The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1882-12-20
THE TOY PISTOL,

Inc alarming number OF deaths which
have occurred among children from looked
jaw, as the result of wounds inflicted by the
toy pistol, has led to widespread demand
on the part of the press that the sale of this
apparently harmless, but really death-deal-
instrument, he prohibited BY law, 1t is inn
possible to give any accurate estimate of the
number of deaths which have been occa.
stoned by the toy pistol but there must GER
tainly have been several hundred since the
beginning of July, when the season " for
the pistol came in with the advert Of the
Fourth. Since then hardly day has passed
but reports have come from some quarter
of the fatal work Of the toy pistol, and the
number of cases thus recorded constitute
but small proportion of the number which
have actually occurred. An idea of the
fatality can be formed from the weekly
mortality report of Massachusetts, which
shows that of 403 deaths for the week end
ing July Is, in thirty-eight cities and towns
with population of l,054,3s7, fourteen
were from tetanus, and most of these are
attributable to the toy pistol. The victims
the year; for except during the ebullition of
the fervor of youthful patriotism, on the
Fourth and few days before and after the
toy pistol is generally laid away tits while
it is out of use, however, and when the
injury it has inflicted is fresh in the mind,
that public sentiment should be aroused to
the point of its total suppression. This can
be done in no other way so effectively as by
bringing home to parents the fact that they
are doing a foolish thing and recklessly SUBJ
jecting their children to great danger when
they indulgently place toy pistols in their
hands. In one respect these toy pistols are
much more dangerous than the revolver.
The latter is recognized as deadly weapon,
and is handled with care while the toy
pistol is assumed to be harmless and is there
fore used imprudently, and the wounds it
infiicts, being apparently trivial, are neglect
ed and result in lockjaw.
A Boston physician explains in the Globe
of that city how it is that there are so many
fatal cases. When the illuminate in the
pistol explodes, its force may be transmitted
in any direction, and consequently the thumb,
forefnger and sometimes the palm of the
hand suffer injury. The wound thus caused
is one of the very best to serve Us predis-
posing agent to lockjaw, for It is lacerated
and very often, as part of the wafer shell
is thrown into the wound punetured and
poisonous wound not uncombined with a
burn. The wound is not very great or very
horrible, or particularly painful, and does
not attract much attention after the moment.
airy pain is over, and a wet rag or kiss to
make il well is about all the treatment
receives; but later there comes sudden
change in temperature, or the lad runs
about, gets heated, goes in swimming, or in
some othor way cold comes as the exciting
cause, and then comes in succession the
series of tetanic symptoms, leading to ia.
tai result.
The moral of this is that parents should
break up the toy pistols the boys now have,
and not buy any mora The boys them
selves will not give their nistnls nm of their
own motion. In fact, the danger attendant
upon them would, in the view of the aver.
age boy, give added spice to their use.