Evening star., 1925-07-26
WHAT A WOMAN CAN LIFT
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN

How many pounds can a woman
liftr This is not a question as to
the maximum lifting feat that has
been accomplished by the strong
woman" in circus or on the vaude-
Vile stage. but has TO do with the
weights which working women may
handle without jeopardizing their
health.
Five States have undertaken to reg
ulate by laws or codes the weights
which women may lift, but Industrial
experts declare that no fair and salts
factory standards have been establish
ed either in this country or abroad.
California has a law which forbids
women to lift receptacles which weigh
rs pounds or more. Ohio prohibits
the employment of women in any
capacity which necesSitates their lift
ing weights OF 25 pounds or over.
pennsylvania DEGREES that women
shall not handle cores in core rooms
which weigh more than Is pounds.
These are parts of molds used in iron
and steel casting. New York in its
industrial code, rule 5s5, provides that
women shall not handle cores which
weigh more than % pounds.
Pounds Not Only Point.
1t is recognized. however, that the
problem cannot be solved by writing
into law or code the maximum num-
ber of pounds which a woman may
lift. A great deal depends upon the
way In which anything is lifted, and
the distance, reach and stretch which
1t entails. To lift 25 pounds from one
table to another of the same height
does not require as much energy and
strain as to lift Is pounds from the
floor to shelf over ones head.
In order to ascertain the serious
ness of the problem the Bureau of
Women in Industry in New York State
had the figures compiled for a given
year Of all the women in the State
who received compensation as a re-
suit Of strain from lifting. The year
ending June 80, 1924, the 10th year
for compensation cases, was selected
for the survey, and the report shows
that 100 women received compensation
OF the character indicated during that
period. These 100 women averaged
IL weeks disability and the amount
OF their compensation averaged $109.
All of the disabilities were temporary
except two. One woman who suffered
from a permanent partial disability
was employed in an hotel and the
other in an Office building.
Almost one-half of the women in
curing disabilities from lifting
weights too heavy for them to handle
As, to be exact-were employed in
manufacturing establishments. Thirty
one were engaged in clerical and
personal service, 20 were employed in
trade, 2 by public utilities and l in
building construction.
In the manufacturing group there
was one case of strain from lifting
in each of the following; Foundries
hardware, sheet metal ware, wire,
beds, construction, wood turning,
confectionery, tobacco, clothing, fur
nishing goods, needle trades, shoddy,
cotton goods, woolen goods, ink, soap
and paper.
In the clerical and personal serv-
Ice classification the largest number
of cases, Ia, occurred in hotels and
clubs, while there were 13 cases in
apartment and Office building.
In the trade group, the largest
number of accidents took place in
food, department and and 10 cent
stores-13 in all.
The New York State Department
of Labor says that the analysis of
these figures, contrary to expecta-
ton, shows that the problem of lift
ing heavy weights does not lie wholly
in the manufacturing group, but
rather it lies with women who are
resses and carrying heavy trays,
mattresses who set out ashes and
women employed in stores who lift
heavy boxes from shelves and replace
them.
"It is doubtful" says the report,
whether laws or codes could ever be
made which could regulate with any
degree of justice the question of lift
ing. 1t becomes practically matter
of personal equation and a matter
of knowing how to do 1t. The fact
that many of the strains from lifting
| accidents fall into industries where
| weights are not heavy is an indica-
ton that perhaps distance, reach,
stretch, etc, have more to do with
| the accident than the actual weight.
| 1t becomes, therefore, matter OF
teaching women how to lift with the
| least possible exertion."
| Wartime Standards.
During the World War, when thou
| sands of women went into munition
nIa ants or undertook other work ordi
| narily performed by men, the problem
| of conserving their health was regard
ed as of as much Importance as the
matter of thier compensation. In the
proclamation creating the National
War Labor Board, as one of the basic
principles upon which industrial con
| troversies were to be settled or ad
justed, 1t was stipulated that women
must not be allotted tasks dispropor
tionate to their strength.
| The reconstruction program of the
| American Federation OF Labor includ
ed a declaration that woman workers
must not be permitted to perform
tasks disproportienate to their physi
cal strength, or which tend to impati
| their potential motherhood and pre-
vent the continuation of a nation ol
strong, healthy. sturdy and intelligent
men and women Substantially the