Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-11-27
ARSENICNL iOISONING,
The Use of Poisons in Articles of Common
Use.
Boston Transcript

Some years ago there was much agita-
ton of the subject of the use of arsenic in
the coloring of wall and wrapping papers,
toys, candies and other articles for me-
chanical uses and for food. People be-
came careful in the selection of articles
that were likely to contain the poison,
and were made even more than normally
cautious when Prof. Edward 5. Wood, NJ.
D., of Harvard made an exhaustive report
on arsenic as Domestic Poison" to the
State Board of Health, Lunacy and Char
ity. He gave the result of thirty-siX
analyses of the higher grades of wall paper,
in all of which arsenic was discovered III
the cOlOrng or glazing substances Only
three of these specimens were of the gen.
crafty prescribed green; all were tinted,
many to II dangerous degree; especially
the reds, the browns, the blues and the
greens, the blues were the worst Gear
fridge papers, only, were exempt. There
Is no law whatever against the use of
pUlSOns IN manufacturing iii this country.
There are such laws in European COun-
tries AMI it only remains for pubic opin-
ion here to settle whether goods thus
adultcrated shall or shall not be exposed
for sale to the enlargement of the com
munity Germany has II stringent act
preparation of food, drink, or articles
covering them, toys, paper hangugs and
wearing apparel. Russia prohibits their
manufacture and importation. Sweden
had, in addition, prohibition of the sale
of arsenic and strychnine for any purpose,
even upon prescription; but this was
modified in 1883, though the law now is
more stringent than in the other countries
named. Austria prohibits certain cOlors
IN articles of food whether con aiming
posnns or not France and England only
are in line with the United States in this
regard, though strenuous efforts have
been made in Eugland TO induce Parlia-
ment to act in the matter.
The subject is brought particularly to
mind by IL recent occurrence. A lady Sc
lected and purchased from Il reputable
dealer line of wall papers for her home,
being guaranteed that none Of them con
| tanned arsenic in their cOlOring. Having
confidence in the dealers sincerity, yet
distressing his technical knowledge of the
goods, the purchaser took thirteen sam
pies of the paper to Il chemist, who dis
covered arsenic in six of them some con-
tanning the poison in proportion danger
Gus to life and health. Upon exchanging
these rejected papers, for six new specl.
mems, three were proved to be equally bad
and were discarded.
| This is but one instance of many that
| can be named where UNCONSCIOUS tests
went far toward the destruction of the
! health of those who were the involuntary
human subjects. One gentleman, whose
delicate wife and juvenile son We're
subjected to the baleful influences of the
paper that adorned their sleeping apart
ments, and were for II long time under
medical treatment before the real cause
of their physical troubles was OWNED. has
much tosay against the use of wall papers
that have not beeen submitted to tests by
a chemist known to the user rs being
competent to make them. lie has had
| three eXperienceS-twO on the Back Bay
and one at the shore After the first eX-
perience. in which his young son was in
valided for months before the occasion for
his ailment was discovered and removed,
| he was very particular to obtain Il guar
antee from the dealers that his paper
hangings were entirely free from arsenic.
He put them on his new house, but soon
after moving in the old symptoms retnrn-
ed in his family, and chemical tests re-
vealed the presence of the poison in one
style of paper used in the principal dor
mtOry. He had it changed for Il beuut-
full and expensive pattern that was proved
to be free of the dangerous mineral by Il
chemist of rcpute. y year or two later, i'll
furnishing his home at the shore, fancying
and having confidence III this adjournment
above all Others for his parlor and prin-
Cipal chamber, he ordered them hung
with 1t. During the summer the lady OF
the house was seriously affected, palticu-
larly III the parlOr, during damp weather
light of the gaslight. She was often com
PEELED to leave the room. Still the fact
that the first lot of the wall paper had
stood the test for poison diSarmed the
host from any suspicion for the time that
the second lot of the same material would
not bear the same examination and prove
free from arsenic. At last the reality
dawncd upon him, and he had 4 sample oil
the paper chemically Analysed TO usl
the words Of the chemist in making his
report, 1T has more arsenic in its compo
sitiOn per square yard than ! ever saw
before The wife, the gentleman said
being delicate, had no doubt received per
mancnt injury. The second purchase had
been doctOred. Perhaps the dealer did
not know it, but the gentleman'S conf
dence in manufacturers ana dealers alike
was shaken, and he tests everything now
On the other hand, to show that ther,
has been an improvement i'll this reSpec
recently, inquiry was made at the ofiic,
of Mr.. Stephen II. Sharples, the state as
sayer, who has recorded and illustrated
by specimen more than a thousand chemi
cal tests of wall papers made within
space of eighteen months. These SHOW
that in the first six months nearly ever,
specimen submitted was "arsencal.
in the second half year there was an aver
; age of about 80 per cent, devoid of poison
: More recently the absence of arsenic ha
: become gradually apparent, until, durin!
the past three weeks, of l13 tests onl
three or four developed the presence o
; arsenic to Il dangerous amount. Their
were some that showed traces where oXd
; of iron had been used in the colorng an,
-, the arsenical property had not been Ell
tirely eradicated, but these We're harm
less This diminution of the presence @
arsenic in the absence of law, can onl
be accounted for by the fact that house
holders have become more distrustful c
wall papers than ever, and where the
have not wholly discarded them for paint
they have become 50 cautious in their st
> lection, and have employed the chemist
e so freely, that manufacturers and dealers
!, in self-defence, have been compelled t
e relinquish the use of deleterious sui
l. stances
: As indicated above, the official test
r. made arc of the higher grade of hanging.
/ How far the adulteration can be show
i in the cheaper styles has not been mad
: apparent, and unless some concerted IA,
ton is taken will propably never be Il,
I veloped. Among the specimens vieweC
a there was beautiful piece OF Japanes
S art, free from everything objectionabl,