Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1882-12-27
ABOUT oRpPLEs,

arms Gr legs will DO rare a newspaper
paragaph 10 that N, 9, was shown 'oa
maker of artificial linbs Nho lllfhhh
more substitute arms anl lCgi than any
bOdy else in tho Unit u States, anl 10
said sit il true that ueTe afe 20. ~
many erppies observable IN nie stsfH
as there were lag ylaFs ago, bhl u "
also true that there arr amo.t ~ many
in the eommauity, aud probably always
will DO as long - We lAVe failoAif'
30 lar as tho old soldiers are ecneeFded,
don't imagine III they arc dylhH on
any faster tlan any olher men WVo wti,e
ia their prime wleu ihe wsr ended,
seventeen years aga, A. for eripplea
Incoming iare, that "a lIWe 40 ier ~
llelr Ceasug 10 be eont i0uphA n' lss,s'
but they'll be hete aWnuG w a.l llip
.ame. 1ho difference vi DO that tic
perfection TO which tlla making oI Nili'
hciaI limls has been carried, eFpee'aly y
Ia legs, prevent ihe muiilalou oI lheif
wearela being noticed Many meu van
der about with artificial legs, whom
nobody would ever suspect OF beng
maimed,"
Ina practical demonstration OF what
he aald he called up three OF hiAeiuployes
"a young WdRad, u boy anO 4 middle.
aged nal-GIl i0t thom walking To apd
iro In his ldrgc ..ilc' lho,a Hp' noih,
lug peculiarly Observable VI tho gov ~
oilher-n0 heavy Wooden, uainp no
stiffness IN he motions Ul tho le6', ana
no haltlEg IN tho alternating hepi, {el
tho young woman wore one artificial
Ion and each ot tho others were sup'
ported Oh two wooden limbs,
"ThoTc,' he eonllaura, with egHir o'
triumph, "is tho climax VI scientific
Invention In llia direction, Nohndy
would imaglnc, sceiud them "a tho
street, that they lad been crippled.
And tho young woman will dance all
night with that substitute leg wilhont
her partner suSpcctiug ita existence, tho
man will skate, and tho hoy eHn ion u
race, This IL Nll attained by tho use
Of solid rubber foot thai IN elastic
under the heel tread aud beads NJ tho
toes like q natural foot ] could point
out TO You In the street scores 0l men
that wear these solid rubber icct, not
only old soldiers, but yiclimS oi railway
aud othOr accidents, and you would not
recognize IN ,hoir easy, springy aud
noSclcss walk that they were not In
possession OF all their natural members
Aud that Is tho great reason why GRIP
plos arc disappearing, II is q very
common crror that more men wero
manned in battle during the war than
during any other time OF equal dG'u,ion
in the history OF this cou ntry, bn, tho
fact IL that thore IRE rs many cripp!es
made by the railroads in each year now
~ were made hy the war in any year OF
the war. That | affirm from intimate
knowledge OF moro than 6OOO cases
According to tho war records there were
only about $4,000 cripplcs madc on
both sides, Nor'h aud South, by tho
war. OF course the exact number has
not been, and cannot he ascertained,
for not only We're many cases never
reported, but in not few instances
injuries received in battle led t. ampu-
tations number Of years afterward so
long that they could not have been
incl ,dcd in the official records or kept
any exact account of. There was Henry
La Rue OF Chincbilla, Lackawanna
county, Pa, for instance, who had leg
amputated in 1877, in consequence of n
fracture received in 1865, when he was
n member OF the Eleventh Pennsylvania
cavalry.
81 have made thousands o. legs and
arms for soldiers, who are supplied with
them free Of cost by the government.
They are allowed S75 for leg and $50
for an arm, and are entitled every five
years to renewal Of tie artificial limb
or to its value in money. A good leg
of willow, well-made, with good steel
joints ana springs and solid rubber
foot, will last fifteen years with
proper care, and an arm is good for a
lifetime. The elasticity Of the rubber
foot increases the durability as we'll as
the servicability OF the leg. A first.
class leg costs 500, but the one that is
furnished to soldiers and sailors for S75
is equally good except in the matter Of
finish. / have heard OF artificial legs
being made to order in France with gold
plated joints, and all sorts OF fancy busi.
ness, costing several hundred dollars,
but have never been called upon to get
up anything of the kind, and if I had to
wear an artificial leg am sure 1 would
prefer plain one with that great Ameri.
can invention, the solid rubber foot,
rather than any gold plated and ieweled
one without it. I am called upon to
furnish from 500 to GOO arms snd legs,
comparatively few of the former, every
year, and you may say, on my authority,
that the railroad system OF this country,
as at present conducted. and the ma
chinery used in SO many branches Of
manufacture may be relied upon to
make three cripples for every one that
would be likely to be made by another
war. OF course, there are Numbers OF
men in this business all over the coun-
try, and I believe they all do pretty
good business"
A dealer in surgical appliances said,
II do not deal in artificial limbs any
more, for the reason that the things I
have to keep are multifarious enough to
set mans head whirling, and to prose.
cute the artificial limb business proper
ly requires exclusive attention to it. But
know all about it, ana often have to
repair arms aud legs, so that I meet
many persons who wear such things,
and I give you my word that I have
been surprised mora than once By men
who came int my utore and disclosed
that they had artificial legs. I had not
observed any indication of it in their
walk. I know girl employed in a
we'll known hotel, who has wooden
leg with o solid rubber foot and nobody
of all those about her every day, not
even the other girls who sleep in the
same room with her at night, suspect
the fact. She is very smart bright
girl, and she told me that the secret oi
OF her concealing the fact so we'll is that
wien she commenced wearing it she
carefully and Systematically tr ined the
well leg to adapt itself to the move
ment OF the MANNED ono, ins tead of re.
versing that process as most persons do,
TIE solid rubber foot is the invention oi
an old and experienced American
maker, and is acknowledged in Europe
as we'll as this country as the greares,
discovery Of the age in this direction"
Henry Laurens Bascomb, the actol
who had both his feet amputated in con
sequence OF their being frozen, has hac