New-York tribune., 1902-11-20
DEFEND THE PARLOR MATCH.
WHOLESALE GRoCERS SAY THAT EN-
FORCEMENT OF NEW RULE WOULD
TAKE TRADE FROM NEW-YORK.

The Municipal Explosives Commission met at
Fire Headquarters yesterday to hear match manu-
facturers and wholesale grocers interested in the
regulation which is intended prohibit the sale.
storage of parlor matches in this city after
January !. Fire Commissioner Sturgis presided at
the beginning of the hearing and explained the
reasons for the regulation which he had promui-
gated and which had been approved by the com
mission He said it not the desire or the
commission to rule against any parlOr matches
that might be safe to use, and the commission
would like to hear from the manufacturers and
dealers what matches were safe and what were
not safe,
w. F. Mcconnell representing the drug section
of the Board Of Trade and Transportation made
attempt TO answer the question, but attacked
the legality of the commission declaring that the
trainers of the charter intended TO give to the FIRE
Commissioner the power Of making regulations Tor
the sale storage and of explosives OF all kinds
Then he said he had received information that the
wholesale grocers of the city were practically
unanimous in opposing the regulation against par
lor matches. and he quoted merchant as say
inE: when the parlor match leaves New-fork
City, does the trade in sugar and flour" He eX-
plaineG the statement by saying that If the retail
dealers had send to other cities for orders for
parIor matches they would get their supplies OF
-four and sugar also from those cities. He asked
the commission not 10 approve a drastic measure
that would drive trade away from the city.
L. J. Callahan, wholesale grocer, defended the
paror match. He said he did not believe there was
a man In the room who would sell parlOr matches
matter how great the profit. if that man felt
that the matches were really more dangerous
than anything he met in the course of the ordI-
nary day He said 1t overwhelmingly true that
lives had been lost through the careless use OF
paror matches, but that It also true that lives
lost through the operation of railroad trains.
and sometimes by the falling Of bricks from Dlld-
ings in course of erection. Nevertheless, ne
said. we do not to run railroad trans nor
do we cease erecting new buildings. l have been
handling matches for thirty-hve years and nave
once had accident" He said every match
safe when used carefully and every match
made unsafe when used CareleSsly.
A petition signed by wholesale grocerS was pre-
sented asking for the repeal of the regulation
against the paTlOr match and declaring thdt par
Tor matches In packages are not dangerous ana DO
not explode. Inspector Murray of the Bureau OF
CombuStlbles said the regulation was not in
for the protection of women and children In the
tenements He spoke of the frequent fires caused
by stepping matches in dark Railways. and said
that women often had their skirts set atre by
stepping tChes.
\ representatives of the Diamond Match Com
pany said that manufa CturcTs would not disclose
their chemical processes in the manufacture of
Of dollars I'm efforts to get non-explosive matches.
lie said he thought sulphur matches were as un-
safe parlor matches.
II decided that public hearing would not
settle the question To what kind Of matches
the safest, and IL arranged that the
match manufa cturers and wholesale dealers should
have representatives meet tomorrow afternoon in
ton. try to decide the question and make a report