Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-10-02
Immediate Action
To Save Lives Is
Necessary-DOW

Buffalo,, Oct. Immediate steps
must be adopted TO prevent the ever
increasing and appalling toll of hui
man lives taken in the United States
by aVQidable accidents, Marcus A.
Dow of New York City, president
told $500 delegates to the annual
safety congress of the National
| Safety Council which convened here
today and which will remain in ses-
! sion until October 6.
: Accidents in 1922 claimed more
! than $1,000 lives in this country, MIR
! DOW said. Over n period of ten
! years, public accident deaths have
! increased out of all proportion. while
IN the same period industrial acct
| dent fatalities have decreased. he
! told the congress at its opening SEES
! sion
; IF there is any doubt in the minds
f, Of any as to the great need of or
%ani2ed safety work. just picture the
! far reaching and unhappy conse-
! quences of one single accident where
F.; i'll the bread winner of one Ameri-
can family loses his life" he con-
tinued. visualize what it means to
that family to be suddenly deprived
Of husband ana father without
warning of any kind Then enlarge
! that picture by putting together
! thousands of individual cases OF
! family decentralization and suffering
| caused by thousands of accidents Oc-
curing in a single year and YOU
have a picture of human suffering so
/ pitiful. so appalling and Yet, so in
| cXCuSable that one can but wonder
| that the country has not taken steps
| long before now to correct the evil.
1T is bad enough that $4,000 per
If n
should be sacrificed on the altar Of
carclessness in single year. but
when we stop &c consider that out of
| that number 10000 were children
under Is years of age. of whom TO-
coo were babes under five years. it
is time for us to rise and eXclaim:
/ This cannot go on. Let us get to-
| gethcr and put stop to it and wipe
out this blot upon our nation.
| "Never have there been so many
! safety activities in the large COM
| muntieS as this year There are
now 50 organizations in as many
cities in this country which are pro-
| noting the idea of safety among the
people.
1.-TWO million school children will
! receive education in accident pre-
vcntion as n part of the regular
public and parochial school curricu-
lum during the year Textbooks on
the subject have been prepared with
the help of the National Safety Coun-
Gil and will be used in the schools.
! THE wonderful growth of the
1 safety movement in this country has
, been because of the fact that the
| American business man possesses
| something greater than mere busi-
ness intelligence. He possesses
- To gnlll E'nrOllr-
aged by the success of accident pre-
! vention work in industrial plants he
has, in many cities. put his orgapiZ-
ing ability and his intelligence to
work in the laudable effort to pre-
vent accidents outside of the indus
trial plant
THE steam railroads of America
have contributed significantly to the
reduction of accidents through the
safety section of the American Kali
way Association" Mr.. Dow said.
"Our purpose is to save human
lives. The contamination of IL
years in that direction has been the
realization that each individual can
save others from premature death
and can prevent personal injury II he
will conscientiously do the things
we have together learned will bring
about the maximum of safety
The following resolutions have
been prepared for acceptance by the
council:
!. The adoption and strict en-
forcement of uniform, practicable
laws and ordinances for the safe
guarding of traffic and the protec-
ton of the multitude of law abiding
drivers and pedestrians against the
criminal recklessness of the few.
.. The more careful study of our
street and highway systems, both eX-
listing and projected. by competent
engineering and traffic experts from
the standpoint Of safe and efficient
traffic movement.
8. The safeguarding of all dam
gerous machinery and places in in
dustry and elsewhere. according 10
standard methods of proved value. :,
4. The development of industrial
equipment and processes along lines
of inherent safety for the double
purpose Of eliminating accident