The Savannah morning news., 1901-02-14

more money out Of their misfortune than
out Of legitimate work.
Several years ago a poor Hungarian
lost both legs in an accident He appeal
ed to the Hungarian society. They hadn't
enough funds TO justify them in devoting
the price of two legs, 500, to one case,
but they fixed the man up on crutches
and set him to selling lead pencils on
busy corner. They told him to make
What he could, and if he raised part of
the price of new legs. they'd fit him out
with the rest In two weeks he made his
500 ! know that to be fact. He was
pitiful object and quarters r3ined into
his box What's more, he has been selling
pencils ever since He got his legs. We
furnished them. but he was spoiled for
hard work. His friends got him a place
as cashier in a saloon at $40 q week, but
he held it down only a week or two. The
temptation TO make more money by less
work was too much for him. tie took of
his legs and went back TO the lead pen
ell business. lie works at it in pleasant
weather ana makes from S25 to so a week
If times are fair. In the evening he puts
On his legs and enjoys life. They are
sort of fun dress costume for him, you
see.
ION the other hand. it is really pitiful
to see how happy some poor people are
over getting artificial legs ard being able
to work. Losing both legs doesn't bar
man from active work nowadays There
Is baggage master in New York who
has two artificial legs. but handles heavy
trunks and does all regular baggage
masters work without any great incon-
Venience. Then / know a railway con-
ductor and two swilchmen who have had
double amputations and yet do their
work perfectly. One professional painter
in New York has an artificial leg, and
yet climbs ladders and works on scaffold-
ings with perfect ease and security. There
are men In this city who have two arti-
fetal legs, and yet ride bicycles skate.
dance, row, fish. hunt and can tramp as
far as any one"
How much does it cost to keep a leg
IN repair asked the reporter
That depends upon the care it gets
and upon the construction of the leg. a
leg with ankle joints Will need from s.
to S25 a year in repairs, and then il will
perhaps go back upon the wearer at
critical moment That is why rubber feet
solidly attached to the leg, without ankle
joints, have taken first place lately You
see all the cd theory was that one
couldn't walk correctly without working
ankle joints. Careful study and the use
of instantaneous phot, graphs proved that
that wasn't true, that one springs from
CAe ball of the foot and uses the ankle
very little. The rubber foot was intro
duced and proved a big Improvement.
one walked naturally with it. 1t did
away with the delicate machinery at the
ankle, and 1t gave the wearer sense of
soidity and security that he couldn't
have with the other. For instance, a sal
Tor couldn't climb a rigging or painter
a ladder with a leg jointed at the ankle,
without feeling insecure and uncertain.
He has no such feeling with rubber foot
Every improvement In artificial limbs
has been toward simplicity. The earlier
forms were numbered up with machinery
articulated toes and all sorts of things
that could get out of order
We've done away with all that
and get better effects by methods
infinitely more simple. OF course
the leg has knee joints, but the great
thing in artificial leg or arm making, par
tculary in the former, Is the fitting. That
is where the skill comes in. The ma
terials cost little, the springs do not
amount to much but the fitting-theres
the rub. Too often the rub is literally
there.
There are very few men who can fit
a limb well. 1t isn't enough to have a
plaster cast or measurement of the stump.
Given those. skill full filter can figure out
a fitting. but he must know exactly the
location of all blood vessels and nerves. He
must avoid all pressure on vascrelar parts.
He must understood where pressure may
be applied and where It would be dsas-
trous In fact, the whole secret of sue
cessfu leg making rests I'm the filters
art. Wooden sockets are best because
they keep their shape. while a leather or
padded socket will charge shape with
wear and press upon parts it should not
touch. stu, q wooden socket requires an
expert filter. The burgler does less harm
with leather and padd ne than with wood
mo two cases need exactly the same
fitting. A new leg must be made for each
case. II is absurd to imagine one can
keep stock sizes of artificial legs and Just
strap them on customers. Every once in
a while somebody brings a leg back to
me and says the wearer is dead and the
leg has hardly been used at all and we
ought 10 buy It. Now. as a matter of
fact. the thing isn't worth more than a
six-cent bunch of kindlng wood to us.
/ All of it's value was I'm the fitting, and
| there will be no one else whom 1t will
fit.
! ITS funny thing that women seldom
need artificial legs on account of acct
dent. Nine out Of ten OF the women 5
! cases come from diseases of the knee. I
don't know whether it means praying
OF scrubbug. Sometimes often, i'm fact
]
for shutting doors and bureau drawers
with her knees. Did you ever notice how
"A woman viii do that? A man uses his
arms, but woman brings her knee into
/ play. | suppose she can't bend over as a
man can on account Of her corsets. That
/ little trick brings Us lots of business.
Surgeons used to think that IT was
not necessary to put artificial legs upon
little children, but they changed their
opinion long ago, and now We make legs
for children even before they arc old
enough 10 walk. The leg Is necessary 10
symmetrical development Of the rest Of
the body and TO feasibility Of Whatever leg
joints are left 90 the child. Just In creep
/ ing, the hip needs the weight Of the leg
As soon as the child stands the artificial
/ leg Is uu absolute necessity The use OF
! clutches or OF one crutch. throws fho
shoulders out ~ place, iakes the weight
T on the pclvis. ana plays hob generally
wiih The intcrnal organs Win an nrtlA-
/ cial lcg adjusted. sine rcst of the body is
normal Surgeons recognize THE now aud
I any number OF legs are made Tor little
children. Tho changes uccfsHltated each
2 scar, by the cllid'f groWth. can be met