The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-21

They are making artificial limbs so
cleverly these days that the people who
wear them forget they ever suffered the
tridins embarrassment of losing leg or
two or even an arm. They put in such
flexible joints and such charming rubber
feet that the wearers of these improved
legs dance gayly at balls and cotillions
without raising question as to the make
up of their limbs. There is a man in
downtown Office wearing an artificial leg
and foot-his own having been amputated
four inches below the knee. who jumps
six feet forward in a sprightly manner
just to show what he can do when
the subject of wooden legs is mentioned.
He can pick up a 200-pound man in his
arms. hold him easily and dance jig
with his rubber foot and willow limb He
would Just as soon have an artificial leg
and foot as not. There is one advantage,
he says. He never has rheumatism, and
he never suffers with corns or chilblains.
He can quit poker game at any stage
without being accused Of having cold
feet" He is as happy as grig, though
Just why a grig should be happy is one
of the things no fellow can find out.
1.-THE making~of artificial limbs, said
one of the makers as he stood with piece
of willow tree in his hands and looked
at it with critical eye. lis an art. Every
Tom. Dick, and Harry who hangs out
shingle cannot make artificial limbs prop.
erly. If they did some of us would have to
go out of business. You see, they go at
the business in laundering way and try
to turn out legs as cheaDly as possible, and
the result is they turn out bad ones. Every
thing lies in the fitting Of the stump The
making OF the leg itself is almost secon-
sA To-, oh hnf ~
will not bother the man who wears It, The
making Of bad legs is what keeps the bust
ness Of US who make good legs going"
Here the limbmaker paused moment to
see whether that shot had found a target.
There are plenty of limbs dema
he went on, lowing to accidents and am
putations for one reason and another
but II all the legs made and sold were
fit to wear permanently the business
would be pretty slack. The fact is that
two-thirds of the false limbs turned out
by some houses are unsatisfactory and
their purchasers come here and throw
them away when they get new ones. See,"
and he opened the door OF closet and
showed G score of artificial legs of all
makes, patents, and weights. They were
all second but some Of them had
evidently been worn only short time.
Feel the weight OF that he said, hand
ing out a ponderous thing of leather and
wood and metal. 1t fell to the floor with
clank like that ola bushel of coal.
What do you think ORA man trying to |
wear a thing like thAte" he asked. Now, |
in here I'll show you the iightest artificial |
limb ever made i
He led the way to an inner room, where |
in a cabinet were half a dozen new limbs. |
all of the queer pink which is supposed |
to resemble flesh tints. But they GER |
tainly were light. A limb which was in
tended to be strapped around the hip for |
an amputation above the knee was as light |
as a basket of Gibbs. 1t was made of
willow. pared very thin. covered with raw
hide, and then painted with waterproof
enamel. The foot was of rubber, firm but
flexible, and the knee and, ankle joints
worked as well as metal joints can work.
That is the leg that l got that GER
tifcate for said the limbmaker. point
ing to a framed certificate from the
Worlds Fair. which Set forth that the
artificial limbs made by this manufac-
turer were the real thing.
VERY few of the old ashioned wooden
stumps are made now" he went on. "Of
course, some people who are too poor to
get an artificial limb make them them
selves. They take a couple of pieces
Of wood and chop them out some way to
support their weight. A good leg one
Of the kind / showed you in there, is
worth about 500. OF course, this price
keeps many people from getting them,
but they are worth it. They must be
fitted with care and skill which come
only from experience, and 1t is worth
money to get the right thing the first
time. There has been a great advance
made in the making of artificial limbs in
the last decade. One Improvement has
followed another until now 1t is aim s.
impossible to detect the presence of a
first class artificial limb. They are max
ing feet of rubber and of aluminium and
of wood, but l think the rubber feet are
the only perfect ones made. They bend
and give to the steps of man walking
which aluminium does not.
"a funny thing about false legs" went
on the builder of underpinning, sis the
prevalence of the term cork leg Now,
as a matter of fact. there is no such thing
as a cork leg and there never was. Cork
would not do for leg-it would crumble
away. 1t was never used for the purpose
and cannot imagine how that expression
originated. but right along you hear people
talking about somebody with cork leg
The legs are made Of willow, because it is
light and very strong. We get 1t in blocks.
as you see, and make every leg to order
1t must be much more carefully fitted and
than pair of shoes or a suit of
clothes, for the least thing out of the way
will irritate the stump. Again. We often
have to deal with bad amputations-where
the surgical work was not properly done
and that makes lots of trouble.
"a 'alse leg will last for from eight TO
fifteen years. depending upon the charac-
ter Of the work done by the man who
wear il. II he has to give it very hard
service, OF course, it will wear out sooner
like anything else. Here is photograph
of a boy. you see. with both legs ampu-
tated below the knee. Here he is stand
ing up with a pair of false legs. That
boy is now a telegraph operator in Kan
sas and he plays baseball we'll as the
best Of them. Chicago Chronicle.
Army Orders issued.