Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-12-26
LIGHT IN A DUNGEON.
The First Phosphorus Match Was Made By
John Komerer, . German Convict

/ A
The First Phosphdkus Match Was Made By
John Komerer, = German Convict.
From the st. Louis Globe Democrat.
II wonder does any one know the history Of
the lucifer," said Mr.. h. @. Zappart the other
day at the Southern. 81 tell you why I ask. ]
| was once standing here Just where am now
and met an Englishman. The Englishman
had whole-hearted swear at things in general.
You are frozen in the summer he said, and
you are heated in the winter till one might be-
lieve you were being toasted brown in a mis-
take for muffin for breakfast and you cannot
buy wax vesta.'
ut occurred to me that there was no. 80
much cause for complaint in regard to this last
item at least, for you know man has gone on
probably couple of thousand years without a
match at all, much less the wax vesta- For the
comfort Of such gentlemen as have just men,
toned will give you the history Of the match:
First Of all, what do you think is its value?
In the United States the value Of a single match
would be the 360th part Of cent, and in Europe
about half the price. Think of 1t, $50 matches,
the wood chopped and all other things done.
and the lot neatly packed into little box for 1
cent, and yet there are large fortunes made out
of matches. France has been enabled to meet
the terribly heavy liability involved in the war
with Germany through making the match in
dustry q monopoly.
'.As have said, the world had to do without
the match for thousands of years. You would
find it difficult to find a monument to the ge-
MUS of the inventor, and probably the majority
of men do not even know his name.
1T is the old, old story. The man who in
troduced an article by which millions of dol
lars have been made and are still made, an
article which is now considered indispensable
to society, died poor heart-broken and for
gotten III o lunatic asylum.
THE first phosphorus match was made by
one John Frederic Komerer in Ludwigsburg,
Germany. He had been imprisoned Tor some
political offense in the penitentiary at HOhen-
asperg. The governor of the prison treated
the convicts with humanity, and allowed
komerer, who was chemist by profession, to
make scientific experiments.
In the cell of a gloomy dungeon the first
luclfer was struck, to the great delight of the
unhappy prisoner. 1t came as ray of hope to
a man shut out from the rest of the world and
from all that made life dear. A year later
Komerer was released. At that time no patent
law existed and the ex-prisoner. being a man
without capital, had to fight three companies
In Vienna. His opponents had means, while
he had none. But still harder blow was in
store for him.
The German government had q notion that
matches were dangerous because some children
playing with them caused conhagration, and
In tit OF incomprehensible stupidity passed
law forbidding the manufacture of all kinds OF
matches. Thus was Komcrer ruined. Other
countries took the matter up, and in 1912 the
law Of Germany was repealed.
I'm 1S4S millionaire matchmaker existed
In Vienna. His millions increased as the years
went by and he retired after twenty years work
with fortune of Sl0, 000O 900.
up to 1862 the Vienna manufacturers con-
trolled the match business of the whole globe.
They worked in the most impracticable way,
without machinery. There was a fixed idea
that machinery was useless and that the work
should be done by hand. One particular event
caused the downfall of the Vienna monopoly.
This was the invention OF the safety match.
The principal material In which the ignit-
ing composition is dipped is PHOSPHORUS. One
hundred years ago 1t was nothing more than q
chemical curiosity, produced in very small guam
titles, and an ounce of 1t was sold for an one
OF gold. Now a pound can be bought for 20
cents The extraordinary igniting powers of
phosphorus cannos be equaled by one of
the chemical substances now in use. but 1t is a
most poisonous article, and many suicides were
committed with an emulsion OF the heads Of
the matches Of which it formed part 1t also
caused terribly deadly disease among tine
poor operators in the factories.
Prof. Shrater made a discovery of some
thing which reduced the deadly elements of
the phosphorus He offered his discovery to
the leading Vienna manufacturers, but the
found its way to Sweden, and there new in
dustry sprang up, which gave employment to
thousands of hands and realized millions of
dollars. The reputation of the Swedish match
has been established. 1t is the best and cheap
estin existence and is neither poisonous nor in
fammabie. Sweden produces no other than
safety matches, and they are exported to all
parts of the world"
I'm Germany, Austria Switzerland and Hol.
land phosphorus match factories are under
state control to prevent as much possible
the spread Of the disease to which / have re-
ferred The girls must wear special dresses,
the factories must possess special lavatories
and dining rooms, and q edical man must
examine the surroundings and send a report
once week to the factory inspector. The
manufacturers must pay for the medical treat
ment
1T is strange that the safety match has not
found favor In the United States, the most
progressive country in the world. Only q few
are used in eastern cities, and these are mostly
the operators in the factories, as well as in the
interest of the public, it is desirable that they
should take the place of the evi-smelling poison
GUS and dangerous phosphorus matches, and
they can be manufactured just as cheaply.
The number Of factories III the states of the
Union Is very small us compared with Europe,
as the following statistics will show: Germany
with a population of 40. 000, 00O has 14O fac
tories; Sweden and Norway, with population
Of 6, O0O OO0 have 40; Switzerland with 900 OO0
%; Russia, with $4,000. 900, 200 United States,
with %, 600. 900. 80 Lumber is more plentiful
in the United States than anywhere else
therefore there is every prospect Of chance
for development Of the trade