The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-10-15
WHY MEN DIE PREMArURELY.
II is Frequently Because of the Work in
Which They Are Engaged.

Which They Are Engaged.
i Men risk their lives day after aav Mt
/ occupations in which most people imap.
4 inc there is not the slightest danger
/ Every day, too, there are men entering
\ employment with the absolute knowledge
\ that their work will lead to death, and
I Tor such positions there is even keen COM
n petition
N 1t has been estimated that no man
const;ntly employed in the manufacture
i OF ice can live more than ten years under
II the conditions in which he works. In
n these places men work in IL polar region
\ temperature. In the swcltering dog
n days, when the average individual is oh
I Jecting to the thermometer being at 80
l degrees, these men are closely muifled in
/ overcoats and ear NUTS, and wear heav-
II lily padded gloves. Even then it is most
II difficult to keep the .extrcmitics warm,
n and the constant working in such an at
mosphcrc brings on pneumonia and con
4 sumption
4 Men take their lives in their hands
4 when they work at paint making Here
Harsenic and lead is much used, and by
|J' slight and impcrccptibled degrees the paint
smakers draw PARTICLES of these poisons
Hinto their system, bringing on diseases of
4 the throat and lungs, causing them to
4 fade away as though some hand ut his
throat were choking out his life Those
|fwho are engaged in the apparently harm
n less business of house. painting also come
4 nn6r the deadly influence of the poisons.
\ and N the mixing of their paints inhale
II the fumes. Painters collie anu lead par
N alysis are but two of the diseases to
\ which the painter is liable.
n Few poisons are more deadly than mer-
H curry. 1t has its effect on all workmgn
II cn2rloyeo in the silvering of mirrors, in
II giIdi, :, broziEg, the making of bronzes
and similar work. The action of this
i poison is easily seen. When the work
mans hand begins to tremble and his
\ mouth and gums become sore his fellow
h workmen understand that the poison has
III entered his system, and that he must
h give up his work or die, but it is seldom
Il that II man gives up his work: he goes
4 on, waiting for death.
n Nine years is the limit of workman's
/ life after he begins to assist in the manu-
facture of clorine gas. The gas, which is
II extensively used for bleaching and. dyeing,
| generally cmits II greenish heavy vapor
lThls poison, entering the lungs of the
/ workman, brings on IL cough which racks
n the system in1lames the lung cells, and
h gradually eats away the tissues, making
| a wreck of the man and producing death
| In some factories the use of Il ycntilatinp
mask is insisted on, but even this is of
! little use, and strangely enough, is OBJ
\ jected to by the workman us inconven-
\ lent. Medical men have labored for
\ years to find some way of keeping work
\ man from inhaling dangerous and death
II dealing fumes, but so far have not been
L successful.
Hat factories are also ION the lookout
hinly
H that hat makers would he free from I'm.
seen dangers to life. But in the making
4 OF headgear Il fine lint is thrown off,
H which is disastrous to the lungs of the
/ workmen.
An energetic. statistician have figured
II out that there are fewer deaths among
men who work III the making of dyna-
mite than in the seemingly harmless
Il pursuit of the curing of hides. The
L peril to.the worker is particularly great
in the latter trade, for an unwholesome
odor is given of by the hides that affects
the nervous system, and is as certain in
its effects as pistol shot
II The manufacture OF matches is another
business fraught with the great danger.
81 Matchmakcrs, after few years of
labor, contract II loathsome disease from
n the poison given off, which obtains n
\ firm hold on the bones of the body, espe.
9cially those of the jaw and face. These
bones crumble away. There are few OF
the matchmakers who escape from the
II disease in greater or less degree.
Il Occupations which in any way deal
with the grinding of metals bring on in.
Vulnerable ailments, owing to the fine
dust which is given off. This causes
different forms ofsasthma, and especially
affects the air passages from the nose to
the lungs Under this head comes the
making and grinding of knives, scissors
IA and razors, and worse of all needle grind
ing, which is said to kill those who en-
gage il! it before they reach middle age
n For the most part these diseases OF
n workmen come on by such imperceptible
n degrees that there is little relief for the
sufferers, except for them to give III
their work and leave it forever. AS this
in the majority of cases, is financial
impossiblity, the workmen who toll al
n these dangerous occupations continue tC
die off and others take their places, tc
follow in their turn to the grave.-Lon-
don Mail.
ID POWER FIJI, CONDETTTJON