The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1915-03-04
THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 1915
The Conditions of Industrial
Accidents

The enactment of laws In various
states on workmen's compensation
for injuries has aroused increased in
terest in the statistics and physical
and psychic conditions Of industrial
accidents. The total number of these
accidents Is almost appalling. The
lowest estimate places the fatal acct
dents to adult workers In the United
States at $4,000 a year, with an addi-
tional 1,250,000 non-fatal accidents.
The Massachusetts Industrial Acct
dent Board, on the other hand, placed
the number of workers killed by ac-
cident yearly at $4,000, which appar-
emily includes not only adults, but
also workers of all ages, while the
number of injured of the same classes
was placed by this Massachusetts
authority at 100000 or over. An
earthquake in a foreign country that
kills half this number of persons and
mains one-fiftieth of those injured in
our United States industries is spoken
of as catastrophe.
A greater proportion of accidents
occur on Monday than on any other
day of the week. Accidents are said
to be due often to fatigue AS, after
the day of rest on Sunday, workmen
should be less fatigued than on other
days, some other factor must be
sought to explain this feature of the
statistics 1t has been suggested
that the blue Monday" accidents are
really due to the fact that workmen
take more liquor on Sunday. and thus
become unnerved and more liable to
accidents during the following twenty
four hours. There Is, perhaps, some
thing in this contention, though 1t has
been disputed. In the Massachu-
sets Industrial Accident Board Re-
ports, in which the official figures
are given. there Is scarcely more
than one-twentieth more accidents on
Monday than on Tuesday, while
uC5udy 10 hOI ihuth dpoFC thO oFNi-
age in the number of accidents re-
ported for other days. Saturday, of
course, shows a noteworthy reduc-
ton, because of the half holiday in
some trades.
BY far the larger number of acct
dents occur at about 10 a. m. and p.
m. This fact Is confirmed by the re-
ports of two state boards, Washing
ton and Massachusetts. The tenden-
cy to speed up employment has been
incriminated, as the predisposing
condition for the occurrence of acct
dents. This desire comes over the
workman when he Is not yet fatigued,
but has been employed for several
hours. He starts the morning s
work "cold," and as he warns to his
work, the danger of mischance be-
cause of haste becomes greater. Just
when the speeding up reaches a eli
max In the morning hours, most &C
cldents happen. The same thing Is
true in the afternoon. Workmen
feel sluggish after their lunch, but af-
ter an hour of work warm up again,
and by about o'clock they are doing
their most rapid work, and are at the
same time more subject to accident
With regard to accidents among
children, however. there Is no hour
of maximum. Accidents occur at all
times. and they are comparatively
much more frequent among children
than adults. The United States Blu
reau OF Labor reported that there is
clear evidence OF great liability to
accident on the part of children.
Though employed in the less hazar-
dous work. their rates steadily exceed
those of the older co-workers. even
when In that group are included the
occupations of relatively high liza
bility" This was said with regard