The daily Nome industrial worker., 1916-01-04

result of the introduction of me. chine drills, the stopes and drifts ] are choked with dust and when not choked with dust, laden with pow
 der smoke. It has become notor-
 ious that phthisis Is growing mors
 and more common in rock mining, , and in coal mining what 10 known
 as miners asthma is only another
 name for tuberculosis.
 ,} In another survey of the situation we have to consider the methods of Iliving in the larger cities Tenement } life is life that perfectly predis- l poses to tuberculosis. Bad air, over
 crowding, lack of sunshine, impure : water, mal-nutrition-these are the avowed allies of the dreadful di- , sease. Now tenements exist because
 of the necessity which drives the } workers to cheap rents. And while
 a source of enormous profit to some . few individuals, the tenements have always been a menace to the health iof society at large. Doctors are quite
 candid about industrial conditions
 pre-disposing to a spread of con
 sumption and those who work
 hardest against the fatal disease
 will readily admit that they are
 powerless to overcome an evil which |, is daily and hourly being created in society by the system of industry
 which prevails.
 } And it is because they dare not !, tackle this sysctm, that the limit
 of the work of societies or individu-
 als in the prevention of tuberculosis
 is definite and well determined.
 , Just as soon as shorter hours are suggested in mllls,, mines and fac
 tories, just as soon as the abolition
 of the tenements is spoken of, just
 so soon does private profit get up
 and pooh pooh" the whole thing,
 as an outrage and absurd to even
 think of. It's not because human |
 ally inclined to mercilessly exploit
 men, women and children at
 all But because the system insists
 that business shall be operated not
 for social we'll being and to acco-
 modatc the needs of human beings,
 but to provide profits for those who
 own the means of production.
 This is an elementary fact that
 the Industrial Worker has insisted
 upon often enough. You cannot e1-
 pect business to be carried on at a
 loss. There must be profits, and IL
 Is immaterial what results from
 the operation of business just so
 long as gain is carried forward from day to day, and month to month, and year to year.
 Therefore it is conditions which lpredispose towards tuberculosis are
 maintained, because to change thls , condition would result in a diminu.
 tion or total loss of profits.
 ? Tenements are requisite in cities ]; because therein sweat shop workers
 who obtain not living wage can } obtain rents below the normal. It
 is true that relative to the amount
 of air space provided there is no difference in rents, but by sharing rooms with other families and thus , restricting the air space, the inmates l are enabled to pay less rent as in- dividuals and hence to more caro-
 fully husband their sweat shop ] wages. Thus, and this is the really , important fact, the less wages are demanded in sweet shops for human beings will accept just as little as they can live upon; such is the force of competition in the labor
 commodity market
 : The optimistic declaration of MT lveiller therefore counts for very little. It Is the satisfaction of ths [ child who balls it's little hole in ths
 sand of the sea shore, when the , ocean water seeks it's level to re- , plenish the displacement effected The tuberlulosis committees have
 obtained great results, but thei' 3 work has been palliative work mere } ly, It has not and it dare not striks , at the roots of this disease. Fol 5 there is no kind of question tha' : tuberculosis is an industrial disease z Tt is q disease that is easily deficd when human beings live normal healthy, open air lives. Tubercuio Isis is overcome by sunlight; oxygef ] Is its antidote; exercise moderate