BROKEN HILL DISTRESS FUND.

Timaru Herald, Issue 170301, 21 August 1920, Page 10

BROKEN HILL DISTRESS FUND.

AX APPEAL TO"THE PEOPLE OE - zealaxd. The people of -Broken Hill, NS.AV., appeal to you 'iis fellow human beings to assist them in their'struggle against premature death. For "thirty - long jcars the health and happiness of every miner's homo at Broken Hill has been menaced by the dual effects or alleged accidents and disease. The greed of. the mining companies was reflected in a total disregard for the lienlth of their employees and bad provisions for the safety of human life. Under these inhumane circumstances Xaturo w;is exacting heavy penalties in human suffering ~ through various occupational diseases. The- ravages of lead-poisoning; ■miners' phthysis, nstlimn. chronic 'oronchitis, Bright's disease etc., are apparent in almost every miner's home' "Numerous homes mourn the loss of a father, brother or son. who lias I'M id the penalty -with his life for working in unhealthy mines. Other In vines are burdened with bread-winners who are no longer able to work. Crippled through "accident, or VH'oken in health, these unfortunate men :ire thrust on the charity of their working comrades.- and the- assistance of- their

wives and children. These helpless victims, together with the. widows and orphans of deceased comrades, have no cnnips--!jsatioii for their loss, notwithstanding ihp fact, that Labour has produced £28,000,000 in profits for Broken Hil! minp-ov/nein. '.Dip. highest medical authorities have proved the need for compensation, and the miners are determined not to return to work until compensation is granted, together with hours Mid conditions which will give them -'some hope of attaining to the average expectation of life obtaining in more- healthy occupations. The. average life of miners at Broken Hill is 30 years 4 months. The fact that 1200 men have been killed in the lead mines, that 69 lost their lives in IS months, while 2537 men ?nefa with accidents in 12 months. —these facts indicate how little care and protection is exercised for the safety of mine-workers. But these facts .ire far from complete. Dootors testify to the evils which are transmitted to the offspring hy unhealthy parents, and tiheir testimony is supposed by the figures of such eminent statisticians a s J[i' Knibbs and others. Labour's axiom "that no child is safe while the health of its parents is daily threatened by disease and accident air mines, workshops, or other fields of industry" is amply borne one in a comparison, of Broken Hill witlu other centres, in respect to infantile dea tli rates : Broken Hill ... 105.553 Per 1000 Melbourne 82.75 per 1000 K'algoorlio 82.5 per 1000 Sydney 75.5 per 1000 I'ort Curtis (Queensland) 74.1 per 1000 AVellingtcn (N.Z.) 71.20 per 1000 The foregoing facts are indisputable. . ::.d constitute the strongest reasons i-u- our making this appeal. For the purpose of augmenting the Broken Hill .Distress Fund, local committees have been organised an. various districts, and we again appeal to you as fellow human beings to assist us, and trust that your sense of fair play and love or humanity -will be reflected in your ] tbcral response.— (Signed) ,T. B: WILLIAMS. Organiser, Broken Hill Distress Fund