The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-04-29
DIVIDENDS PUT
BEFORE SAFETY
Declaration of Rev. ]. w. Barnett in
Sermon Upon Titanic Disaster--He
Spoke Also of Stonecutters'
Consumption in Bare.

local application by referring to stone
cutters consumption, although not plae
ing the blame wholly on the granite
manufacturers, but declaring that il
rests on the community as a whole. Ht
took as his text Luke 1898: life i,
more than food"
! Dr. Barnett spoke in part as follows
This text is the observation Of Ono
whose sense of values was not warped
but who saw and measured things ac,
curately. 1t refers primarily TO the indi.
vidual who by his feverish anxiety wa4
wearing out the body to obtain food and
clothing for it. But if He were speaking
/ to-day, and lie is, He would include in
food" the surplus which is over and
above the necessary food and clothing
I for which many are wearing out their
! lives; and He would certainly include the
life and safety of those who are sacri-
/ feed in the interest Of this surplus. Il
my life is more than my food, then my
brothers life is mo- than my dividends.
This address was iggested by The Ti-
tanie disaster which has called attention
to the fact that safety was an after
thought: it was luxury first, a swimming
pool and icommodious and gorgeously
furnished smoking and lollngng rooms,
but no lifeboats for an emergency. And
the secret OF this lies in the false secur-
itv that trusted in material things. ei-
ther in wOeflll Ignorance Of or in utter
defiance to. the eternal laws of God; a
false security that imagined the ship
was msinkable. Little did her builder
reckon OF the law of the iceberg! And
little do those idle fellows reckon of
that law who now talk Of making a
safe path by blowing MP these bergs by
dropping bombs from airships A safer
and sancr way is to sail these ships in
a course far enough south to escape the
bergs.
The safety Of the passengers on the
Titanic was lost sight Of in that false
security that left off lifcboats as a saw
ing Of $1,000 for the ship; that detied
the mighty bcrgs of this northern route
on the chance Of saving q days time and
q few tons Of coal; and that reckoned
not the need Of drills, that discipline men
for emergencies.
Oh that these men who owned and
sailed this ship had heard the voice OF
that One whose sense Of values was not
warped and who has been declaring for
now nearly 1900 years to world alb
sorbed in getting dividends: Lay net
mp for yourselves treasures upon earth.
where moth and rust doth corrupt. and
where thieves break through and steal;
the voice that declares the absolute in
stability Of matter Now this awful loss
Of life has stirred us up to see some
things. and it will result in making for
the greater safety Of those who travel
on the sea But what OF the land and
of those who live and work hereg Those
who went down on the Titanic are but
small fraction of those who are being
crippled and killed annually as sacri-
flee to this same great god who puts
dividends before safety.
In the industrial world. where hun
dreds Of thousands OF unprotected cogs
pulleys, shafts. belts. knives. ctc.. on
the great driving. whirling machinery OF
industry are endangering the life and
limbs OF hundreds of men. women and
who work at these machines. a
few thousand dollars OF what goes to
dividends would make the lives Of these
toilers safe from these dangers.
Then there are the illv lighted and
ventilated rooms where countless thou
sands OF tolers work. straining their
eyes in the dim light and poisoning their
systems by breathing the germ laden air.
Again il is dividends at the expense of
safety.
Then too. when wages are below the
proper standard of living. the same thing
is true
Oh, that these whirling, driving ma
chimes might stop long enough for the
men who are driving them to hear this
One. with unwarped sense OF values. say:
Life is more than food, and the body
than raiment"
II is only fair to state that some have |
heard Him and many Others are begin |
ming to hear Him. AL Pridy tells OF the /
steel mills at McKeesport, Pa, a plant I
that has twenty-three acres Of floor /
space in which there is not one exposed
eog or wheel or knife or other dangerous
part of the many machines and other de. +
vices operated there. Less dividends but /
more safety. And | am not so sure of /
that, for the industrial world has paid I
N lawsuits and in decreased efficiency
many times more money than all these
NdittN dDDlidHtts Nubll tbsl,
In many of our local plants You will
ind many of these safety appliances,
am glad to say; and even though it
nay mean less in dividends to the com
,any, I'VE feel better for having them.
Is one of the owners of one plant said
% me the other day as We discussed
he subject.
Then, to pass by the railroads and the
mines, with their annual harvest of
leath. due to the same cause. let me turn
o the food supplies: And here again
{ is dividends at the expense of safety
Wholesale adulteration of food has gone
N and is going on to-day This is too
zig a subject to discuss tonight at
ength, but few things may be said.
1t Cambridge, Mass. a year ago nearly
ne-third as many lives were lost
through impure milk as went down on
he Titanic: and throughout the world
lany thousands more are lost annually
han by this disaster that has stirred us
II so deeply. And yet. when Dr. Wiley ]
tsnds out to expose these things and
o stop this dreadful slaughter, some
odv is responsible for his resignation
low appropriate it would be here t3
ear the words; "Lifc is more than !
ood"-imp,ue food! 9
White Plague in Barre
And this IS as good time and place t
D say some other things as any; and t
am moved to say them by what see e
l.,,,g. JaN | rafpr n fba YArara ! .