Omaha daily bee., 1902-07-20
Copyright, 10

LIVERPOOL, England, July TO-
Especial Correspondence Of The
A Bee)-In the manufacturing town
kk&-41lI Of Seaforth, about four miles from
49, Liverpool, not far from the banks
OF the Mersey. up which steam the greatest
of our Atlantic liners, STANDS one of the
great Notifications Of the American inva-
sion. II is a gigantic building Of gray
brick, covering acres. II has four stories
and Ia walled with windows. AT one end
Is a smokestack SO tall that II can be seen
from the sea and over the country for
miles around. High above the roof OF the
building are two signs, one marked Bryant
and May" and the other THE Diamond
Match Company" The whole is under one
Arm and 1t comprises one OF the largest
factories Of England. The building Is nlled
with American machinery, It is operated
chiefly by American capital and 1t has o
monopoly OF the match business or Great
Britain and ireland. John Bull Is the
greatest smoker on earth, but II Is Uncle
Sam who furnishes the tobacco and makes
the matches to light his pipe.
I have already written Of the struggle be-
tween Bryant & May and the American
Match trust. For years Bryant & May had
the monopoly Of match making in Great
Britain. No one attempted to compete with
them and they had little fear Of English OPP
poslti n. Then the American Mach trust
came In. The Diamond Match company.
headed by Ohio Columbus Barber. cast its
covetous eyes on the profits OF the British
monopoly and sent Its men here to investi-
gate the trade. Theie report was that the
chances we're excellent. the matches IN use
very poor and the possibilities Of the mar
ket enormous. As a result the Diamond
Match company determined upon the phos-
phoric invasion OF England. They built this
factory aad filled 1t with the nnest ma
chinery.
Phosphorus Feeds ON Human Jaws.
Bryant q May had been working after
old methods Most Of their matches were
strong In phosphorus, and they had to be
dipped In such a way that the phosphorus
came in contact with the skins Of the
workmen. Now, phosphorus is ordinarily
very deleterious to those working In 1t. 1t
Is especially so to the teeth. The workman
or workwoman-for women are chiefly en-
ployed In matchmaking has q decayed
tooth soon finds that she has a decayed
jaw, and, II she continues to work, no Jaw
at all. The phosphorus gets into her sys-
TEN, IL eats its way through the tooth to
the bone, and the result is the terrible dis
ease known as necrosis. Bryant a May mad
1000 girls working for them. and OF these
hundreds had decayed teeth. All such were
affected. by the phosphorus. but they worked
on In despair. and dropped out when the
disease became so bad that they could mol
work. The heads Of the establishment tried
TO keep these conditions a secret but they
AT last came to the knowledge OF the public.
Much Indignation was expressed, a par
liamentary investigation ordered ana the
Arm was notified that no more such
matches could be made.
Il was about this time that the Diamond
Match company began it's business. II made
Its product by such machinery that tins
hands of the workmen did not come In con-
tact with the wet phosphorus. and Its goods
were put on the market In composition Will
Bryant q Mays. Before beginning wori
the Diamond Match company had a careful
examination made OF the teeth OF It's EN-
MOVES. II filled those hat were deeayed
ana employed a regular dentist to do moth
ing else but watch the teeth OF the peopi'
working In the factory.
This il the case today. There are aDou
one thousand girls employed and tnes
Girls have perhaps the purest and sweetes
mouths of any thousand girls you can mn
N any factory the world over. They AT
divided into corps and each corps IL unde
the head OF a matron. whose business II !
10 watch the girls and to report at once
there IL anything the matter with tnei
teeth. The girl that complains OF a tooth
acre A sent al once to the dentist, and ii
cavity hiled or the tooth taken out. Ever
30 often the dentist mAkes = personal o.