NUMBER OF FATAL ACCIDENTS AND RATE PER 1,000 EMPLOYEES AMONG SEAMEN IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, BY YEARS, 1897 TO 1906. [From the Sixty-ninth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales, p. 78.] NUMBER OF FATAL ACCIDENTS AND RATE PER 1,000 EMPLOYEES AMONG SEAMEN IN STEAM AND SAIL NAVIGATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, BY YEARS, 1897 TO 1906. [From the Sixty-ninth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales, p. 78.] A valuable distinction is made in these tables in the return of persons employed in navigation by sail and navigation by steam in the United Kingdom, the former invariably showing a much higher general death rate and accident rate than the latter. Among persons employed in navigation by sail the rate during 1906 was 19.1 per 1,000 from all causes, 4.8 from disease, 9.5 from wrecks and casualties, and 4.8 from accidents other than wrecks and casualties. Among persons employed in the navigation of steam vessels during 1906, the mortality from all causes was 9.2, from disease 5.4, from wrecks or casualties 1.4, and from accidents other than wrecks or casualties 2.4 per 1,000. Among persons employed in the navigation of sailing vessels, the accident rate from wrecks or casualties during the last fifteen years has been as high as 12.2 and as low as 5.1 per 1,000. Among persons employed in the navigation of steam vessels the accident rate from wrecks or casualties has been as high as 3.9 and as low as 0.9 per 1,000. NAVIGATION ACCIDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES. For the United States we have no corresponding data. The extent of our merchant marine, however, is emphasized by the fact that during 1906 the number employed in transportation by water was 140,929, of which 60.2 per cent were employed on freight and passenger vessels, 3.2 per cent on ferryboats, 14.8 per cent on tugs and other towing vessels, 14.3 per cent on unrigged craft, 5.5 per cent on yachts, and 2.0 per cent on other vessels. (") The only conclusive data regarding the accident liability in American shipping are the statistics of the industrial insurance company, previously referred to, and which, among other data, were exhibited at the Jamestown Exposition. Out of 505 deaths of sailors and mariners, except captains, 89, or 17.6 per cent, were from accidents. The proportionate mortality at ages 15 to 24 was 50.7 per cent, at 25 to 34 it was 17.3 per cent, at 35 to 44 24.2 per cent, at 45 to 54 12.7 per cent, at 55 to 64 10.2 per cent, and at 65 to 74 it was 4.9 per cent. Out of 126 deaths of sea captains, chiefly engaged in deep sea navigation, 16 deaths were from accident, or 12.7 per cent of the mortality from all causes. Out of 230 deaths of captains not otherwise specified 39, or 17.0 per cent, were from accidents. The proportionate mortality was quite high at ages under 35, and somewhat less at ages over 35, fairly corresponding to the accident liability of sailors and mariners. The number of deaths is not sufficiently large to warrant final conclusions regarding the accident liability by divisional periods of life. Out of 468 deaths of boatmen 94 died from accident, or 20.1 per cent of the mortality from all causes. The proportionate mortality from accident was much higher at ages under 35 than at ages over 35. Out of 68 deaths of bridge tenders, which may properly be included in marine risks, 16, or 23.5 per cent, died from accidents. And, finally, out of 125 deaths of riggers, 22, or 17.6 per cent, were from accidents. The numbers, while fairly indicative of general conditions, are not sufficiently large to warrant final conclusions as to the accident liability by divisional periods of life. The details of the mortality from accidents among captains and sailors are given below, but additional data for other employees in navigation are given in the appendix, Tables XVI and XVII. a See Census Bulletin No. 91, on Transportation by Water in 1906, p. 53. NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ACCIDENTS COMPARED WITH NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG SAILORS AND MARINERS, BY AGE GROUPS, FOR THE PERIOD 1897 TO 1906. [From mortality experience of an industrial insurance company.] NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ACCIDENTS COMPARED WITH NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG SEA CAPTAINS, BY AGE GROUPS, FOR THE PERIOD 1897 TO 1906. [From mortality experience of an industrial insurance company.] NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ACCIDENTS COMPARED WITH NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG CAPTAINS (NOT SPECIFIED), BY AGE GROUPS, FOR THE PERIOD 1897 TO 1906. [From mortality experience of an industrial insurance company.] ACCIDENTS AT DOCKS AND WHARVES. A large number of men, including stevedores, warehousemen, freight handlers, etc., are employed at docks and wharves in connection with shipping. There are no useful statistical data regarding the accident liability of this class of labor in the United States, but English returns are quite conclusive. Out of 4,551 accidents among persons employed at docks and wharves, from all causes, reported to certifying surgeons during the four years ending with 1903 for the United Kingdom, 535, or 11.76 per cent, were fatal. Some data of value are also included in the report of the registrar-general of England and Wales on occupation mortality for the three years ending with 1902. The general accident rate among dock and wharf laborers was 1.38 per 1,000, increasing gradually from the younger to the older ages. At ages 20 to 24 the rate was 0.70, at 25 to 34 it was 1.15, at 35 to 44 it was 1.28, at 45 to 54 it was 1.82, at 55 to 64 it was 2.34, and at 65 or over it was 2.92 per 1,000. The occupation was made the subject of a special report upon The Causation and Prevention of Accidents at Docks, Wharves and Quays, printed as a parliamentary document in 1900. According to this report, in 1899 there occurred 115 fatal accidents in connection with labor at docks, wharves, and quays, of which 19 were caused by cranes and other lifting tackle, 13 by other machinery moved by power, 1 by machinery not moved by mechanical power, 2 by explosion, 1 by escape of gas, 45 by falls, and 34 by causes not included in the foregoing enumeration. The report is a valuable contribution to the literature of industrial accident prevention. There are no corresponding data regarding this occupation for the United States. (") ACCIDENTS IN THE FISHERIES. The loss of life in the American fisheries is also a matter of mere conjecture. The only statistical data of value are the annual estimates of the loss of life in the Gloucester fisheries, which employ approximately 4,200 men. During the ten years ending with 1906 the number of lives lost was 516, or at the rate of 11.7 per 1,000 per annum. The fatality rate during the last few years has been considerably below the average, having been as high as 18.2 per 1,000 during 1902, and as low as 4.8 per 1,000 during 1906. The accident risk naturally varies considerably according to the fishing a Another interesting and most valuable report has recently been published upon deep-water diving, an indispensable occupation regarding which it is of much importance to obtain more definite and conclusive information than is at present available for this or other countries. (Report of a committee appointed by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to consider and report upon the Conditions of Deep-Water Diving. London, 1907.) grounds, whether on the high seas, lakes, rivers, etc. English data are more definite and conclusive. The conditions, however, under which the fisheries are carried on are quite different. The English data for the three years ending 1902 return an accident liability of 1.89 per 1,000. The rate fluctuates somewhat according to age. According to the Prudential industrial experience, as exhibited at the Jamestown Exposition, out of 162 deaths from all causes among fishermen, 24, or 14.8 per cent, were from accident. The proportionate mortality was 45.5 per cent at ages 15 to 24, 36.8 per cent at 25 to 34, 23.8 per cent at 35 to 44, 10 per cent at 45 to 54, 7.5 per cent at 55 to 64, and 5.1 per cent at 65 to 74. Out of 178 deaths among men employed in the oyster fisheries 14, or 7.9 per cent, were from accident. Details of accident frequency are given in the table below, derived from data furnished by The Procter Brothers Company, of Gloucester, Mass. NUMBER OF FATAL ACCIDENTS AND RATE PER 1,000 EMPLOYEES IN THE FISHERIES OF GLOUCESTER, MASS., BY YEARS, 1897 TO 1906. [From list of vessels belonging to the district of Gloucester, 1906.] ACCIDENTS IN THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. There is another occupation which may properly be included in this brief survey of the marine-accident risk, and that is the accident liability of life savers. During the ten years ending with 1906 there occurred in this employment 17 deaths from accident, equivalent to a rate of 0.9 per 1,000. The rate has been as high as 3.8 per 1,000, in 1902, while during some years no death from accident has occurred. It is quite probable that the true accident liability of life savers as the result of their employment is higher than the indicated average accident risk for the last ten years. Quite a number of deaths result from exposure and overexertion, which are properly to be considered as occupation accidents and which, if included, would probably |