other branches of production. Varicose veins occurred in workers who had to stand too long; necrosis of the jaw in phosphorus workers; mercurial poisoning, arsenical poisoning, tuberculosis, etc.
Here are some figures. In England, during the years 1900-1902, among 1000 deaths of those following various occupations, the deaths from consumption were:
According to the reports of Dr. Baranov, the mortality from consumption in the proletariat was as follows:
We learn from German statistics that the mortality from consumption among the Solingen metalpolishers was four times as great as that from any other illness.
- In addition to causing manifest diseases, bad working conditions give rise to a general deterioration of working-class physique. This finds expression in the increasing number of men who are unfit for military service. Year by year there is a larger number of weak-chested and undergrown persons; and in the proletariat the proportion of such persons is far greater than among other strata of the population. In Switzerland, among those called up for militia service, the percentage of town workers who were unfit was 39.5, while: the percentage of unfit rural workers was only 25. Similar conditions are observable in other lands. Among women, the deterioration of physique is frequently associated with a loss of the capacity for child-bearing.
Obviously, all these evils are closely linked with the conditions of production. The capitalist class has no interest in labour protection, and its policy towards labour power is merely a policy of plunder. The capitalists wish to squeeze the workers like lemons and throw away the skin. This is the policy likewise of “progressive” American capital. In the U.S.A., none but healthy workers are admitted into the factories; their