The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-10
equally wealthy men who have not yet become known to the public.
The sand Hog.

Persons who read the New York newspapers see now and then a refer ence te, the ~Sand-hog." and to those who are not familiar with this product of progress something about him may prove of interest
 They are underground workers much like the picturesque mining charac- ters described in story books and poems. A few years ago the first of them were brought here to build the subway. They came from the mines of the Far West, the Rlondike and elsewhere and they have remained to be joined by thousands of their fellows for today there is more work for the underground totler in and around New York than any other one place on the globe. There are fourteen sub-river tubes un- der process of construction and the city authorities are planning many new subways.
 The duties of "the sand hog" consist mainly of risking his life in front of the shield. out under the river digging in the silt or picking at the rock, and hurling his shovelfuls back into the cart waiting to receive the debris. When the soil is loosed the air pressure is increased. Thirty-five pounds of compressed air to the square inch is the maximum, and eighteen or nineteen pounds the smallest pressure used. If the material to be excavated is solid rock, there is no need of compressed air at all but a minimum is always maintained under the river for fear that the nature of the soil may change suddenly.
 Sand-hog's" pay is about $2.5o day. For the ordinary laborer such as the Italian just arrived in America, this is double what he can earn at anything Al. r1 AA fa xxrtl lfaer fn Ia risk.
 In shifts varying from three to eight hours in length, according to the pres- sure, the "sand-hogs" work under the contractors foreman and under the eye of doctors ever ready to attend them when stricken with the bends" There are cases of the disease every day in tunnels, but one hears of few victims, as the percentage of fatalities is slight. An ordinary case involves only the tingling of the skin and nerves. It has been compared to a mild attack of rheumatism.
 When a man is attacked if he Is wise, he will go at once to the tunnel doc- tor. Of course there is somebody to take him in hand if the malady seizes him in the tubes, but at times a work man will get the "bends'' hours after
  walking on the street or riding in an elevated train. If he does this, he ought to hurry back to the tunnel shaft The doctor will then put him in the hospital lock to be ''recom- pressed" After that, the air pressure will be reduced so gradually. that un- less he is too far gone, he will soon get well.
 Before anybody can become sand hog in Sthe first place, he undergoes a medical examination, afterwhich he is permitted to enter the tunnel for brief intervals until thoroughly tested. After each trip he is examined again, so that the doctor may be satisfied as to his heart action. This procedure, after months of experience. has become so systematized that the fatalities are rare nowadays
 There are many workmen in the tun- uels who rank higher than the sand hogs such as the hydraulic men," engineers and electricians. Not long ago a young college man who wanted to begin engineering at the bottom and begun in one of the tunnels died of the bends" He was working for s2S a week.