Evening journal., 1919-08-02

preventabe accidents among children
Every year 5000 boys and girls under
| 10 years Of age meet death by acci-
dents in the United States There are
probably 10000 MANNED in the same
period
In order to reduce this terrible waste
OF human life a movement has been
! started TO teach safety in the schools
Albert NJ. Whitney OF the National
| Safety Council, who knows more of
what can be done in this way than any
one in the country, recently lectured
on the subject before the teachers at
! The Summer School at Delaware College
and also discussed il later at a confer
ence of men and women in this city.
Because OF its great interest TO par
ents and the public generally, The
| Evening Journal prints herewith a di-
gest OF Mr.. Whitneys talk delivered at
Delaware College.
The number Of deaths due TO acci-
dents in The United States Is i'm the
ncighborhood OF 10000 a year and the
number OF serious accidents other Than
death about 2.0O0OO0 IN other words,
we have i'm our factories and streets
the equivalent In their effect upon our
own people Of two European wars
going on all The time. More specifically,
the casualties due TO accidents in this
country during the period Of our par
tlcipatiOn in the war were twice as
great as the casualties 10 our soldiers
in battle. Year in and year out ther3
Is this perpetual wastage Of life and
limb, this agony Of torn flesh and
split blOd this tragedy OF husbands
and fathers torn from their families. OF
little children brought lifeless or bleed
Ing TO their parents feet. This IS not
a sacrifice for a principle, for liberty,
for democracy for right and truth il
is only a passionless, senseless tribute
10 carelessness and ignorance A wife
or mother who has given her husband
or her son on a French battlefield has
received some return for his life in
the high emotion 81 the struggle for a
better world but wife who In place
Of her husband receives flesh torn 10
pieces by the gears of a lathe or
father and mother TO whom is brought
the form OF their child crushed under
the wheels Of a trolley car have no
such exchange: they have only the
tile purpOrt of a world can be in ~hich
such meaningless things can happen.
Much has already been done 70
tighten this horror. Most Of the indus
trial plants OF the country have done
something TO reduce their accidents
and in the case Of many the undertake
ing has been thorough and effective |
Many plants have been successful in |
reducing their accidents to a third Of |
what they We're under cid conditions. |
Workmen's compensation laws, which |
lay the responsibility for accidents di- |
rectly upon the employer himself. had |
much TO do in arOusinS an interest in
this work, but TO the credit OF en-
ployers be IL said that This interest
once aroused has gone forward because
of the driving force of the appeal Of |
humanity and efficiency The strength |
OF the movement can be measured by
the growth OF the National Society |
Council. Founded in 1912, it has now
membership representing over sir
million Of the industrial workers of the
country It's activities are having a
profound effect Up TO recently the |
work has been largely industrial and !
has perfOrce had to do with more inn |
mediate and obvious needs such as the |
mechanical guarding Of machinery and |
the organization Of shop committees.
This work. however, is now so we'll
under way that the Council can direct
its efforts toward the field Of public
safety and toward fundamentals and Of
these there is none so important as
ALREADY a number OF universities
have Incorporated safety work in their
engineering curriculum, not only in
connection with actual shop practice,
but as a part OF such courses as in
1ustrial management and machine de-
sign.
THE Federal Bureau for Vocational
Education has made the teaching OF
safety and hygienve an integral part !
)f the work in all vocational schools.
The National safety Council, through
It's local councils and the American
institute Of Safety, are both carrying
ln a most important educational work
lmong plant inspectors and foremen.
so much briefly for what has been
already done in the educational field
outside of the public schools II is the |
public school, however. that is the !
most fertile ground of all. II men and
women are To have a regard for safely | 5
hat Will control their lives in an inn
,ortant way, they must get il while they
ire children. The problem is therefore
o introduce safety education into the
schools in such a way that it shall {
permanently affect the chlld's way y
While the National Safety Council /
Vas considering how it might best at :
ack this problem It was fortunate
'nough to have the problem actually :