Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-06-29

Plant Only With E,.trerns Reluotanoe
and After Drastic Precautions. and
Women Afe Absolutely Barrsa
In all the yocalions in which a man
can make a living il the United states
there is none more peiilous than the
! manufacture of gl1powdeI and none
IN which the public, which usually
suffers severely in case OF accident,
takes so small an interest The word
gunpowder itself carries Il suggestion
Of peril which is reflected IN MI the
superstitions of the men who work in
the trade.
The men who work IN powder plants
are q study in Themselves. Probably
III no other business 90 the human
agents take more precautions against
disaster with such I4iful results
Men who work in powder plants are
In constant fear OF death They are
face to face witt peril every second
Instead Of growing hardened to it. as
Go the laborers IN inany other fields OF
danger, they appear TO be the most
superstltious class Of men on earth.
.Ghey are we'll paid Il man who has
nerve enough to work NJ this trade Is
worthy of his hire Ie can commaud
$40 a day, sometimes $40. lie prac-
tjcally makes his own rules, since he
Is the one TO suffer from m lnfraction
Of them. His every suspicion is re
spected by his employer. lie cannot
dictate the hours Of labor. since that
is a matter eternally IL dispute. as in
other kinds OF labor but he can die
tate the conditions under which 0e
works from the moment he enters the
factory until he leaves.
These superss ltions seem absurd
sometimes, hut they are the l5w Of
/ the gunpowder factory. Il YOU Gre an
4 employer YOU break the iaw at the
risk of financial loss; II you are fell
low employee you violate 1t Ut the risk
Of yonr life
Cne Of the frst laws among the en-
4 i,osees is fAaf ct SOL lreseip1tiQn.
Ehez have deep rooteG fear ot the
casual visitor. Fsa men haTe gone
through Il gunpowaar plauf ON ct
lele curiosity Ihey are not want q
$50 are told 50 frankly. ii they s8t-
coed in Obtaining the permission Of
the superintendent or possibly Of some
one higher In authority trey are sub
jected to an eStrsordinary ordeal be-
fore they are adluitteG TO the sacred
precincts.
First they are searched. ard no po-
lice official Is more adept in the art of
'frisking' than is the outer guardian
OF the average gunpowder plant.
Every piece of metal, from pocket
knife to garter clasp-every coin,
match. suspender buckle. everything
that could possibly strike spark, is
removed. The ha.band of the most
fashionable derby is examined with
care to see that it carries no metal
initials. And this examination is not
carried on alone by the official whose
favor you have gained. A representa-
tive Of the employees takes an active
part in the examination, and if he has
any doubts he VIII politely request
you to strip to the skin.
Once inside the powder factory you
are under even more careful scrutiny.
Your shoes are taken away, and you
are provided with felt slippers. Con
WINGED that on your person there is no
piece OF metal which under any provo
cation could strike a spark. you may
feel at liberty to roam around. but
you are not. Your every movement Is
watched carefully. and should you
make gesture calculated to inspire
distrust you would be hustled out of
the building and told to leave the
neighborhood within given time.
had a graphic illustration of the
extreme care taken by these men to
prevent an accident and to save their
own lives. After having been care
fully searched and after having sur
rendered everything which might come
under the classification Of metal was
admitted to the plant. Secure In the
knowledge that | was thoroughly dis
infected" l assumed q nonchalance
Which l was far from feeling as
watched the various processes Of MAX
ing gunpowder. | was 50 well at ease
that drew. toothpick from my pock-
ct and calmly picked my teeth.
Instantly l was thrown to the floor
ard while two husky men held me q
third searched my clothing. When
hnally was released it was explain
ed to me. that they feared the tooth
pick might be match
Laboring under the constant fear of
death. the employees grow e1traordi-
narily supersttious. Once allow VIC
man to set foot within powder fac
tory and the entire force will quit. 1t
is one Of the axioms Of the trade that
woman brings misfortune. and 1t is
useless to argue the question. 4 wo-
man photographer for newspaper on
Sunday assignment" once was ad-
nitted into an Illinois powder factory
BY an inexperienced official. and the
next day the plant was shut down.