Evening star., 1925-03-29

" HERE are walking about in
this broad, free land of ours,
happy and contented and able
i to do full days work for n
fun days pay, at least 100. 900
men who would not be alive had not
Ferd C. Schwerdtman and James a.
Emery gone to Europe in 1911. Fur
thermore, there are many times 100,-
900 men, perhaps 100000, or even
more, who are free from scars or
other results of accidents who owe
their whole skin and lack Of injuries
to the same European mission of
these two men.
This trip to Europe marked one of
the most important economic moves
ever made in this country, from which
the benefits flow by hundreds of mil
lion of dollars, in addition to the
great happiness and economic and
constructive energy conserved by
safeguarding so many lives.
Studied Safety Devices.
The record of that European jour-
ney Is preserved not only in this con-
servation of life and limb and the
added production in American indus
tries but also in a great change In
the habits of the American people.
These two men represented a COM
mittee of the National Association Of
Manufacturers which acts for the in
dustrial community. Their mission
abroad was to bring back to this
country the entire story of accident
prevention and workmen's compensa-
ton in the older European countries
where the matter had received far
greater attention than it ever had
been given here.
The safety devices they brought
back, the safety ideas which the lead
crs Of industrial life promulgated, Is
a nationwide safety campaign. The
general principles for the solution of
the problems which industry adopted
at that time are today a part of the
custom and the law.
The great change that has work ed
so enormous a benefit for all Ameri-
cans is one of the great economic and
social features of the first quarter of
the present century. Safety first"
unheard of in 1900, is deeply and per-
manently rooted in the minds of the
american people, and is today one of
the most important factors in indus
trial life. And yet it is still young
idea, with plenty of room to grow,
and is destined to have a transform
ing effect upon the nation.
Early Laws Opposed.
The idea that the entire mass of
the people is responsible Tor the
safety of individuals is new, and yet
it is so strongly ingrained In US that
the youth of today will scarcely be-
lieve that within the memory of the
men in public life there was long and
bitter opposition to legislation for
certain safety devices and rules which
are today accepted as q matter of
course, and without (which the world
at large would consider itself thor
oughly endangered. This was en-
phasized by Senator David !. Walsh
of Massachusetts in a speech here re-
Gently reminiscent of the mill days
of his youth in his old home town,
Clinton, Mass, contrasted with the
changes that have come within the
period of his own public life as Gov
ernor and United States Senator.
Accident statistics show that we
have reduced industrial fatalities from
50, 900 a year in the first years of the
present century to about 1880 at
present, despite the tremendous in
crease in Industrial activities. This
great advance in conservation Of lives
of workers has taken it's create
Atride since the leaders of American
industry took the matter in hand and
presented the nation with a definite
plan of action and education.
There was o savage note in indus
try when the safety movement
started. The risks Of men at work