Some very interesting facts are also brought out by an analysis of the reports of the chief factory inspector of Pennsylvania for the period 1893 to 1902. During this period, among 180,396 persons employed in iron and steel industries and exposed to risk of death one year, there were reported 307 deaths from accident, or at the rate of 1.7 per 1,000 per annum. The rate was 5.4 per 1,000 among nut and bolt makers, 4.3 among persons employed in the manufacture of miscellaneous iron and steel products, 1.9 in the manufacture of nails and spikes, 1.47 in the manufacture of structural iron, 0.82 in the manufacture of locomotives and at railroad repair shops, and 0.84 in the manufacture of ships and engines.

Equally instructive and suggestive is the recorded industrial mortality experience of the Prudential Insurance Company of America during the ten years ending with 1906. There occurred during that period 4,521 deaths of persons employed in all branches of the iron and steel industry, of which 505, or 11.2 per cent, were deaths from accidents. The proportionate mortality was highest during the early ages, or, in detail, 23.2 per cent at ages 15 to 24, 14.6 per cent at ages 25 to 34, and 11.6 per cent at ages 35 to 44. After the age of 44 the percentages were somewhat irregular, having been 8.0 for ages 45 to 54, 8.1 for 55 to 64, 3.3 for 65 to 74, and 2.9 for 75 to 84. The statistical evidence is therefore conclusive that the industrial accident risk in the iron and steel industry at the present time is still a serious one.

The report of the factory inspector of Pennsylvania for 1906, referring briefly to accidents at iron and steel works, states that—

The reckless manipulation of cranes and hoists; the hasty and faulty hooking up of heavy weights; the slipping of furnaces; the overturning of ladles filled with molten metal; the speeding of engines and cars without light, bell, or flagman through the yards of large establishments thronged with busy workers; the ordering employees to work upon rotten scaffoldings; the employment of foreigners ignorant of our language and habits in dangerous occupations without words of caution and without proper oversight, are crimes against humanity that call for drastic legislation.

ACCIDENTS IN THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY.

The chemical industry in the United States is gradually assuming very considerable proportions. It is one in which the accident risk is widely differentiated according to the different branches, which include the manufacture of sulphuric, nitric, and other acids, soda, potash, alum, coal tar products, cyanide, wood distillation, bleaching material, dyestuffs, tanning material, paints and varnishes, oils, and compressed and liquified gases. In the chemical industries of New York State during the period 1901 to 1905, there occurred 1,339 accidents, of which 33, or 2.5 per cent, were fatal. Of the total number 91.1 per cent caused temporary disablement

and 6.3 per cent permanent disablement. The details of accident frequency in this industry are set forth in tabulated form as follows:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF ACCIDENTS IN CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES IN NEW YORK STATE, BY DEGREE OF INJURY, FOR THE PERIOD 1901 TO 1905. [Compiled from the annual reports of the New York Bureau of Factory Inspection, 1901 to 1905.]

While these statistics are not conclusive, they are the only official data available at the present time. It may, however, be added that according to English mortality returns for the three years ending with 1892, out of 1,159 deaths from all causes among manufacturing chemists 89, or 7.7 per cent, were from accidents; and during the three years ending with 1902, out of 946 deaths from all causes 55, or 5.8 per cent, were from accidents. It is quite probable, however, that the fatal accident risk in the chemical industry is greater in the United States than in England and Wales. The statistics of the factory inspectors show that during the four years ending with 1903 there were reported to certifying surgeons in Great Britain 2,170 accidents in the chemical industry, of which 147, or 6.8 per cent, were fatal. The chemical works in Great Britain are subject to special rules and regulations framed in accordance with the factory acts of 1878 and 1895. The accident risk naturally varies considerably in the different branches, and is a particularly serious one in the manufacture of sulphuric and nitric acids, including the liability to explosion. The risk is still greater in the manufacture of gas for illuminating and industrial purposes. According to returns of British factory inspectors for 1900 to 1903, out of 839 accidents reported to certifying surgeons in connection with the manufacture of gas 115, or 13.7 per cent, proved fatal. More accurate information regarding the accident risk in the manufacture of chemicals and allied products,

56749-No. 78-08-2

including the manufacture of chemical substances produced by the aid of electricity, would be a useful addition to our present limited knowledge.

ACCIDENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF EXPLOSIVES.

One of the most dangerous industries is the manufacture of explosives, including matches. According to the New York State accident statistics for the period 1901 to 1905, out of 99 reported accidents in this industry 14, or 14.1 per cent, proved fatal. Of the total number 72.8 per cent caused temporary disablement and 13.1 per cent permanent disablement. The details of accident frequency and degree of injury in these industries are set forth in tabular form below:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF ACCIDENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF EXPLOSIVES AND MATCHES IN NEW YORK STATE, BY DEGREE OF INJURY, FOR THE PERIOD 1901 TO 1905.

[Compiled from the annual reports of the New York Bureau of Factory Inspection, 1901 to 1905.]

The manufacture of matches is, of course, much less dangerous than the manufacture of gunpowder, dynamite, and other explosives. The manufacture of matches has been quite fully investigated and reported upon to the secretary of state of the Home Department by British factory inspectors, with special reference to the use of phosphorus in the manufacture of lucifer matches. The term "accident," however, in this connection, is hardly applicable, since phosphorous necrosis may more properly be considered an industrial disease. The report was published in 1899 and includes useful observations on the manufacture of matches in the United States. (a)

The most useful data regarding the risk in the manufacture of explosives are contained in the annual reports of the inspectors of explosives of Great Britain, which extend over a long period of years. During the ten years ending with 1906 there occurred 3,018

a See also Oliver, Diseases of Occupation, 1908, p. 35, et seq.

accidents in the manufacture of explosives, resulting in 3,751 personal injuries, of which 523 were fatal and 3,228 were nonfatal. Of the 523 persons killed 72 were fatally injured in the manufacture of explosives, 31 in the keeping of explosives, 5 in the conveyance of explosives, and 415 in the use of explosives. In the manufacture of gunpowder considered alone there occurred 98 accidents during the ten years ending with 1906, injuring 55 persons, of whom 24, or 43.6 per cent were killed. During the period 1891 to 1900 the rate of fatal accident frequency among persons employed in the manufacture of explosives in Great Britain for which the returns were obtainable was 0.44 per 1,000. The rate of fatal accident frequency in the United States in this industry is probably very much higher, but the present information is not conclusive. The rules and regulations governing the manufacture, storage, and use of explosives in Great Britain are the result of many years of careful and strictly scientific investigation, but regardless of every effort the risk of accidental death and injury in this industry remains a very serious one. Similar rules and regulations in this country would unquestionably serve a decidedly useful and humane purpose. (a)

ACCIDENTS IN THE LUMBER INDUSTRY.

The lumber industry in all its branches gives employment to a very large number of persons exposed to a very considerable risk of both fatal and nonfatal accidents. The principal risk to fatal accidents is in connection with logging and lumbering. For most of the lumbering States no statistical information is available to determine the incidence of accident frequency in the different employments. The most useful data are for the lumber industry of the State of Washington. According to the bureau of labor statistics of that State for the year ending August 1, 1906, among 9,447 men employed there were 1,022 slight accidents, 64 serious accidents, and 15 fatal accidents. (") In proportion to the number employed the slight accident risk was 108.18 per 1,000, the serious accident risk 6.77 per 1,000, and the fatal accident risk 1.59 per 1,000. The returns for 1906 indicated a slightly less accident liability than during 1905. According to the Second Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of Oregon, there were, from January 1, 1905, to September 30, 1906, in that State 151 accidents reported in sawmills, of which 38, or 25.2 per cent, were fatal; 53, or 35.1 per cent, serious; 35, or 23.2 per cent, severe, and 25, or 16.5 per cent, slight. In logging operations 28 accidents were re

a See Guide to the Explosives Act, 1875, and to Orders in Council, etc., etc., by Capt. J. H. Thomson, His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Explosives, London, 1905. b A very few of these accidents occurred in other industries less hazardous than lumbering.

ported for the same period, of which 15, or 53.6 per cent, were fatal; 11, or 39.3 per cent, serious, and 2, or 7.1 per cent severe. In the lumber, sawmill, and planing mill industries of the State of New York, during the five years ending with 1905, there occurred 795 accidents, of which 30, or 3.8 per cent, were fatal. Of the total number of accidents 57.3 per cent caused temporary disablement and 38.6 per cent permanent disablement. The details of accident frequency and degree of injury are set forth in the table below:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF ACCIDENTS IN THE LUMBER INDUSTRY IN NEW YORK STATE, BY DEGREE OF INJURY, FOR THE PERIOD 1901 TO 1905. [Compiled from the annual reports of the New York Bureau of Factory Inspection, 1901 to 1905.]

While the risk of fatal accidents in sawmills and planing mills is comparatively low, the risk of serious and minor injuries is a very considerable one. The comparatively low ratio of fatal accident liability is more clearly set forth by the official mortality statistics of England and Wales for the three years ending with 1902, which show that out of 1,143 deaths from all causes among sawyers, only 64, or 5.6 per cent, were from accidents. There are no corresponding statistics for the lumber industry as a whole for the United States. The subject of saw accidents has been considered in some detail by Mr. John Calder in a work on "The prevention of factory accidents," in which he states that circular saws annually claim a large number of fingers and portions of hands, as well as some lives, emphasizing the necessity of safeguarding machinery. During 1898, he states, there were recorded in Great Britain under the factory inspection laws 1,144 accidents in connection with circular saws, of which only 5 were fatal. The necessary protective devices are very well illus