The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-10-08

countries. II at the end OF month Chi
cago were to become the scene of
similar disaster. in which the loss iT
killed and wounded should equal that
accompanying the accident in New York.
Then. II in another month San Francisco
were TO telegraph the news OF likc
catastrophe in that city-what would all
civilized mankind begin SAYING? Would
intelligent men any longer tolerate Cal!-
Ing such an occurrence an accident!
And ii the horrd thing went on now
in one city and now In another. monthly
for year would not the universal CITY
go IN, Stop this slaughter by an
means possible. however costly 10 socie-
ty!" Everywhere. in every church. club
business association. chamber OF com
merce in every assemblaEe OF men and
women for any social purpose, this r.
sands each event resembling in Its blood
mess the most sickeniug bnttlefields
history. would be denounced az ma
tional infamy. Should any hNpocrite re-
fer 90 these irightful occurrences
"acts OF Cod he would be denounced as
blasphemous.
"the natural price OF our industrial pre-
-mtnence," he would be told Indignantly
that life must be held sacred though ir
dustry should perish. Should II be clearly
shown that the origin OF much of the
slaughter lay in causes for the ne
part easily movable-thst In fact they
had been actually done away with larg
~ BY other nations-scntlments OF pa.
,rio,ism would promptly reinforce the in
stincts OF humanity in our people. Every
legislative body, every court. every pub
lie man speedily would be constrained 10
lend a hand In the reforms necessary 10
cut down 10 n minimum the risks In Int
respect TO human life. No doubt. 100 the
call would be general TO alleviate, through
appropriate methods of insurance. o.
suffering consequent upon whatever cas-
ualties. In spite Of the best Of human
care. should thenceforth occur in our In
dustries.
Now. what part does imagination play
In this nightmare Of a picture? II has
merely focused tho actually distributed
elements OF time and place. Instead OF
the wonderful devices of the new me-
chanlcs having been suddenly applied
within a year, they have been tho grad
ual growth OF century. Instead Of
one concentrated mass accident a month
IN n particular city. thousands OF sep
arate accidents occur In the course %
every month all over the United states.
What is more. the real number Of
killings and serious injuries outnum
her by far the two thousands and the
twenty thousand that We have set down
for our Imaginary monthly total. No
one can present. absolutely accurate sta
tistics on this subject Our government
makes no census Of the victims OF ac-
Cideuts in industries. StRtisticians dis
agree in estimating rher number. Thore
is no common agreement ms to what de-
gree of hurt 10 2 workman should be
termed IAN injury" There is n border
line OF time between an outright fatality
and a death after period In which
other causes than the accident may have
supcrvened But II we take the most
moderate ieurns on the question Ne have
those Of DR.. Frederick T.. Hoffman OF
th- Prudential company. the specially o:
which Is working class insurance. whose
estimate is 20, oon TO $4,000 fatal indus
trial accidents in tho United Stat an
nually while several other statisticians
have estimated that tho lowest number
In. nrls H.
ciently to occasion an average loss of
two weeks is al least 100000 Ia 600, 600.
Thus the actual facts OF industrial
slaughter outrun by 20 per cent or more
what we have imagined Yet there are
estimates in print. from men qualified
10 form them. which are nearly double
those here quoted.
Some comparisons may be drawn 10
show how The United Staics has stood
still or worse in dealing with this ma
Iinnal nrnhlcm For The lMcntN-onc Neals