The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-10-22
GODFREY URGES
 EXAMINATIONS FOR EMPLOYEES
Physical Health Should Be In- vestigated, Tuberculosis
 Expert Says.
IMPROVE EFFICIENCY
 OF FACTORY FORCES
State Commissioner Delivers Interesting Address at
 Conference.


 ton for the employer, according to Jonathan, Godfrey, state tuberculosis 1 commissioner, in an address at the
 second annual New England Tuber- ] culosis conference, held today in | Springfield:
 commissioner Godfrey's address
 i.Indusfriaf disputes over hours of work and wage questions have so
 monopolized the public attention that l one is apt to lose sight 4of the fact that great thought and attention is
 being spent on the higher problems of welfare work
 From moral standpoint, the first | duty of the, manufacturer should be 1 to safeguard the health and happi- l ness of his employees The golden, rule, however. while practiced by many requires an added inducement in order to be made operative in a l general way.
 |, s.In these strenuous days of combi-
 nations and growth of manufacturing concerns in New England. one asks
 himself: Is the health of the emp1oye and the community being properly
 safeguarded In a small shop eIn- ] pIoying less than 100 men or women the question of a possible epidemic could not be very serious. but when one Inanufactory proposes to employ 300OO men and women, questions of housing, environment, toilet facilities, light and ventilation become serious matters.
 sTo one not familiar with local 1 building laws or with the usual prac- tice of architects and engineers in these respects, the situation might ap-
 pear serious
 Tt is not proposed, however, to start herewith alarmist propagan- da; quite the contrary, there being no 1 = Al-s -T.s< ly caution. Owing to the fearless agi- tation of thoughtful men and women! legislators have had their attention l focused on conditions affecting labor, with the general result of placing up-e
 on the statute books beneficial, wise
 and wholesale laws which reduce and minimize evil conditions affecting the health
 ssIn the cities, building laws and
 sanitary enactments are being perfect
 ed and enforced, and it is 70 be hoped that the towns will eventually awake
 to the importance of this class of leg fsIation, which should intel1igent1y
 conform itself to the efforts of pr1- ! vate enterprise and depend upon sound manitarfan experience.
 A manufacturer employing labor will have greater efficiency if proper safeguards are taken to protect the laborer from Illness rendering his physical condition unfit for careful productive work. In order to hold one,s place in the van of economic manufacturing in these days, it is es- sentially necessary that an employer of labor shall give careful consider ation to the study of efficiency.
 When various economic methods in industry began to be systematized by thoughtfu1 men, there sprang into being what is known as efficiency en- gineerfng. At first large employers of labor looked with suspicion on these new methods, but this has radi- .caIly changed and efficiency prob lens are now among the most import ant with which they have to deal. tTn the army and navy, the police and fire departments, and some classes of railway service, certain Etype of physical condition is essential The difficulty of maintaining efficiency in such service without proper playsi- cal examination is evident
 Moreover. it is well understood l that the hygiene of the working place ] is most important in determining the | health of the worker To conserve l health, then, is to increase efficiency iH any occupation or any class of 1 work
 ..Tuberculosis of the lungs is one i of the chief causes for physical inn pairment with the resulting loss of l earning power. When in a low pny- 1 sicaI condition. a workman operating an elevator, a machine tool or other 1 device capable of causing an accident i is more liable through carelessness due to his condition, to injure him 1 self, possibly by losing am arm or a 1 leg, ar even his life, than when he 1 is physically in good condition.
 All manufacturers in New England i are aware that this fact has ten
 q To <1f+ 1 premium charged for liability labor
 insurance.
 Does the business man fully ap- 1 preciate the importance of the health l of the employees as g, factor in indus trial efficiency? Would it not pay to health of employees while at work Would it pay to teach employees how 1 to safeguard their health? What could be done for the average em- 1 ploye so that he could be financially
 assisted on discovering that he had I early symptoms of disease? These :, are important questions
 A good system of medical exarnfn- l ation would be the basis of economic
 service to the empIoye. the employer, and through them to the community, i and would be a sound principle of public policy
 gro those interested in this sub
 ject, it would be well to read the very interesting papers on the subject by 1 Dr. Theodore B. Sachs and others in the transactions of the 10th annual meeting of the National Association
 for the Study and Prevention of Tub | ercuiosis.
 Large expenditures by employers I or labor for physical examination for
 Tuberculosis. and arrangements for l proper treatment of those afflicted l would not be justified in the account ing department unless the efficiency l produced would show a profit on the | transaction
 .sIn Germany exact reports are re- i auired by insurance institutions for I use as data for obtaining information | for the solution of such problems. The lettitude of. employers Is generally fa-