Evening star., 1896-09-22
OCCUPATIONS THAT KILL.
Various Trades That XIII on Work,
ers Within a Few Years.

ers Within a Few Years.
From the London Mail
Men risk their lives day after day at oc-
cupations In which most people imagine
there is not the slightest danger. Every
day, too. there are men entering employ
ment' with the absolute knowledge that
their work will lead to death. and for such
positions there is even a keer competition.
1t has been estimated that no man con-
stantly employed In the manufacture of ice
can live more than ten years under the
conditions In which he works. In these
places men work in a polar region tenn
perature In the sweltering dog days.
when the average individual is -obiacting
to the thermometer being ct 30 deg ees,
these men are closely mufiied in overcoats
and ear muffs, ard wear heavily padded
gloves. Even then II is most difficult to
keep the extremities warm, and the con-
slant working in such an atmosphere
brings on pneumonia and consumption.
Men take their lives in their hands when
they work at paint making. Here arsenic
and lead are much used, and by slight and
imperceptible degrees the paiHtmaker
draws particles of these poisons into his
system, bringing disease of the throat
and lungs. and causing him to fade away
as Though some hand at his throat were
choking out his life. Those who are en-
gagged in the apparently harmless husiI -ss
of house painting also come under the
deadly influence Of the posons, and in the
Painters collie and lead paralysis are hut
two of the diseases to which the painter is
liable
Few poisons more deadly than mer-
| curry. 1t has its effect on all workmen en-
ployed In the silvering of mirrors in gild-
| Ing, bronzing, the making of bronzes and
| similar work. The action of this poison is
easily seen. When the workman's hand
begins to tremble and his mouth and gums
| become sore his fellow workmen under
| stand that the poison has entered his sys-
tenn and that he must give up his work or
die. But II is seldom that a man gives up
| ms work; he goes on, waiting for death
! Nine years is the limit Of 4 workman's
| life after he begins 10 assist in the manu-
| facture OF chlorine gas. The gas. which is
| extensively used for bleaching and dyeing,
| generally emits a greenish. heavy vapor.
| This poison, entering the lungs of the work
| man, brings a cough which racks the
! system, infiames the lung cells, and grad
| ually eats away the tissues. making a
wreck OF the man and producing death. In
| scme factories the of a ventilating
| mask is insisted on but even this is of lit
| tie use. and strangely enough is Objected
to by the workmen inconvenient Medical
| men have labored for years TO find some
| way of keeping workmen from inhalinz
! dangerous and death-dealing fumes, but so
| far have not been successful.
| Hat factories are also on the lookout for
| this preventive. One would think that hat
| makers would be free from unseen dani:5 rs
to life. But in the making Of headEear a
fine lint is thrown of which is disastrous
to the lungs of the workmen.
An energetic statistician has Just figured
out that there are fewer deaths among the
men who work in the making of dynamite
than in the seemingly harmless pursuit of
the curing of hides. The peril TO the work.
er is particularly great in the latter trade
| for an unWh holesome odor is given of by
the hides that affects the nervous system,
and is as certain in its effects as a pistol
| shot.
| The manufacture of matches is another
| business fraught with the greatest danger.
| Matchmakers, after a few years of labor
| contract a loathsome disease from the
| poison given off. which obtains a firm hold
on the bones of the body. especially those
| or the jaw and face. These bones crumble
away. There are few OF the matchmakers
. | who escape from the disease in greater or
| less degree.
| Occupations which in any way deal with
the grinding of metals bring on innumer-
able ailments, owing TO the fine dust which
| Is gwen oil. This causes different forms of
: | asthma, and especially affects the air pas
| sageS from the nose to the lungs. Under
| TINS head come the making and grinding of
Knives, scissors and razors, and worst of
all, needle grinding, which IS said to kill
| those who engage in it before they reach
| middle age.
For the most part these diseases of work.
men come on by such imperceptible degrees
that there is little relief for the sufferers
except for them to give up their work and
| leave Ii forever. AS this, in the majority
2 | OF cases, Is financial impossibilfty the
| workmen who toll at these dangerous 90.
4 cupatlons continue to die OF and other
: take their places, to follow In their turn
to the grave.