The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1911-01-28

olsease OF PHOSPHORUS poisoning was
made for the. United States Bureau of
Labor by John b. Andrews, PHI. d..
secretary of the American association
for labor legislatfons At the thirty
seventh National conference of char
ties and Correction last May, DR..
Andrews read paper on industrial
Diseases and OGcupational Stand
ards in which hessgave the following
brief history, of one of the cases.,
scores Of whichshe q aii8eos eredy 4authen--
t'cated and reported III the course of
"a brief investigations of the match
factories of this country:
Eight years ago, at twenty-one
years of age, Mary Wilson, tall, strong
and full of the JOY Of life, married
Henry Welsh. She worked for. seve-
raj years as "packer' in the match
factory, and continued to work there
after marriage. But two months later
she commenced to have trouble with
her teeth. DR.. A. firsted treated her,
beginning with the first operation No.
Nember Is, 1901. He performed a
second operation August II, 1903, re-
moving several large splinters of
bone from her jaw. She grew no
better and through dentist B. she Sc
cured daily treatments at her home.
FINALLY, as the trouble continued, she
went to Drs. c. and d. for further
medical aid. and is receiving medical
treatment from them at the present
time. Three years ago an abscess
opened through her right jaw, and
one year ago another opened on the
left. Both require constant bandag-
ing. When 1 saw her in December,
1909, she was scarcely able to open
her lips enough to speak and could
not separate her upper from her six
remaining teeth. All Of her lower
teeth except the middle six have come
out and several inches of the jawbone
IS bare, with pus oozing from the
sockets.
THE physicians in an effort to pre-,
serve the contour of her face and to
avoid leaving All unsightly scar, at
tempted to operate on the inside. In
this case the dead bone does not
form sequestrum or separated por-
ton which might easily be removed
from the living bone beneath. 1t
simply continues to die and to dis
pose, of itself in the most nauseating
and dangerous manner. AS the pus
flows from the dead and decaying
bone it naturally mixes with the saliva
and with food thus poisoning the en-
tire system.
THE poison first manifested itself
eight years ago; shortly after her
marriage. She has boy six years
old, a little girl of four, and a baby
Sho <o1
the two children were well and
strong, but that the baby seems to
have trouble in it's blood
''The odor is awful, but l can't help
it, she mumbled. The doctors say
perhaps they could cure me by cutting
out my jaw, but I am young yet, and
how would it look I would rather
be dead, I Think
''The odor~ from the suppurating
bone Is more awful than anything
that can be imagined. One who has
experienced the nauseating stencil can
readily understand why dentists and
physicians alike shun patients who
are afflicted with 'phossy jaw And
one wonders how citizens otherwise
humane can permit their work to run
the risk of this peril by unnecessarily
continuing the use Of poisonous phos-
phorous."
Stop the Use of Deadly Phosphorus.
There is no reason, absolutely none,
why the people of the United States
should continue the use of matches
made with poisonous PHOSPHORUS af-
ter it has been prohibited by law in
most, if not all, countries of advanced
civilization. We doubt there is even
the argument, if it is an argume ment,
of a few cents more or. less saved
on matches. The important thing