reserved for the men injured
through the negligence of the railroad
company, and the job Is parcelled out
in lieu Of a lawsuit. This engineer,
however, cannot recover under law
suit for the railroad company cannot
be proven negligent.
Let us for the moment return to the
oolf ~Io
it's side with it's twisted steel. its boil
er jacket denied and crushed, and its
cab rent into splinters. Along comes
the wrecking crew of the railroad COM
out over the track; heavy chains are
fastened about the wreck and then
there is the grinding Of derrick wheels,
ing car, and gradually the old engine
is lifted back on the track.
, The railroad shop is the hospital for
injured locomotives. Here the wrecked
engine is taken. Machinists, boiler
makers and other mechanics are put
to work. the twisted steel is straig hit
ened out, new cab is built, and then
with a fresh coat Of paint the old en-
putting and painting to earn dollars
for the railroad corporation. The eff
ficiency Of the machine is restored;
pensation is given him for his loss.
l hold that it Is as much the duty
of the industry to care and provide
for the support of it's human wreckage
as it is to care for the wear and tear
of the machinery.
1t is said that but II per cent of the
men who are injured in industry re-
ceive any compensation whatever: The
other 80 per cent must rely upon their
own savings, the little insurance they
can afford to carry from their mea
ger wages, or the charity Of the pub
cannot recover unless it can be proven
that the employer was negligent, and
the burden Of proof is upon the in
jured. 1t Is always difficult for the
ligence because the injured man must
depend upon the testimony of his fell
low employees whose jobs are. in. jeop-
Andy If they take sides aganst the
UNI in our civil court is where. personal
injury cases are, tried; AS matter
least SO per cent Of the Industrial ac
cidents are due to the fault neither
of the employer nor the employee, but
result from the hazard" Of the indus
try.
Let me, give you, a; typical accident
Of this character that happened on a
Minnesota farm less than two years
with a wife and three children ac-
quired a. part ownership in 3 thresh-
Ing machine. While at work around
the separator a frosty December
morning, his foot slipped and he fell
upon the moving belt. His leg was so
badly broken that it had to be ampu-
tated above the knee. Six months
passed before he was able to work
again at all. His doctor bill was 1926,
and the cost of an artificial limb 800
He lost $500 in wages and earnings
and when he was able to return to
work could earn only one-half as
much as before the accident. Here
was an industrial accident that was
no persons fault and it cost this man
and his wife and three children In ad-
dition to their suffering and anguish,
$1,O25. and ~,one-half of the fathers
earning power for the rest of his life.
The present system has outlived its
usefulness It is based upon the theory
of fault or negligence, which might
have applied very well in the primi-
tive days Of industry before the bench
and hand tools of the mechanic were
supplanted by the buzz and whirl of
Intricate machinery, s. moving with
lightning rapidity with numberless
cogs and wheels, with belts and pull
leys, with whirling saws and keen
edged knives. all seeming to grasp for
victims whom they can MAIN or kill.
The dangers lowering about the
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