The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-01-09
10 PreUenf Lead Poisoning
Part Of the Legislative Program for 1913
OF the American Association for
Labor LEGISLATION.
Labor Legislation.

Labor lie
Following the success of it's efforts
to have congress enact a law prevent
Ing the manufacture Of phossv jaw
matches, the American Association for
Labor legislation in It's quarterly re-
view Just issued, proposes as a part
OF it's legislative program for 1918,
the prevention of lead poisoning in
this country. The review shows the
remedy for lead poisoning to be as
simple as the evils it will combat, are
complex and that there is no need for
costly and long experiments as was
the case with phosphorus poisoning.
Cleanliness OF workrooms and work
ers, the use of hoods and exhausts to
eliminate fume and lead dust will do
mere what they have done in England
ana Europe and what they are doing
today in Illinois.
Results OF Investigations OF com
parable American and foreign factor
les are set down in parallel columns.
a German whitehead factory shows
two cases Of plumbism among $50
men, an American whitehead factory
shows twenty-five cases among 142
men, An English white and red lead
factory employing ninety men, shows
no case OF poisoning in five success
sive years. similar American factory
shows thirty-five men loaded in six
months, among a force OF eighty-flye.
Another English firm furnishes no
case among 1872 men for 1911, an
American factory for the same year
returns sixty cases among ITO men.
Thirteen cases of poisoning among
786 dippers in England compares
with thirteen cases, among eighty
FIVE American dippers.
One Day Rest In Seven.
Drawing upon the richer exper-
fence of Europe and upon such
facts as are available here. one day
rest in seven law is also proposed.
The usual Sunday laws are shown
not to be effective in the prohibition
Of seven day work In such industries
as must be carried on without inter
rupsion every day of the week. A re-
arrangement OF shifts under q six
DAY week is the remedy advocated.
Scientists, physicians, economists
and employers are quoted to the eff
feet that one day of rest in seven is
essential to hygienic living and adj
yantageous from an economic point of
Wow, and an investigation on behalf
of the shareholders of an English rail-
road is cited showing that the rule OF
tifty-tWo days of rest per year In the
railroads Of Switzerland has helped
more than any other cause to reduce
accidents due to fault CT employees by
.5S per cent, and to prevent 70 per cent
of bodily injuries.
Standard Schedules.
A working population little less
than half that of Lawrence, Mass, is
now killed every year in industry and
q population almost half the size of
Greater New York is injured. AS a
step toward removing this disgrace
to American civilization uniform re-
porting OF Industrial accidents and
diseases and the adoption of the stand
ard schedules is advocated. Eight
states have enacted the disease re-
porting law drafted by the association
and the aim now Is to extend this law
to other states. The influence of
long hours and fatigue, the relation OF
experience in their work to injuries
received by operative, the mechanical
cause and the nature Of injuries, the
duration of disability and the exact
occupational origin Of particular dis
eases all require careful study and
uniform reporting and tabulation, be-
fore we can prevent the needless
death, injury and disease for which
American industry is at present dis
tinguished.
Federal Compensation Act.
The fourth plank in the years leg.
islative program is revision of the
federal employees compensation act
The inequalities and omissions of this
law are compared with the more liber-
al provisions of state and foreign