About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


1 Am. Lab. Legis. Rev. 81 (1911)
Safety Inspection in Illinois

handle is hein.journals/alablegr1 and id is 525 raw text is: SAFETY INSPECTION IN ILLINOIS EDGAR T. DAVIES Chief, Illinois State Department of Factory Inspection. The subject assigned to me suggests, first that there are certain safety standards prescribed by the laws of the different states in reference to the protection of employes in factories, mills and work- shops, and this is of course true, as we all know. The subject as stated also suggests that adequate safety standards may not be se- cured through state inspection alone, which is also true. The safety standards which the statutes of the various states seek to fix are as various as they are numerous. It seldom happens that the laws of any two states are exactly the same with reference to what must or must not be done for the safety and welfare of em- ployes, and the great variety of subjects covered by modern, pro- gressive legislation for the benefit of workers renders it well nigh impossible to classify the various laws under particular heads and deduce therefrom any definite standards of safety which have any- thing like a uniform operation throughout the country. Suffice to say that, during the last few years, laws have been passed in many states, relative to the quality of air and air space, cleanliness, closets, colored and corrugated windows, drainage, dust, drinking water, expectoration, floor space, humidity, light, over-crowding, lunch rooms, temperature, time for meals, toilet rooms, sanitation generally, seating, vaccination, ventilation, and the guarding of dangerous machines and places. As a state inspector, my experience has demonstrated that the arbitrary imposition of rules of law will not, in itself, produce satis- factory standards for the safety and health of employes in factories, mills and workshops. Given a certain set of undesirable conditions in a factory the promulgation of a body of rules to remedy the evils which exist, will, in itself, produce anything but satisfactory results. To illus- trate, it is impossible to Christianize a people by laying down an arbitrary code of rules by which these people are required to live and govern themselves, or in default thereof be punished. This