Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-04-14
SELF-PROTECT|ON
TAUGHT IN SCHOOL
Bill of AssenbIyman McDer-
mott, Now a Law, Will Tend
to Save Many Lives.

One of the most important meas
ures that passed the last session of
the Legislature is Walter L. MeDer-
motifs bill, Assem- bly, ga, which be-
came law by the governors signature
on April :
1t provides for the Introduction into
all schools of the State a system of
instruction in the rudmentary prin
eiples of self-protection. which will
familiarize them with the causes that
lead not only to accidental injury, but
also to the impairment of health and
with the best means by which these
can be avoided.
Thirty minutes every two weeks is
the time allotted for this new and
highly important line of constructive
education. and at least once during
each school term a lecture on the
principles of accident prevention will
be delivered by an accredited expert
from the American Museum of Safety
before the assembled pupils of every
school in the State, public, private
and parochial
The manuals or hand-books on ae-
cident prevention are TO be arranged
and compiled by the State commits
sioner of education in collaboration
with the members of the New Jersey
Employers Liability Commission and
the director of the American Museum
of Safety, DR. w. II. Tolman, one of
the worlds foremost authorities on
accident prevention and factory and
workshop hygiene. The enactment of
this law is a long step toward 1realiz
ing the main purpose of our en-
ployers' liability and workmen's COM
pensation act, which is not the mere
payment of money by employers, but
the prevention of accidents on ac-
count of which money must be paid.
The record of accidents to workmen
which our State bureau of statistics
has published for each of the past ten
years shows that a very large proper
ton of these casualties occur on the
first day of employment, from which
circumstance it is reasonable to as
sumo that the victims, practically all
young people starting to work for the
first time, were entirely ignorant of
the dangers inciden tai to their newly
taken-up duties and knew nothing as
A classification of industrial acct
dents by the causes to which they
were due, made by the Bureau of
Statistics, shows that each year about
80 per cent. is attributed solely to
the fault of the workmen," who
were themselves the sufferers, and
AZ per cent. to unavoidable risks of
the industry" The training and in
structions which our future wage
workers who are now In the schools
will receive under the operation of
this wisely planned and most bene-
ficent law, should in the course of
few years wipe out this 80 per cent.
due to the workman's ignorance and
bring about very material reduc-
ton in the 40 per cent. now charged
to unavoidable risks" which in the
main are so regarded only because
of ignorance of the means, in many
cases quite simple, by which they
may be avoided.
The capacity for self-help, which
is sure to develop among the work.
ers of the future as a result of this
new departure in industrial eduea-
ton, will go far toward putting a
man life, while at the same time re-
ducing the burden which industry
must bear under the operation of our
compensation law, but above and be-
yond all other ideas in any way as
ISOLATED with industrial matters in
this State, it is hoped and believed,
that under the new influence called
into being by Mr.. McDermott's bill,
wage earners will soon come to re-
gard prevention as far more impor-
tant to their interests than compen-
sation, no matter how large 1t may
be.
In adopting this plan of teaching
children how accidents may be avoid
ed this State is simply following the
example of Germany, where, to quote
an exhaustive report on the subject
issued by the Bureaut of Statistics
year ago, this educational propo-
ganda starts in the readers placed
in the hands of school children, thus
inoculating ideas of caution and safe
ty at the very foundation of the
childs life"