The Winslow mail., 1914-10-03
SAFETY FIRST"
Hundreds Sign Temperance
Pledge - Big Business
Wants Better Men
By LOCAL FEDERATION COMMITTEE

0t the hQuOrs trattlc and the ally |
Of Prohibition: able to deal a
staggering blow. The industrial |
problem is one to be reckoned
with. Efficiency is the watch
word Of the age. Competition is
so keen, the standard of efficiency
required SO high that there is a
growing discrimination in favor
Of the man whose hand issteady,
brain clear, and judgment unim-
paired by drink. Men who run
dangerous machinery today must
have steady nerves. Big corpora
tions and concerns are learning
that in order to insure Safety
First" we must guarantee Sober
First" Manufacturers cannot be
expected to indemnify employees
injured in their plants if the acci-
dent is due to the semi-sober
condition of the worker. In many
states Workingmen's Compensa-
tion laws providing that employ
ers shall insure their employees
against death and injury have
already been passed, and such
laws are being agitated through
out the country. Consequently
employer has the right to insist
that none of his men drink intox-
icating liquor. Accidents are no
longer regarded as providential,
but are known to proceed largely
from the drinking habits of the
workmen. Investigation has
shown that 95 per cent of acci-
dents in mills and shops is due to
drink. 1t is also known that Mon
day following the weekly holiday
with it's usual indulgence in
liquor is the dreaded day Of dis
aster in the mills and shops. Ten
O'Clock in the forenoon and three
in the afternoon, just long enough
for alcohol to produce it's effect
after the morning and noon
drains, are the dangerous hours
for men and machines. Rigid in
vestigations as to the cause of
accidents in scientifically man
aged plants have traced the blame
to workmen visiting nearby sa-
looms during lunch hour, or slip
ping across the ally during an
idle moment or two. Of what use
is it to have expensive machinery
guarded with the most service
able and approved safety devices
if even a moderate drinker is to
handle it? Merely on the ground
of efficiency employees are en-
cournging the workers in various
ways to let drink alone. Many in
dustrial plants are providing bot
tied milk for their employees and
substantial meals are served at a
nominal cost, thus counteracting
the lure of the saloon lunch.
Many are advocating probibi-
tion zones around shops and fac
tories. Now, if the State can
prohibit saloons in one locality,
on the same principle it can ban
ish them from its borders.
The Philadelphia Quartz Com
pany, located at Chester, Pa, an
nounced last February that it
would increase by 10 per cent the
wages of all employees who
would sign the temperance
pledge. There was no compulsion
about it, but all the 300 men and
boys signed it. The manager of |
the plant says that it is only |
common sense to state that a
sober man is worth more
to his company, and that the
firm expects to be more than re-
paid by the improvement in the |
service it will get from sober |
men.
Several other firms could be
cited. but two or three are suff-
cient. The United States Steel |
Mills, covering the entire Mahon-
Ing Valley, in March last issued a
sweeping order to the effect that
all OrOnOtiOnC bprpa ftnI, of w bot