Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1860-03-03
THE SLAVE OF CIVILIZATION.

interesting article suggested by an examina-
tion OF various works, relating to mortality in
me trades and professions from which the New
lork Commercial has extracted in the SUBJ
Joined synopsis many important facts. The re-
suit Of Investigations made in England, into
the condition of the laboring classes-not mere
ly those who labor in the dsrk places under the
earth, but those who are engaged in the pro-
ceSseS by which articles Of taste and luxury are
prepared-will be startling to all, who sur
rounded by the appointments Of easy life
have given no attention to the rnuitiform perils
which environ those by whom these appoint
menis are supplied The mirrors which reflect
features, and the glazed cards which we
leave on our friends, give no token of the
trembling form OF the artfcer, poisoned by
mercurial fumes, or paralyZed by the hazard
Gus toll by which he sought to earn his liveli-
hood The porcelain vase on the mantle is Of
rare beauty, but it has infected the clippers
hand with disease which will destroy its cum
nlng. All this suffering proceeds, the work.
man falls out of the ranks and another rises to
take his place, reckless of the fate that awaits
him, and grati6ed with the increased COM
pensatiOn awarded TO his labors
In this day of ''silyer forks it will be sur
prlSlng to know that more steel forks than ever
before, are now manufactured at Sheffield
These forks, and needles also, are ground upon
dry stones, the grinder necessarily sitting in
the posture best adapted to fill his lungs with
the hne dust, and TO wound his sensitive ewes
with the steel sparks. The dry fork grinder
averages 29 years, and thus exempliies at an
early day, the solemn ritual, dust to dust -
Some dry-grinders wear spectacles, and these
are often fecked with bits of STEEL which,
when red-hot, penetrates the glass. This
same dry grinder, in order to give the round
ed back to razor or scissor blade, sacrifices
his health and life to the unim differ
ence between the straight and the curved line
which he forms. The statistics of Sheffield
show that the ascending grade of longevity is
ii direct proportion to the amount of water
used ON the stone. the strength and age of the
grinder being considered. Yet we are in
formed, that matters are not so bad as former.
~. The introduction of fans to blow the dust
away from the stone, of magnetised fire screens
Tor the face, and the general adoption of the
=" beard movement, by workmen mature
enough to raise these hirsute appendages,
have added to the length of life Still the
grinders say the trade is bad enoupb ss II is
and If the men lived longer, it would be so
Overfull that there would be no such thing as
getting living"
Now as to the miner-one of the 300 600 per-
sous In Great Britain who enter the bowels of
the earth at morning and emerge at evening
Beneath the soil he works-the yery industrial
Atlas Of Misunderstanding the wealth and
greatness OF that country, which without its
coal and iron, It's copper and tin and its giant
machinery feeding upon them and reducing
them to new forms, would not enjoy its present
proud pre-eminence. Here, in these cold,
dark mines, the miner tolls cramped in posi-
ton, till 1.-The ApollO-like form of man be-
comes permanently twisted and bent, like the
gnarled root of an oak which has been doubled
up in the assure of rock" In these galleries
two feet high, pursuing the vein of metal or
coal; and picking mt the side and top, the col
ler lives his life of toilsome restraint knottinp
himself till an erect position is a punishment
to him. Foul air surrounds him; fre-damp
blasts him to cinder, or choke damp noise
iessiy blots out his life. A single blow of the
pick may let in upon the collier an invasion of
either one OF these damps, and the pit mouth
may be crowded with - wailing multitude of
newly made widows and orphans, Thus
1,9Oo lives, and 1000 accidents annually at
test the dangerous nature of this vocation.
In all England the mortality among miners
from accidents alone is 4 ) to the thousand: in
Stafordshire alone 10; while in Prussia it is
i-9, and in Belgium 3. Then add the dis
eases caused by deprivation of light and air
by the foul breath Of the caverns and of the de-
csying timbers in them, and by the volumes
OF coal dust taken into the lungs. When the
collier dies his lungs look as if dipped in black
ink. The dry grinder has similar lung The
average OF sickness among colliers between the
ages Of ~ and 90 Is Ga per cent more than the
general average. Yet the coal mines can be
ventilated at a cost of penny Per man per
DAY. IhlS ventilation will save ten fold its
cost In the increased abOr done by the colliers
and the preservation of the wood ''battrices"
IN the mines. In the Cornwall mines the
woIkmen, after day of toll, are obliged to
climb ladders for many hundreds Of feet to
reach the mouth of the pit. This is equal to
the labor OF ascending mountain
All trades that are carried on in dust ara
more or less immediately productive of disease
MIllerS, masOns, bricklayers nuff:makers
pearl button makers, preparers of hair fax
bcaters, and many others, all suffer from dis
eases peculiar in many of their symptoms and
faRl IN tha ,koI
eral family resemblance
Strangely enough, one of these curious and
patient Investigators of health finds that scay-
engers and chifOniers are remarkably healthy
Human life meets filth nowhere more closely,
yet the investigation finds them "a healthy
looking, ruddy y-complexioned race" wearing
their natural rouge under their artificial tint
The impurities with which these people come
In contact are, however in the open air. and
moreover, the power of ashes to absorb noxious
emanations must be considered But scayen-
gers are usually exempt from febriie COM
piaints. 1t Is known, too, that the Occupation
OF tanners and workers in OIL and of butchers
mas certain exemption from pulmonary COM
plants Some curious facts are mentioned by
the Review In this connection, which we must
omit.
The lucifer- match maker, with his c,daver-
Gus complexion, emaciated form, and necrosis
Of the jaw, Is another instance of the slavery of
civilization. Phosphorus, in one form so ESSEN
tisl to bone, is, in the fumes of the match fac
tory, destructive to it. The chemist brings his
results to bear here, ar it is 70, that the oil
ot turpentine exposed in sauceIs, where this
match making proceeds, absorbs the mischiey-
Gus vapor.
Ine glider of metals and the coverer of mir
rors are other sufferers. While the process
goes on, the workman is invested with merou.
nai FUMES; his body is spotted with metallifer-
Gus particles, and he becomes a ..sbsttarsd hr-
man creature, with trembling muscles, brown
visage and blackened teeth" The belle who
surveys her wondrous beauty in the plas wonId
start back in horror if the visage Of tbis victim
OF luxury and vanity should but appear in dim
shadow far down the depths Of her clear 20.
fector.
Some Of our green, arsenous wall paner nro.
duces disease LII its pestilental influence TINS
affects even him who occupies the room orna-
mented with ii, what must have befallen the
operator who prepared it, or the artiran who
smoothed 1t TO its place on the wall!
So with workers in lead and paints. The
approach OF disease in these cases is sipnaIle6
by an azure line near the edge of the onms