The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1913-04-11
safety First" Meeting.
CONTINUED from first page. }

telling what the movement is, and
what it has accomplished for the Chi
cago G. Northwestern road. He told
of the awful toll of human life exact
ed by the railroads every year, of the
hundreds who are manned for life
by the merciless wheels of the loco
motive or the car. Every 16 minutes
of the day, he declared. some work
man is killed, while every 16 seconds
one is injured. OF this number, he
declared 10 per cent are railroad en-
ployes and the other 80 per cent are
employed by the various industrial
institutions of the United States.
Everything, he declared, had been
tried to stop the awful sacrifice OF
human life and limb, but without
avail, until the safety first movement
in which the men themselves are d.
rectly interested and Of which they
are a part, was started. Legislation
was of no avail, for that touched the
employers and not the men. During
the first year that the movement was
in effect on his road. Mr.. Richards
asserted, the number of deaths was
decreased by 1856.
Nothing can be done without the
cooperation of the men," Mr.. Rich
ards declared. "Tne men make the
railroad but the stockholders don't
care who gets killed. What they
want is dividends. We had hard
time making the men understand
that it is they who are going to get
killed or injured and not the officials.
When we finally got it into their
heads that it is better to be careful
than to be a cripple or a corpse, we
began to get results.
81 claim that 70 per cent of all
accidents can be prevented by exer-
cising care. 1t doesn't take as mucn
time to prevent an accident as it
does to make out an accident report,
but men don't seem to realize this.
Men owe it as their highest duty,
next to their duty to their God, to
exercise care in their work.
eff you people could have seen the
procession of cripples or widows OF
men killed or wives of the injured on
North western r. r., that has passed
through my Office in the past 30 years
you could better realize the necessi-
| ty for care. And rs per cent of the
accidents which have caused sorrow,
misery, restitution and privation,
could have been prevented.
- AA~,
movement is conducted by the men
themselves. Committees among the
men are appointed, a given number
from each branch of the service. On
the Northwestern railroad, the MEN,
bers of these committees number 500
They meet every thirty days and re-
port defects they have found in the
system, which might cause accidents
They also report the careless men,.
for it is they and the chance takers
who make widows, orphans and Grip
pies. In the first year on the North
western, 1920 defects were reported
by the men and remedied by the Off
Gals. More than 200 recommended
tions made by the safety first COM
mittees, were adopted in the first
year and are now in effect. The move
ment has reduced the death list 35
per cent and the accident list "a per
cent
Tle safety first movement, Mr..
Richards said, created a great volun-
teer army out of all the employees of
the company. 1t means no pecuniary
reward for them, but it does mean
the conservation of human life.
Touching on the trespassers on
railroad tracks, Mr.. Richards declar-
ed that this is a matter that must be
given attention. Ia 20 years, he de-
ed by trespassing on railroad tracks,
while $4,000 have been injured. He
urged trespassing law and asked
the men to do their best to bring
about the passage of one.
During his talk, Mr.. Richards
showed slides illustrating the many
ways in which railroad men careless
ly take their lives in their hands. 1t
Is the little acts of carelessness and
negligence that are sending so many
men to their graves, he said. Little
defects in the tracks that could be
remedied in few seconds or minutes
may send souls into eternity before
they are removed.
On the platform with Mr.. Richards
were General Manager Towsely, Supt
Syverson, Master Mechanic Osmer,
Chief Surgeon A. M. Hume, Train
master Frank Amos, and H. S. Brad
ley, general freight agent. Numer-
Gus other officials and men from all |
along the line were in the audience.
At the conclusion of the speak |
ing, the chairs were removed and |
dancing was enjoyed, Satterlee's or
chestra furnishing music. Sandwic-
es and coffee were served in one corn
or Of the auditorium by an ebony