The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-10-01

Some of the poisons are so deadly
that inhaling the fumes that arise from
their manufacture would mean certain
death. This is especially the case with
anhydrous acid, drug that is never
placed on the market in It's pure state,
and even In the chemists laboratory it
| Is handled with all the care that would
be given to O. poisonous reptile. If the
fumes of this acid should escape the
chemist would never live to tell the tale.
The man who discovered 1t was killed
| by inhaling It's fumes, and other men
| have met similar deaths.
Probably the most dangerous of the
! drugs manufactured here Is the cyanide
OF potassium. Its fumes are said not to
be poisonous, and one can work in the
room where it is manufactured without
| fear, except that he must not touch 1t.
The slightest quantity of the poison In
Its pure state would kill instantly If
swallowed The fumes arising from 1T
have rather a pleasant odor, and it Is
said that it produces a witching effect
upon the Workmen. The finished poi
son looks like crystallized sugar, and as
you gaze on 1t and smell the fascinating
odor there Is a strong temptation to
taste 1t. The fascination Is probably
much like that which draws a man
over a steep precipice. At any rate,
the attraction to taste Of the poison is
so well recognized that a workman Is
never allowed to remain alone in the
room where 1t Is being manufactured.
Nitric and sulphuric acids are pol
sons equally fearful In their results
when once liberated. These poisons eat
away and through almost anything,
and they can only be kept in carboys.
When one of these carboys is broken
the factory is doomed. The acid
spreads around and begins to eat into
everything 1t touches. and incidentally
sets everything inflammable ON fire.
To collect the acid or to pour anything
over 1t to counterace IT'S effects Is an
imposSibility. AS 1t burns and spreads
around, Its fumes become deadly i'm
their effect and t1remen attempting to
put out the flames would suffer. The
fumes do not kill at once, but IL
breathed for twentyfour hours they
poison the system and death Outlines
results.
The fumes Of corrosive sublimate are
as deadly as almost any poison, and in
factories where the drug is made the
greatest care is used to prevent them
from escaping.
There are many other posons made
for commercial use that are only lit
tie less powerful, but nearly all of them
are diluted when placed on the market
Some Of these are yellow prussiate of
potash, nitrate of silver, acetate Of lead
and copper, ferrocyanide of potash,
white and red lead and many other poi
sons. BY their being diluted the dam
ger Of using and handling Is minimized.
There Is one factory In Cincinnati
that does thriving business securing
nitrate Of silver from cast off photo
graphers' stock, and still another that
makes the drug in a crude way. The
proprietor Of the latter establishment
is native of Switzerland, and the
garnet Of his house is his workshop.
Some time ago he was overcome by the
fumes from his crucibles and came near
dying. He had met with a young Ger
man learning the trade, and the APP
prentice suddenly quit his Job when he
discovered that hos skin was turning
a blush hue.
IhV dCcIutiilS NldC nave resulted
from handling this class of poisons are
many. Several years ago a carboy of
nitric acid was accidentally broken in I.
factory In Eastern avenue, and theaciu
began to have its way without oppos-
ton. 1t soon started the interior of the
factory on fire, and 1t was eating Its
way Into an adjoining room, where
large quantities Of other polsons were
stored. Several worlkmen volunteered
TO put out the flames and to check the
acid in it's deadly work Several hours
were occupied before they succeeded,
and when matters seemed all right they
returned home. The next day all were
sick, and one of the men died, the
fumes Of the acid having been inhaled
and enough of the poison absorbed to
cause death.
Since the business offices of the
Standard Oil company We're centered
in Cleveland many of Cincinnatis fac
tories for the manufacture of poison
have been moved to the Forest City,
but there are still enough here to make
a good showing. CONNER