New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-11-09
British Factories
Much Safer Now
Than Before War
Annual Report of Inspector
Shows Precautions Are
Being Taken to CuardMe
and Women Employees
New York Tribune
FOREIGN Press Bureau

New York Tridnms
Foreign Press Bureau
Interest always attaches to the an
nual report Of the Chief Inspector Of
Factories and Workshops, and the one
for the year 1918 is no exception to the
rule" says "The London Telegraph
There are important chapters on
hours Of work. accident prevention and
safety first, labor-saving appliances,
welfare, ambulance and first aid, con-
tinuatton classes, use of electricity in
factories and industrial poisoning
In the course Of his introduction
the chief inspector writes: THE prom
inence given to safety, health and well
of labor, has perhaps been-apart from
the special war work-the principal
feature of the work of our department,
not only during the last year but also
during the whole period Of war The
experience gained had great effect
upon the conditions OF industrial EN-
/ ployment. 1t has shown that an in
crease in the ordinary hours Of work
does not necessarily mean an increase
in production, and the more the COM
fort and welfare Of the worker is stud
led and provided for the greater is his
output, and that attention given to
health and the prevention of accidents
means greater efficiency and reduced
charges. The results will, to large
extent, be permanent.
War Rush Is Past
"The outbreak Of war in 1914 pro-
duced an immediate effect upon the in
dustries of the country. Financial pres
sure. the difficulty of obtaining raw
materials, and the general feeling Of
uncertainty caused extensive unemDloy-
ment and short time in numbers Of
factories and workshops, and especially
IN the case OF women workers. This
period of depression was soon followed
by large dena ads for every conce syeoie
kind Of war equipment, and for articles
hitherto supplied only from abroad
"The whole industrial situation ur-
derwent extraordinary changes, and
adapted their works and machinery to
the production OF the most varied
articles was equale ii not surpassed
by the zeal and skill and patriotic
spirit displayed by the workers in TAX
ing up and fitting themselves for work
entirely fore gn to their ordinary oc-
equations. Dressmakers and jewellers
were found in leather works, PEN
makers in surgical dressing factories,
cigar workers in electric lamp making
Theatrical costumers turned to uniform
and shirt making, while munition fac
tories absorbed workers from many and
various occupations.
Long Hours Reduced
'An urgent demand for overtime and
employment in shifts arose. This was
dealt with under the special powers
given by the factory act in cases OF
national emergency, and later also
under the defence Of the realM reg
ulations. Though the long hours at
first adopted were probably justified
by the extreme urgency OF the stua-
that il would be impossible to main
tain the desired output if they were
continued During the succeeding years
Of the war our inspectors were largely
employed in Investigations as to the
best and most productive hours Of
work, and the latitude allowed By the
special emergency orders has been re-
duced and modified accordingly.
"The past year has especially been
marked by q great advance in the vol
untary movement on the part Of EN-
ployers and workers to reduce hours
of labor. One important feature is
the tendency 20 commence work later
in the morning, and to arrange the
period of employment SO as to make
only one interval for a meal neces-
sary."
After referring to the Investigations
into the effect OF hours of labor OF
industrial fatigue and efficiency. the
report proceeds: "The question Of
safety, always one of the mos. impor-
tant matters dealt with By our depart
ment, has been rendered especially so
during the period of the war by the
altered conditions Of employment. The
increased amount of machinery used
together with the adoption Of new
types of machines, coupled with the in
creased number of persons employed
in factories and the introduction of fe
male labor into processes hitherto con-
fined to men, would naturally have led
one to expect a corresponding increase
in the number of reportable accidents.
This has not been the case. On the
contrary, many Of the inspectors re-
ports point to a decrease.
Accidents Decreasing
at has been found that by continu-
ally directing the workers attention.
by signs or short NOTICES, to points Of
danger and the need therefore of extra
care in his movements. and also by
securing his interest and co6pe ration
with the management in the proven
ton OF accidents. remarkable results
have been achieved in reducing the
number Of avoidablc accidents in a
factory.
Much has been done in the past by
the fencing Of machinery, but machin-
cry is responsible only for less than a
third Of the number of accidents re-
ported TO our department, and the OBJ
ject Of the safety tirst movement is not
only to secure that guards should be
kept In good order and regularly used,
but to prevent the large number of
accidents due to inexperience, want Of
thought and careessness."