Mexico weekly ledger., 1916-02-17
woRKMEx FAVOR DIZZY
TowN Zoe TTs sAFEfY

~ y - = Nf-A 49, t@4AA - =
A years. trial Of prohibition has
made dry advocates Of employer
and employees alike in the industrial
towns of Berwick and West Bsrkieh.
Pa, where about FIVE thonzand men
work In the shops Of the American
Car ard Foundry Company. This
sentiment was expressed at the recent
license court hearing held 70 con
rider eyidence for reiicensing saloons
in the two boroughs, closed year
ago.
W. z. 5arrard, head Of the safety
first department Of the Berwick dis
trict Of the company, presented TWEEN
ty letters from various employees
favOring a "dry" town. The writer's
were safety first committees repre-
senting every department Of the
plant The chance Of injury to working
men was reduced BY prohibiting the
sale Of intoxicants. these letters said.
Jarrard submitted, in addition, the
following statement relative to the
reduction Of accidents since the plant
had abolished alcoholic liquors:
What the elimination of the saloon
has done for the foreign workmen is
proved when taking two departments,
namely the steel freight car eonstrue-
tion and erection department of s.
per cent are foreign workmen and
where there is practically no mach
inery to safeguard. Therefore the ell
imination Of accidents largely de-
lpends upon this class Of workmen
themselves, and not upon safety de-
vices. During the six months ending
December 81, 1913, one Of these meI
was injured to every nine cars built
Comparing this with the six months
following general booze notice is.
sued the forepart Of January, 1914
which eliminated drinking on the way
to and from work and that which hat
been sneaked into the works here
tofore, follows: During these 81,
months one man was injured to every
eighteen cars built, or a decrease o.
81 per cent in accidents since saloons
were eliminated from the community
We take the last six months Of tn
year 1915, and find that one man wa
injured to every twenty-five car
built, or a decrease Of 81 per cent il
accidents. II is true that we wer'
not 50 busy during 1915, but tax,
October and November, 1913, an,
compare with October and November
1915, and find that those department
built three and half more cars thai
the year previous, showing a de
crease Of IA per cent in accidents, o
an increase Of 2s6 per GENT in car
built per accident"
w. S. Johnson, general superintend
ent d, the Berwick plant, testikel
that at a recent conference Of de
partment heads it was the consensu
! Of opinion that never before had tn
personnel Of the men applying TO
work been so high. MANY EN-
ployees,1 he said @openly declare,
they were there because Berwick is
dry town.
One applicant for saloon in Ber
wick had only two witnesses beside
himself in court, although the hear
ing had been postponed for the pur
pose Of giving him time to presen
his evidence. Those who oppose re
Licensing presented about 1900 sign
ers against every place In Berwick
while the average number Of petition
ers was around twenty.
Police records for Berwick ant
West Berwick presented at the hear
ing, showed marked decrease in Of
fenses under the "dry' administra
.
tion. The town council Of West Ber
wick had dispensed with chief d
police because there is nothing to do