New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-02-28
A POISON FACTORY.
DRUGS ENOUGH TO KILL THE WORLD

DRUGS ENOUGH TO KILL THE WORLD
From Answers Qondon)
w pnGKea sw and sumbe-down IN
suburb of South London Is one OF inc $500
s Sut e wha Factory From morning ri night its
great chimneys are continuously beening
great column of steam will Shoot high into the air
honest white 6% pSFpf ana and gigantic
serpent. During the hours Of darkness its location
Clare in the Sky from its innumerable furnaces
The massive gates leading to this strange estan,
them Turk danger and death to the unwary tres;
passer Poisons of such terrific strength as won b
fractional part Of a second lie around loose and
handled with little apparent care h as II }dey
As has already been intimated this factory is a
afe e be careu he and
refrain from touching He must IN aga'', Without
Special permission. for there are poisons there
which it is death even TO smell one OF lheSe
preparation. which is seldom never seen outside
chemical LABORATORY The . Opglna Ws
stricken dead through accidentally inhaling n S
fumes and scores OF otner ee fbi anhydron acid
from which the ordinary, and infinlteX Wrako r.
with from % to 81 per cent OF wafer. Even en-, IN
this form however, 1t is sufficiently strong 70 ctuSe
almost instant death. even when taken in exceed
Next to anhydrous acid" remarked the pro
writer round the factory one day recently the most
deadly stuff we make is cyanide Of pota ssium. Last
and five grains being a fatal dose. ii follows that
our output of this chemical alone would have beel
manufacture in the course of each twelyemonth,
enough deadly poison to depopnate the ,sUr niiog
assertion, but 1t Is. nevertheless. well WITHIN 'he
While we were conversing had entered one Of
the workrooms, where number OF men Were en-
Containing over a hundredweght of molten cyanide.
1t picture such as would have deehteed the
from the seething mass of white-hot liquid poison!
The lambert play Of me furnace hres ana ever
ny-looking glass mask, peering through ne thck'
unctuous fumes right into the heart of the horri-
In another room were tons upon tons Of the fin
ished product. looking for all the world Ike white
at looks good enough to cat" remarked jocu-
All" replied my guide gravely. that is just one
OF the dangers we have 10 guard against. For some
q remarkable fascination over the men engaged in
and ever-recurrng desire to 1t. They per-
fccty alive to the fact. however. that TO give way
Consequently usually able to resist it. But not
always. During the time have been here three
of our best and steadest workmcn have committed
suicide in this strange manner, impelled thereto
apparently by no cause save this mysterious hor-
lust when have been long exposed TO the cyanide
in consequence So well is this curious fact recog-
zed mat there are always two men at work to-
ammonia. which, as you may know. is the anti
dote to the poison. is kept constantly near at
Apart from this remarkable nfatuaOp, which
may be hkened to the desire experienced by many
10 throw themselves down the manufacture of
Neither is it Unhealthy In fact is s'a asserted
that men have gone into the cyanide house i'll and
debilitated and in short time have been restored
TO robust health.
The same cannot, however, be said of corrosive
amost ali the tic is w
ingly treacherous, and prolonged exposure TO the
fumes is often attended by very dangerous conse-
Quences
a comparatively short sojourn in that part OF the
works devoted to its manufacture sometimes gives
rise to various unpleasant symptoms, as the writer
can testify IN my case. zen minutes exposure 10
the fumes suiiced TO induce profuse running at
the eyes, nose and mouth accompanied by con-
ering, nausea and headache. The room In which
6 OF Shaped @ snd its
of pipes and retorts, resembles an alchemists
laboratory.
OF course not al the products of this weird factory
are poisonous Neither all the smells
for instance my nostrs are saiuted with an exceed,
ngly sweet SAVIOUR. reminding me OF ''peardrops"
the precise drug used to give to the confecton in
question its peculiar flavor. Another smaller cham
is verltable fairy place of pure white crystals.
El in 0f e Poo
and completely cover the walls. A reproduction Of
Drury Lane would be sufficient to the success
Of next years pantomime. OF course. the flowers
and ferns composed OF neither Ice nor snow but
| pure white camphor crystals
Some of the substances are so exceedingly vola-
tile that during the process of manufacture they
must never be permitted TO come into contact with
| the outside air. A typical case is that of ether
which is passed from stl TO still and from rotor
| TO retort by means Of long copper pipes, until at
| last it emerges the finished article Of commerce.
! II produces when swallowed. an almost imme-
date exharation OF spirits followed by unstead.
ness of gait, thickness Of utterance confusion OF
| deas-n fact all the typical symptoms OF ordinary
/ ntoxication. The effect passes away quickly. how
ever. that ether drnker can get drunk three
or four times hour.
My last visit before quitting the works 10
! the testing room. where, surrounded by hundreds
OF samples OF the deadliest poisons known TO SCI
/ ence. sat a tall, slender and pretty young girl
Ranged in front of her n collection Of tubes
/ OF various shapes and sizes; thermometers gradu-
ated TO the one -hundredth part OF degree cent?
grade. and scales delicately poised that an eye
! lash laid upon one OF the balances DETECTED the
| Indicator nearly half an inch BY the aid Of
/ these and other strange and beautiful pieces of
/ apparatus she enabled TO record the exact
strength Of the various products OF the factory