The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1915-11-02
WAR BOOMS The
CORK LEG INDUSTRY
THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIF1-
CIAL ARMS AND LEGS is AN
INTERESTING WORK.
MADE OF Eastwood OR WILLOW
One American Concern Said to Have
Already Received Orders From the
French and British Governments
For S15,OOO,OOO Worth.


French and British Governments
For S15, 100000 Worth.
No industry, considered relatively
to its importance, seems likely to
profit more by the war than the man
ufacture of false arms and legs. One
American concern is said to have al
ready received orders from the Brit
ish and French governments for $15,-
0O0,0 worth of artificial limbs. The
normal producing capacity of this es-
Enlistment is $50 legs a month, but
it's output is expected soon to be
multiplied by five, says the New York
Sun.
Another American manufacturer,
who has a factory in France, has
Just returned to this country to Sc
cure additional machinery and work
men. To obtain the latter is not easy,
for false legs and arms, especially the
former, are complex pieces Of mech
anism, and to construct them prop
erly requires much practice and Ions
training.
The cork leg is familiar in works
Of fiction. In real life such thing
is not, and never has been, cork be-
ing just about the most unsuitable
material for the purpose that could
be imagined. Artificial limbs are
made of Eastwood or willow, supple
mented to some extent with leather,
The lumber fir them is carefully
selected, and the first step in the
making Of a false leg is to cut from
the raw material a block s inches
square and of the requisite length.
Through it a hole is bored length
wise with a large auger, and then the
block is put aside in a dry place and
allowed to season. 1t ought to sea-
son for three years
1t is then carved in imitatin of a
real leg, sandpapered to smOOthness,
followed out so as to convert it into
a mere shell, and rendered water
proof by coating of a special kind
of varnish. 1t may be covered with
kid, but methods of manufacture
vary.
The leg is made hollow for the
sake of lightness, and also to pro-
vide room for the introduction of a
strong spiral spring and other ele-
ments of the mechanism that is to
render the limb a useful and comfort
able counterfeit of real one. An
artificial leg of up-to-date pattern is
an ingenious piece of apparatus, and
there is many a man today who wears
one without betraying the fact to the
casual observer.
OF course if the natural limb has
been cut off high up the artificial one
must be in two parts, connected by
a knee joint If one must lose
portion of ones ambulatory machin-
cry the most desirable place for the
amputatiOn is between the knee and
the ankle. Under such circumstances
a false member may enable one to
walk without limping, or one may
even tango satisfactorily, but loss of
part of the foot or Of the whole foot
at the ankle joint means that one
musa go halting through life.
The foot of the artificial leg is in
itself an exceedingly clever counter
felt. Its core is part of the same
piece of wood that makes the body
of the leg. EnvelOping this core is
rubber, yulcanized on in a series of
thin layers, the result being to give
the foot a lively springiness, render
ing it comfortable for walking and
helping to give the weaTer a natural
gait.
An artificial arm is of similar con-
structiOn, with wooden core for
the hand, which is of vulcanized rub
ber But as a substitute for the nat
ural limb it is a poor thing compared
to a false leg. The hand is useless
for purposes of manipulation, and
has to be kept covered with glove.
Wires extend through the fingers,
so that the latter may be bent into
desired position.
Under the law any person who has
lost leg or an arm, a foot or a hand
in the service of the United States
government is entitled to an artifi-
cial member every three years. This
is a very liberal allowance, because
a false leg if not abused ought to
last eight years. Furthermore the
right is not restricted to soldiers and
sailors; civilian employees Of Uncle
Sam can enjoy it likewise.
Few artificial arms are asked for
by those entitled to them, not more
than one arm, indeed, for every 100
legs. Pensioners and others who have
lost such members prefer as rule
TO accept a money equivalent instead.
They are at liberty under the law to
draw $50 every three years in lieu
of an arm, or if a leg be in question
the cash Communication allowed is $50.