The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1945-07-20

M
A gashed foot, sooner or later, is
the inevitable result Of steadying a
block Of wood with your foot when
chopping.
ing into the National Safety council
from many of the 300 organizations
which cooperated in arranging Ma
tional Farm Safety week activities
| in 46 states in 1914 indicate an even
more successful week this year.
Lifetime of the implement has
long been yardstick whereby farm
machinery care is measured. But
there is far more important and
better measurement-the lifetime OF
the farmer. And that's where the
farm safety program, with its en-
phasis upon the relationship of the
human factor to the life span of
farm folks, comes in.
With this in mind, manufacturers
of farm equipment are doing USE
full job of urging users to take extra
care in handling implements, trac-
tors, or other farm machines.
When the tractor, for instance,
was new and its friends so freely
and correctly forecast the approach
of power farming, it stirred critics
who ranged from mild to bitter. To
catalog the criticisms would be an
endless and improbable task; but
that's all out of the book of Scene
sis" of power farming. 1t was soon
proved, again and again, that trac-
tor produced under good engineering
and manufacturing auspices would
stand up to the job for which it was
designed. Tractors kept getting bet
ter and better. Their betterment
| continues.
Maintenance is a big element in
such confidence. Long ago the
stronger retail implement dealers
assembled good mechanics and or
ganized their shop-service depart
ments. Many sent apprentices, and
senior mechanics as well, to tractor
factory schools.
Farm Safety Plan.
In the meantime, the farmer HIM
self has improved as his own serv-
ice man. Many young farmers have
grown up in the new age Of power
farming and qualify as professional
power farmers. And today's farmer
knows he can 60 to the shop of some
dealer for repair and overhaul work
that the farmer is not equipped to
do.
Factory management, by the way,
fought the battle of safety with
shields over moving parts wherever
! these might menace workmen-with
shields and plenty of special training
of foremen and workers in the tech
nique of safety. This battle goes on
now with never sign of letup. Fac
tory men treat safety as one of their
major concerns. An unshielded ma
chine is a rarity in any well-run
plant.
To make life and limb safer for
those who work with farm machin-
cry, the farm machinery manufac-
turers have developed and put into
effect protective shields for tractor
and pull-type power drive nipple
ments; power line and power take
off shields so designed that the shield
for any make of implement may be
attached to the master shield brack-
ct of any make of farm tractor.
Now the power line shield for any
make or model of implement built
to the standard could be connected
to the master shield on any make
or model of tractor. A good job,
well done! But what about the thou
sands of implements and tractors al
ready in the hands of the farmer?
Isn't safety important to them too?
1t is, and soon provision was made
to make available conversion pack
ages for old implements so they
could be adapted for use with new
tractors, and old tractors converted
to the standard so that new imple-
ments could be used with them.
In every way possible, farmers
are urged to use these shields; never
to operate machine without them.
Conspicuous precautionary signs are
posted on danger spots throughout
implement and tractor alike.
Certain parts Of any machinery
must be regarded as functional ele-
ments and cannot be completely
shielded and still perform their job;
but even here we do have one real
safeguard: "Man can think before
he acts"