The sun., 1905-09-12

ere outoasts while on tho road, and cften
their trips are week long. The trip from
Hartford City TO the Knightstown fields
and return takes eight DAYS, and the trip
to the Medaryville field, In the northern
part Of the State, requires two weeks.
the best months for the nitroslyoerin
workers. As long az the nitroglycerin
flows we'll and there are no leaks and the
roads are good there are few nishaIs.
But when the winter comes on and the
nitroglycerin begins to CONCEAL and then to
real trouble ahead. The thawing Is done
with warm water and is the most dangerous
feature Of the work.
In recent years there have been COM
paratively few explosions In Indiana rev
wagons have been lost and only three FAC
the last four years. The last one Of these
was that Of the Gas Belt Torpedo Com
pany, near Knightstown. The plant was
not in operation at the time. Cold weather
had come on and freighter was moving
stock from the plant to the magazines. where
ts1s is characteristic Of all nitro glycerin ex-
ploeions-no one was left to tell the story
Of how 1t happened A short time before
that the plant at Bluffton went up and three
lives were lost. The other one was the ne
eoUhs eoDFse' there fa have been other explosions
in the history Of the Indiana field. but they
history. The story Of all is the. same
cause unknown; nobody left to tell the story;
shattered scenery for a quarter OF a mile
around and nothing but a hole to indicate
where the factory stood.
The nitroglyoerin factory workers and
the freighters do not get big wages, though
their calling is regarded as extra hazardous
so hazardous, In fact. that they are passed
BY Life insurance companies. no matter
method Of doing business. The freighters
get $50 a month. and that might be taken
as the standard wage for all except q few
experts around factories. The shooters.
who handle the nitroglycerin from the
magazines. and who shoot the wells, make
about 500 a month,
It is true that Indiana is at this time
punk niter, State The passing Of
natural gas and the low price Of oil, which
has caused apathy among the Indiana oil
operators, has reduced the number OF
MONTH In the old rush days the number
ran from five hundred to eight hundred
month. and half dozen or more factories
were In operation making the fluid OF
destruction here In Indiana.
That the business is .on de punk here n
worrying the. men. who, with the excep-
ton OF the shooters who load the nitro
glycerin into wells and touch it of, are
generally credited with following the most
hazardous livelihood in Indiana. They did
not exhibit any nerves when asked about
tho dangers Of their calling. and some ex.
pressed the belief that mixing nitro and
sulfuric acid and glycerin ia not nearly
80 hazardous a calling as that Of CONNER
cial travellers who are always riding on
steam or electric railway trains. The nj
tro men seem especially prejudced against
train travel and cay that they do not have
one accident while two or three hundred
trains are running of their tracks and
killing hundreds OF people. And" said
one OF the men. show much better this Is
there's no funeral expenses when any
thing does happen around one Of these
places, and no broken limbs or crippled
people as result. enohp as there are In the
piled up-nothing but vacuum in the
aceperY and hole in the ground