The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-09-04
Household Words.


IF mind is not disturbed by the knowl-
edge that in the pursuit of his vocation
ne is running into close quarters with
death. We appraise the bravery Of our
soldiers and sailors, forgetting for the
nonce all about the 100000 people who
are, year in year out, engaged in occupa-
tons which undermine the constitution
and result in slow, but none the less GER
tain death. .. raE
Go into the great wool factories Of the
north of England, and you will find hun
dreds OF folks counting terrible death
to earn living. Wool sorters and those
employed in treating untanned skins are
compelled to inhale the poisonous fumes
which arise from the skins before they
are preserved. These fumes feed diph-
liberia and consumption; in fact, the
germs of these two fell diseases are
floating In the air in vast quantities. A
terrible risk to run, surely, yet an in
significant one compared with that OF
anthrax. Dozens of animals. have died
from unnatural causes, and in conse-
quence there is deadly poison lurking in
the skin. Let the worker but scratch
his finger and allow the smallest posi-
Bile amount of the poison to enter the
wound, and few days later he will be
on the sick list. Delirium follows,
which, after continuing for some days
and torturing the victim with all the
agon1es Of acute madness, kills him.
Even when the wool, or whatever it may
be, has been transformed into cloth, it
loses little of its deadliness. In the cloth
dust are ever in the air, and, getting into
the lungs Of the workmen, infame them.
A strong man may stand this for years,
but he goes under in time. The works
of his watch will not keep going in the
atmosphere, much less those of the great
human machine, and the coarser the cloth
the sooner he contracts the deadly germs
of consumption.
Selling Their Lives for Pittance.
The same disease carries off 81 per
cent Of the needle polishers and metal
grinders sooner or later. With the aid
of a microscope the atmosphere of every
needle factory will be found to be laden
with millions of particles Of metal dust,
and in certain light it can be seen gilt
tering in the air. OF late years the
larger factories have been fitted with sue
ton pipes, which minimize the risk by
drawing off large quantities of the dust,
and the workers are thus given a longer
lease OF life. But every man knows when
he enters the trade that he will probably
sacrifice his life for a salary of from go
to "a week, inasuInch as the dust gets
into his lungs and sets up hemorrhage,
known In the trade as grinders rot"
Few needle polishers live over forty
years, and a man with a weak constitu-
tion is fortunate if he is still living at IS.
But, withal, the cal1ousness of these men
Is surprising. In great many cases they
are provided with respirators to protect
them from the death-dealing dust, and yet
it is an everyday occurrence for the men
to stubbornly refuse to wear them. Just
the same disease. only in more virulent
form, is always present in glass factories
but, in addition to the lung hemorrhage
the workers have to contend with "stif
Jaw" This is brought about by handling
the glass, the mans jaw suddenly be-
coming paralyzed without the slightest
warning. He is dumb for the remainder
of his life; the cleverest doctor cannot
save him. Fifty per cent of glass work
ers die after twenty years service, ant
yet the trade never lacks recruits.
Death Always at Their Elbow.
Some of the most piteous sights are tt
be seen in chemical factories, especial!
those where cyanide of potassium i:
made. Here We find men working will
death staring them in the face in TIT
shape of the white sugary crystals SO ter
ribly fascinating that none but stron!
man can overcome the temptation to ca
| them. There are certain times whe1
|
and in potassium factory this is tn
| greatest calamity that can befall an EN-
| ploye, for he will at once succumb to tn
temptation to taste the crystals. and b
dead within an hour. To avoid this, al
workmen are compelled to labor in pairs
and always standing at their elbows is
jar Of ammonia, the only antidote to tn
poison. Again, in factories where chic
rine gas is made, death is ever on tn
| nrnu1 tho nj u
mems lungs, with the result that fey
survive more than ten years at the work
| Every year thousand miners ar
killed underground, and yet our suppl
of coal never falls short, and we are ap
to grumble when prices rule high
Moreover, If a miner escapes prematur
death, he will suffer from blindness an
a terrible form of ague when old ag
comes on. But mineral workers run eve
greater risks than coal miners. Thos
who handle lead are certain to contrac
| one of the dangerous diseases insepera
BILE from their calling before they hav
been In business many years. Kidne
disease Is the most prevalent; or, avoid
ing this, total paralysis, commissions, o
complete loss Of sight will probably fal
to the workman's lot. Copper miners an
smelters are attacked by green canker,
which eats into the skin, causing tn
teeth to fall out, and ultimately ends i
paralysis and death. Mercurial poison
the particular complaint of looking glas
workers, has precisely the same effec
save that perhaps death is more speed
than in the ease of copper poisoning
while palsy is common ailment in tn
trade. The first symptom of mercuris
poisoning is the extreme pallor of tn
cheeks, then the teeth begin to dro
out, and excruciating agony racks tn
limbs. From that time the torture
so great that death is welcomed as a re
lief, the only regret being that it doe
not come quickly enough.
Workers in Heights and Depths.
At the present moment there are ur
wards OF. 5000 people in. London alon
who earn their living at an altitude {
over eighty feet, where a single falls
step will hurl them down to destruction
The average mortality among these ir
dividuals is 81 per cent, while anon