The sanitary condition of these Works is as good as it could be in any other factory. This is in some degree owing to the absence of anything specially unhealthy in the trade itself. Nevertheless, it is only fair to add that it is chiefly because of the most careful possible attention to sanitary arrangements, which I find to be observed. Those peculiar matches which will ignite only on the prepared paper attached to their own boxes, are such as if even a baby placed a bunch of them in its mouth it would suffer no harm. But the great advantage of these matches is that their general use would reduce the danger of accidental fire to a minimum.
Matches are one of our recent inventions, and one of the most important to trade.
This line of business admits of the profitable use of a large amount of capital. The sum staked by this firm, for example, is a fact to the point. It also gives employment to tradesmen of various kinds, and to commercial clerks, as well as labourers. It is not to be wondered, therefore, that a Statesman whose ability in finance is of the highest order, when he nevertheless made the mistake of attempting to put a tax on matches, got into sad disrepute. Had he succeeded he would have done no good to any one, and might have crippled a growing and important trade.