Page 584 - Atlas of Creation Volume 3

The Cruelties of Darwinist Employers

With the Industrial Revolution that began in England and soon spread to the whole of the rest of the

world, new factories were built and machines began to be used in them. People were frequently injured
because some employers attached no value to human life, especially that of the workers, and refused to
take the necessary safety precautions. Most of these injuries resulted either in death or in the loss of fin-
gers, hands or arms. It has been determined that in the 1900s a million workers a year died, suffered seri-

ous handicaps or fell sick. 19
For workers who spent their lives in a factory, the loss of a limb or organ was almost inevitable. During
their working lives, more than half of workers either fell ill or suffered serious injuries such as the loss of
arms and legs, or of sight or hearing. For example, workers manufacturing stiff brim hats suffered mercury

poisoning. Almost all radium dial painter workers ended up with cancer. 20
Although employers were fully aware of working conditions and the accidents taking place, some took
no steps at all to improve conditions. Many steel mill foundry workers worked twelve-hour shifts in tem-
peratures of 40 to 50 degrees C (117oF) for very low wages. 21 In 1892, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison

summarized these inhuman conditions by saying that every day, the average American worker faced the
same hazards as a soldier at war. 22
Some capitalist businessmen attached
no importance to human life and regard-

ed it as expendable. During the construc-
tion of the railroads alone, hundreds lost
their lives due to bad conditions. 23 One of
the most striking examples of this ruth-

lessness is of the American businessman
J.P. Morgan, who purchased 5,000 defec-
tive rifles at $3.50 apiece and sold them to

In 19th-century factories and other indus-
trial enterprises, Social Darwinist and cap-
italist practices were imposed in their most
savage forms. Employers with that mindset
regarded workers' lives as worthless and
thought of their own interests only.

582 Atlas of Creation Vol. 3