The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1920-01-17
Death HAZARD IN
MILLS is Great
Bureau of Labor Statistics Makea
Study at Fall River,
Mass.
WOKEN ARE BIGGER RISK
Mortality Among Cotton Mill Workers
Much Higher Than Among Those
Following Other Pursuits--Tu-
bercuIosis Takes Many.

Washington, D. C.-From an indus
trial standpoint death at less than
old age means a fixed and definite
loss; the worker has at each age a
certain expectancy of life, varying ac-
cording to certain factors, but still
definitely calculable, which makes his
death the loss of so much potential
industrial activity.
In bulletin No. 251 entitled Pre-
ventable Death in the Cotton Manu-
featuring Industry" just issued by the
bureau of labor statistics of the Uni
ted States department of labor, is
shown the real death hazard by age
groups for wage earners. especially
for those engaged in the several
processes of cotton cloth manufacture
and also what factors have been es-
pecially active in cutting off the lives
of wage hi during age periods
which are normally of greatest produc-
tive activity.
In this report, which Is supplement
airy to IN earlier report upon the SUBJ
ject, the death hazard, by age, sex and
race of the entire operative popula-
ton of Fall River, the leading cotton
manufacturing city in the United
States, is ~cCntrasted with the CORE
spending hazard of the nonmill opera
tives of the city for the five years,
1908 to 1912, inclusive, and a study
is made of the death rates of workers
in the different rooms within the cot
ton mill.
Women Have Higher Death Rate.
BY a comparison of death rates by
sex of the whole Fall River popula-
ton, aged Is to A, it is shown that
females have appreciably the higher
death hazard. From tuberculosis their
death rate exceeds that of the males
by II per cent, from nontuberculosis
causes by 5 per cent and from all
causes combined by s per cent. Yet
while this is true of the population
as a whole, it is untrue of that por-
ton of it (61 per cent? which does
not work in the cotton mills, for
among these three-fifths the male
death rate exceeds the female by IA
per cent. 10
The t9tai- GeCaceAazard of the ma
tive born exceeds that of the foreign
born by 9 per cent, though the native
BORN are less liable than the foreign
born to die of tuberculosis, the differ
ence between the death rates being
slight. hOwever-less than l per cent.
The Irish and French Canadians show
the highest death rates among the
different racial groups.
In Fall River married females be-
tween the ages of 10 and A are much
more liable to die, both from tuber-
culosis and from all nontuberculous
causes than the single, while among
the males the single are almost invar-
lably far more liable to die early than
are the married of the same age.
Hazard Greater in Mills.
Fall River cotton operatives between
the ages of 10 and "A are about one
half (46 per cent? more liable to die,
from all causes combined, than are
nOnmill operatives of the same age,
their hazard from tuberculosis being
100 per cent and from all ~nontuber-
culous causes of death, 20 per cent
greater than the hazard of all other
persons. AS to workroOm hazard it
appears that the spinning and weave
rooms are the two workrooms show
ing the greatest peril for male work
ers, the death rates, both of single and
married men, from all causes being
greater than the corresponding rates Of
nonmill operatives. Fol- both single
and married females the spinning
room is the Don of greatest peril, a
fact which is important because the
spinning room females are a youthful
group, 70 per cent being under %.
Within industrial groups tubercu-
losis is by far the commonest single
cause of death, the tuberculous deaths
being 40 per cen of the total deaths.
both of male and of female operatives
aged 10 to A.
E1IIoN.t . nz.- RI