Year: 1875




Arsenic is getting to be, throughout the
world, almost as common as dirt. We
doubt very much whether it would not be
impossible, at the present day, in any cOuH-
Try, TO convict, on chemical evidence, be
fOTe any jury, the most bUngling arsenical
DOisOner, if he or she had legal defender
who would make use, IS he might, Of the
argument furnished him by the almost
universal distribution of the venOmOUs
element throughout our most familiar
walks Of life! We have received medicines
ourselves from drug stores wrapped in ar
senical papers, put up in Paris-green paper
boxes, with 4rsenical paper caps tied over
the COrks, etc. We have often seen con-
feCtionery exposed for sale to. young chill
dren wrapped in tie deadly green paper.
We have often found young children suck
ing toys painted with the horrible stuff,
and with their mouths stained throughout
with the venom. The Paris green paper S
one Of he cOmmOnest in use for binding
school books, and We have more than once
taken such books away from our own
Young children, which had been given
them 10y their teachers. Numerous deaths
Of children are known to have been thus
OccaSiOued. No country can be called
civilized in which such suicidal ignorance,
such stupid slaughter of the iunOcents is
common. One more illustration only.
Il is very common to see a lawyer
or his clerk put into his
mouth, 10 moisten the gum side Of it, a
beautiful green paper disk with scOllOped
edges, To attach to some document. These
things are found in every lawyers office in
the land and used constantly. They are
seldom made of any other than the Paris
green paper. Can this be ignorance, or are
our lawyers all fatalists, and believe they
can only "die when their time cOmes?' In
commencing to write we had in our mind
TO refer TO some Of the wonderful facts de-
veloped Of late, In Great Britain especially,
p of open carts loaded with white arsenic
passing in open day through the country in
some districts, with drivers sitting on top
Of the hideOus heap; such carts being often
exposed all night open TO the rain; OfstrOng-
" arsenical waters flowing flOm mines and
melallu-gical works into streams Of water
afterwards drunk by large populations, AM
so on These are facts. Everybody will
remember the cargo Of salt and arsenic tn
gether shipped to us from Europe a few
months ago. which got a little mixed dur
inc a rough passage. This particular
mixture was discovered. The water we
ourselves drink cones from stream on one
of whose tributaries is a large chemical
works, which so contaminates the said trib-
utary with arsenic that cattle drinking
it have been poisoned to death.
These things, we say, are facts on
both sides of the Atlantic; but really,
while we wrote the first part OF
this article especially, when We thought Of
the ueckIessness Of the public press, which
has actually recommended their rural
readers, in many cases, 10 pile on the Paris
green on their potato patches with per
feet l00seness, these other things seem
irihes. as fiat anu stale as they certainly
are uuPrOfitable, and our enthusiasm auC
zeal for The cause of humanity seems Il
wilt down into d sort Of sentimentality
which is certainly ludicrOusly lame anC
impotent, if not downright sickly.