The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, October 15, 1931, Page 11

You'll Find It on the Police Officer’s Shoulder; the Nurse’s Sleeve; the Life Saver’s Suit; on the Field of Disaster. {SSS HE greatest challenge to human life existing in our mod- ern day civilization is the ever mounting toll of deaths }| by accident. In the year just closed, 99,000 persons were killed and more than ten million were injured. i } Only five diseases caused a greater number of deaths than this accident fatality total, and these were heart disease, cancer, pneumonia, nephritis and cerebal hemorrhage. The largest single factor In the accidental death rate was the automobile—motor fatalities accounting for 33,000 deaths. Accidents in the home—including the ever dangerous fall, which may be caused by so many simple factors—deprive almost as many persons of their lives. This type of accident claimed 80,000 lives. Industrial accidents accounted for only 19,000 deaths, and 3,000 of these involved motor vehicles. Many agencies have joined in the battle against accidental deaths, and for more than twenty years a campaign has been waged by the American Red Cross. The statistics here given are gathered by the National Safety Counci* which carries on many effective safety campaigns, and with the Red Cross, is largely responsible for the appreciable fall in the accl- denta! death rate as it applies to industry. The Council states that companies with an average mem bership of fifteen years now have an accident death rate 31 per cent below companies with an average membership of only two and a half years. S g Pitfalls In Your Path Campaigns of safety education by other agencies, which through post- ers and other methods call attention to the pitfalls in everyone's path, are ably supplemented by the Red Cross program. It deals with the practical training of what to do should an accident occur. Io hundreds of communities throughout the nation the citizen will find the Red Cross First Aid insignia—a round red, white and blue shield about the size of a silver dollar—upon the upper sleeve of members of the local police force. Sometimes the staff i one hundred per cent enrolled as first aiders, having taken the Re Cross course from the doctor-experts of the organization. Often only @ picked group of the police officers have taken the course. In these and hundreds of other cities, the fire depart: ment personne) also have become trained first aiders. When you see this bright emblem It means that the wearer is prepared to admin- ister upon the scene of accident, all types of emergency first aid. This may mean resuscitation from gas poison- ing, drowning or electric shock: it may mean binding deep wounds, applying bandages for fractures— Wearers of Red Cross Symbol of Mercy Those entitled through trsining end through mem! to wear Red Cross insignis or symbol or who bold certiGcaten as a part of the great ne; tlon-wide army of the American Red Cross, are aumbered as follows: Number Persons Testes Graduates in First » 497,679 or many other treatments for vital injuries which, pending the arrival of 8 physician, may mean the sav- ing of a life. Accidents Reduced The telephon. companies and other great public utility compa- nies were the first to adopt the first aid as-taught by the Red Cross, and to make it virtually obligatory that their workers become proficient in its methods. A recent report from a large metropolitan area telephone company states that upon its six years’ showing of reduced accidents, through wide training in first ald, many types of workmen who had been rated as engaged in hazardous occupations were changed to non-hazardous, with a tremendous saving to the com- THE BISMARCK TRIBUNE. | Drought relief called for more than food. Clothes came in handy here. Good cheer for the disabled vet- eran is brought the Red Cross. Ms a ed Red Cross nurse assists ina safe entry into the world. pany and to themselves through reduction in insurance premium rates. Thousands of incidents have been reported to the Red Cross by its first aiders, showing lives ed and painful injuries treated, pending arrival of a doctor, because they were on the scene and could apply their trained knowledge. . “Many a member of our force who hardly knew = Sean eee* teen workers serve where- ever needed. some of his neighbors before he took the course,” writes one company executive, “has become ‘doc’ to the whole neighborhopd. In every emergency that arises he is bustled away from his radio to take charge of things until the doctor arrives.” Trained First Aiders In one city, where police scout cars are equipped with radio, patrolmen assigned to drive them are all Red Cross first alders. Receiving a radio flash of an accident on his beat, this first aider by giving emergency treatment has the situation in hand when ambulance and doctors arrive. Every swimmer and visitor to beach and poo) {s familiar with the Red Cross life saving emblem, which is his surety of protection and succor should a water accident befall him More than 335,000 men and women, boys and girls, trained in expert life saving methods are entitled to wear these colorful shields upon their bathing suits. The prone pressure method of resuscitation, taught by the Red Cross, has restored drown: ing persons who have been given up for dead Every summer season yields hundreds of in- stances where a life has been saved hecanse at the moment of the rescue there was present a Person expert in the kuowledge of Red Cross life saving methods. Added to this tremendous army of trained ctvil- fans are the fifty thousand or more Red Cross nurses, all of whom, by the nature of their train ing, are adept in alding the injured. Sick Room Care Another training, popular with women and girls, and recently adopted by larger groups of men’s classes, is the Home Hygiene and Care of the Sick program of the Red Cross. This knowl edge provides an able bulwark against the in- creasing list of deaths through accident in the home. It is a course tn simplified home sanita- tion, sick room care, and infant and child care. It embraces lessons in simple first ald for in juries of children and grown-ups, teaches the use of and necessity for the well equipped home first ald kit. All Red Cross services are aimed at the lessen ing of suffering, prevention of death and disease and preservation of health. In this they follow the congressional charter granted the organization. in which it is directed to give relief in disasters, mitigate suffering, and promote methods of al- leviating and preventing distress. Through its local chapters and its expert per. sonnel at national headquarters in Washington, the Red Cross handles a monthly average of ninety thousand cases for veterans of the World War, and for their dependent fatnities enay ise them to obtain the benefits ef legislation Con- Firemen use Red Cross first aid to revive smoke victim, Little appetites are taught by Red Cross nutri- tionists the way they should. grow Red. Cross Life Saver tothe rescue! gress has decreed for their assistance, Red Cross workers are also assigned to regular posts of the United States Army, Navy and Marine Corps to maintain a similar service for men in the service, where it is required to help them solve their per sonal problems, One Thousand Disasters In its disaster relief work, the Red Cross flag, flying the symvol of mercy, always is the center: ing point for those afficted In its fifty year: history. celebrated nation-wide this year. the or- ganization bas dispensed relief in more than @ thousand disasters and has expended more than fifty millions of dollars in this work of relief. Support of these activities is through the an- tual roi! cali of the Ked Cross Memberships are enrolled each year in the period from irmistice Day to Thanksgiving Day The member. wear- ing a Red Cross button with its symbol of mercy, is a part, through his contribution, of this great work of saving lives and promoting good health. The two Red Cross services which are mos: frequently noted by the public are the disaster relief work and the program for the ald of war veterans. These are two major objectives of the organization but the accident prevention and health preservation programs, nation wide in their application, are carried on every day in the year They require an expert and highly trained per sonnel, and each is alone in {ts field as a pro tective measure for the American public, T