Page:The Factory Controversy - Martineau (1855).djvu/26

 injury than when they were not there. He remembered seeing a mill at Darlington fan which there was a rectangular hook, and the prisons in putting on the straps were very liable to be injured. These should be a ready means of putting on the straps when the mill is in motion,—the difficulty of doing so would be increased by having the casing." Mr. Fairbairn's reply, when questioned, was, "He disapproved of hooks for catching straps. They were generally in the way, and he would certainly not recommend the addition of any such things in Messrs. Warthington's mill. The hooks would increase the complexity of the arrangements, and increase the danger when putting on the straps. It is next to impossible to fix those hooks when very near the ceiling, for the straps would get entangled with the hooks, and pull all about the people's ears." Mr. Potter, manager of Messrs. Worthington's mill, "stated that he had occupied that situation for seventeen years; and for twenty-five years he had been connected with mills. During the time he had been with defendants (Messrs. Worthington) no accident had occurred from the shafting, or gearing, or straps. Had applied the rectangular hooks in the mill; but they had been taken down at the request of the workpeople, as they were very much in the way when putting the strap on. Did not think the hooks were any means of safety. Did not think fencing would make the shafting any more secure; if anything, it would rather increase than diminish the danger." Mr. William Rye, a machinist, "Could not conceive that a shaft ten or eleven feet high could be at all dangerous, unless the workpeople climbed up to it intentionally; and if a shaft at such a height were cased, the casing would be constantly liable to be torn down by a strap lapping, or getting out of its place." The witness explained at great length that when a shaft was cased, the straps were more likely to lap, and to come off the drum, the casing giving it a tendency to work against the keys. He also stated that he was clearly of opinion that the rectangular