66 BIENNIAL, REPORT OF DEPARTMENTS OF AGRICULTURE 



The Need for a State Industrial Hygiene and Safety Service: 



The creation of a State Industrial Hygiene and Safety Service is 

 necessary to protect workers against all conditions in industry that 

 are hazardous to the life and safety of the worker or threaten to under- 

 mine his health. 



Since the power of the employee to choose the conditions of his 

 employment is limited it becomes necessary for the State to correct 

 those conditions which undermine his health or endanger his life. 



During a six year year period, records show that 13,743 employers 

 operating under the provisions of the Workmen's (accident) Compen- 

 sation Act reported 985 fatal accidents and 153,828 non fatal accidents. 

 Many of these accidents were preventable. This group of employers 

 paid out in accident compensation insurance premiums during this 

 period the sum of $15,688,178. 



Compensation may in a measure soften the result of injury but 

 the most important field in which the State can engage is in the pro- 

 motion and development of good industrial hygienic conditions and 

 the prevention of accidents. 



Socially, the prevention of industrial accidents means the safe- 

 guarding of the health and lives of the members of the community for 

 the common good. It is profitable to industry, the workers, and society 

 as a whole. 



In order to carry out such a program the State should first of all, 

 as a stable base from which to operate, declare by law that all places 

 of employment shall be made safe and require that employers shall not 

 allow or permit dangerous practices to be used in the conduct of their 

 business. 



Upon this declaration of principle, the state acting as an adminis- 

 tering body, should operate as much as possible in an advisory capa- 

 city instead of as a police officer. 



To carry out this principle and policy four fundamental condi- 

 tions are necessary: First, adequate law; second, inspection and en- 

 gineering service; third, education, and fourth, penalties. 



Suitable laws are necessary, for it has been found in practice 

 that unsafe conditions cannot be corrected when only appeal to volun- 

 tary reform can be made. To that end the State should adopt as 

 needed, safety codes, rules, or regulations which would set up minimum 

 standards for all and so raise the level of competition that the good 

 employer will not be subjected to the cut throat competition of the un- 

 scrupulous. 



For these reasons a law, to promote safe working conditions in ill 

 places of employment, to prevent the loss of life and personal injuries 

 by the adoption of adequate safety rules, to require the inspection of 

 elevators, steam boilers and pressure vessels, to require inspection of 

 and render engineering service to place of employment, to assist in 



