The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1941-01-23
Appeal To Workers
to Exercise Caution
Pennsylvania Shows 38.929
Have Been Killed In Lost
Qudrter Century

QuQrter century
Although we think Of the war as
a terrific waste of men, we are forced
to look no farther than some of ou1
large industries to be shocked with
the cheapness Of human life, as is
pointed out by David Williams, sec
retary Of the Pennsylvania Federation
of Labor, in an appeal to workers tc
avoid careless acts, and to state and
federal agencies for stricter enforce.
ment of regulations.
Statistics furnished by the State
Department of Labor and Industry
alone, Williams wrote, show that dur
ing the period between January
1916, and October 81, 1910, a total
of 38,929 persons were killed; 63,85f
were permanently disabled, and L.
553,549 were temporarily disabled.
"This frightful slaughter of our
wage earners," he declared, "can best
be visualized if we assemble the vic
TINS in a figurative procession. Lined
up four abreast in rows eight feet
apart, we would have Is miles of cof-
fins to represent those who paid the
extreme penalty. Then we follow
with "a miles of those victims who
became permanently disabled through
some industrial accident. Among
those permanently disabled we see
about four and one-half miles of per-
sons with one eye out and over one
quarter of a mile of totally blind.
"There is 5-6 of mile of men with
one leg off, together with 154 legless
men on stretchers and in wheel chairs
The division of persons with one foot
missing is IL miles long and here
we also have l42 men with both feet
off.
about 2/3 of mile of the pro-
cession represents persons with one
arm off led by dozen armless men.
These are followed by l AS miles of
persons with one hand off. There are
l45 with both hands missing. Then
thousands of persons with fingers and
phalange lost; 1212 miles of them
march by. We are depressed as per-
sons with their faces torn and dis
fgured-two miles of them-pass in
review.
Next we see approaching the mass
of workers who have been temporarily
disfigured by industrial accidents, 58S
miles of them, all part of the casu-
alties that might have been avoided
had both wage earners and employers
observed the rules and regulations
promulgated by the department of
labor and industry, in the interest of
industrial safety"
This whole procession, Secretary
Williams calculated, would extend
627 miles
More production in the states in
dustries, as a result Of orders through
the Federal administrations national
defense program, Mr.. Williams says
brings combination Of circum-
stances which is causing an increase
in such accidents. In the first 1C
months of 1910 there were 739 per
sons killed as against 725 killed dur
ing the entire II months of 1889 with
prOportionate variance in the mum
Der disabled, temporarily and perma-
nently.
The fact that Pennsylvania indus.
tries are increasing their employees
by the thousands and hundreds OF
thousands" Mr.. Williams declared
"many of whom are young men with
no safety training, means a certain
increase in our industrial accidents
and casualties"
Mr.. Williams suggested that the
Government divert some of the mil
lions being spent for vocational train
ing purposes to educating those al
ready employed to avoid industria
accidents. Placing young men, un
accustomed to intensive production
methods, at work in an industria
plant after a few weeks training un
der the defense program, is an invi
tation to industrial accidents, tha
may not only involve this particular
worker but also may include man!
other workers as we'll, he said.
The AFL executive condemned pro
posals to further cut appropriation
for the State Department of Labo
and Industry and demanded that cap
able inspectors be placed in it's bu
reau of inspection "to protect ou
members in plants where the employ
er thinks more of profits than he doe
of the lives of his employees"
A well trained inspection force will
be needed for the many new indus
tries being established in the state
he said. Failure to provide Inspector
is just plain deliberate carelessness OF
the part of those in authority. Th
secretary said:
Every wage Garner, young or old
who is being trained by the state o
Federal Government for productiv
work in connection with national de
fense, should be compelled to underg
thorough training in accident proven
tion and education in the provision
Of the safety rules and regulations o
the department Of labor and industry.
Ask for Union Labeled Merchandise