Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-04-09
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL y. COLLINS.

states that he has so produced fire in
80 seconds. and when he used the
Indian bow, made for that purpose,
he could make fire i'm seconds.
That is better time than many a SOL
der could boast when attempting IL
with war matches in sunny France.
where the dampness made most
matches fireproof. For the French
government monopoly matches are.
like the heather Chinee"-"pecu-
liar
The fundamental principle lies in
friction, whether that be produced by
rubbing wood or chemicals together.
Yet how has friction ever affected
Heaven.made matches? Such are "set
on fire of Hell" and behold how great
matter little He'll kindleth in such
matches,
The principle of chemical.made fire
was first discovered by Godfrey Hauk-
WITT, a Vienna chemist. He learned
to dip little sticks in phosphorus.
which, when fire was wanted. could
be immersed in strong sulphuric acid.
But this was unhandy and costly, and
too often the acid would spill and
mixed with the chemicals of the
dipped stick, would start fires OF
clothing.
When flint and steel were used to
strike sparks, as was the custom
throughout the eighteenth century.
sulphur-tipped splinters were used
as "spunks' to catch the flint-sparks.
In 1906, Frenchman named Chan
eel introduced an apparatus consist.
ing of small bottle with asbestos
saturated with strong sulphuric acid.
into which the "spunks" or matches
tipped with chlorate of potash and
coated with sulphur we're dipped, pro-
ducing fire. But this, too, was trouble
some and dangerous.
The first practical match was made,
as told above, by John Walker OF
Stockton-on.Tees, in 1927. and they
were called 'Congreves," in honor of
Sir William Congreve, who had moth
ing to do with them, but had invented
a rocket, shooting fire as it assembled.
These "Congreves" were wooden
splints or sometimes cardboard strips.
coated with sulphur and tipped with
sulphide of antimony. With each box
came a piece of paper coated with
powdered glass, like sandpaper, folded.
so that the match to be lighted had
to be drawn tightly within the fold,
to insure sufficient friction.
Today the manufacture of matches
has become one of the greatest Of in
dustries in most countries. In France
it is a monopoly Of the Government:
in the United States, a monopoly of
the Diamond Match Co. When white
phosphorus was used in the matches
it caused terrible diseases of the teeth
and Jaws of the workers, but that
now has been entirely discarded.
under pressure of prohibitory laws in
all countries. Only yellow phosphorus
is permitted.
The extent of the use OF matches
can be visualized through statistics
quoted from an English book on The
Match Industry" by William Hep
worth Dixon.
IF it is assumed that the (worldD
population consists OF 1853 100000
souls to whom the use of the modern
match is known. and taking at a
modest estimate five matches for each
person, as a daily consumption, then
the total number of matches burnt
would reach 3,228. 900 900 daily.
(Actual statistics show that in Eng
land the production and imports OF
matches allow ia per day per per-
son.)
The author finds that to supply the
world with matches requires 22S,693
acres OF aspen OF pine per annuu''
and as it takes so years to grow the
trees TO proper size. it requires 1O,937
square miles Of such forests now 10
grow the wood.
Then II we lay end to end ~
matches that are burnt annually, they
would reach $3.50 times around the
world, or from earth to the sun.
II one person could extract from
the matchbox "a matches a minute and
light them and blow them out, it would
take 1000 persons-cigarette flends ETY.
aL--S0 years to burn up one years
quota of matches. incidentally con-
Stunning hydroplanes, homes, forests
and other property galore. SO we re-
turn to our text: Behold what great
matter a little fire kindleth"
1T is set on fire of Hell. =