The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-03-17
Compulsory Physical Examina-
tiOn to Aid Efficiency.
INvADEs PERSONAL LIFE
Wedding QUE of Men Not Perfect Bod
lily Would Put an Added Strain on
Those Who Passed the Test-ldea In
toIerabIe From the Humane Stand.
point.
BY JOHN p. WHITE,

any other class of citizens, involves an
interference with the personal life Of
the individual so serious that it should
be undertaken only on the assurance
that the public welfare demands it and
that the results are worth the sacrifice
Of that personal sanctity which our in
stitutiops have thrown about the indi-
vidual.
This, in my judgment, is another way
of saying that the state, not the en-
ployer, should undertake such exam
nation, assuming always that pubic
policy demands compulsory examina-
ton at all. am not prepared to admit
! even this.
Compulsory physical examination is
being urged only for wage earners.
, The reason is not far to seek. For the
disinterested physician or scientist it is
a short cut to remedying a condition
I which is due to the fact that wages are
! too low to permit wage earners, as
class, to spare the means for doing
what otherwise they would voluntarily
do and without prompting from any
authority-thati is, to consult the physi-
clan as frequently as necessary.
If we are to assume that insufficient
wages and the ignorance and helpless
ness attendant on low wages are to re-
main with US always, then we could
proceed with program of paternalism
and justify it. The fear of organized
labor and lovers of human freedom
generally is that low wages will be-
come so buttressed by remedial meas
ures of this sort that the public con-
science will be dulled into an accept
ance of low wages as a permanent In
stitution.
Of course in some occupations, such
as that of locomotive engineer, certain
} physical tests are so necessary on the
ground of public safety that no objec-
ton can be raised. But with industry
organized for private profit the wedding
out of men not physically perfect by
physical examination means only that
those who pass the test will be sub
jected to greater strain than previous
II. The late Professor Hoxie of Chi
cago university, after conducting a
thorough investigation of scientific
management, expressed the opinion
that the greatest danger now threaten
ing the American wage Garner is the
speeding up of industry and the conse
uuent physical strain imposed upon the
worker.
II Professor HoXie and other econo
mists and students of industrial prob
| lens are correct, as | believe they are
then we must regard the entrance OF
number of physically unfit men into in
dustry as a blessing if it serves tt
checx the tendency toward more speet
and greater strain.
AS modern industries are organized
today, the rejection Of unfit men mean
not the protection Of those who are &C
cepted, but license to increase the strait
upon them so that eventually they, toe
or their descendants, will be added t.
, the class of the unfit.
? 'They will scrap the whole humal
race if they keep on" said Andre7
Furuseth In referring to the increase II
, efficiency devices, so called. We are Il
great danger of losing entirely the hu
man equation in industry and with
the freedom of the individual This |
not only inhuman and intolerable fro1
5 a humane standpoint, but 1t is not eli
Gent. Human nature is too complex t
. measure men with yardstick. Some o
the greatest inventors and mechanics
not to mention statesmen and even sol
t diers, have been men who could neve
= have passed the rigid physical test
: imposed by some of our modern indus
trial corporations whose managers hav
gone mad over efficiency.
, If physical examination of all per
| sons is demanded on the broad grount
of social welfare, then let 1t be admin
istered by the state
Better still, let our scientists ant
wise men cease regarding the grea
mass of workers as densely ignoran
and hopeless wards, over whom the.
must watch and care. Let them in
stead join with organized labor in de
handing a fair wage and then, TAX
: my word for it. the very men for whom
they are now so solicitous will b.
: found taking the best care of them
selves.
1t is certainly putting the cart befor
the horse to demand the wedding on
: of all save the physically perfect Will
at the same time we permit low wage
and poverty to continue to make phys
ical fitness difficult or impossible t
: achieve.
Government Clerks to Fight.
: Plans are being developed by repre-
: sentatives of organizations Of govern
ment employees and of the American
Federation of Labor to have friends
: make strenuous fight on the floor o.
the senate to have some provision fol
increased salaries for government EN-
playees placed in the legislative appro
priation bill The senate appropria
! lions committee rejected the proposed
house increases.