Injuries and fatalities are a serious issue at an electrical utility. Management thinks it is due to worker carelessness. A lineman named Jim is planning to marry on this day but “won’t take safety seriously”. He lives in a boarding house, is late for work and is not yet married. The more fastidious and conscientious worker is married, has two children and follows safety procedures carefully. Class respectability is part of good behaviour at work. When an automobile knocks out an electrical pole, power is cut to the hospital, imperilling the life of a little girl. On his wedding day, Jim is dispatched to restore the power and is seriously injured. Jim’s attitudes almost cost him his fiancé. The film ends with the message “Think!.” Workers simply need to be more careful.

“Someone At Home”, 1925, film, 14 minutes 24 seconds, Graphic Consultants collection, accession number 1972-0105, Item number ISN 108889, Library and Archives Canada.

Film editing by Annie Slotnick. Musical direction by Ewen Farncombe.

Songs:

Just For Old Times Sake - Art Landry’s Orchestra (1924)

Manda - Ben Bernie’s Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra (1924)

Climbing Up the Scale - Johnny Johnson Orchestra (1924)

Further Discussion

"Was Killed in Effort to Rescue Cat." Toronto Star, 26 August 1925, p. 22.

This discussion of dangers in the workplace, though for a slightly earlier period is useful here. Tucker, Eric. "Making The Workplace 'Safe' In Capitalism: The Enforcement of Factory Legislation in Nineteenth Century Ontario." Labour Le Travail, vol. 21, 1988, pp. 45-85.