Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1894-07-31
wHsRu IT Is aGALlv NOT.
xkx VINO rolL IN vExr man TAM
rERATuREs.


these summer days Ia . ncsIlsc shlit,
With hls straw bat In Que hand and
palm leaf fan Ia tile otlser, and zsks
every QUE hs mcets n it u hot enough
for him, would probably feel much
cooler by cosnparison n hc could look In
for moment 1t the iabors of hundrcds
and Thousands wlnosc occupations CON.
pei them to work under conditions OF
extreme heat. These are the men Who
work In Iron foandrIcs, In oil factories
and In Gas houses.
A great deal depends upon the clr-
cumstances under which the work IL
carried on. The excessive heat can be
horne for time u there IL = periodical
escsipe to the outer air for breathing
speli. Most of the foundrles and re
tIneries are built In such . way that two
or three aides are left open for the circu-
istion OF air. ~ there IL . breath OF
wlnd from any direction, things are not
~ bad, hut when . day comes along
wlthout q brcese--the klnd OF day on
which people and horses sInk down on
the street In the open Alr-then life 10
these Industries II not worth living.
The thousands Of people Ia tie city Who
work In iaundries, and a. cooks 10 hotels
and restaurants, get . little lasts of lot
work Ia their professions alec, but pro'-
traiions are not very numerous ~ . rule.
The East River aud soms points an
the New Jersey shore opposite New
York, are lined With great sugar re
flDeries, In which the nature of the work
calls for an extremely high temperature.
The largest of these reflnefIes are those
10 the iisveineyers aud Mollenhsuer In
wiiilamsburgh. A number of smaller
ones are scattered about near by. Great
heat has In be- generated Ia keep the
sugar syrup boiling, and the men Who
keep NJ the hres feel the effects OF u.
II Ia bad enough At all times, but when
the furnace doors are opened for shovel
ling Ia coal. q hot blast issues forth d.
reciiy In the hremsn's face which 10
enough "a make his hair si,sle. a al
moon FROM the deserts IL mild In CON-
parison. These men work twelve hours
on q stretch: that IL. they are on duty
that length Of time, but the actual work
takes NJ only about ten minutes each
half hour. The rest of the time they
roll about the open doors and windows
for re,ivifying brcaths of air. When
there isnt breath of cool air In lie had
and there Isn't on some days-the hfc-
men are q PRETTY weary lot when they
go on duty, and it .. little wonder "
some of them Wilt down and have Ia be
carried home.
Another hot place Ina sugar refinery
10 the mixing room. This IL on level
With the wharf. and great vsts are YET
down from the noor Into which the bsg.
aud hog sbeads 10 raw sugar are emId'ed
"a be melted Into syrup. The thick mass
In the vat. boils aud serthes aud the
room IL filled with steam. The room is
dark, the Goor IL sloppy, and . mis.'ep
would be fatal. The heat u very great,
aud the men are half naked ~ they swing
the big hogsheids NJ Ia the watts aud
empty their contents. The drying room
4. a hot place, too, but fortunately not
many men are needed there In keep
things moving. This IL where q good
many IL the reported prostrations occur.
and ID. managers are very cautions
about letting visitors Inspect the room
tine of The most unpleasant Jobs In .
refinery on hot day u that at rrplen-
ishing the animal charcoal ar boneblack
which IL used Ia the alters for clarifying
the liquid sugar. The quality of sugar
depend. entirely upon lts whiteness. and
these differs are constructed for the pur-
pose of taking out the yellow color
which inber-. In the liquor, so that when
II |. allowed To crystalline II shall be per-
fectIy clear aud transparent. The bone
black filters are Immense affairs, eight
feet In diameter aud twenty-five feet In
length. They usually extend through
tao floors of the refinery ballding.
After being used for time the charcoal
loses hs power 81 absorbing the yellow
colosing, and this IL shown by the pro-
ductiou of q lc. white, and henc- In
fefior quality 81 sugar. The bonebisck
must now be renewed. To do this .
man has Ia 90 down Into IN. otter and
mack I, With the charcoal To the amount
81 thirty or forty tons. lie carries With
him q smsii incandesccnt lamp sttachesi
Ia q flexible cord. 4 molsiened sponge
l. fastened over hls mouth aud nostrils.
The atmosphere .. stihing and suiiocat-
Ing AZ beat, but this work has to BE- done
on the hottest q. we'll Ne the coolest day,
aud II constitutes one 90 the most up-
pleasant parts of q sugar-maker's bush
meas.
Most 81 ID. Iron and steel manufacture
Ing I. done In nn.ylvsnis, and there
are not many steel ar Iron works In the
Immediate vicinity of New York. n
few Iron foundrirs are To be found In the
city. In brooklyn, aud In iioboken.
There 1. hut Que steel works herrabouis,
and that IL a small one In brooklyn. de-
voted 20 y special line Of production.
The labor IL not 81 the hottest Kind an'i
III. conditions of location and constrnc-
ton are such ne Ia relieve the heat as
much ss possible. u IL near the river
and I. open on three sides. The hottest
a. well az the most Interesting process,
I. that of drawing up the cruclbles from
the furnaces, aud 81 pouring their con-
tent. Into the mould. The crucihlcs
stand about three feet high and weigh,
With their contents % liquid steei. about
100 pounds each. The hest to which
they are subjected IL something terrific.
In the gas house. where Illuminating
gas for houses Ia manufactured, pro.tra-
lions from heat are not infrcquent. There
are nine such works In New York. The
process which entails the greatest ex-
posture To Intense heat IL that of hlllns
The retorts With coal and Of empty inK
ihom of coke, after th. gss has been
generated. The retous are arranged
usually Ia three rows, one above the
other. The doors, when closed, her'net'
icAlly seal them, aud prevent combustion
By putting out the air. The rrtorts,
which run back for . distance at twenty
feet, are surrounded within by glow
heat of 400 degrees which IL the white
heat poiut. When they are being filled
With coal aud are open Ia the air, 10"
coal burns fiercrly ne II ]. shovcled Ia by
the workmen, aud loug arms OF himc
dart forth from tile opening. for the
work of hlling them, the men strip Ia
the waist aud sop their bodies aud arms
frequently In waier. II takes three men
To handle Que Of the shoyels.
Another excessively hot place for men
to work IL In the stokehole of Que of the
ocean steamers. Not only IL the heat
extreme hut in many cases the vcntila-
tion IL very defective. This IL notably
the case on ''irsnps" aud old.fashioned
steamships. Those of more recent build
are better provided In this respect, hut
under the most favorable conditions the
work ID sitting aud almost unbearably
hot.
"what side IL the gentleman Ony''