Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1911-11-02
(By chas. I. Phifer.

methods and precautions, phosphorus
poisoning not. only occurs in this
country, but exists in a form so ser
| ious as to warrant legislative action
! to eliminate the disease. The record
Of more than hundred cases of the
disease were discovered by the writer
| of this report within a very short
time, though it had been the claim of
som eof the match manufacturers
and there is popular impression that
the trouble has not existed in ser
ious form for twenty years in this.
country. In one small factory records
were secured of more than twenty
serious cases during the past thirty
years, many of them requiring the re-
moval of the entire jaw. In one of
1.-THE most modern establishments own
ed by the. same company since 1880,
records of 10 cases Of phosphorus poi
soning were secured On this number
lis resulted lin permanent deformity,
Through the loss of one or both jaws,
and in several cases resulted in death.
Detailed investigation in the Is fac
tories show that $50 we're working
under conditions exposing, them to
( the fumes of phosphorus and the dan
gers of phosphorus poisoning. The
women and children are much more
Exposed than the men. Ninety-five
per cent of the women and 1870 of the
children under 16 years of age are ex-
posed. As5dentist mentions an old wo-
man, who, as a result Of phosphorus
poisoning for twenty years, has had
no lower jaw, but masticates her food
| by pressing it against her upper jaw
with her thumb Employees now at
work in the factories. frequently ex-
| press the. greatest alarm, even when
/ met at their homes, lest the giving OF
information might cause the loss of
| their positions"
i The danger of white phosphorus in
the making of matches was known as
iearly as 1855, when nine. serious
cases of poisoning occurred in New
York City. In 1854, twelve more cases
were recorded by the New York Even
ing Post. To quote from the official
report again: phosphorus necrosis
j was common malady twenty years
Eago among the workers in match fac
, tories in this country" There Is nc
need of hysterical comment on facts
like these. If they do not realize the
J old dream of he'll, with it's fire and
: birthstone phosphorus being the same
thing as brimstone) then it would
take more than a Dante to picture
) what hell is.
Il The Diamond Match Co., which nov
! is the largest institution of the kind
in the United States, owns vast timber
J tracts in Massachusetts, New Hamp
, shire, Vermont, Maine and Colorado
having 20 miles of railroad through
it's forests in the latter state and hav
ing just purchased 10000 acres O.
: timber in California. On capital o.
! stock Of $1O,OOO,OOO. it last year, &C
cording to Moody's Manual, earned
profits to the amount Of $1,780,000.
The Law which has been passed
Il prohibits the use of white phosphorus
, and is good in way, but it viii
2 strengthen the trust by reason of re
! ducing the ingredients that are avail
able for making matches, and give i
, a practical monopoly.
+ CHAPTER II.
During the past year there have
, been numerous strikes among the gar
ment workers in the large cities, ii
most of which the workers lost. The
, government report on conditions Of
! Women and children in the United
States, Volume 2, dated 1911, gives
+ 1.-THE total number of women working
on mems clothing in the United States
in 1890 at 1851; and in 1905 it was
practically the same, 75,468; showing
) that the, laws against women and
child labor had Neffected conditions
very little. These, however, do moi
constitute anything like the, total
number of women and children who
are working on clothing. These fig
ures represent those employed in fac
tories and probably twice the number
: take clothing home and make it there
. children from three years old being
used as helpers. To quote from the
i report: Because of the long periods
of idleness, when they can earn moth
ling, these women make the most Of
the busy season when it comes, and
when plenty of work can be had, and
1.-THE combined labor of the entire fam
lily all day and often at night is
utilized. They take as many gar
Iments home as they can possibly Sc
Icure, and then work unlimited hours