Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 84, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 April 1914 — HAS DONE GOOD WORK [ARTICLE]

HAS DONE GOOD WORK

RECORD OF THE “SAFETY FIRST" MOVEMENT.

Not Alone on -Railroad Lines, but Wherever Hazardous Work Is Performed, Employes Have Been Quick to See Its Value.

When the “safety first” adopted a little more than two years ago by one of our great failroad corporations, has reduced by nearly 22 per cent, the number of fatalities on its line, is it any wonder that nearly all the railroads in the United States and Canada have kept it up and made it a w’atchword among their employes? Not only on railroads but in factories and iron mills, and, in fact, wherever there, is hazardous work to be performed, no matter what the nature of it may be, the movement is spreading.

The business of transportation requires that more than ordinary precaution should be taken to safeguard operation from accidents, and while in all railroad operation the safety of passengers Ts the first consideration, the problems presented in protecting employes in many respects are identical, and in safeguarding the latter the safety of the public is also largely secured. It is really not a question of safeguard, but more of Intelligent caution constantly exercised. The aim of the “safety first” movement is to teach each employe a sense of personal responsibility not altogether for his own safety but also for the safety of his fellow employes. It teaches every man in the service so to safeguard the operation of the railroad that he works for that accidents of every kind shall be as few as human foresight can make them.

Workmen themselves are in a large part to blame for the many accidents when they do not exercise the care and caution required to prevent accidents. They should be taught to avoid carelessness at all hazards. Too many men in railroad service care nothing for the public’s interest or their employer’s; all they seem to think of is the least work, no matter how it is done. It is this class of men who are responsible for the awful statistics which ‘ show that one railroad employe out of every thirteen and one trainman out of every eight are killed in the United States every year.

The problem of personal injury is complicated by the multiplication of safety devices, for this average holds good even when perfect equipment is in use. Safety devices undoubtedly help, but it must always be remembered that the most important part of the train service is the man behind the steam power. It is the human element that counts most in railroad work.

It is the object of the “safety first” movement to reduce the number of personal injuries among railroad men by encouraging the spirit of co-opera-tion between the men and officials of the railroad companies. When rules are drafted by railroad officials for the safety of its employes, it is in the long run to the advantage of the employe to obey them, although it may seem at the time irksome.