The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-01-06

stacIes.
! I'VE are running a kindergarten ir
| our department this SUMNER said g
| woman who was in charge of a mum
Der of fourteen and fifteen-year-old
girls who were working as inspectors
in the summer, but were planning tC
go back to school III the autumn. One
of the most important inspections
takes place just before loading. The
| girls watch for any imperfections and
| especially for high" primers, or pri-
mers that are not fitted closely down
into the heads of the shells An
| other important inspection occurs just
| after charging. The girls make sure
| that the proper amount of powder
is in the shells, that none have been
| left haIf-empty, and that no powder
| is spilled.
Formerly women had actually load
| ed both primers and shells, but by the
summer Of 1916 the girls said that this
part of the work was usually done by
men. Working at the machine which
| inserts the charge of powder in the
open end of the empty cartridge case
or She'll" is a group which usually
|
girls. The girls say that they fill
plates with primer shells and the men
place them in the machines which put
| into each shell the proper amount of
| powder. According to the company
officials, s1nokeless powder is used for
war goods, and is much less danger
Gus than black powder.
Work with the loaded primers and
shells, as the girls described it is
| never free from danger. They told
stories of serious and even fatal acct
dents. One worker described her
| experience some years before when a
girl beside her in the loading room
was killed, another seriously injured,
and she herself was struck by a piece
of machinery. She added: I'VE
always run, but you never really have
time to get away. It's all over before
you know what's happened. It's
just as if big wind came and blew
you across the room"
Representative of the company
make the gratifying statement that
while there have been a. few fatal
accidents among the men, athere have
been no fatal accidents for women
workers for several years. They al
so declare that a committee on ac-
cidents exist, and that thousands of
dollars have been spent on safety
appliances; but as further informa-
ton was denied the investigators, the
methods Of the committee cannot be
described here or it's efficiency gaug-
ed.
Fear of the danger and rumors of
VII o 1,a
however, and indicate the need for
accident prevention las has been
adopted by progressive employers
elsewhere.
new girls very nervous, but familiar
ity with danger soon permits exper-
fenced workers to pay little attention
to it. A kind of fatalism possesses
some of them. eve have only once
to die" said a worker who had seen
men seriously injured and had her
self been Frustrated by the force Of
\ an explosion, land it might as we'll
be in the shops as anywhere else"
In Former Days. .
Workers remembered when the
charging machines were put in
cages as one of the girls explained,
$50 If there's an explosion they won't
fly all over, the ROOM" The general
testimony given by the girls was that
since the passage Of the Connecticut
Workmen's Compensation Act in 1919
the machines have Been better guard
ed. But not yet has accident pre-
vention gone far enough to rid work
in the loading rooms Of serious dam
gers. ~
Furthermore, after injuries are re-
ceived a general ignorance Of the
terms Of the law or a kind Of inertia,
about taking the necessary legal steps
often prevents the workers from get
ting the assistance provided by the
terms Of the act. Zone Of the fire.
men told me I could get compensa-
ton from the company" said a wom-
an whose eye had been hurt, "but I've
never bothered about it, thus ex-
pressing in one casual sentence the
attitude of many of the employees to-
ward accidents happening in the
course of their work.
For the six months from May 25
to November 25, 1915, five hundred
and seventy-four accidents to NUM-
ton workers in the fourth district, re-
sulting in incapacity for a day or long
err, were reported to the state COM
pensation commissioners office. All
the plants which manufacture NUM-
tons in this district are located in
Bridgeport. In the only two plants
which employ women, thirty three ae-
cidents to women occurred. During
the same period, in one of the largest
plants of the district, eighty three
claims for compensation were made
by munition workers, Of which TWEEN
ty-five were made by women. Some
thing more than trivial injury is i'm
piled in these cases, since, by the
terms of the law, compensation cannot
be claimed unless disability haA last
ed for more than ten days. Anoth-
er characteristic of the Connecticut
law should be noted in this connec-
ton. The percentage of wages to be
paid during disability is, of course, a
measure Of the incentive for preven-
ton. The Connecticut law requires
only SO per cent. of wages in contrast
with more advanced legislation in 9TH
err states, such as New York, Massa-
'chusetts and Ohio, which allow two
thirds of wages. /
In common with other American
states. excepting only Massa chusetts
and California, Connecticut also makes
no provision for compensation for oc-
volving the use of illuminate of mer-