REMEMBER FARM SAFETY WEEK, JULY 25-31 



AN OPEN LETTER TO FARM WOMEN 



60ING TO TRIP ^ 

 OVER TWIS/ 



*0a« iMiord •jMntnofad for coch iii«nib«r of cvvry form 

 family" — Aaft Hi* goel wt by ttw frciidant of iK* 

 UKilnl SMM for HMIONU r*IM MFITT WilK, 

 Jwly 35-31, 1948. Ho«« yow tliminoltd YOUR hosord? 



NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL 



DEAR Mrs. R. F. D. Illinois: 

 Would you like to help us save the 

 lives of 217 Illinois farm people dur- 

 ing the coming year? We are sure 

 you would. That's the reason I write 

 you now. Of course, you are very busy at 

 this time of year with gardening, canning, 

 preparing meals and all. And the kids being 

 home from school makes extra work, too. But 

 what we're going to ask you to do won't 

 take much more time. A few extra minutes 

 each day — but it may save a lifetime. 



Maybe you haven't thought about it much, 

 but 217 farm people in Illinois lost their lives 

 last year in farm home and work accidents, 

 not to mention a similar number involved in 

 traffic casualties. 



You may wonder why this appeal is made 

 to you, especially when you learn that only 12 

 of the 217 deaths were farm women. Well, 

 61 of those deaths were little children. Some 

 of these were toddlers who escaped the eye 

 of a busy mother for a few brief moments — 

 just long enough to tumble to their deaths, 

 perhaps into an open stock tank, or from a 

 wagon or piece of machinery. 



Some or these innocent children are no 

 longer here because they stood too close to 

 cows or horses, or fell from the back of a 

 frisky colt. Others tumbled from lofts, or 

 from roofs and trees. One killed himself 

 and one killed another child in handling fire- 

 arms which should have been locked up. 



Still more kiddies, 17 in all, lost their lives 

 with farm machinery intended for men. 



"What," you may ask, "can I do about it.'" 

 See to it that wells and stock tanks are 

 covered, that children are provided safe places 

 to play and safe toys to play with. Turn a 

 deaf ear to the pleas of small children to 

 "ride on the tractor with daddy." Keep them 

 out of harvest fields where they may be over- 

 looked by the machine operator. And make 



sure that poisons, explosives, and flammable 

 liquids are kept away from inquisitive hands. 



True, £k person shielded from everything 

 throughout childhood will develop the self- 

 reliance of a week-old pup. But a child, 

 when exposed to things which his unde- 

 veloped mind is not ready to understand or 

 his small body able to control, is much more 

 apt to appear in accident statistics. 



Looking at the larger share of deaths, we 

 naturally find farm men topping the list. 

 Farming is one of the most hazardous jobs 

 in the world. Maybe that is why 144 Illinois 

 farmers lost their lives at work last year. Per- 

 haps it is because they usually work alone or 

 because they have no organized safety cam- 

 paign at work which forces them to use safe 

 machinery and follow safe practices. Large 

 industrial plants, you know, have these pre- 

 cautions and workers operate under the watch- 

 ful eye of a safety engineer most of the time. 



A plant safety engineer of my acquaintance 

 recently said that he sent safety materials and 

 literature to the wife of every workman, say- 

 ing, "We keep your husband safety-conscious 

 eight hours a day — -jou take care of him the 

 other sixteen!" 



Well, ladies, I won't try to get sentimental 

 about what you and your family stand to lose 

 if the bread-winner is removed — you know 

 more about that than I. But I would like 

 to ask you to help develop a safety conscious- 

 ness in your house which works not only 16 

 hours a day, but 24! And not just during 

 Farm Safety Week, but all through the year! 



Please think about this when you observe 

 National Farm Safety Week, July 25-31. 

 Yours truly, 



W. W. Whitlock, Director lAA 

 Department of Safety and Public Health 



THE %10«t or fARNi BUREAU 



THE epic story of the American Farm Bureau movement is now avail- 

 able in the new book just out entitled "The Farm Bureau through 

 Three Decades." This Farm Bureau history is being sponsored by the 

 American Farm Bureau Federation. The author is Orville M. Kile of 

 Washington, D. C, a member of the AFBF information staff in the 

 early years. 



The book is printed on fine book paper, cloth bound, illustrated, 

 and numbers 425 pages. You can secure a copy by sending your check 

 or money order for $3.50 postpaid, to the American Farm Bureau Federa- 

 tion, 58 East Washington Street, Qiicago 2, 111. 



Kile has been intimately connected with the Farm Bureau movement 

 through the years. He has attended every AFBF convention but one. 



"The Farm Bureau through Three Decades " may well be considered 

 necessary reading for all Farm Bureau leaders. 



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