Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-05-21

only II England. but throughout Europe,
WAS tle cause Of the death nf hundreds
OF people employed IN their manufacture.
me breathing Of the phosphorus pro
dnced necrosis. or gradual rotting away
oil The facial bones. and there was Az
yersal cutlery against the use OF the
POISONOUS matches. which caused mnny
people to abstuin from their use, hcliev-
ing that even the slight fumes from the
striking " single match would Ice suth-
Gent to bring about the commencement
OF the dread disease. aud so strong hold
did this obtain on the people that for
long years after improvements had
eliminated the poisonous vapurs, many
people could be found who, when strlk
Ing q match, turned their heads away
and teld the match at arms length,
IN 1910 the Nienncse Schrotcr made
the discovery how to render phosphorus
non-poisonous or what is now known as
amorlhous phosphorus, but public feeling
was still strong against its use in any
form, and number Of other devices were
introduced. One Of these was glass
bottle IN which phosphorus had been run
over. the inside SURFACE, and a light was
obtained by dipping m an old.fasLioned
sulphur match. scmping up little pl,os-
phorus, which when brought out into the
air absorbed the atmospheric moisture
hurst into tane. Another bottle
match Of this period has split tipped
with a chlorute OF potash mixture which
air absorbed the atmospheric moisture
when dipped into a bottle containing sui
phnric acid, or oil Of vilriol as IL was
called isnited.
Follow Ing this was the lucfer match,
50 called from the smell of birthstone
These contained phosphorus. hut the
public did not become aware Of this fnct
and for quite some time were made 10y
hand. the first approach To a machine be-
az IN HRf SGT In "a IRA
against the edges Of which were driven
pieces OF wood TO be split and re-split be-
tween blades various distances apart, un-
I'll the desired square splints We're pro-
duced. II was not until 1873, when Ger.
many and several other countries caught
th phosphorus scare. that the famous
Tand1r dkor factory was started in Stock
holm tnow employing 1000 peoplel and IL
WAS acre that the first machine was put
into sOton. Sweden soon found a rlvel
in Norway, but the match industry In
the hitter country amounted to hut little,
until lSSi, now there are sixteen facto.
rics Phosphorus was then very rare,
worth so per pound, and experimcnters
had hard time. In 1872 Germany
tue match industry may be formed from
the fact that IN twelve years one man In
Vienna made a fortune amounting to
SlO.OO0,OOO, Then attention was turned
10 the manufacture of phosphorus, and
as au ultimate result of these early land
to many of the scientists. personally dis
asterousl experiments. Il can now be
bought for sixty cents pound, For
many years Germany and Austria prac
ticllly monopOliyod the match business of
the world. IN fact until an Englishman
named Albright took out patent for
what are now known as silent or
safety matches, which Were Intro
dured Oh the English market about 1874,
aud 1t is believed 10y many that he pirutcd
the idea Of Swede named Lundstrom
AT first The new match was not a great
success, but when German named
Shrater improved upon IL, there came a
change. He offered his patent 10 his
government, but they declined to take It
IN. and he then sold the discovery TO
Sweden and as q result In 1867, tho
Swedish product was acknowledged TO
Ice the cheapest non-pOlsonuus, nom
inhnmmable match IA the market. aud
the price Of labor Ia Sweden being the
lowest In Europe. the outside monopolies
were scotched. II not killed. None hut
safety matches are made in Sweden, md
the use uf any other is forbidden by law.
The method of this match consists In
| rendering the explosive ingredients In
| the head OF the match inexploSve until
combined (by the process Of frictionl
| with the phosphorus, etc, on one side Oi
| the box. which. In electrical parlance,
completes the circuit aud brings about
the explosion. Bryant x May, the great
Euglish match firm. purchased the right
| to manufacture these matches from
Lundstrom. the Swede.
Meanwhile the lucifer match had re-
manned at a standstill. choking every
user with the smell Of dioNidc Of sui.
phnr. and II. NJ Lctchfnrl Of England
brought about the first Improvement 10y
| dipping the splints In melted paraliiur,
| aud 50 doing away with sulphur Once
again was The match world shook To its
| coulter, and the result was the present
pnrlOr match.
| Machinery Is now q prime factor In
| match making. aud the logs Of pine are
| first cut by circular steam SAWS into
| ifleen-inCh blocks, which when freed
| from their bark, are again cut into the
| thickness Of a match; these slabs are
| subdiyid,d by steam operated knife in
to seven bands, each the length Of a
mitch. The knotty parts then removed,
and the bands 100 at a time, are fed 10
/ a machine which cuts them into the
| familiar spiuts These are dried In
| drums, picked up by a machine, and set
1 In dipping frame, by means Of which
good workman san dip over S.OOO,WO
matches day, they are then dried again
aud packed Look ~ the lower end Of the
| next match you use, and you will see
Tie mark Of the clamp
Bryant Chaplin Of Chlcopee. Mass, was
the first man 60 make friction matches
/ In this country, nnd they were sold in
4 punches wrapped MP IN white paper, each
match being rolled around with the paper
I separately. 10 prevent explosion In the
package by friction. He had n fortune
! In his grasp. but lost u by shiftlessness
1 IN his hulness methods. He refused sew
4 ernl good offers for his Invention. but
/ g. "a. ettFt - hInh