The Indianapolis journal., 1903-03-29
WITH MEN WHO MAKE DYNAMITE.
Extreme Caution, but No Undue
Anxiety Displayed.
New York Times.

New York Times.
Dynamite factories are In full swing near
Dover and Farmingdale, n. j., and the
men who work in them seem we'll content
with their dangerous occupation. They
wear rubber-soled Shoes and their tools
are covered with rubber or are made or
wood so as to avoid the possibility Of fric-
tion and consequent accident.
AS a further safeguard, the various uten-
sis in which the deadly explosive Is mixed
or manipulated are lined with lead, and
mIlshap Ip is OF rare occurrence. sNeyerthe,
OF dynamite constitutes a work of danger
and many of them develop nerves when
they are new at the business. This trouble
wears off quickly, or, as in some instances,
not at all, and the victim IS seized with
nervous chills and tremors whenever
loud noise is heard in the factory. Finally
he Is obliged to give up his position and
seek work of a more congenial nature.
The men are paid from 81 to s2.25 per day,
and the labor Is not particularly heavy,
nor are the hours as long as those OF other
workmen. No smoking is allowed from the
moment they enter the factory until they
leave, and only men of quiet, steady hab-
its are engaged. A spirit of good comrade-
ship seems to exist between the workers,
and when opportunity presents itself they
talk to each other in the most friendly
way. But woe betide one of their number
who earns for himself the sobriquet of
Butter Fingers" a term applied to individ-
uals who allow things to slip from their
hands to the floor. He is sure to earn the
enmity of his companions. This is due TO
the fact that sometimes slight jar, such
as is caused by the dropping of even a
small substance, will precipitate an acci-
dent, and the culprit who evinces such
carelessness more than once may well
resign gracefully before he is frozen out
by his fellows.
The dynamite workers are a very intel
ligent body of men. Many of them possess
comprehensive knowledge of chemistry
and can tell visitors to the factory all about
the destructive agent which they handle
under the direction of scientists.
Swede, claims Alfred Nobel, the inventor of
dynamite, as a relative. What he does not
know about explosives is not worth know
ing. He talks of the properties of nitro
glycerin with the fiuency of one who has
made an exhaustive investigation of the
subject, and he says that he devotes every
spare moment to experimental physics.
main in dynamite factory in the role Of an
ordinary workman is a problem which he
alone can solve But evidently he likes his
job in the nitfoglycerin department. and he
talks enthusiastically of the results
achieved by his distinguished relatives in
| vention, not only in warfare, but in the
works of peace, such as the mining opera
| ground system, which will presently do so
| much to facilitate travel and traffic
Men of various natiOnalitieS work side by
| side in these New Jersey factories, and
| when representatives of the different coun-
! tries were asked If they minded the element
| of danger in their daily labors they an
| swered in the negative, and a few of the
| opinion that there was more chance of be-
| ing killed in New York by a cable car or
| automobile than by an explosion at their
post of duty.