Omaha daily bee., 1911-04-04
PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS
Mechanical Engineers Consider How
to Save Lives.
AMERICA IS SLOW TO AC1
EmpIoyers' LIABILITY Laws strike che
Pocket and start Energetic
Measures for pre-
ventiOn,


t,dal accidents through safeguarding ma
chinery by various devices and through
Administrative care Is being actively con
Nfdered by the American Society OF Me-
>iSanicai Engineers IN New York. The APP
continent Of q committee 80 standardize
'afety devices for particular types OF ma
chinery Is one Of the practical steps that
has been suggested At the last monthly
meeting OF the society the whole problem
was considered az length from the stand
point OF employer. of liability companies
and particularly from that of the mocha IL
cal engineer.
Much has already been lone In syatem-
attic fashion in some Of the larger indus
trial plants notably those Of the United
States Steel corporation. 20 reduce the
enormous toll OF lives and limbs for when
this country Is conspicuous among the ma
tons OF the world. The casual visitor TO
the Amsrican Museum Of safety Devices
in the Engineering building in New York
City, is struck with the simplicity and OBJ
nrvious nature Of the safeguards there
shown. rather than by finding complicated
and ingenious arrangements such as he
usually expects. Many OF the dedaes
shown consist merely Of ratings about
dangerous machinery and ordinary cover
ings for revolving parts The tact that
II is worth while TO call attention 10 such
devices throws significant light on the
much greater proportion of accidents that
take place in the United states. as com
pared with the other great industrial ma
tions, Germany and England
one OF the subjects discussed by the
engineers was that OF warning signs. A
multiplicity. OF printed notices has been
found to work the wrong way. hey have
TO be printed In six or seven languages.
and II there are many of them in a plant
they are scarcely read at all One big
plant has adopted the skull and cross
bones for points OF danger from machin-
cry, and the hand OF Jove holding the
tbunderboit for places OF menace from
Il sctricity. AS one speaker said the for
nier is somewhat gruesome, and there is
need Of a universal sign which will signify
danger as the red cross signifies health
and sanitation. The red flag has been
considered, but few employers care to
adopt II because Of its other significance.
that OF revolution. This is a problem
which apparently remains unsolvod.
Fool Proof Machinery.
Another danger Yas pointed out by J..
w Alexander or the General Electric
company, thai OF making machinery not
ONLY cafe but "fool-proof." This is the
tresent tendency in Germany, and it's ef-
eect, Mr.. Alexander said. was to make
workmen careless. so that they would
sleep ali over the machine" When trans
ferred to machine not so compre-
hensvely safeguarded they were pretty
sure to be hurt.
It was pointed out by several speakers
that the prevention Of accidents had been
made a vital one TO the employer by re-
creaslng his Inability and the amount of
damages awarded injured workingmen.
Surprise was expressed that employers
had given such exhaustive study to ques-
tons q lahillt4S qer1d so little to the pre-
ventioni of further accidents, involving fur
Their liability
IL was the responsibility of mechanical
engineers. however, that was especially
Aemphaslzed in the chief address OF the
meeting, made by John Calder, manager
of a big factory at lion. N. Y. Mr.
Calder pointed out that the annual NOR
tally from accidents In the United
States among adult wage earners alone
is between 5000 and 5000. with non.
fatal injuries approximatlng 100000 more
These staggering, but undoubtedly con.
sentative figures OF single year Of peace.
ful industry" said Mr.. Calder, far ex.
teeQ inc klileu anu WOUNDED OF BeVera
great military campaigns and, when com.
pared with the more thorough foreign &C
cident returns, give us just cause to IN.
auire why we should be so far behind fl
conserving the lives and health of the In
d1(frial worker. The figures take no &C
ooant OF the many casualties affectinC
women and young people, and they ar,
rarely looked into as a whole; but wher
the truth about them can be recorded
will stir up the most Indifferent
Preservation Urgent ana vital.
THE preservation. as a national asset
OF the lives and limbs OF our citizen
and Industrial workers Is more urgent ans
vital than any steps taken TO insure AIDE
quate means OF subsistence and industr,
Tor future generations. Accident clauses
ise and less wise. have been included Il
Inc labor laws of the various states 10
some years, but the provision for admins
tering these laws effectively has Away
been Inadequate At least, until quite re
Gently the eubject OF prevention of acct
dent has slgnally failed TO obtain reall,
serious consideration from employers an,
sn6apoyss IN general and most safeguard
y ing has been due % official eompulson
Legal obngaton TO safeguard thor
oughly has not succeeded in preventing
ayOidablo accidents TO any great extent
except in the relatively few cases wher
persuasion and enlightenment have ae
eompanied A.. On the other hand, civil
liability for. the consequences OF indus
trial injuries has been steadily inoreasing
and 70 the Necessarily limited efforts OF
few state officials there was added tn
pressure OF insurance underwriters upo
employers when accident risks became to
enormous.
The subject ef accident prevention
which has BY no means been neglected b
many careful plant executives, Is now com
ing 10 the front on that wave OF humani
tartan considerations which Is notioeabl
everywhere. Il Is my hope that mechan
cal engineers as a professional body wi
cordially Identify themselves with a caus
IN which they, more than any. others. ca
achiefe much good
In study and IN legislation on this mat
ter He have laEsed considerably benin
Great Britain, Germany. and France. whio
oountgies more than thirty years ago b,
gan u enforce with strictness and exceller
technical judgment the existing laws Il
safeguarding Industrial workers From,