October 23, 1910 



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Education of workmen to the value of safety rather than mechanical 

 accident prevention devices is the means by which the greatest good 

 is to be accomplished in reducing accidents in the woodworking plants 

 of this country in the opinion of speakers before the logging, lumber- 

 ing and woodworking sectional meeting of the National Safety Con- 

 gress in session at Detroit, October 20. 



Not only was this conviction shown in the formal papers but the 

 discussion on each of the topics bore out the same general opinion. 

 The object now, it is explained, of all safety work is to get the 

 workman thoroughly aroused to the danger which encompasses his 

 daily labor and to be on the alert to protect himself from it. 



' ' We don 't look to ordinary machine guards any more, ' ' said E. G. 

 Prichett, chairman of the section, before the Friday morning meet- 

 ing. Anyone can devise a guard for ordinary purposes, but what we 

 are working for is to find a remedy for the special cases which are 

 constantly coming to our attention and for which there is no imme' 

 diate remedy. 



"This organization was founded on the idea of education rather 

 than the employment of mechanical devices in the promotion of safety 

 in industrial establishments and although we found much opposition 

 and considerable ridicule of our methods at first I am glad to say 

 that employers of labor all over this country are now awakening to 

 the great good that can be accomplished for mankind and their own 

 interests by affording greater safety to their men. 



"Some time ago workmen looked upon the safety movement as an 

 unnecessaty interference with their conduct and resisted it, much the 

 same as bookkeepers years ago would look with suspicion on the work 

 of an auditor and feel that their employer doubt«d their honesty and 

 was trying to get something on them. Today the accounts of book- 

 keepers are examined monthly in many industries and it is consid- 

 ered a regular order of things. That is the situation which obtains 

 at the present time in the safety movement. Men are looking at it 

 in an entirely different light and they are getting a great deal more 

 out of it." 



The value of cooperation in the safety campaign in any industry 

 cannot be overestimated in the opinion of F. A. Barker of the Lumber- 

 man 's Mutual Casualty Company, Chicago, who read a paper on 

 "How to Organize a Saw Mill for Safety." He said in part: 



All the safety work in the world will not accomplish an.vthing unless 

 everyone in the establishment, where it is being carried out. Is in sympathy 

 with it. There is no use trying to get men enthused over "Safety First" 

 placards unless their foremen and the superintendent of the plant are also 

 in line. 



I have an Instance in mind where the women were a great factor in pro- 

 moting safety in a sawmill. The operator of a mill in a small town in Wis- 

 consin experienced difficulties in keeping his plant in ojieratlon whenever 

 a circus, a carnival or any other form of amusement attraction came to 

 town. The men would invariably take a day oft and it would be necessary 

 to close down the plant until the next day. 



This employer noticed, however, that the next day he would have only 

 about halt his regular working force on the job. One day following a car- 

 nival he resumed operations, as usual, with a half crew and began to turn 

 out material at the regular rate and at the end of the day he found that he 

 had produced as much this day, with only halt the regular working force, as 

 he did ordinarily witli twice as many men. 



Now, this millman made a great discovery. While the town was a dry 

 town, he discovered that many of the men would go on a debauch while the 

 carnival or circus was in town and would be unfit for the worli next dn.v. 

 the sober men in the mill doing as much work as when the others were there. 

 He went further and found that when the whole crew was on hand about half 

 of them were drunk, so that only 50 per cent of the men in the mill were 

 turning out the work. 



Then he began his campaign for safety and printed a bulletin which he 

 circulated himself among his employes, going directly to their homes and 

 seeing that the wife In every instance saw It. He continued to issue these 

 bulletins monthly and began posting pictures and descriptions of accidents 

 in conspicuous places in the mill so that the men could not help but see them. 

 His appeal to the women through the monthly bulletin began to take effect 

 before long and soon he could operate his mill all the year around irrespec- 

 tive of what form of amusement came into the town and still be sure that 

 all of his men would be on hand and in condition to use their energies 

 unhindered by the effects of a jag. 



Psychology plays a prominent part in the promotion of safety 



—26— 



work and in claiming the attention of employes in order to get their 

 interest. The effect of continuously bringing before their minds 

 the danger in a particular practice or method is due eventually to 

 awaken them to a realization of their folly and bring about an 

 attitude of caution among the men. 



C. W. Price, field secretary for the National Safety Council, who 

 has had wide experience in conducting original research in the lumber 

 woods of Wisconsin while connected with the Wisconsin Industrial 

 Commission led an interesting discussion before the meeting on the 

 safeguarding of woodsmen in logging camps. He said: 



We, of the industrial commission, had noticed a continued increase in the 

 number of fatalities in the lumber woods of Wisconsin and decided that while 

 we were giving considerable attention to factories and industries of all kinds 

 here was one industry that was using up men at a rapid rate and required 

 some attention. 



The lumbering Industry, that Is, that part of it which is confined to the 

 cutting of trees and transporting the logs to mill, is almost wholly man — 

 very little mechanical equipment being used to carry on the work. When I 

 first attempted my work in lumber camps I was assisted by a committee 

 made up of six of the foremost lumber operators of the state. I knew 

 nothing of the lumbering industry and needed their knowledge to aid me. 

 We went into the woods and held our first meeting sitting on a log. These 

 men. seasoned in the old methods of getting out timber, could see little In 

 my plan to safeguard the lives of reckless men who cared very little about 

 their own lives, and they were inclined to look askance at my work. 



We had not been sitting on that log very long when one of the men 

 noticed a woodsman standing near and on the falling side of a huge tree 

 that was swaying as the saw cut Into its heart. "There, that fellow is In a 

 dangerous place," shouted my former doubting aide and the whole party 

 acquiesced, and seeing what I was attempting to do, they all took new 

 interest and began jotting down simple rules to remedy every case of care- 

 lessness that came to their notice. During the day we wrote twenty-six 

 rules and that evening added ten more, so that thirty-six rules on safety 

 were formulated by six seasoned lumbermen who before that day thought 

 there was no such thing as making work in the lumber woods anything less 

 than a risky job. 



These rules, couched in simple language so that any of the men could read 

 and understand them easily, were printed on large placards, and a picture of 

 a man killed by a fallen limb was pasted above them. 



By constantly reminding the men that "It Is Dangerous" to do this and 

 "It Is Dangerous" to do that there cannot help but be a reflective effect on 

 them. They begin to gradually realize that there IS danger to do "this" 

 and "that" and they will become cautious. 



One of the best ways of arousing interest In the safety work, that I know 

 of, is the formation of workmen's committees. Get the men in the work. 

 Let them do something and they cannot help but be Interested. Such com- 

 mittees as I propose should have absolute liberty to go anywhere in the 

 plant and make examinations and question employes about their work 

 within certain hours so as not to interfere with the organization of the 

 establishment. The reports of these committees should be given the great- 

 est consideration in framing rules and putting reforms into operation, for It 

 has many times been found that some of the most stupid looking men In a 

 factory or mill have given the best suggestions for Improving the working 

 conditions and safety of the employes. Of course, the entire co-operation 

 of the executive branch of the business, from the president down, is also 

 essential to the success of the movement. Especially should the superin- 

 tendent and foremen be schooled In their work and they should be doubly 

 enthusiastic over the campaign or the men will soon lose their interest. 



F. W. Wegcnast, of Toronto, secretary of seventeen employes' 

 accident preventative associations of Ontario, presented a problem 

 that is interesting the Canadian lumbermen in accident prevention. 

 The compensation for injuries in sawmills and other industries is 

 paid out of a fund provided by the employers themselves. They form 

 themselves into groups all over Ontario and each of these groups 

 has a secretary and executive organization for aiding in the preven- 

 tion of accidents. Mr. Wegenast stated in part: 



.\11 of the larger mill operators are taking an active Interest In the pro- 

 tective work, but the problem we are confronted with is to get the smaller 

 mills Into line. The indemnity for accidents Is paid on a pay roll basis and 

 consequently the small mill stands but a small percentage of the costs. 

 But if all the accidents which occur in small mills were tabulated It would 

 be found that their proportion would be considerable when compared with 

 the larger operators. As yet we have been unable to find any solution of 

 this difficulty, although we are hopeful that public opinion and the gradually 

 increased interest In safety work will bring these smaller mill owners around 

 to a proper appreciation of Its Importance. 



With Mr. Wegenast were four other prominent Canadian lumber- 

 men : A. G. Ponsf ord of the Pulp and Paper Manufacturers ' Safety 



