The Democrat-sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1906-1935, 1908-01-30
SAFETY
MATCHES

The "safety" match which can
be lighted only by scratching 1t on
the box in which it comes, should
be used everywhere to the exclu-
sion of all others. The "parlor"
match caused loss last year in
the United States of over so, ,000,-
900 and 500 lives. These facts
disgrace our civilization, for no
part of this loss would have oc-
Cured had safety matches been
used. The average loss In match
fires is small, being but $3.50, be-
cause the person guilty of the
carelessness which caused it is u.s.
ually near by to call the fire de-
partment and throw water. The
average loss from all causes in
Ohio is 81, ,571.
Gasoline excepted, the parlor
match destroys more lives than
any other fire danger.
The safety" match is made
from the same wood and with the
same match machinery as the
"parlor" match and the paste in
to which it is stuck to form the
head is the same except that phos-
phorous is left out and salt of
lead or antimony put in. The i'm
portant chemicals common to both
are chlorate Of potash, resin, whit
ing and powdered flint or glass.
The phosphorus necessary to the
lighting of the safety is mixed
with peroxide Of lead, fine sand
and gum arabic and spread upon
the box. When the match head
is rubbed upon this surface, it is
fired by catalytic action of the
phosphorus, which causes the
chemicals to unite, making flame
simply by its presence, without
loss of substance to itself. Many
chemicals will marry only in the
presence of witness.
Containing no phosphorus the
safety" match is not liable to be
fred either by friction or sponta-
neous combustion, and if a rat
takes one home, as he sometimes
does, to file down his rapidly
growing eye teeth on the powdered
flint in it, he cannot set it off.
Another advantage in this match
is that the phosphorus used is the
red variety, which has been made
anhydrous by baking and will not
take fire until heated to 357 de-
grees F., while the white kind
mixed in the parlor match causes
its head to ignite at 195 degrees.
An exceedingly important fact
of the safety, is that its stick is
invariably soaked in solution
hich prevents it remaining a live
coal after the flame was passed,
for this afterglow is the most
dangerous feature of the common
match. Several chemicals, both
salts and acids, have been success
fully used for this purpose.
The number of parlor matches
used is to the number of safeties
as 16 to l., ratio which should
not be meintained.
Only one with several languages
at command can give wind
matches their due in condemna-
tion. No one of these matches,
made especially for the use of the
smoker when out of doors, is not
safe even in wilderness, for
hunters start wood fires with
them.
The heads of these matches,
both domestic and foreign, burn
explosively for eight seconds. Be-
cause they give off an offensive
odor of sulphur and the explosion
of the grains of chlorate in them
makes him fear for his eyes, the
smoker usually throws them
away before the flame of the head
goes out. While the head of one
of these torches is burning, it can
be thrown with all one's force
twenty feet against wall and on
falling it will go ON flaming.
Even if it be held until the flame
goes out, it remains where thrown
a red-hot coal, half AN inch by
three sixteenths in size, for more
than a minute. One of these
Goals thrown in an area way,
where there is the usual amount |
Of trash, or into paper rubbish or
-. IL Il