The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1881-10-04

the effect being evident in a nausea
and in the pores of the skin to- dis
tresSing EXTENT a puddler told the
visitor that thermometer hung where
the puddlers were working would
register JOG degrees; that he (the pud-
dler) had swallowed as high as three
bucketfuls of water Il day, AMI that
he had sweat more than gallon
from his head and face alone in one
day. OF course the man was only
making estimates, but still he did not
know To whom he was talking, or
that what he said would ever be
written. He wanted To convey some
idea Of the situation. At the North
Chicago rolling mills the men drink
artesian well water. preferring it to
ice water. Frequently, when the
weather is very hot. they mix oatmeal
with the water, the mixture being
more nourishing and less apt to create
nausea than pure water. a few of
the hands drink several glasses Of
beer during the day The malt bev-
erage, they say. when taken modera-
tely, stimulates them for work, while
1T passes out through the pores of the
skin before producing a shadow of in
toxication. Whisky. the Chicago
hands say. is bad, ard buttermi!k and
sweet milk was said by two of the
men to be about the worst drink they
could take on hot DAYS. for the reason
that it would not sweat out fast, ami
would play the devil with the
stomach.
Just think of what the rolling mill
iaborer has To experience: While
the thermometer IN the lei ghborIn@
cellar registers. say ~ degrees, he
takes poker weighing something le<<
than ton and, standing i'll front of Il
furnace. stirs upa lot of motion, boil
ing, bubbling metal, makes it into a
ball like butter, and pulls it out on a
cart. Another man gets in front Of
the fiery mass and wheels it over to Il
machine. where it Is squeezed To- an
ingot. Other men cart the ingots To
the rolling mill proper. where they
must he heated again, and where YOU
find more furnaces. belchiug out
flames and whitening hot blasts. over
which the men hover. The ingot Is
finally hauled out again, glowing AMI
>i;nmering, carted To- the rolls, and at
ilSt Il crude rail Is wOrmed out. This
rail, before being sawed off. weighs
about 500 pounds, and while still red
HIT Is Sided up to and ianied anon. a
hundred or more other he, rails. Here,
then. are the tu,s at red hot iron.
with men handling it, The average
parlOr coal stove when red hot drives
one several feet away, ana often out
IT the room. even in the winter time.
What kind of heat would ton, of
rel hot iron give ont on Il Sultrv dav
The men who handle these rails are
c,illed hot bed men," The visitor
WIS actually unable to stand second
beside one of them. He went near
one of them. He went near enough
10 them To think his eyebrows were
beginning to SINCE aud then beat Il
haSty retreat.
The gangs OF men at the hottest
and hardest work take turns OF few
minutes each, but even then the
blowing gang cannot 90 far enough
away to get a sniff of ordinary cool
air.
You never heard of puddler's
funeral. though" said labOrer of that
class TO the visitor; and it i>a fact,
Notwithstanding the summer troubles,
that the mill hands are usually pretty
healthy fellows. This Is accounted
for. however, by the fact that the
mill men are naturally powerful in
physique and consiitution-none
others will be taken into the business
And they usually quit the mill before
they get very old. While they may
he healthy. generally, while at work,
it is question wheter they would not
be more healthy, with their bTawny
muscles and giant-like strength, and
live 50 much the longer, if in some
other trade.
1t Is said that the eastern mills were
bothered about filling orders during
the hot weather, owing To- the sickness
of the men from heat and over-exer-
ton. Here the trouble was not quite
so bad Us that, although extra men
had to be kept on hand.
No one was to blame for it all.
Railways must he constructed. No
cne has been able to concoct a drink
which will drive away the deadly
thirst OF the men who make the rails,
or tn invent fan that will keep the
mills cool I'm summer. The men are