Arizona republican., 1901-05-26
THE GUTTA PERCFA MAN.
A Workman Whose Hands Must Be
 White, Soft and Supple.

The "gutta percha man" lives in a little red brown canvas tent in the streets of London. Nearly always d brazier glows before the coor of his tiny abode.
 pan sinners continuously on the fire. but the contents of the ves- sel are inedible. They look like silver when the gutta percha man" dips his big spoon into the cauldron. Many times during the cay the gut ta percha man" buries himself in a hole dug In the middle of the street He is protected by barricades, and the traffic is diverted or stopped altogether at his coming. Only royalty and the lord mayor share this prerogatlve with "the gutta percha man."
 The gutta percha man" Is amphibi- ous. He Is to be met with in the Pa cific or Atlantic, but not so frequently az in Fleet street. The marine species has habit of penetrating the water to great depth and fishing up mysteri- ous looking objects from the floor of the sea.
 Although no reference to "the gutta percha man can be found in any dic- tionary of natural history, he Is an interesting biped and well repays a lit- tie study. His greatest peculiarity Is his hands. A great part of his life is passed in washing them.
 A little dust or grlme on the gutta percha mans" fingers might rut off all commune ition between England and the seat O. war. or t might lead to the tna ,f, ta percha man" has. so to speak thou sands of rounds in his hands, although he himself Is only d workman, with between 42 and G3 week.
 The other day a representative of the London Mail took the liberty of drop ping in on 'gutta percha man who had erected his temporary home in the shadow of St. Pauls. The visit could not have been timed more opportunely, for the gutta percha man" was per forming a sort of massage on his hands with an oiled cloth. warranted to re- move every Speck of dust
 Sorry l cant ask you to sit down." he said politely. pointing to the two foot deal seat in his cramped quarters With the exception of his unusually white and supple hands he was. after all. an ordinary looking workman, dressed in honest fustian and with shoulders that suggested that they had been bent by sitting in his low cell inged hut and creeping into narrow holes.
 ''It is quite true" he added that have to keep my hands scrupulously clean and very soft. When Joint has 10 be made in the underground cables 1t Is my duty to make 1t. The wires are. of course. insulated with gutta percha. If while making the joint I should soil the gutta percha with my hands a leakage would occur as soon as the wires were working again and the streets would have to be pulled up once more and the work begun all over again. What that would cost in money and the interruption of traffic you can well imagine"
 By this time he had completed his massage and was gently drawing through his fingers yards of what looked like inch ribbon of I reddish col or. It was really gutta percha.
 Another reason for keeping our hands in the pink of condition" he fur ther explained, lis that it increases our delicacy of touch, which has to be as fine as that of professional player"
 Important as it is that the land spe- cies of "gutta percha man" should keep his hands clean and supple, 1t Is neces-