Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (July 26, 1908)
'Vy,1"' t ' - , J - 1 f J'; JOUTtK JtLJ2CmDATRAp -DISEASES', , BY JOHN ELFRETH "W ATKINS. MA XT odd "trade diseases' are be ing discovered by Dr. George M. Kober, who, for the United States Bureau of Labor, is investigating the relation of occupation to health. "Brass founders' ague," one of the most interesting of these. Is found to attack about xhree-fourths of tKp new employes of brass foundries, and of those who resume work after an ab sence of a month or even a fortnight. The cause of thle malady appears to be the inhalation of metallic dust or ! vapor of zinc and copper, and its symp toms are severe pains in the back and general lassitude, which send the pa tient at once to bed. immediately after which he usually suffers a severe chill, lasting 15 minutes or longer. In an hour or lese his pulse increases, some times to 12ft and this is accompanied by a tormenting cough, bad headache and soreness in the chest. But after the lapse of a few hours the victim suddenly breaks out in a free jerspira tion, indicating the disappearance of the fever and the advejit of a deep sleep, from which he awakens nearly recovered. English brass founders thus attacked are told by their elders In trade to drink freely of milk and thus promote nausea, esteemed as the swift est means of relief from these seizures. Quinine Makers Get Eczema. "Po Ushers' Itch," an eczema of the hands, arms and face, found to be com mon among furniture polishers, is sup posed to b irritation due to some of the impure alcohols. A similar dry i zema is found to attack the hands and faces of quite a large percentage of those employed in the manufacture of quinine, and is believed to be" due to emanations from the boiling solutions of this drug. This peculiar disease of quinine manufacturers disappears as soon"as their work is given up. Smel ters, especially in copper works, fre quently suffer from jaundice, stiffness of the joints and .anaemia as the result of inhaling arsenic fumes given off in the process, while it is noticed that mercury workers not only suffer from .salivation, but frequently are attacked with nervous trembling. Safety equip ment has practically eliminated these dangers from the mirror industry, but fbey are still pronounced in the manu facture of felt, thermometers, barom eters, dry electric batteries and bronz ing. Match factory workers commonly suffer from rapid decay of the teeth, followed by swelling of the neck glands and Inflammation of the Jaw bones. When white phosphorus was used from 11 to 12 per cent of the em ployes were thus attacked, but since the red has come into vogue for match manufacture only about 2 per cent are attacked. Those who work long in ani line vapors not infrequently suffer from a chronic poisoning affecting the central nervous system and causing lassitude, headache, roaring in the ears and sometimes eczema, while those at tacked by the strong vapors sometimes fall suddenly to the ground, their skin becoming cold, and pale, their faces Agriculture Our Unfailing National Resource Fy Jarnes Withycombe. Director of the Oregon Experiment Station. OVR Nation is great, not for Its size, not altogether for the achievements of its people, but largely for the im mensity of ita natural wealth. It is our purpose at this time to discuss briefly ag riculture, our unfailing National resource. Practically all wealth originates In the soli and the maintenance of soil fertility is the rightful heritage of posterity. While the wealth-producing power of the soil of our country has, reached stupendous pro portions, yet it falls short of what It is destined to reach. Last year the farms of our Nation yielded crops representing in vlu -V.-llx .OOw.WO. Thirty-six per cent, or iS0OV, of our people are engaged in ag ricultural pursuits, and the farm unit of production was 13S7.0i. The farms of our own state produced last year $75,000,000. There is 35 per cent of our population en gaped in farming for a livelihood, and the unit of production in this state was 5154S, much larger than the national average, due evidently to a greater potentiality of the soil and to large holdings of land. Despite the magnitude of our present agricultural wealth there are great prob lems confronting the welfare of our Na tion, foremost among which Is the main tenance of soil fertility so as to support a large population. It Is the duty of every American citizen to conserve so far as practicable our natural wealth for the use of generations to follow. The Inadequacy of our present production Is apparent when we estimate that at the present rate of growth thi country will have a population of 130,000.000 less than 20 years fcance, and that within iH years w shall turning bluish, death following In a ' state of profound stupor. Naphtha and Coal Oil Intoxication. "Naphtha intoxication" is found to disable many employes in the dyeing and cleaning trade and the rubber industry, symptoms resembling those . of drunken ness being dizziness, nausea, headache and hysteria. In rubber factories where for vulcanizing naphtha has generally replaced the even more dangerous car bon dlsulphide, thia form of intoxication is suffered especially in rooms where rubber Is spread upon cloth. New hands are especially susceptible and even old ones sometimes have to leave their work at times and seek the fresh air for re lief. Benzine vapors are quite as dan gerous. Three laborers in a carpet clean ing establishment in which large quanti ties of benzine were being used wera lately found unconscious upon the floor and had to be restored by oxygen inhala tion, and the carbon disulphide gas still used sometimes in the rubber industry, but now more especially in the extrac tion of fats, produces similar symptoms, as well as impaired vision, pains in the limbs and a sensation like the creeping of anU, on the skin. Carbonic acid gas, another of these trade dangers, not only occasionally suffocates well sinkers and miners, but Is held responsible for a form of anaemia and debility often pe culiar to brewers, winemakers, distillers and yeastmakers, who inhale it during the processes of fermentation necessary in their trades. Smelters and employes of gas works or of coke and charcoal furnaces sometimes suffer from chronic coal gas poisoning, whose symptoms are dizziness, slow pulse, anaemia, general debility, etc. Even coal oil, in its concentrated va pors, sometimes produces in refinery workmen symptoms like those of drunk enness, as well as chronic bronchial ca tarrh, while eruptions on the hands are found to be common among handlers of paraffin oil, creosote and tar. An obsti nate eczema of the hands is common also to cleaners who handle crude turpentine, and the vapors of this oil, crude or re fined, sometimes produce catarrhs, roar ing of the ears and nervousness. Manu facturers of bromine, now used consid erably In photography, are discovered to suffer quite frequently from asthma, diz ziness and general weakness, the vapors when becoming too strong sometimes causing spasms of the upper windpipe. Brick glazers and bleachers working in chlorine gas fumes often suffer from asthma, bronchitis, rapid decay of the teeth and pimples on the face, while employes of alkali and galvanizing works using hydrochloric acid suffer from sores on the tongue, ulceration of the nose and throat and even stupor, when the fumes become too concentrated. The "Black Lung" of Coal Miners, "Black lung" or 'coal miners con sumption," In which the lungs become coated with black dust, is suffered espe cially in mines of defective ventilation but coal miners, charcoal men, firemen and chimney sweeps, exposed to con stant inhalation of coal dust and soot, are none of them found to have a hish death rate from true consumption, al though subject to chronic bronchial ca tarrh. "Grinders' asthma" and "grinders' rot" are terms found 'to be applied to a form of consumption frequent in grinding and polishing departments of the cutlery and tool industry, where dust is inhaled from the metal as well as the grindstones and emery used. Nearly three-fourths of the deaths among the metal grinders of one large German cutlery center were dis covered to be due to consumption, and very probably have to meet the wants of 1 more than 200,000.0"? people. This will mean that science must become the hand maid of toil on the farm. Soil robbing must cease and systems of husbandry In augurated which will rejuvenate the worn out fields. Less than two decades since one of the world's most famous scientists deplored the fact that the soil nitrogen of the world would be so exhausted within 60 years that the people all over the land would be crying for bread. This estimate was made after an exhaustive etudy of the available supply of nitrogen and the prediction based upon the loss resulting from crop production and the complete exhaustion of the nitrate beds In Chile and elsewhere. Fortunately, however, science stepped In and has stayed "the progress of this terrible calamity through the discovery that certain plants known as the legumes possessed the ability of appropriating atmospheric nitrogen for their growth and development. Thus the farmer has a simple means of restoring nitrogen to his soil. By growing clover, vetch, alfalfa, peas or other legumes, the problem of nitrogen supply Is completely solved. Then again science has recently discovered that by means of electro-chemical devices, nitrogen can be taken direct ly from the atmosphere with the result that great quantities of artificial nitrogen fertilizers are supplied to commerce from this source. ' Our greatest National question la the conservation of our natural resources. The greatest of these Is agriculture. Sys tems of prodigality must cease. The po tentiality, of the soil should be conserved. Methods Xor Us complete. uUUiation with THE SUNDAY I MCUM. Ol D TT A Vr? CMPT TT "-i-JA - 1 $ TTWJ. . ....... ........ . . JBAPCEKS HAVE KHOC&KJ&EES: in the great cutlery and tool works of j Northampton, Mass., the same propor- ! tion of death has been found to be due to "grinders'," "polishers " or "cutlers' disease" of the lungs. Needle polishers and file cutters also show a high death rate from consumption. "Stonecutters' "consumption," a form of tuberculosis of the lungs, is discovered to be common among stonecutters, especially those operating pneumatic tools, creating clouds of dry dust, that are breathed into the lungs. In this disease, too. the lungs become discolored, but not so dark as in the case of coal miners so-called con sumption. A recent investigation In Ger many showed that S6 per cent of the deaths among stonepolishers, stonecutters and quarrymen were due to diseases of the lungs. Millstone and slate cutting also are classed by Dr. - Kober among "dangerous occupations," as . are glass cutting and polishing, where the em ployes are not protected by the new "wet method" now in vogue in Massa chusetts. He finds gem finishers to have a higher consumption and sick rate, and workers in mica dust and bronzing pow ders to be predisposed to diseases of the respiratory passages. "Siderosis," a lung disease of the knife and saw sharpeners' trade, is due to the locfement of fine par ticles of steel dust, in the lungs. Green Sweat of Bronze Workers. The "green sweat" is a peculiar phe nomenon found to be manifested by many bronze workers. In a large lithographing establishment boys who, while running souvenir cards through machines which applied bronze powder, wore handker chiefs over their noses and mouths to prevent the inhalation of this dust,' were found to have such green sweat upon their skins and to be pale and otherwise unhealthy looking. "Lead colic.' and "lead palsy" are phases of the so-called "lead habit," an involuntary enslavement due to the in haling, swallowing, or absorbing through the skin of particles of lead. These trade diseases are characterized in the milder forms by such temporary disorders as "lead coli," better known as "painters' colic," anj In the more serious forms by a peculiar blue lining along the gums, a sweetish taste and diminished saliva in the mouth, loss of feeling in spots on the skin, and a dropping of the hand at the wrist, due to local paralysis. These symp toms sometimes attack roasters of lead ores, workers in factories where' acetate and chromate of lead, china, pottery and artificial flowers are made; also painters, plumbers, varnlshers, type founders, type setters, file cutters, glass and gem cutters, storage battery chargers, enamelers, dyers, printers, paper glaziers and work ers in rubber goods and weighted silk, both of which contain large quantities of lead. In its chronic phase this, one of the most dreaded of trade diseases, is known as "plumbism That compositors, printers and press men breathe considerable dust of lead, arsenic and antimony may partly account for the fact that they show the second Highest death rate from consumption in our states where such statistics are reg- the least exhaustion should be encour aged. The National Government Is doing much for the promotion of better systems of agriculture. Last year the Govern ment expended J13.879.292 largely for the betterment of our agriculture. The Influ ence of this department at Washing ton are constantly broadening. Bureaus are strengthened and new scientists are being added constantly to the al ready large corps of workers. Agricul tural explorers are sent to every section of the globe in search of new forage plants, cereals and fruits to enrich our farms and orchards. No government is putting forth greater efforts in behalf of a progressive agriculture than is our own. There is not a more inviting field In the whole realm of human endeavors than is presented by agriculture to the young man skilled In the art and science of the In dustry. It is a field of endless opportu nity, for scientific research and reward. The demand is constantly widening for more young men trained In the art and science of agriculture. The hope of our Nation rests largely with the intelligence of our husbandmen. Our own state is doing much for the betterment of our agriculture and much more may be done in the line of demon strating correct principles of husbandry. A few demonstrations farms wisely locat ed In the great wheat belt of the Inland Empire could be made Immensely bene ficial to the agricultural interests of this section and Indirectly contribute largely to the agricultural wealth of the whole state. Oregon should begin by Intelligent co-operation, or perhaps through legisla tion, to preserve her natural wealth and thus fulfill her part In the support of our ever-increasing population. The time will come when she will be called to support 10.000.000 people, when the City of Portland will be the home of z.000,000 people and be the Empire City of the coast in commerce and Unanca. Oregon is mora than capable OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND. TTTtT 5 H r-i. SrTrTxT A CT3TT TVTTv TTTT1 1 1 ni I jmMm lstered. One gram of dust from a 1yp case has been found to eontain nearly 6 per cent lead and over 18 per cent anti mony, besides traces of arsenic. Women are peculiarly immune from most of these forms of "plumbism," and the modern typesetting machine, obviat ing much handling of type, has reduced Its dangers among compositors, so long as they are not exposed to the fumes from the melting pots. Millers Have High Pneumonia Rate. Millers, who constantly inhale flour dust, show the highest pneumonia rate listed in states registering. such vital sta tistics. Bakers are subject to the same dangers, and other breathers of harmful vegetable dusts are carpenters, cabinet-, makers, laborers in grain elevators, to bacco warehouses and textile mills. Saw dust of hardwood seems to Be more Injuri ous to" the lungs than that of soft, and "cocobole," a hardwood now largely used in the manufacture of tool handles, .gives a- very pungent dust which irritates the eyes and skin, as well as' the lungs. An African boxwood used In England for the manufacture of weavers' shuttles was found to contain a peculiar alkaloid heart depressent, causing Intermitted pulse, headache, drowsiness, watery eyes, diffi cult breathing, weakness and nausea among the employes. The fact that only eight out of 6000 resident cigarmakers con tracted cholera during the great Hamburg epidemic of 1892 gave rise to the belief of supporting 10,000,000 people If her re sources are properly developed and hus banded. Through the generous support of experiment stations, farmers' Institutes, fairs and other educational agepcies, the state is doing much for the encourage ment of better agricultural practices. It can truthfully be said that the influence of our experiment stations has had a marked effect in stimulating better meth ods of husbandry. Dairying, our largest single agricultural Industry, received Its first impetus from our experiment sta tion. The experiment station took the In itiative for the abandonment of the wasteful Summer-fallow In Western Ore gon. Our horticultural development la largely traceable to the endeavors of the station. By means of demonstration and promotion work the general growing of clover, vetch, alfalfa, kale and other val uable forage plants has been greatly en couraged. Aside from the more practical work many problems of scientific interest have received exhaustive Investigations. Plant and animal diseases- have been given careful thought. The physical and chemical properties of soils have been thoroughly studied. It has been known for some "time that a large proportion of the surface soil of Western Oregon is se riously deficient in lime and It is but re cently that our chemist has discovered that the subsoil is abundantly supplied with lime, reaching . in some Instances nearly 2 per cent. Thus by growing clover and alfalfa this may be brought to the surface to be appropriated by shallower feeding crops. Let the zeal for sclentiflo study proceed with even greater intensity and let the accretions ef human intelligence and sci entific attainment of the past century be focused upon problems of vital concern to the first and most important of all the sciences and arts, agriculture. A Direful Threat. Robert T. Hardy, in Lipplneott's. "When little crabe are naughty And pinch and pull and grab. No doubt their mother threatenst "Xou'll be a doviled trabl" . XZZZZZZ-l BREATHW&' Jla-,'.'v-,.-,.W.- J i- s Vfr tf T" - p1k R,. -ri: rJt .THIS CAUS ' JUIF 26, 1908. IABEWKER s among tobacco workers that the dust of "santa yerba" is a 'protection against infective diseases. But the breathing of lint in cotton and linen mills is reported to be injurious to the lungs, the consump tion rate of Irish linen mill operatives being nearly three times higher than nor mal. Dust from wool Is considered less Irritating, however, than that of flax or cotton. But among the "animal dusts" Investigated that of horn is found more Irritating than that of bone. "Rag Man's" Disease. "Rag man's disease," also called "rag sorters' " and "wool sorters' " disease, proves to be In reality anthrax, the dread scourge of the horse and of other ani mals, .which Is transmitted to man by means of infected wool, hide and hair. Engravers are found to have a low average duration of life, and to be liable to eye defects due to the strained atti tudes In which they work and the strain ing of their eyes over minute objects. Constrained attitudes, interfering with proper breathing and distribution of blood and causing internal congestion, are held responsible also for "weavers' dyspepsia." and various shoemakers', watchmakers', tailors' and lithographers' diseases. "Bakers' knock knee" and "flat foot" and "varicose veins" ai-e due to our breadmakers' necessary habit of stand ing too long; but the fact that bakrs have a low duration of life is attributed more especially to the fact that, like Entertaining New York Press. HERE Is some English that is seldom written and some other Interesting curiosities of Mother English: Honorlficabllltudlnltatibus is a rather long word. You cannot find it In the dictionary, but you will find It used In Shakespeare and some of the other early English writers. The word Is meaningless. The only Interesting point about tt Is Its length. Twenty-seven letters In a breath are quite a few. But our dictionary gives some almost as long for instance, the following two of 24 letters each: ' Transsubstantiationallsts. Inanthropomorphisability. - Here are some of the other boa-constrictors: Twenty-three letters: Disproportionablenesses. Twenty-two: Intercommunlcabllitles. Twenty-one: Intercoirvertibilities. Twenty: Histomorphologlcally. Interdifferentiation. Supersensitlvenesses. Hypersensltlvenesses. It is safe to say that the ordinary reader would not run on to one of these in a hundred years, and If he did he would run the other way. It Is Interesting to know that the entire alphabet can be arranged hi one Intelligible sentence without the repe tition of a single letter jus 2 letters In the following sentence, and no two alike: J. Q. Vandz struck my big fox whelp. ' That simple sentence is the hardest r1. ; ; ; millers, their lungs inhale large quanti ties of flour dust, while their hearts be come affected by exposure to too high temperatures. Thus the baker's is rated among the dangerous occupations, as is also that of the cook, who suffers from rheumatism, and who. on account of ex tremes of heat, shares also the - stoker's, blacksmith's and fireman's low duration of life. "Fatigue neurosis," a twitching and local paralysis of the fingers, is the characteristic disease of telegraphers, pianists, violinists, engravers, ctgarmak ers, seamstresses, typewriters and copy ists, being known among the last named as "writers' cramp." Horn-Blowers' Disease Another. Then there is fotind a horn-blowers' disease, dignified by the name of "emphy sema." meaning abnormal collection of air in the lungs. During the Fall cam paign there will doubtless be an epidemic of this dread malady, also of paralysis of the vocal chords, the pet ailment of pub lic speakers. Footing Dr. Kober's. cata logue of these trade diseases, as compiled thus far are finally, "bollermakers" deaf ness and chronic thein intoxication, the latter attacking tea tasters, who, while in its throes, suffer from distressing .muscular tremblings. This hwestigation was desired by Dr. C. P. Neill, the Commissioner of Labor, not as an excuse for uttering an official Jeremiad and tale of woe. but for the awakening of popular interest in the need of state legislation affording better pro tection to workers in the dangerous trades. Considerable progress has al ready been made by employers, notably Uncle Sam himself, who in his new Gov ernment printing office, the largest in the world, has devised a model system of in dustrial hygiene. This, organized by Dr. Curiosities of Mother English 1 possible one to write on the typewriter. So many of the letters In the alphabet are used so seldom that even a good typist has to study out the combination before finding some of them. This sen tence is the only known one that con tains every letter in the alphabet 1 but once and make's sense. Another interesting word group In which the entire alphabet Is put into seven words and only 32 letters are used Is: "Burst, fed, jingle, quip, vim, hack, zyxomma." This is the smallest number of words that the alphabet can be included in. Two intelligible sentences, however, of eight words and 32 letters apiece have been found. They are: Quick brown fox Jumps over the lazy dog. Pack my box with five dozen liquor Jugs. The first sentence Is often used In testing the types on tyewriters on ac count of the shortness, and the fact that it Includes every letter and has the advantage of making sense. Here Is a list of the longest mono syllables In English: Seven letters, through: eight letters, strength, thoughts, starched, thrilled, straight, squalled, schnapps;' nine let ters, strengths, squelched, scratched, splotched, stretched. Probably the most Interesting word curiosity Is the one made up of the greatest number of other words in the regular sequence. That word Is Indis crimination. In-dlsc-rim-in-at-i-on con tains seven words and is only 16 letters long. That Is allowing a fraction more than two letters to each word and only one word Is repeated. Here axe two that have six separate words within the one: Ass-ass-in-at-l-on Assassination. "William Manning, incfudes an excel lent emergency hospital for prompt atten tion to accidents to employes. The general health of the 4550 printers. ' compositors and other employes benefit also from the complete changing of the air in each room every ten -minutes, and by improved arrangements for the dif fusion of poisonous fumes, such as those from the electrotype and stereotype foun dries. Private industrial plants are be ginning to give their employes greater air space, light and ventilation, but laws are needed to make these reforms everywhere compulsory. Engineers are also reducing the dan gers of the dread "caisson disease" by the more gradual increases and decreases of air pressure in their tunnels, caissons, deep mines and diving bells, while grind ers, polishers and other workers in min eral dust are having their lungs better protected by introduction of the "wet process," wherein the article ground or polished is constantly sprayed by Jets of water or some arrangement of the kind. In the steel foundries of Massachusetts, which state has taken the lead in theso remedial measures, operatives are pro vided with helmets protecting the eyes, nose and mouth from dust, while In some of the lead works operatives working un der spraying apparatus are now required to wear rubber .gloves and "respirators" ; protecting their mouths and noses from . harmful dust and .fumes. But in many cases where these are supplied, em- , ployes refuse to wear them, vanity being -often the deterrent, the men wearers be ing sensitive to the jibes of their more reckless fellow-workers, and the women being, of course, unable to wear anything, even a life preserver, if unbecoming. Washington. D. C, July 18. In-fln-it-at-i-on. Inflnitatton. There do not seem to be any that can be split up into five sensible parts, but here are several quads: In-sat-l-ate Insatiate. Ass-ass-in-ate Assassinate. In-vest-i-gate Investigate. In-lt-i-ate Initiate. Two three-part words that make sens when the parts are taken separately are: To-get-her Together. In-no-cent Innocent. The dictionary is fujl of funny and curious things. This is only a small part of the unusual things that you can find out about words In an hour's peru sal of the most wordy book In the Eng lish language. Hohokue. New York Sun. Of all the places on the map Whose names are wont to choke us. There isn't one can run & lap With happy old Hohokue; There isn't one whose very name Is such a sure esrort to fame. He! he! ho! ho! Hohokus! Esopus used to have the call. And Oshkosh used to poke us Rifht in the rlslbles; but all Must yield to old Hohokus A burg, a town, a spot, a space Whose mention corrugates the face. He! he! ho! ho! Hohokus! There's Kankakee and Kalamaxoo, With which the Jesters Joke us. And down In Jersey Squankum too I,les somewhere near Hohokus; But for a scream, a smirk, a smile. The latter beats 'em all a mile. He! he! ho! ho! Hohokus! Hoboken. take a seat 'way back. You're common as the crocus: " Why. even whooplny Hackensack Is second to Hohokus; For here's a Joyful Jersey burs; Whose nomenclature, makes us g-urg. He I he! ho! hoi Honokusl