Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-24
MEN WHO MAKE DYNAMITE.
Caution, but No Undue Anxiety TO,
Personal Safety is Displayed.

From the New York Times.
Dynamite factories are in full swing near
Dover and Farmingdale, N. j., and the
men who work in them seem well content
with their dangerous occupation. They
wear r,lbber-soled shoes, and their tools are
covered with rubber or are made Of wood,
SO as to avoid the possibility of friction and
consequent accident.
AS further safeguard. the various
utensils in which the deadly explosive 10
mixed or manipulated are lined with lead,
theless, these men know that the fabrica-
ton of dynamite constitutes a work Of dam
ger and many OF them develop nerves
when they are new at the business. This
trouble wears of quickly, or, as in some in.
stances, not at all, and the victim Is seized
with nervous chills and tremors whenever a
loud noise Is heard in the factory. Finally
he is obliged to give up his position and
seek work Of more congenial nature.
The men are paid from 81 to 81 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 habits
are engaged. spirit Of good comradeship
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
fingers" term applied to individuals who
allow things to slip from their hands to the
floor. He Is sure to earn the enmity of his
companions. This fs due to the fact that
sometimes a slight jar. such as is caused
by the dropping Of even a small substance,
will precipitate an accident, and the cul-
prit who evinces such carelessness more
than once may as well resign gracefully be-
fore he is frozen out by his fellows.
The dynamite workers are very intelli-
gent body OF men. Many OF them possess
q comprehensive knowledge OF chemistry
and can tell visitors to the factory all about
the destructive agent which they handle
under the direction OF scientists.
One Of these workmen, a mfddle-aged
Swede, claims Alfred Nobel, the inventor
Of dynamite, as a relative. What he does
not know about explosives is not worth
knowing. He talks of the properties of
nitroglycerin 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 ply
sizes. Why a man of his type should elect to
remain In a dynamite factory in the role
Of an ordinary workman is q problem which
he alone can solve. But evidently he likes
his Job In the nitroglycerin 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
tions OF New York'e rapid transit under
ground system, which win 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 II they minded the element
Of danger in their daily labors they an
swered In the negative, and q few OF the
more communicative workers expressed the
opinion that there was more chance OF be-