The Portland daily press., 1900-03-06
ELEVATOR HEART DISEASE.
II Attacks Those who Ran the Lifts,
and is the Cause Of Accident, Says 9
Doctor.

(From the Denver Hepubiioan.)
The cause Of ths runaway Of the sisva-
tor at the Brown Hotel ON Saturday
night. which resulted In the temporary
pennios up Of . woman and the pilot.
was explained yesterday. On Saturday
evening. whom the accident occurred. II
was thought the trouble was with the
cable. But the examination OF the eleva-
ter disclosed the fact that the only dam
age done elevator. cable or lever hsd been
done by the collision Of the elevator with
the top Of the shaft The trouble was
thus placed upon Monte Inman, the pilot.
A sudden attack Of heart trouble ID
said to have caused . temporary parAlyz.
ing Of the arm, which refused for the
moment to push lack the lever. Inman
will not admit that this was the cause OF
the accident, and insists that the lever
was out Of order. but when . physician
was consulted yesterday no asserted
with great positiveness inst the case as
described 10 him was one Of an attack
Of heart failure. He went on TO say
that this trouble Is very common among
elevator pilots.
ESPECIALLY IL this true In such high
altitu o. this" sid DIR. r. II. Brown
Of Chicago, the physician who discussed
the matter ut the hotel. 1.-The sudden as
cant and descent and often the shock of
a too hasty stop soon tell on the action 4
the heart when this vocation IL followed
ct an altitude Of q mile above sea level.
OF course, the faster the elevator goes
the more aggravated Will be the heart
trouble OF its manipulation. and In a high
building the chances OF serious results
10 his health are more certain than In
lower building. The air at the top Of
the shaft In q sky-sorsper' 10 lighter than
at the bottom, and the rapid change fro m
one altitude to the other made 30 ofte
has q most serious result 1t cannot be
other wise. The ordinary traneient In
this part Of the world IL affected most
Internationally By w.,E,ns up p.n,,s a. 2
many times that speed does more harm.
The guest at the hotel or the visitor to
the public building does not notice 10
much, but the pilot who remains in the
elevator for hours At o time, day after day.
il permanently injured in due time.
State Capitol on Saturday. But few
hours before the accident at the Brown
Pslaoe Hotsl was converting with he
pilot Of the State Capitol elevator on this
very subject, ami he told me that hs Was
already Keeling the effects Of his vocation,
and at times during the day obliged to
leave bis post and secure the services tenn.
porarily Of some ether State employee
TO do hts work until his heart resumed
Its normal action. This Is the same
story told me every where 1 go. IL IL one
of the threatening fatal results OF what
We call modern Improvement. which,
In other words, 10 the refined manner Of
self tor ture and risk Of life and health l.
order to DO some thing q little faster and
thus make few dollars more than We
Otherwise could do. There IL q point Of
speed beyond which rs matter Of rro-
tec.ion to life, limb and health, elevators
and . other vehic les of iooomotion should
not be allowed to 70. The mad rush IN
this coun try of which the frightful speed
Of the elevator and the bioyc 'scorcher'
are typical, must stop somewhere. The
fatal res ults Of these things are most ap-
parent.
AIT was only few weeks ago that I
was called to attend q man In Chioaso
who had been suddenly strio ken down
aBd who died before l reached the house
l could lind NO reason for his death ex-
oept that the action Of the heart had been
tad, but upon inquiry learned that he
had for two years been an elevator Pilot.
There was then no doubt at all In
my mind a. to what caused bis demise.
His family fiuAlly accepted my siatsment
that he died q martyr to the modern i'm
proyemsnts' which makes life so easy
that the great public does not get proper
healthful exercise His last words were
Ton floor