The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-11-23
TOOLS RECOGNIZED
OF BASIC IMPORTANCE
By Them the Forces Of Nature Are Made
to Serve a Determined Human Pur-
pose-How They Have Served
in This War.

ments by which the win of man and the
social group is expressed. BY tools the
forces Of nature are made to serve de-
termined human purpose. Tools are the
products Of thought and efforts to
achieve they are material proof of de.
yelopment. In this war period, users OF
tools have become indispensable agencies
for carrying out national purpose. They
are the producing arm of the government
which must serve the military arm. The
tool user who makes the shell is as es-
sential as the gunner who fires it.
II was appreciation of this fundamen-
tai principle that convinced the y, s..
government that, in order to avoid con
fusion by multiplicity of orders and
standards, labor administration must be
centralized There resulted the procla-
nation of President Wilson designating
the secretary Of labor as war labor adj
ministrator. The government has con
sistently maintained that production
would be furthered by maintaining
standards in industry which promoted
the health, safety and betterment of en-
ployes.
In order that there might be uniform
ity Of standards for working conditions
in all industries, there was created in the
department of labor the working condi-
tons service. The duties of this service,
as briefly enumerated by the secretary Of
labor, are as follows:
ITO examine into working conditions
in war industries; to determine the
standards as to conditions which should
! be maintained in those industries; to
adopt rules embodying such standards
and explaining them; to determine the
best means for securing the adoption
and maintenance Of these standards and
to cooperate with state authorities for
the above purposes"
\ Although the organic act creating the
| department Of labor provides. that the
/ function Of the department shall be,
among other things, TO improve the
working conditions of the wage earners
of the United States, the department had
not undertaken specifically work of this
character until the urgent need demon
strated by war emergencies 1t has be.
come increasingly evident that working
conditions have a direct cause and rela-
! tionship TO labor turnover. Moving many
men from civil life to military service
made it necessary TO exercise the great
est wisdom in utilizing our limited hui
man reserves. The extravaganza of a
| high labor turnover has been emphasized
by prevailing high wages, thus increas-
| ing the costs chargeable to labor turn
over Thus there has come a new inter-
est IN lettering working conditions and
an appreciation that such betterment has
an economic advantage and pays the en-
ployer in every sense Of the term.
Working conditions in widest sense
comprise environment, relations between
employer and employed-all that makes
up life within the industry. For admin
4 istratiye purposes there are three di-
visions in the working conditions service
division Of industrial hygiene and med
icine, division of labor administration,
and division of safety engineering, Since
/ there are in operation other agencies
with the specialized function of dealing
with wages and hours as controversial
questions between employers and EN-
lployed they will not be dealt with as
such by this service.
The proclamation of the president in
structing all governmental departments
dealing with public health questions to
utilize the United States public health
service for that work was a step toward
unity Of action and purpose in health
problems. Industrial health is closely
related to community health and the
general scientific principles underlying
public health problems and industrial
health problems are identical. However,
organization, methods of operation, spe-
cial occupational problems in the indus
trial health field are fundamentally labor
problems, affecting directly human rela
tionships and human activity. The form
ulation of policies for dealing with these
phases of industrial health belongs prop
erly to the agencies entrusted with la
Dor administration. Cooperation be-
tween the department of labor and the
public health service for dealing with in
dustrial health problems brings a unified
national health policy and action, and at
the same time renders the policy and ac-
tion practical and in accord with needs
and ideals of those most concerned. Ac.
Ieordingly. the secretary of labor at the
request of the working conditions service
requested the secretary of the treasury
to authorize the United States public
health service to detail personnel to the
division of industrial hygiene and med
| icine of the service As result of the
agreement reached, DR.. A. J. LAMA,
past assistant surgeon of the public
health service, was detailed to act as
chief, division of industrial hygiene and
medicine, working conditions service. DIR.
lC. d. Selby of Toledo, o., win be at the
head Of the section of industrial med
icine
Various employers are appreciative Of
1.-THE fact that output in production is di-
rectly influenced by the physical we'll
being Of employees. Preventive methods
and medical assistance materially assist
in reducing the labor turnover and in
keeping employees in physical condition
to do their best work. Accident dangers
are comparatively obvious, but the as.
sistance Of health experts, sanitarians
and industrial physicians is necessary to
discover health hazards. Physical break
downs, diseases not understood by the
ordinary physician are readily traceablC
to occupations when occupational haz
ards are understood. 1t has become evi.
dent that the profession of industrial
medicine must be developed, that doctors
lin plants can assist workers to protect
their health by preventive far more eff
fectually than by remedial methods.
The division Of industrial hygiene and
medicine will direct the formulation Of
sanitary and health codes for industries
/ The direct relation between health and
efficiency is not so apparent as the re
suits of sudden and complete disability
from accidents. But the loss from de
| creased efficiency and energy among q
number of workers extended over a long