Full text of Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, Nos. 1 - 100 : July 1911 : Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, No. 95, Volume XXIII

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B U L L E T IN
OF THE

BUREAU
No. 95.

LABOR.

WASHINGTON.

July,

1911.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF LEAD
PROCESSES IN CERTAIN INDUSTRIES IN GREAT BRITAIN AND
THE WESTERN STATES OF EUROPE.
B Y SIR THOM AS OLIVER, M . D ., F . R. C. P .
INTRODUCTION.

A little over two decades ago Great Britain awoke to the fact that
in consequence of a great wastage of human life which was occur
ring in some of her industries, legislative intervention was called
for, since it was evident that industrial occupation, far from being
a source of welfare* to a certain class of workers, was in many
instances a cause of their too early infirmity and death. Although
regulations had been in force for years in white-lead factories, it
was apparent from the amount of sickness which prevailed and the
number of deaths, particularly of young females, which were taking
place, that there was something seriously wrong. In an address
delivered at a meeting of the British Association for the Advance
ment of Science, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 21 years ago, the writer
of this monograph drew attention to the sad condition of affairs and
pleaded for something to be done to check the high mortality rate
among young female lead workers and the necessity of purifying
the trade generally. Government intervention followed and with
happy results. Abolition of female labor in the dangerous processes
of white-lead manufacture, fresh regulations, insistence upon per
sonal cleanliness on the part of the workers, and the better provision
by employers of washing appliances, prohibition of eating and
drinking in the factory, and periodical medical examination of the
workers have materially reduced the sickness and mortality rates
in the lead industries. In the manufacture of pottery alone the
sickness rate has fallen 70 to 80 per cent. While these measures
have freed the trade from continued reproach, a careful watch is

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

still required, for with the progress of civilization mechanical inven
tion keeps pace, new methods of production from time to time are
introduced, and in some of these lead or its compounds are used.
The enormous demand for motor cars is an illustration of what
these words mean. Experience shows that in electrical accumulator
and other factories work may proceed satisfactorily for a period,
when all at once there occurs an outbreak of plumbism among the
hands employed, or a worker unexpectedly dies without having pre
viously exhibited signs of ill health, and on a post mortem and
chemical examination of the body being made death is found to
have been caused by lead poisoning. It is owing to the slow and
subtle but none the less sure manner in which lead acts as a poison
that manufacturers must be ever on their guard to see that ventila
tion is kept effective and that both they and the workers attend
rigidly to the regulations which have been framed. There can be no
underrating of the responsibility which in this matter rests equally
upon employers and employees.
For the abolition of female labor in the dangerous processes of
white-lead manufacture in Great Britain the writer accepts full
blame. Experience and experiment alike support him in the attitude
he has assumed. Is there, for example, another occupation than lead
pursuance of which for three months has caused the death of a pre
viously healthy. worker from purely industrial causes? The with
drawal of female labor has neither dislocated the trade, as was
predicted at the time by the manufacturers, nor has it increased the
cost of production. On the other hand, it has rid the industry of
opprobium, saved many lives, and averted a considerable amount
of suffering. It is a peculiar fact in regard to lead that there is a
sexual idiosyncrasy to its influence whereby females become more
prone to plumbism, and the worst type of it, than males. Lead
poisoning, too, is unlike many infectious diseases in so far as one
attack, instead of conferring immunity to other attacks, rather in
creases the liability to subsequent seizures. Youthful workers are
more prone to plumbism than persons of mature years, but no age is
exempt, nor does familiarity with the dangers, in the absence of
carefulness, lessen risks.
Although plumbism is usually easy to diagnose, lead occasionally
induces obscure affections of the nervous system, the cause and true
nature of which are not always easily recognized. As a cause of
poverty, too, its influence is not sufficiently known nor the role it
may be playing in the physical degeneracy of the race. The extent
to which industrial lead poisoning still prevails and the good effected
by legislation and attention to minute details the following pages
show.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

ANTIQUITY OF THE LEAD INDUSTRY.

In its metallic form and in chemical combinations lead has long
been known. The Romans used it. The writer has found lead pipes
in the remains of the Roman camps in the north of England. In
Pompeii the lead pipes which carried water into the city can still
be seen. The difference between these and modern lead pipes is that
in Roman times they were rolled and not molded. Vitruvius con
demned the use of lead pipes for the conveyance of water on account
of their harmfulness, while centuries later his compatriot, Ramazzini,
a physician, discoursed on the dangers of certain industries in which
lead is used.
In England and in Scotland lead mining is an old industry.
The Romans worked the Weardale mines. After the foundation
of the See of Durham le^d became indispensable for religious
houses. Eadbert, Bishop of Holy Island, A. D. 688, had the
church at Lindisfarne covered with plates of lead. In 1152-1195
King Stephen granted the Weardale mines to Hugh Pudsey, Bishop
of Durham. For centuries, therefore, the north of England has
been familiar with lead mining and the manufacture of lead com
pounds. In a Roman station of Derbyshire there have been found
pigs of lead bearing Latin inscriptions. Some of these are now in
the gallery of antiquities in the British Museum. In 1777 a pig of
lead was found near Crowford with the following inscription in
raised letters on the top: “ Imp. Caes. Hadriani Aug. Met Lvt.” In
1783 another pig of lead was found near Matlock weighing 81
pounds. Upon it in raised letters were the words: “ L. Arvconivere
cui 4>Meal nnd Lucius Aruconus Verecundus.” Upon another block,
also found near Matlock, are inscribed “ T. Cl. Tr. Lvt. Rr. Gx
Aeg.,” probably a tribute to Tiberius Claudius Caesar. These pigs
of lead point to the fact that the lead mines in Great Britain were
worked by the Romans A. D. 14-138. Centuries after the Roman
invasion the mines weife held by the religious houses.
LEAD MINING.

Men mining lead ore, such as galena or sulphide, do not suffer
from plumbism. They incur most of the ordinary risks of the coal
miner, excluding those arising from the presence of fiery gases.
If working in ill-ventilated mines, men can not avoid inhaling dust
given off from the ore, fumes from the gunpowder used in blasting,
and smoke from the candles. As a consequence some of them suffer
from pneumoconiosis, a hardening or fibrosis of the lungs due to "a
low form of inflammation of the supporting texture of the lungs. To
working in a dusty atmosphere the respiratory diseases of the lead
miner are attributed, but there are other factors in operation, such

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

as sleeping in overcrowded and ill-ventilated barracks close to the
mines; also exposure of the miners to the cold winds of our northern
climate, when, overheated and fatigued with their day’s work, they
may have to travel 2 or 3 miles across a bleak moorland before
reaching home. The freedom of the British lead miner is due to the
fact that lead is present in the ore in almost a pure metallic state,
whereas in some of the Italian mines and in those at Broken Hill, in
Australia, the lead is found in the form of a carbonate, and, in conse
quence, the miners have suffered from some of the most serious symp
toms of plumbism. The unloading of heavy volcanic lead ore from
a ship at a British port was followed by seven cases of plumbism
among the men. Such ore ought always to be well watered first.
LEAD SMELTING.

DUST AND FUMES.

The danger to health commences with the smelting of the ore.
It may be said that dust and fumes are responsible for most cases
of lead poisoning. The knowledge of this danger is one of the
reasons why lead smelting is usually carried on in remote and
sparsely populated districts away from human dwellings, and yet
even there, as at Leadhills in Scotland, the Peak of Derbyshire, and
Bleiberg in Austria-Hungary, owners of smelting works have had
to pay considerable sums of money to farmers for ruined crops and
for lead-poisoned cattle. In Weardale, cattle grazing on the hill
sides near the chimneys of the works are said in the district to
have become “ bellond” (belly bound), and have died from lead
colic. Frequently the chimneys are a mile or more away from the
smelting works. Flues, which connect the two and in which the
metallic dust is deposited, run between the smelting works and the
chimney and are of sufficient height for men to enter, so that they
may be cleaned from time to time. Flue dust contains, according
to H. O. Hofman,1 from 0.8 to 15 per cent of the weight of the
ore charged, while the amount of flue dust carried off with the gases
is about 2 per cent. In the flue dust of lead smelting works at Frei
berg, in Saxony, there were found, according to Hofman, from 16.2
to 26.2 per cent of lead and from 7.5 to 46.4 of arsenic; in the Globe
Works, Denver, Colo., 5.1 to 19.4 per cent of lead and 0.3 per cent
of arsenic. As the fume travels from the smelting furnace to the
chimney, a large part of it is deposited in the flue and is recovered.
Boughly speaking, flue dust is composed of about 30 per cent of
metallic lead, together with lead oxide and a variable proportion
of sulphur, arsenic, and other admixtures.
1The Engineering and M ining Journal, 1906, p. 380.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

CLEANING OUT FLUES.

Cleaning out the flues in order to recover lead dust is a dangerous
occupation. Where the flues are not very long, and the fumes have
to pass through condensers, there may be 2 or 8 feet of lead dust
deposited in places, and this has to be shoveled away in buckets,
barrows, etc. This work, carried on as it is in a gallery provided only
with manholes, many yards apart, is extremely dusty. In the Peak
of Derbyshire the writer found that many of the men after only a
few hours’ work in the flues suffered so severely from headache and
violent vomiting and were so overcome by the lead dust that they
became ill and had to be removed. This is one of the departments
of a lead smelting factory in which men should only work for not
more than two hours at a time, and where the work should be done
in relays. The dust might be watered by spraying, and the men
ought to wear respirators and overalls.
BLAST FURNACES.

Lead smelting is carried on in blast furnaces, calcining furnaces,
cupelling furnaces, and dezincking retorts. Dr. Edgar L. Collis,1
His Majesty’s medical inspector of factories, has discussed from the
medical point of view the various processes and dangers incidental to
the smelting of lead. It is the refractory ores and dross which are
treated in blast furnaces. The furnaces are cylindrical, with hearths
for lead and slag at the bottom. Each furnace is fed from above
with coke and ore, air being driven into the lower part of the glow
ing charge by a strong blast. The fumes are carried off from the
upper part of the furnace into one of the main flues, such as that I
have already mentioned. The molten metal and slag collect in the
hearth and are run off from time to time.
The dangers to health incidental to lead smelting are (1) the dust
given off when shoveling the charge; (2) inhalation of the fumes
which escape from the furnace at the charging point. Charge men
are known to suffer from tremor and paralysis, while in many of the
men thus employed the gums show a well-marked blue line. Should,
from one cause or another, the flue become partially blocked, the
fumes from the furnace become reflected upon the workmen, and as
a consequence they run the risk of becoming poisoned. Another
danger to which furnace men are exposed is inhalation of carbon
monoxide gas, due to incomplete combustion of the fuel. The per
centage of carbon monoxide by volume given off in the gases from
lead blast furnaces varies from 3.5 to 10.8. The slag varies in the
melting point from 1,030° to 1,270° C. (1,886° to 2,318° F.), and
1 Special Report on Dangerous or Injurious Processes in the Sm elting of M aterials Con
taining Lead and in the M anufacture of Red and Orange Lead, and Flaked Litharge.
Home Office, London, 1910. By Edgar L. Collis, M. D., H is M ajesty’s m edical inspector
of factories.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

since lead melts at 325° C. (617° F.), its vapor will be given off
at the ordinary heat of the furnace.
SCOTCH HEARTH.

In what is known as the Scotch hearth, a smaller furnace than the
English blast furnace, only galena is treated. The fire is an open
hearth, upon which the workman feeds the charge, while the two
blast pipes open into the glowing charge from the back of the hearth.
When the molten lead rises to the top of the well or sump of the
hearth it flows off by a small channel into a collecting pot, the slag
being removed from time to time and placed in water to cool. The
slag often contains sufficient lead to warrant it being remelted. Un
less it is well watered, a workman will, while breaking up the slag
with a hammer, raise clouds of dust more or less dangerous. During
the tapping of the molten slag and the molten lead fumes are given
off. From an analysis of these fumes1 it is calculated that in eight
hours a man might breathe 7.38 grains of lead. M. Boulin, factory
inspector of Lille, in alluding to the circumstance that at a lead
smelting works in Bohemia the dust obtained from the place where
the blast furnace charges were mixed contained 14.5 per cent of lead,
makes further reference to the fact that at a smelting works in the
north of France the whole of the men employed at the furnace
showed signs o f lead poisoning.12* Collis found, o f 32 blast furnace
men examined by him, that 22 showed a blue line on the gums and
12 had weakness of the extensor muscles.8
REVERBERATORY FURNACES.

Galena and impure lead rich in precious metals are treated in
reverberatory furnaces, the process to which the metal is exposed
being known as softening and oxidizing. These furnaces have a
sloping floor or hearth, at the bottom of which is a vent for tapping.
They are heated at one end by an ordinary coal fire or by producer
gas. The hot draft from the fire is carried up against the dome of the
furnace and there reflected or reverberated on to the surface of the
mass on the hearth, from which it is carried away at the far end of
the furnace by a flue. When the material in the furnace has melted
there rises to the surface the dross, which contains lead, copper,
sulphur, and arsenic. The dross is raked off, deposited on the floor,
and allowed to cool, giving off fumes all the time. As subsequent
shoveling of this is a dusty procedure, it would be better if the
dross were placed in a proper receptacle provided with an exhaust
1 Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops [o f Great B ritain]
for 1900, p. 438.
2 B ulletin de l’lnsp ection du Travail, 1906, p. 494.
8 Special Report on Dangerous or Injurious Processes in the Sm elting of M aterials Con
taining Lead, etc., p. 10.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

hood to remove fume and dust. After drossing, the temperature is
raised, and air is permitted free access, whereby the various impuri
ties of the lead—e. g., tin and arsenic-vapors—are oxidized and given
off in the form of vapor, or they are removed in the form of shim
mings. Subsequently the slag and lead are run off from the furnace
into an open pit almost at the feet of the men, so that they can
not help breathing the fumes. The worst “ smother” from fume
comes from reverberatory furnaces, and at times it is so bad that
the men recognizing the danger cover their mouths with hand
kerchiefs. There is plenty of dust lying about in these furnace
houses. It contains 8.5 to 23.7 per cent of lead. The molten lead
thus purified and free from precious metals is run off into molds, when
it is known as pig lead. As this is done at a comparatively low tem
perature—350° to 400° C. (662° to 752° F.)—there is little danger
to the health of the men, although on their gums a blue line is often
seen.
DESILVERING.

Since lead ore frequently contains silver and gold, these metals
have to be removed. This is done by either Pattinson’s or Parkes’s
process. Pattinson’s process, the method of desilvering used on Tyne
side, depends upon .the fact that lead crystallizes at a higher tempera
ture than an alloy of lead and silver, so that the crust which forms
on the surface contains lead and silver, and is removed for further
purification and separation. In Parkes’s process zinc is added to the
lead. This forms an alloy of silver, lead, and zinc, which rises to
the surface and is removed. The further stages of the process consist
in separating these, the zinc being drawn off in the form of vapor in
a dezincking apparatus, known as the Faber du Faur retorting fur
nace. The writer has frequently had under his care on account of
lead poisoning men employed in the Pattinson process. In the de
zincking process, zinc as well as lead fumes escape, and these give
rise to nausea.
CUPELLING.

In the cupelling of lead a blast of air is blown upon the molten
metal. This oxidizes the lead into litharge, which is blown off the
surface by the force of the blast and falls into a receptacle placed
to receive it. By this means all the lead is gradually burnt off,
leaving only the silver and gold behind. Owing to the high tem
perature at which cupelling is carried on and to the volatility of
litharge and to the dangerous nature of the fumes given off, great
care is required in this process. Men thus engaged run the risk of
being poisoned by lead. Allusion has already been made to the large
quantities of dust present everywhere in smelting works. It only
requires a glint of sunshine to penetrate a works in order to see the
metallic particles suspended in the air.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.
SMELTING OF ZINC ORE CONTAINING LEAD.

Zinc smelting is a frequent source of plumbism, owing to the fact
that zinc ores often contain lead, and as this is regarded as an im
purity it has to be removed. Calamine ore contains from 44 to 60
per cent of zinc in the form of carbonate. In blende ore the zinc is
present as sulphide, combined with silica, while lead is also present
to the extent of 9.3 to 18 per cent. In the manufacture of spelter,
blende is roasted in a calcining furnace, in order to drive off sulphur,
while in the residue there may be left 1 to 10 per cent of lead. The
burnt blende is mixed with calamine and zinc ashes, a mixture of
zinc oxide, and a minute quantity of zinc chloride, obtained from
the skimmings of galvanized pots and retort crucibles. The whole
is mixed with anthracite and the charge placed in retorts and ex
posed to a high temperature, when the zinc distils over and is con
densed in a crucible close to the retort. In addition to breathing the
fumes of lead and zinc the men who carry on this work are exposed
to injurious gases, such as sulphur dioxide, and to the effects of
high temperature. German physicians who have had large expe
rience of spelter workers say that the men are old and broken down
at 40 years of age. These men suffer from bronchitis, gastric and
intestinal troubles, also from nervous affections which are attributed
to lead. Dr. Collis states that in a large spelter works employing 92
men the manager informed him that out of 38,031 working days the
men lost through ill health 7,425 days; in other words, the time lost
was 19.5 per cent.1 The source of plumbism in spelter works, accord
ing to Ingalls,123is the bluish-white powder which condenses on the
prolongs. This contains 0.5 to 2.5 per cent of lead. In one factory
the dust deposited from the fumes gave on analysis 3.25 per cent of
lead. When the retorts are about to be charged the men who mix
the blende and the calamine are exposed to considerable quantities
of. dust, an inconvenience which could be diminished by keeping all
ore,‘ whether roasted or not, damp.
Unless the furnaces, slag holes, and silver-refining furnaces are care
fully hooded or provided with exhaust drafts the workmen can not
avoid inhaling lead fumes. In the case of open caldrons containing
molten lead, tallow when poured upon the surface of the molten metal
checks the ascent of vapors. This is specially useful during the cast
ing of type for printing purposes, owing to the low temperature at
which lead melts. In a lead-pipe factory in Germany where there
had been several cases of plumbism the malady disappeared when
tallow was added to the surface of the molten lead and when the men
1 Special Report on Dangerous or Injurious Processes in the Sm elting of M aterials Con
taining Lead, etc., p. 15.
3 The Engineering and M ining Journal, 1903: “ The m etallurgy of zinc and cadmium,”
W. R. Ingalls.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

gave greater attention to personal cleanliness and drank milk. In the
manufacture of lead pipes the metal is molded and pressed outward;
the pipes when still warm are grasped by the men, whose hands are
thickly gloved or enveloped in tow. Lead-pipe makers occasionally
suffer from plumbism. It is interesting to know that the lead which
makes the best pipes and also makes the best white lead is that ob
tained from ore which contains the least silver.
HOURS OF LABOR.

Increase of the hours of work has been found to be associated
with a rise in the number of cases of plumbism. A change from six
to eight hour shifts of employment was in a Scotch factory found
to be the only explanation of an outbreak of plumbism in a works
which had hitherto been free.
EFFECT OF VENTILATION ON PLUMBISM.

When in lead-smelting works any of the men are found to be suf
fering in an unusual degree from plumbism, the ventilating shafts
and flues ought to be examined, for experience has shown that tem
porary obstruction of these outlets is a frequent cause of saturnine
poisoning.
That bad conditions in a factory are a fruitful source of plumbism
and that the health of the workmen can be considerably improved by
the introduction of exhaust ventilation are shown by M. Boulin1 in
the incidence of plumbism in lead-smelting works at Selmeczbanya,
in Hungary, where in 1895 there were 291 cases (73.5 per cent) in this
works alone.
CASES OF LEAD POISONING PER 100 EM PLOYEES IN A LEAD-SM ELTING WORKS
IN HUNGARY. 1885 TO 1903.
Year.
1885.............
1886.............
1887.............
1888.............
1889.............

Per cent
of workers
attacked
plumbism.
46.5
45.5
43.5
49.4
24.2

Year.
1890...........
1891...........
1892...........
1893...........
1894...........

Per cent
of workers
attacked
plumbism.
20.0
32.2
37.5
47.8
55.5

Year.
1895.............
1896.............
1897.............
1898.............
1899.............

Per cent
of workers
attacked
plumbism.
73.5
38.5
39.5
55.2
49.8

Year.
1900.............
1901.............
1902.............
1903 . .

Per cent
of workers
attacked
plumbism.
28.8
29.5
13.0
3.0

In 1895 at the works a central chimney was erected and pipes from
the hoods connected to it. Between 1898 and 1901 means were
adopted to insure the better removal of the fumes, with the highly
satisfactory results shown in the above table. Equally gratifying
results are shown by M. Boulin to have followed the installation of
improved methods of ventilation at the roasting furnaces of lead

1 B ulletin de V Inspection du Travail, 1906.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

smelting works at Friedrichshiitte in Silesia, where the number and
per cent of cases of plumbism were as follows:
NUM BER AND PER CENT OF EM PLOYEES SU FFERING FROM LEAD POISONING
IN A LEAD-SM ELTING WORKS IN FRIED RIC H SH U TTE, SILESIA, 1884 TO 1892.
Cases of plumbism.
Year.

Cases of plumbism.
Year.

Number. Percent
age.

1884...............................................
1885...............................................
1886...............................................
1887-88.........................................

63
84
98
37

64.3
73.7
70.0
28.8

Number. Percent
age.

1888-89..........................................
1889-90..........................................
1890-91..........................................
1891-92..........................................

17
5
4
1

14.0
3.6
2.9
.8

Without burdening the text too much, it may not be inappropriate
to mention here that owing to the great amount of plumbism among
the men employed in the lead works in the Harz Mountains the
managers of the various works met in conference and decided to
introduce improvements, especially concerning better ventilation over
the places where the pouring of the molten lead and the casting were
done; also over the basins where the metal skimmings were remelted.
From that date the number of cases of illness considerably declined.
CASES OF LEAD POISONING IN A LEAD-SM ELTING WORKS AT OKER.
[Neisser, D . E. J., Internationale Ubersicht fiber Gewerbehygiene, p. 24. Berlin.]
Year.
1895..........
1896..........
1897..........
1898..........
1899..........
1900..........

Number
of hands
in
general.
612
610
613
612
608
621

Number
Number
of hands Number
of
of days
under
lead
of
special cases. sickness.
rules.
177
177
179
179
177
184

21
9
20
18
46
7

203
149
243
266
487
163

Year.
1901..........
1902 ........
1903..........
1904.........
1905..........

REMELTING.

Number Number
Number
hands Number
of hands ofunder
of
of days
in
lead
of
general. special
cases. sickness.
rules.
651
657
659
654
652

186
189
189
189
189

5
5
6
4
1

142
74
63
63
13

The remelting of old lead and of the thin sheets of lead taken
from the inside of tea chests is a frequent source of plumbism, espe
cially when it is carried on as a home industry. Men who cut out
leather on lead slabs are also known to have suffered, owing to the
surface of the lead becoming oxidized and converted into fine dust.
There is a personal and a family idiosyncrasy to plumbism. In
the sparsely populated dales of the county of Durham, where lead
ore is mined and smelted, several if not all the male members of
working-class families resident in the district become either miners
or lead smelters. These lead miners living in the secluded valleys of
that county form a class by themselves. Although poorly paid they
are thrifty; they are a devotional and well-behaved people. Close

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

intermarriage has exaggerated their peculiar tendencies. In the
case of lead smelters the writer has seen strong stalwart sons in a
family die one after another at a comparatively early age from kidney
disease induced by plumbism, while in other instances men of other
families were hardly affected by the metallic fumes.
MANUFACTURE OF WHITE LEAD.1

DUTCH PROCESS.

One of the greatest uses to which lead is put is the manufacture of
white lead for plumbing, house and carriage painting, etc. There
are several methods by which the conversion of metallic lead into
lead carbonate is brought about, but of all the methods it is generally
admitted that the product obtained by the Dutch process, which was
introduced into England about the year 1780, is probably the best.
It is the method mostly in use in the north of England. The con
version of metallic lead into carbonate or hydrocarbonate is slow.
The first stage in the process consists in ladling out molten lead into
molds to form long thin plates, called in the north of England
“ wickets.” Factory regulations allow of this work being done both
by men and women. The skin of the back of the fore arms of those
thus employed becomes deeply bronzed, interrupted here and there by
white spots, varying in size from a split pea to a 3-penny piece,
marks left by burns the result of spluttering of the molten metal.
In some works the molten lead instead of being ladled out by hand
is allowed to run automatically from the furnace or,kettle into a con
tinuous series of steel molds, which are constantly traveling, like the
buckets of a dredging machine, and which after passing an incline
let fall their contents.
In the Dutch process the thin sheets of metallic lead or “ wickets ”
are taken to what is called the “ blue bed,” a large quadrilateral space,
one side of which is not closed in. Open-mouthed earthenware jars
half filled or more with a 3 to 4 per cent solution of acetic acid are
placed in rows upon the floor previously strewed with bark from a
tannery. On the Continent farmyard manure, especially that of the
horse, is used instead of tanbark, care being taken not to employ that
of carnivorous animals, such as the dog or pig, since there would be
disengaged sulphureted hydrogen, which would form black sulphide
of lead. Horse manure also gives off sulphureted hydrogen, but the
quantity is too small to affect the whiteness of the lead carbonate.
Tanbark is better; it is more sanitary and does not evolve sulphureted
hydrogen. It is slower in its action, requiring three months for the op
eration, whereas with horse manure the procedure is over in six weeks.
1 Carbonate of lead; Ceruse (F ren ch ); B leiw eiss (G erm an).

99823°—No. 95—11-----2

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

The films or “ grids ” of metallic lead are laid upon the jars, care
being taken that the lead does not touch the acid, otherwise corrosion
is retarded. Wooden planks are placed over the series of earthen
ware jars and the superimposed lead plates, and upon the planks is
strewn fresh tanbark. Another layer of earthenware jars charged
with dilute acetic acid is laid upon the bark, and upon these again lead
plates, over both of which are placed wooden planks. Layer after
layer is thus built up, and as each tier rises the open side of the space
is at the same time planked in with wood. All this is done by hand
labor, often by women; the work is unskilled. An unoccupied area
is left between the topmost layer and the roof, while at the sides
running up from the bottom of the blue bed to the top are placed
pipes, which serve for ventilation and the removal of vapors. In
Scotland each layer of bark, jars, lead, and wooden planks is called
a “ heat.” In some of the works which the writer has visited the
stacks are too high. There are 15 heats. Experience has shown
that from 12 heats better results are obtained than from 15, since
the midzone is found to be better corroded, a circumstance which
makes it appear as if some change was effected between the upper
most and the lowest heats, which interferes in some way or other
with corrosion of the midzone. Instead of earthenware jars to hold
the diluted acetic acid manufacturers have occasionally made use
of newly made lead jars, but works managers have informed the
writer that the product has not been increased thereby, and in most
cases they have discontinued their use.
Although there is considerable handling of the metallic lead plates
in making up a blue bed or stack, this is not followed by much sick
ness on the part of those engaged in it, and yet in some instances
the writer has found it to be a cause of pretty severe lead colic and
of the minor forms of plumbism. The making up of a stack is in
Great Britain work in which women may take part. Once the
doors of a blue bed are closed, the stack is left untouched for three
months. When opened out again it is no longer known as a “ blue
bed,” but as a “ white bed,” and into it women are not allowed to
enter. During the three months’ closure fermentation occurs inside
owing to certain changes in the tanbark, because of which the
temperature rises during the first five or six weeks to 60°-70° C.
(140°-158° F.). The acetic acid in vaporizing acts upon the lead
and converts it into lead acetate, but a double conversion takes place
owing to the carbonic acid evolved from the tanbark acting upon
the lead acetate and converting it into white lead or carbonate. Dur
ing the summer fermentation inside the stack is more active than
in winter, so that the operations have to be more carefully watched.
The object sought is to have as much as possible of the metallic lead
converted into carbonate, and to have, as few traces of the acetate as

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

possible. On an average for every hundredweight of metallic lead
thus treated from 50 to 78 pounds of lead carbonate are obtained.
The stripping or emptying of a white bed or stack is a dangerous
process, owing to the dust raised. The men thus employed ought to
wear overalls and respirators. Watering each heat or layer with a
hose after removal of the wooden planks lessens very considerably
the amount of dust. In some factories wicker baskets filled by hand
with the corroded and uncorroded lead are carried away from the
white beds by men, but in others the filled boxes or buckets are lifted
by means of an electric crane and the material transported to the
rollers. Mechanical carriage is quicker, safer, and cheaper, since
one man, with the assistance of an electric crane, can do the work of
15 to 20 men.
Even when the stacks are well watered the stripping of the white
bed is a dangerous process. On the gums of nearly all the men a
blue line is observed, a circumstance to which attention will be drawn
later on. It is work at which the men should not be kept constantly
employed. It is imperative that all persons employed in lead proc
esses should wash their hands well before eating, and that men who
wear a beard should wash it also before taking food. If the hands
of a workman engaged in stripping a white bed are examined they
are seen to be coated with hard dust, which has penetrated well
beneath the nails and along their margins and which ordinary wash
ing with soap and water does not remove. Scrubbing brushes, soap,
towels, and plenty of warm water should be provided by employers
and sufficient time taken off the workmen’s shifts to allow them to
cleanse their finger nails properly before leaving the factory. In
some factories the men before commencing work insert vaseline under
their finger nails, in other works the men wear india-rubber gloves.
From the white beds the lead, converted and unchanged, is taken
to the rollers or screens, where, under water, the two are separated,
the unchanged pieces of lead being removed in order to be remelted,
while the carbonate of lead suspended in the water is carried on
through several grinding wheels. If the white lead is to be made into
paint this can be done by allowing the suspended carbonate to pass
on into a series of vats to which oil is automatically added, and
where by mechanical mixing the oil gradually replaces the water.
This compound of white lead and oil, with a small percentage of
water, is subsequently placed in a heater where it loses moisture, with
the result that a finished white paint is produced without there
having been any handling of the white lead after it has left the
stacks. This method of grinding paint in which linseed oil is added
to the mass in the wet state is a great advance over the old method,
which required the lead carbonate first to be dried—a process which

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

was most destructive to health and life. Manufacturers tell us how
much improved the health of paint grinders has become since this
method has been introduced.
It is not known who is the inventor of the process, but it was
in the works of Messrs. Expert Besangon et Cie, Paris, that the
writer’s attention was first directed to it, and being satisfied with the
excellent results obtained there, as regards the health of the work
men, he brought it under the notice of the home secretary, then Sir
Matthew White Ridley, who subsequently circularized the British
manufacturers upon the point. Some persons attribute the invention
to Theodore Lefevre, of Lille, others to the Paris firm just mentioned*
The merit of the process is that there is no handling of the white
lead, and there is no stoving required, while time and labor are saved.
So complete is the removal of the water from the paint that only a
small fraction, not more than 0.1 per cent, is left.
Paint is pretty constant in its composition, viz, 90 parts of dry
white lead and 10 of oil. Since dust is the danger in all lead proc
esses, it has been thought that all wet methods are safe. Certainly
they are safer than dry methods of manufacture, but all splashing
must be avoided, for the splashes become dry and give rise to dust.
Where possible grinding mills should be inclosed. Above the cover
of each there ought to be an aspirator to remove the vapors which
arise in consequence of the heat generated during grinding.
When dry lead carbonate in the powdered state is required, the
white-lead pulp on leaving the moist-grinding department is ladled
into basins and placed on shelves in an oven or drying chamber, or
run into these chambers in wagons. The drying chamber should be
ventilated, in order to allow of the moist vapor with the odor of
lead escaping. The oven is generally heated by steam to a tempera
ture of 80° C. (176° F.). Until 11 or 12 years ago the stoves in
Newcastle and on Tyneside were made up by women, who carried
the bowls of white lead on the head and in the arms. The emptying
or drawing of the stoves was effected much in the same manner
and was one of the most dangerous processes in the manufacture of
white lead. The writer has known of young women, quite healthy
until they went into the factory, who died within eight weeks of
work at the stoves. A considerable quantity of fine dust is raised
when the bowls of white lead are being placed upon the shelves
in the oven, also during their removal, and if care has not been
previously taken to allow the temperature of the heated drying
chamber to fall before an attempt is made to empty it, so much
greater is the danger. It was the high death rate from plumbism
among females employed in emptying the white beds and in the
drawing of the stoves which led the writer to recommend the secre

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

tary of state to exclude females from all the dangerous processes of
white-lead manufacture. Since then the introduction of means for
the mechanical filling and emptying of drying chambers has consider
ably reduced the mortality of white-lead workers, a circumstance to
which the abolition of female labor in these departments has also
contributed, since men raise less dust at work than women owing to
their method of clothing.
The filling of barrels with finished dry white lead ought to be done
under cover provided with an exhaust draft. By this means the
atmosphere of a factory is rendered comparatively clear of dust.
Coopers who fix the lids on the barrels run the risk of plumbism by
inhaling dust during the hammering. Occasionally the grindstones
referred to in the earlier part of the description of the processes have
to be cleaned and freshly chipped. The writer has known this
operation to cause plumbism.
FRENCH OR CLICHY PROCESS.

In the French or Clichy process of white-lead manufacture car
bonic acid, on being forced through a solution of basic acetate of lead,
precipitates lead as carbonate and regenerates the normal acetate
which, by dissolving fresh oxide, forms the basic acetate of lead, and
this is again treated with carbonic-acid gas. When first introduced
the Clichy process consisted in placing litharge dissolved in acetic acid
into a wooden vat tarred so as to prevent disintegration of the wood.
The oxide of lead and the acid were mixed by means of an agitator,
and when solution was effected the clear liquid was run off into a
copper vat from which, after undergoing further clearing, the liquid
was transferred to a decomposition vat closed by a lid, traversed by
numerous copper tubes, through which carbonic acid from burning
coke was carried. The carbonic acid thus projected into a solution of
basic acetate of lead produced a precipitate in 12 hours; this was
removed and washed, and was at once ready for the market. White
lead produced by this method1 differs slightly in some of its prop
erties from that made by the Dutch process. It is said to have less
covering power. In France the manufacture of white lead by pre
cipitation has, practically speaking, ceased.
CHAMBER PROCESS.

In the chamber process thin sheets of metallic lead are suspended
on a wooden framework. Hot carbonic-acid gas and acetic-acid
vapor are driven into the chamber, which has been hermetically
closed. Chemical changes are induced similar to those mentioned as
1The Manufacture and Comparative Merits of White Lead and Zinc White Paints.
G. Petit.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

taking place in the stacks of the Dutch process. Within two weeks
the metallic lead is converted into white lead. It is said that more
metallic lead is converted into the carbonate by this method. Before
men enter the chamber to strip it, steam is injected so as to moisten
the material and to keep down dust. The lead carbonate thus
produced differs from that obtained by the Dutch process, in so far
as the scales are softer and, when mixed with oil, the paste is less
compact than that obtained by the Dutch process.
KREM’S PROCESS.

White lead is manufactured in Austria by Krem’s process, a
modification of the Dutch, artificial heat being substituted for tanbark or farmyard manure. Into wooden boxes containing grape skins
and skins of different fruits acetic acid is poured. These boxes are
placed inside stacks, and layers of metallic lead are placed upon them.
The chamber is closed. Gradually the temperature rises, so that by
the third week it stands at 45° C. (113° F.) and by the fourth it
reaches 50° C. (122° F.). After this the temperature is allowed to
cool slowly. Corrosion is completed by the end of six weeks. The
heat generated within the chamber causes the acetic acid to vaporize
while, owing to fermentation of the fruit skins, carbonic acid is
evolved. The reaction is similar to that in the Dutch process, and the
resultant is a beautiful white-lead carbonate, which owes its white
ness to the purity of the metallic lead used and the absence of sulphur
in the fruit skins.
ENGLISH OR QUICK DUTCH PROCESS.

Another method, known as the English or quick Dutch process,
which aimed at rapidity of conversion and rested upon the simulta
neous action of acetic acid or acetate of lead and carbonic acid on
litharge, has been discontinued.
LEAD SULPHATE.

On account of the danger to health incidental to the manufacture of
the carbonate of lead, lead sulphate has been recommended, owing to
its greater insolubility in the gastric juice, but experiments which will
be detailed later on show that there is nothing to support this state
ment. The manufacturers of Purex white lead at Greenford, Middle
sex, claim for their chemically pure basic sulphate, owing to the
extremely fine state of subdivision of its particles, great resistance to
atmospheric gases, chemical fumes, and sea water, and utility as a
protective to iron. Its gloss and covering power compare favorably
with those of any other form of white lead. It is also said to act well
as a drier of linseed oil. The writer has visited the works, inspected

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

the men, and examined the processes of manufacture, which, since
they are all carried on under cover, leave the atmosphere free from
dust. On this account the occupations seemed to be unattended by.
the risks to health encountered in most white-lead factories.
PREPARATION OF LITHARGE OR MASSICOT: RED LEAD OR MINIUM.

Red lead or minium (Pb30 4) is a mixture of PbO with varying
amounts of Pb20 3 or Pb02. It is prepared by placing pure lead in
the open hearth of a reverberatory furnace and heating it to dull
redness. During the process the material is raked from time to time.
The lead is slowly oxidized and is converted into PbO, which is
known as litharge or massicot, rather a green-looking substance, but
becoming yellow or yellow-red on being washed. The massicot thus
washed to remove all pieces of unoxidized lead—nearly 50 per cent—
is again heated, but at a lower temperature, when, owing to further
oxidation having taken place, the material changes its color to a
bright red. It is then known as red lead or minium. In this form
it is removed, dried, and made ready for packing. Red lead can not
be converted into paint straightway by the addition of oil. like white
lead. It would not keep.
During the oxidation processes just referred to fumes may escape
onto the face of the workmen, if the flue is not working effectively, or
if the mouth of the furnace is not well-enough hooded. On removing
the converted material from the furnace clouds of red dust rise.
Packing of the minium is an equally dusty occupation. It is some
times said that red lead is not so poisonous as white lead, but some
of the writer’s worst cases of plumbism have been red-lead makers.
In the 19 British red-lead factories, each of which gives employ
ment to 6 to 28 workmen, there occurred between 1900 and 1909,
inclusive, 108 cases of plumbism; 31 of these cases were severe, 30
were moderate, 45 were slight, and for 2 the severity of the symptoms
was not stated. Expressed as percentages, the figures are 27.8, 28.7,
41.7, and 1.8, respectively.1 During the 10 years above alluded to
16 cases of lead poisoning occurred in laborers employed to sweep the
floors, while during the same period 64 cases occurred in litharge
makers and 39 in flaked-litharge makers. Flaked litharge is lead
monoxide (PbO) in the form of hexagonal semitransparent yellow or
orange-yellow flakes, obtained during the cupellation of rich lead ore.
The semimolten lead collected below the cupel is withdrawn and
allowed to cool. During the process of cooling it exfoliates to form
flaked litharge. The dangers to health are largely owing to the high
temperature at which the men work and the volatility of the litharge.
During 1900 to 1909 25 men became ill from the effects of lead. They
1 Special Report on Dangerous or Injurious Processes in the Smelting of Materials Con
taining Lead, etc., pp. 17, 18.

BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OP LABOR.

had been engaged in sieving, grinding, and packing the litharge.
During the same period 13 furnace men suffered in a similar manner,
and one bricklayer, who had been called in to reconstruct a flakedlitharge furnace, died from lead poisoning.
STATISTICS OF LEAD POISONING IN GREAT BRITAIN.

Owing to the compulsory notification of cases of industrial lead
poisoning to the chief inspector of factories, and for which medical
men are paid half a crown (60.8 cents) for each notification, a mass
of statistics, which is becoming of great value, has been placed at the
disposal of the Home Office. Dr. T. M. Legge, medical inspector of
factories,1 points out that during the past 10 years there has been a
reduction of more than 50 per cent in the number of cases reported.
The decrease is principally noted in those trades or processes in
which exhaust ventilation for the removal of dust has been applied,
as in the manufacture of white lead, earthenware and china, lithotransfers, paints, and colors. On the other hand, in lead smelting
and in industries using paint, where hitherto it has been found
difficult or impossible to apply local exhaust, there has been a
slight increase in the amount of plumbism. The number of fatal
cases of saturnine poisoning have not decreased as they ought, but
this may be partly due to the fact that medical men are now certify
ing deaths as due to lead poisoning which were formerly attributed to
kidney disease, without any special reference to its supposed cause.
During the 10 years above alluded to, there have been something like
7,000 cases of lead poisoning notified to the British Home Office as
occurring in 18 industries. The cases reported include all attacks
reported in one year and not previously reported in the preceding 12
months; no name appears twice in the same year. After an interval
of 12 months between two reports, a fresh attack is again included.
The number of such second reports was 284, or 4.2 per cent.
It is now more than a decade since the Home Office Lead Commis
sion, of which the writer was a member, published its recommenda
tions, in which was included the abolition of female labor in the dan
gerous process of the manufacture of white lead. I can vouch for the
improvement since then in the conditions of labor in the factories and
in the health of the workers. As an illustration of the unsatisfactory
state of things which existed at that time, the home secretary, Sir
Matthew White Ridley, on February 17, 1898, announced in the
House of Commons that there had been 37 fatal cases of industrial
lead poisoning of boys under 18 years of age. Until the crusade
against lead poisoning hardly a week passed without patients seeking
advice at the Newcastle Infirmary, and scarcely a month went by
without there appearing in the daily press the announcement of the
1 Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops [of Great Britain]
for the year 1909, p. xxxvi.

INDUSTRIAL, LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

death of a lead worker, usually a young female, from plumbism.
All this is changed, as the following figures show.
Taking the Newcastle district, the numbers of cases of plumbism
among white-lead workers notified to the Home Office for the two
six-months’ periods preceding and succeeding June, 1898, the date of
the displacement of female by male labor, are as follows:1
Period.

Notifications.

Fatal cases.

Males. Females. Total.

66
12

19
82

Dec. 1,1897, to May 31,1898..........................
June 1 to Nov. 30,1898...................................

85
94

4
2

5
2

Between January and October, 1898, there were notified 192 cases
of lead poisoning. The 44stoves,” the most dangerous department in
the factory, supplied 76 patients, and the 44white beds” 31. The
ages and the number of the workers were as follows:
Number
of
workers;

Age group.
Under 20 years................................................
20 to 30 years...................................................
30 to 40 years...................................................

Number
of
workers.

Age group.

5 40 to 50 years..................................................
84 50 to 60 years..................................................
58 Over 60 years.................................................

24
151

The declension in the number of cases of plumbism in Newcastle
and district during the last few years has taken place without a
reduction in the number of persons employed. In 1897 the number
of persons employed in the lead works was 900, of whom 571 were
females; in 1898, 998, of whom 350 were females; in 1899, 968, of
whom 227 were females; and in 1900 there were 1,000 persons em
ployed, of whom 231 were females. Since then the number of fe
males working in lead factories has fallen, so that in 1910, according
to Mr. W. B. Lauder, His Majesty’s inspector of factories, to whom I
am indebted for this information, there are 75 women employed, and
1,245 men. The numbers of cases of lead poisoning in the past 10
years are as follows:
Number of cases, by sex.
Year.

Nonfatal.

Number of cases, by sex.

Fatal.

Year.

Fe To Males. Fe To
Males. males.
tal.
males. tal.
1901.......
1902.......
1903.......
1904.......
1905.......

89
64
53
56
37

7
2
3
2.

96
66
56
58
37

1
2
2

Nonfatal.

Fatal.

Fe To Males. Fe To
Males. males.
tal.
males. tal.
1906.......
1907.......
1908.......
1909.......
1910.......

33
26
49
16
3

2
3
1
1

35
29
50
17
3

3
1
1
1
1

3
1
1
2
1

the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops [of Great Britain]
for1Annual
the yearReport
1898, p.of 120.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

The remarkable decrease in the past two years is attributed to con
siderable improvements in mechanical ventilation, the introduction
of new methods for the removal of dust, and the provision of better
washing accommodations.
HOUSE AND COACH PAINTING; SHIP PAINTING; COLOR M IXING.

Although house, ship, and coach painting does not come quite
within the sphere of the operation of the factory and workshop acts
in Great Britain, yet all cases of plumbism occurring in these trades
have to be notified to the Home Office. In the past 10 years 1,973
cases of saturnine poisoning were reported1 as occurring in house
painters and plumbers, including the large number of 383 deaths.
The statistical information thus acquired shows plumbism to be
much more widely prevalent among painters than has hitherto been
believed. This is the case not only in Great Britain, but in countries
abroad as well. Formerly white-lead workers stood at the head of the
list of trades which gave the highest incidence of plumbism, but
painters now compete with them for this unenviable position. Out of
300 patients who entered the Paris hospitals for plumbism, 233 were
painters. In another instance, out of 111 patients examined by Prof.
Layet, painters formed two-thirds of the number. The total lead
cases in painters and plumbers in Great Britain were, in 1903, 202
reported, with 39 fatal; 1904, 227 reported, 39 fatal; 1905, 163 re
ported, and 23 fatal.
Dr. Paddock, one of the certifying surgeons for East London, made
an examination of 520 painters employed in seven paint and color
works, and found that 70 per cent of the men showed a blue line on
the gums, combined in 15 per cent of the men with more or less
anaemia.
CAUSES OF LEAD POISONING AMONG PAINTERS.

Of the causes of plumbism in painters mention may be made first
of the grinding of white lead with oil. This, however, as a source of
plumbism, is sure to diminish, since in an increasing number of
white-lead works the paint is now made with the lead carbonate in
the moist state when without further preparation it is ready for the
market. House painters are often heedless of the dangers to which
they expose themselves. Plumbism has been traced in them to the
practice of holding the brush between the teeth, to holding putty
and white-lead paint in the palm of their hands, also to not washing
before eating. When sandpapering a painted surface so as to
smooth it before applying a fresh coat of paint, a considerable
quantity of dust, rich in lead, is given off. This the men can not
1Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops [of Great Britain]
for the year 1909, p. 196.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

help breathing. In Vienna the smoothing of painted surfaces is done
by pumice stone, but in Belgium this is not allowed, for the dust
created is very fine and is highly dangerous when inhaled. Accord
ing to Stieler the particles of dust given off under these circum
stances consist of oleate of lead, which is more readily assimilable by
the body than other forms of lead. In the burning off of old'paint
fumes are evolved, which are a fruitful source of plumbism. So,
too, is the dust which dries upon the overalls of the painters.
In connection with this the writer presents here the case of a
married woman living at home who consulted him on account of an
inveterate paralysis of both hands and which was found to be due
to plumbism, the result of washing the overalls of a nephew who
was a house painter. In the water taken from the washtub I found
a large quantity of lead. A similar fate frequently befalls the women
who wash the overalls of workers in white-lead factories and color
works. In the washing off of old paint with caustic potash, the men
should see that there are no cracks in their skin, as apart from the
pain and the risk of blood poisoning thereby possible, there is also
the risk of plumbism.
It has long been known that from newly painted surfaces there
are given off emanations which are harmful to some people. To this
cause was traced a few years ago an outbreak of colic on board of a
newly painted French man-of-war. While writing this paper the
writer is treating an extremely severe case of colic and albuminuria
accompanied by physical and mental depression in a young London
medical practitioner, who has become the subject of plumbism
through living in his house while it was being painted. Although
exposed to the emanations for only a few weeks he has become so ill
that he has had to give up work for a few months. In his urine I
found considerable traces of lead. A few weeks previous to seeing
Dr. X., I was consulted by the commercial manager of a large indiarubber works, whose digestive functions had all gone wrong, who
was suffering from an inexplicable vomiting accompanied by a
sense of fatigue, which was unusual to him, mental depression,
irritability of temper, and albuminuria, all of which I found were the
result of living at home when the interior of his house was being
painted. There are some persons who can not bear the smell of paint
without experiencing headache; there are others again who are seized
with violent retching and vomiting. Toward paints that contain
lead there is shown by some persons an idiosyncrasy which can not
be ignored. Emanations from a freshly painted surface are harmful,
owing to the volatilization of the turpentine which the paints contain.
Experience and experiment alike show that in these emanations there
are traces of lead. According to spectroscopic examination some
painted surfaces give off more lead than others.

BULLETIN OP THE BUBEAU OF LABOR.

A French chemist made the experiment of placing metal boxes
freshly painted with white lead in a glass jar. He aspirated the air
from these jars and, passing the air through a 10 per cent solution
of sulphuric acid, he found that it contained traces of lead. Prof.
Trillat of the Pasteur Institute, Paris, has discovered a very delicate
test for lead, whereby the presence of one three-millionth part of the
metal can be detected, provided steps have been taken previously to
convert the lead into binoxide by oxidizing the lead salt by an alka
line hypochlorite solution. The test rests upon the fact that an
acetic-acid solution of tetramethylate of diphenyl methane gives a
beautiful blue color with lead binoxide.
As it is only recently that lead has been proved to be present in
emanations from freshly painted surfaces, the experiment carried out
by Messrs. Heim and Hebert and by Prof. Trillat at the Pasteur
Institute are worthy of mention. Heim and Hebert exposed cul
tures of a mold known as “ Penicilium glaucum ” to air in closed bell
jars under different conditions—(a) air alone, (6) air which might
become infected from dry white lead, and (c) air in contact with
fresh paint. .In (a) the mold developed by the third day and in (b)
shortly after the third day, while in (c) the delay was considerable,
and at the best only a few colonies of growth appeared. The develop
ment of another mold, “ Aspergillus niger,” was similarly arrested by
emanations from paint. Trillat found that while neither white lead
nor oil singly or combined checked vegetable growth, fully formed
paint had the power of doing so. A guinea pig placed in a bell jar,
the air of which had passed over a freshly painted surface, died within
18 hours from acute congestion of the lungs, probably caused by
breathing terebinthinated vapor. Turpentine is poisonous to some
people. It causes headache and induces vomiting, but it alone will not
explain the symptoms consequent upon breathing emanations from
fresh paint, for Trillat found that when the paint was made with
zinc white instead of white lead, although it contained the same
amount of turpentine, no symptoms developed. Some peculiar com
bination is formed between the white lead and oil mixture, and it is
this which is harmful. During the tfiixing of paints disagreeable
odors are occasionally evolved which frequently cause headache and
vomiting. This is particularly the case with some oils as compared
with others. The writer has known men to suffer from violent retch
ing when mixing pigments with certain oils. To repeat, between a
terebinthinated oil and white lead there is apparently some com
pound formed which in its nascent state is harmful to those who
breathe it.
An attempt has been made by French writers to attribute plumbism
in painters to the excessive use of alcohol. There is no evidence that

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE*

in Great Britain painters are more intemperate as a class than other
workmen. The part which alcohol plays in predisposing to plumbism will be referred to later on. Of 131 house painters examined in
Lille, Dr. Verhaeghe1 tells us that 27 per cent acknowledged that
they took alcohol, but there is no mention that they took it in excess.
Sixty-three of the men suffered from colic and digestive derange
ments. Most of the men were between the ages of 30 and 35. Verhaeghe’s statement, although meant to, throws no light upon the
question.
The paints used for the exterior of ships in an ordinary way contain
large quantities of iron, sometimes they also contain lead. The use of
quickly drying or spirit paints is dangerous, less from the amount of
lead they contain than from the spirit, which is inflammable and
which also intoxicates the men if the air in which they are working
is stagnant. Ship and coach painting has often to be done, too, in
closely confined and badly ventilated places. This circumstance favors
plumbism. It is the custom with coach builders to give a carriage
three coats of priming, six coats of filling up, three or four coats of
oil color, two of varnish color, i. e., oil color and varnish mixed, and
four coats of varnish. The colors principally used by coach builders
are white lead, lampblack, burnt umber, raw sienna, ultramarine,
yellow chrome, rose pink, zinc white, vermilionette, Indian red, etc.
Driers such as sugar of lead and terebene are used. It is when the
men are sandpapering a painted surface so as to have it perfectly
smooth before applying another coat that they are apt to suffer,
also when they are using certain kinds of “ stopping” to fill up
cracks or irregularities. The application to the back of the painter’s
hand of a small apparatus for exhaust draft on the lines of a
vacuum cleaner might remove the dust and prevent plumbism. At
any rate it is worthy of a trial.
Another source of plumbism in coach works is the application of
paint to iron coach frames when still heated. This, to the knowledge
of the writer, has been a cause of wrist drop and of colic. In the last
10 years the number of cases of lead poisoning reported in coach
building in Great Britain has been 697, with 41 deaths. Commencing
with 1900, when the numbers were 70, they were in the next nine
successive years 65, 63, 74, 49, 56, 85, 70, and in 1909 they were 95.12
Motor-car painting is also a source of plumbism. The prosperity
of the motor-car industry is largely responsible for the increased num
ber of cases of plumbism noticed generally throughout the country.
Painters of perambulators and railway carriage painters also run the
risk of becoming lead poisoned. In the annual report of the chief
1 L’Echo M edical du Nord, Sept. 9, 1906.
2 Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and W orkshops [of Great B ritain]
for th e year 1909, p. 193.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

inspector of factories, 1907, 10 cases of plumbism are stated to have
occurred in the paint shop of one railway carriage works, the interest
ing point being that the men were all engaged in wet rubbing proc
esses as distinguished from dry. I have had under my care in the
infirmary at Newcastle railway engine painters suffering from severe
lead poisoning. Teleky, of Vienna, found painters of agricultural
machines the victims of plumbism. Of 23 such painters whom he
examined, in only 2 was there no blue line on the gums.' The same
writer draws attention to the fact that when the painting is done out
of doors there is less risk to health. In one large factory in which 80
tons of white lead were used annually in indoor work there were 163
cases of lead poisoning, while among the men employed in outdoor
painting and who used during the same period 237£ tons of white
lead there were only 50 cases of plumbism.
Metal painting is a more important industry than at first it ap
pears to be, owing to the large number of articles which are made of
iron. The painting of many of these is coarse and has to be done
cheaply. The colors used have great covering powers, hence lead is
much used. On the Continent of Europe more than in Great Britain
a good deal of unskilled labor and many young persons are em
ployed in this particular kind of work, hence the small wages and
the comparative poverty of those who follow the occupation. Small
toys, too, are often painted with lead colors. The safety of children
deserves consideration. Zinc white and other harmless paints could,
for such purposes, quite easily replace lead and ought to.be insisted
upon. Two cases of plumbism occurred recently in shipbuilding
yards, owing to the custom of the men using white lead paint to
mark off on the iron plates the sites of the holes preparatory to
boring them with the punching machine. It is difficult to see why
such unnecessary risk should have been run, since whiting or zinc
white mixed with oil would have served the purpose equally well.
MORTALITY RATES AMONG HOUSE PAINTERS IN HOLLAND.

Evidence of the unhealthy character of their occupation is .shown
by the large number of deaths of painters from diseases of the heart
and blood vessels, also from kidney disorders, which are known to be
a consequence of lead poisoning. The following table taken from
a pamphlet published by Factory Inspector Is. P. de Vooys shows the
mortality rates per 1,000 among house painters in Holland.1
1 B ericht iiber B leivergiftung in den polygraphischen Gewerben in den Niederlanden,
erstattet von Is. P. de Vooys, Arbeitsinspektor, Deventer, pp. 9-11.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

MORTALITY RATES PER 1,000 OF HOUSE PAIN TERS AND OF ALL TRADES, FROM
SPEC IFIED DISEA SES, BY AGE GROUPS.
Phthisis.
Age group.

12 to 17 years...............
18 to 22 years...............
23 to 35 years...............
36 to 50 years...............
51 to 60 years...............
61 to 65 years...............
66 to 70 years...............
Over 70 years..............
Total.................

Apoplexy and
meningitis.

Heart and blood
vessels, rheuma
tism, etc.

Dropsy and affec
tions of the urinary
organs.

All
House
All
House
All
House
All
House
painters. trades. painters. trades. painters. trades. painters. trades.
3.87
14 82
15.54
15.87
16.64
14 86
19.35
492
13.85

2.70
11.96
12.40
11.25
12.16
11.22
11.00
6.80
10.65

U . 10
13.82
1.54
2.81
112.07
i 27.02
151.64
177.32
5.95

0.98
1.42
1.33
1.69
6.81
12.07
23.69
50.39
4.65

10.83
U .67
1.67
13.97
19.45
120.27
21.59
44.32
4.35

0.40
.92
1.08
2.78
7.91
14.70
26.90
47.10
4.70

0.27
11.19
11.80
2.48
18.55
118.92
136.56
14432
405

0.44
.66
1.07
2.39
6.07
10.30
17.80
31.00
3.50

i These figures indicate where the mortality begins to become abnormal among house painters.

The diseases above mentioned are directly and indirectly associated
with lead poisoning and show that house painting is an unhealthy
occupation.
EFFORTS TO FIND A SUBSTITUTE FOR WHITE LEAD.

Since the use of colors is, practically speaking, coeval with art itself,
painting and the mixing of pigments go far back into antiquity.
Theophrastus, B. G. 371 to 286, mentions the use of white lead by
painters, and Hippocrates gives a description of lead colic. In those
comparatively early times, just as to-day, people suffered from lead
intoxication without the malady being always recognized. At the
time of the birth of Christ, Dioscorides speaks of what now would be
called industrial-lead poisoning. In 1670 Ramazzini, professor of
medicine in Modena, drew attention to the subject. Raphael and
Correggio are said to have suffered from plumbism, and Michel
angelo is believed to have been similarly afflicted.
It is only within recent years that the subject of lead poisoning in
house and allied forms of painting has again come prominently under
the notice of the medical profession and the public, and in no coun
try has it been so much to the front as in France. A strike against
the use of white lead was revived by the French house painters in
1902, when they asked for the prohibition of the use of white lead
both in the dry and the liquid state. Congress after congress had
called for its abolition. As far back as 1781, Courtois of Dijon had
begun to manufacture oxide of zinc in commercial quantities, and three
years later Guyton de Morveau published a report upon the advan
tages of zinc white as a pigment from the health point of view of the
workers. Since then the abolition of lead paints and their replace
ment by harmless colors have formed the occasion of many heated de
bates in the Paris Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The problem

BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOR.

bristled with difficulties, commercial and social, for it concerned the
enforced disappearance of an important industry* The question
which the French legislators had to decide was whether white lead
could be adequately replaced by a pigment of a less harmful nature.
The opinions expressed uintil then had been for the most part
academic. Experiments had not been conducted upon a sufficiently
large or commercial scale. The French Parliament discussed the
various qualities which a good paint ought to possess and laid stress
upon the durability and the covering power of paints, the difficulty
or ease of applying them, and the price of the products used. Several
pigments were believed to be suitable, and many substitutes were
recommended for white lead, of which zinc oxide or zinc white, sul
phide of zinc and lithopone (a mixture of zinc sulphide and sulphate
of barium prepared chemically by precipitation) were the most im
portant. While it was denied. that zinc white could replace
white lead for external painting, it was held that for internal decora
tive purposes zinc white was just as good. Since the subject is one
of great importance, both sides of the question will be reviewed.
White-lead paint has for so long held the field that from this cir
cumstance alone there has been perhaps a prejudice against zinc
white. Obtained from metallic zinc or spelter by a process of melt
ing and sublimation, zinc oxide frequently contains traces of such
impurities as lead, bismuth, and arsenic, but even when obtained thus
it contains 99.9 per cent of chemically pure oxide of zinc. Another
process consists in roasting zinc ore, in volatilizing and oxidizing the
metal. By this means a chemical product of 99 per cent of pure oxide
of zinc is obtained. Continental manufacturers occasionally sell zinc
oxide which contains 2 to 5 per cent of lead sulphate, the presence of
which, apart from its danger, is likely to blacken the paint on exposure
to sulphureted hydrogen.1 Oxide of zinc, otherwise called zinc white,
requires from 16 to 20 per cent of oil to grind it into 44stiff paint.”
Much of the failure in using zinc white has been due as much to in
sufficient mixing of the white flocculent zinc powder with oil as to not
using the proper kind of lubricant. Generally speaking, it may be
said that the use of zinc white requires greater care, greater atten
tion, and the application of higher intelligence than are required for
white-lead paint. Refined linseed oil is necessary, since ordinary raw
linseed oil, owing to its yellow color, tends to stain the oxide of zinc.
The choice of a paint for any large surface is largely dependent upon
the length of time occupied in drying. In England it may take 12
hours before another coat can be laid on, and while this length of
time can be shortened by the use of driers such artificial means is
likely to be followed by a rapid deterioration of the paint film and
by damage to the surface which the paint was intended to protect.
1 The P ain t Question, J. Cruickshank Sm ith. 1909.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

Since a mixture of pigments is necessary, it is more than likely that
even the keenest supporter of zinc white will occasionally be obliged
to use white lead, barytes, or gypsum (hydrated calcium sulphate).
Such pigments as zinc sulphide, white lead, barium sulphate, and
gypsum may be added to paint with the intention of cheapening the
product, while others, such as zinc sulphide alone in limited quanti
ties, may confer upon lead paints properties of an advantageous na
ture—that is to say, the blending of zinc oxide with white lead may
give rise to a paint possessing superior properties to another contain
ing only one pigment. It is common knowledge that in using paints,
both for protective and decorative purposes, composition and mode of
application must vary with the object sought to be attained. Zinc
white paint not only requires the exercise of greater care generally,
but it must be applied in as thin a layer as possible, so that it may
spread properly, for if advantage is taken of this circumstance it is
maintained that “ three coats of oxide of zinc paint properly applied
obscure the surface equally as well as three coats of genuine whitelead paint.” Only a minimum quantity, however, of such a volatile
agent as turpentine must be added. For decorative purposes the ad
dition of a certain quantity of barium sulphate to zinc oxide and
white-lead paint confers greater resisting powers to destructive in
fluences than are possessed by paint made from one of the pigments
only. Cruickshank Smith’s opinion, as well as that of many master
decorators, is that from a hygienic and sanitary point of view zinc
white is superior to white lead, whereas in permanence of color zinc
oxide quite equals, if it does not even exceed, white lead.
As a marine paint for ships’ sides zinc oxide withstands well the
action of sea salt, so that it forms the basis of several of the wellknown antifouling compositions already in the market. When
ground in oil it is equally useful as a protective paint for ordinary
iron or steel. During the debate in the French Assembly on the rela
tive merits of zinc and lead as marine paints it was stated that the
naval engineers at Rouen, after three years’ experience of both pig
ments, preferred zinc to lead, since the white color of the paint did
not blacken under the influence of sulphur. Similar favorable re
ports were submitted from Bordeaux, Calais, and elsewhere. Al
though savoring of repetition, mention may here be again made of
the fact that if in white-lead paint there is accidentally present a
small quantity of sulphide this is almost sure to blacken the paint and
induce chemical changes in the oil by a process of vulcanization.
Oxide of zinc is not a drier like white lead, so that a painter accus
tomed only to white-lead paint may fail with zinc oxide. Dr. A. P.
Laurie, of the Herriot-Watt College, Edinburgh, in dealing with the
subject of zinc being a slow and bad drier, and therefore not suitable
99823 No. 95—11 3
°—

------------

BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOR.

for damp and cold weather, raises the question as to what is meant
by “ drying.” So far as water is concerned, it means loss by evap
oration, but as regards a spirit varnish it means evaporation of
spirit and an undissolved resin left behind. In the drying of lin
seed oil the oil absorbs oxygen and changes its fatty acid into oxylinoleic acid, the most stable form linseed oil can assume. A warm
atmosphere favors this change. Generally speaking, in drying a loss
of weight occurs, but in drying of linseed oil there is a gain. Eaw
linseed oil takes days to dry, but the drying process can be hastened
by treating the oil with such a pigment as white lead. Lead com
pounds, therefore, are driers; so, too, are several of the manganese
compounds. If samples of white lead and zinc white are respec
tively mixed with linseed oil and the paints are applied on a surface
side by side, the white-lead paint will dry more quickly than the zinc
white. If, however, a suitable drier is added to the zinc, such as
manganese resinate or borate, the paint will dry just as quickly, if
not more so, than the white-lead compound, and the surface painted
with zinc white will keep its color in impure air, while that covered
by lead rapidly blackens.
Dealing with the objections raised against the covering power of
zinc white, Laurie says1that, although the painted surface is thinner,
and therefore more coats are required, yet weight for weight zinc
white covers as well, if not better, than white lead, since it is not so
liable to crack and blister. Laurie holds that given exposure to the
weather zinc oxide is more durable, so that if the proper oil has been
used and the mixing and grinding carefully attended to, zinc white
will last longer than white lead. The comparative durability of paints
is shown in the subjoined table taken from Cruickshank Smith.
FIG URES SHOWING COMPARATIVE DURABILITY OF VARIOUS PROTECTIVE
PAIN TS.
Estimated
total cost
Spreading
Labor
costs
Materials Estimated Materials
of
cost in in shillings anapainting
capacity in Price per cost in number of shillings
renew
square hundred shillings
per 100 als in shil
per 100
Kind of paint. yards
times
per weight in per 100 painted
square
lings
per
in square
hundred Shillings?- square
for coat per 100
20 years. yards for yards
weight.
yards.
20
years.
square
20 years.
yards for
20 years.
Oxide of zinc........
Red lead................
White lead............
D o...................
Oxide of iron........

870
424
614
806
1,080

46
28
28
32
24

5.29
6.60
4.56
3.97
2.22

4
4
5
6
7

21.16
26.40
22.80
23.82
15.54

66.66
66.66
83.33
100.00
116.66

87.82
93.06
106.13
123.82
132.20

The above data, drawn from British sources, show that many of the
objections to the use of zinc white as a substitute for white lead, also
many of the advantages claimed for white lead, do not rest upon
l The Paint Question, J. Cruickshank Smith. 1909.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

solid fact. French experience is like that in England. At the re
quest of the French Parliament a number of experiments was carried
out at the Annex of the Pasteur Institute in Paris. The Society of
Public Medicine and of Sanitary Health nominated a commission
to undertake a series of comparison experiments of painting with
zinc and lead bases. The commission was composed of Dr. L. Martin,
M. Livache, a chemist, and M. Vaillant, an architect, along with
Messrs. Mauger, Wemet, and Rigolet, representing the building trades
of Paris. The application of different paints containing zinc and
lead bases was made in August, 1902, by a working painter under the
supervision of the commission, and the following is, briefly, the report:
(1) The coloring and the polish of zinc white are equal to those of
white lead; (2) the covering power and drying are practically the
same. To test the solidity of the painting it was necessary to allow
atmospheric agents to exercise their destructive influence in order to
decide upon the effects. It was therefore arranged to examine the
paintings a year afterwards. In October, 1903, the commission re
ported that there was no appreciable difference between the paintings
in regard to their behavior under atmospheric influences, and that
both for internal and external painted surfaces the results were abso
lutely comparable. Since that date three other examinations have
been made, September 30, 1904, October 11, 1905, and October 31,
1906, all of which support the previous statement.
ATTITUDE OF VARIOUS EUROPEAN COUNTRIES IN REGARD TO THE
SUPPRESSION OF LEAD.

After France it was the International Association for Labor Legis
lation which at the meeting in Basel in 1904, by confirming an earlier
resolution of November 28, 1901, for the suppression of white lead in
painting and in all occupations where other substitutes could be em
ployed, gave that impetus to the study of the question which in
France and a few other countries is now about to be practically
realized. In 1908, at Lucerne, the same association suggested that
the various Governments should be requested to have experiments
made as to the possibility of entirely suppressing white lead for in
terior painting and the use of minium for all kinds of painting. In
consequence of this several Governments have issued a decree for the
complete or partial suppression of white lead.
In France M. J. L. Breton, a member of the Chamber of Deputies,
has ultimately seen his efforts crowned by success in the passing of a
law July 20,1909, which forbids the use of white lead in the painting
of houses either externally or internally. At the end of five years
the employment of white lead in France in house painting will be a
thing of the past. As this law will later on be briefly detailed, we

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

may proceed to a consideration of the attitude of other countries in
regard to this subject.
In Austria, in accordance with the terms of an order of the minis
ter of commerce of April 15, 1908, white lead is forbidden in the in
terior decoration of buildings after April 1, 1909. This order was
issued after a series of investigations upon the employment of colors
containing lead in laying on, in varnishing, and in painting. During
the inquiry employers and workmen alike pronounced in favor of
the prohibition of the use of white lead or of lead compounds in the
interior of buildings. By interior painting is meant painting not
directly exposed to the influence of the weather. The prohibition
did not apply to the application of the first layer upon an old lead
ground, or where the painted surface had been exposed to the action
of steam or other vapors.
The Federal Council of Switzerland has by a decree of June 30,
1908, invited all the federal administrative bodies to prohibit the use
of lead in the interior decoration of buildings either executed by the
Government or by private individuals. The Cantons of Basel and
Zurich and the town of Zurich have followed the example of the
Federal Council.
In Belgium the minister of justice by a circular November 29,
1902, and the minister of war by a circular of December 7, 1902,
forbade the use of lead in painting executed on their account.
In Germany the general board of directors of the railways of the
Kingdom of Wiirttemberg decided in 1905 to discontinue the use of
lead colors in their workshops. In January, 1907, the general ad
ministration. board of the railways of the Grand Duchy of Baden
came to a similar determination. The buildings committee of the
municipality of Berlin has also interdicted the use of white lead in
the town’s buildings, while that of Charlottenburg has agreed to the
interdiction for three years.
In the Netherlands a commission appointed by Minister Kuyper,
after sitting for five years and having carried out several experi
ments, has declared that white lead can be in a large number of
instances replaced by colors containing a zinc base, especially for
internal painting.
In Denmark the feeling is in favor of forbidding lead in interior
decoration. A similar feeling is growing in other countries. It
is because the prophylactic measures hitherto employed to protect
painters have not given satisfactory results that only by the prohi
bition of lead pigments is it believed possible by many writers to
prevent plumbism. It has also been proposed, for example, to mark
all ware prepared with lead: “ Contains lead and is poisonous.”
Workers do not and can not always get to know whether the colors
mixed by employers contain lead or not, but by having inscribed

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

upon the articles produced that they contain lead, it is believed that
a degree of protection would be afforded. White lead and lead colors
are not distinguished by any external character from their substitutes
except by their greater weight. It requires experience to rapidly
distinguish by sight pure white lead from zinc white. When, as is
the custom in practice, these substances are mixed separately with
barytes in considerable quantities the difference in specific weight is
sensibly altered, so that for these and other colors containing white
lead the criterion of specific weight becomes no longer a reliable test.
A large number of coloring substances in the market contain
barytes. Pigments inclosing a varying quantity of white lead and
zinc white find an important usage in the polishing and laying-on
processes of painting. Colors containing lead are variously named
according to the particular locality where they have been manufac
tured. These names often mislead, for they conceal the true charac
ter of the pigments. In Germany and Austria white lead is known
commercially under the names of Krem’s white; Venice white; Ham
burg, Holland, Cologne, and Magdeburg white; lithographic and
Pattinson white. Minium is known as Paris red and vermilion of
Saturn. The following also contain lead, viz, chrome yellow; patent
yellow; Turner’s yellow; Montpellier, Verona, Naples, Paris, Cologne,
Leipzig, Cassel, and English yellow; mineral yellow; the new royal
and citron yellow; vermilion green; green leaf; green oil; patent
cinnabar; carminette; and lackrot. Likewise the following colors to
which German names are attached also contain white lead: Platinfarbe, Glimmerfarben including Schuppenpanzerfarben of Graf,
Rostinit of Weber, Bessemerfarbe of Lutz, Rubigonit of Jellinck, and
Krokodilschuppenfarbe of Laubrecht. Similarly in France there
are also in the market, besides white lead and minium, pigments
which contain lead as, for example, silver white, Clichy white, Mulhouse white, chrome yellow, orange and Naples yellow, Turner’s yel
low, litharge, English green, etc.
Under the name of vermilionette there is sold a coloring agent
which is composed of minium, white lead, and barytes. An inquiry
instituted by German painters showed that there are 27 substances
used in painting which contain lead, all of which have such mislead
ing names as Dresden white, Victoria white, etc. Any person purchas
ing colors has no means of knowing whether what is offered him con
tains zinc or lead. In view of the confusion raised by names a com
pulsory declaration as to the composition of the pigments is desirable.
Austria insists upon this declaration. In all trades using lead the
work people ought to be warned of the dangers to which they are
exposed by having each material labeled “ contains lead ” and “ is
dangerous.” The International Association for Labor Legislation

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

has recommended that where a country has not yet seen it to be
its duty to prohibit the use of colors containing lead, the prohibition
should be hastened as early as possible so far as it applies to the use
of lead in painting the interior of buildings and, so long as the sale
of lead commercially can not be prohibited, that the colors ought
only to be available when the jars and packages which contain the
lead colors carry clearly the inscription: “ Contains lead and is
dangerous.”
SUBSTITUTES FOR WHITE LEAD.

The harassing details of the suffering experienced by persons
living in houses recently painted, or during the process of being
painted, and whose active life has thereby been suddenly arrested
are the reasons which have led to the abolition of the use of white
lead as a pigment in France and to the recommendation of substi
tutes for it both there and elsewhere. To fulfill all requirements a
substitute must be capable of combining with oil and must not alter
the tint of any other pigments used. Attention has already been
drawn to the comparative merits of zinc white and lead carbonate.
Two other substances are also spoken of as substitutes for lead,
viz, zinc sulphide and lithopone. The white lead commission of
which the writer was a member took considerable pains a few years
ago to ascertain from house decorators, foremen, and working paint
ers their views upon this question. At the time it was believed that
while white lead could be replaced by zinc in interior decoration,
yet, for outdoor purposes, white lead gave better results. Within
the last five or six years, as stated in the text, larger experience and
an extended series of experiments have done more than merely
raise doubts as to the alleged superiority of white-lead paint even
in outdoor work.
Lithopone is a compound obtained by the double decomposition
of barium sulphide and zinc sulphate; the precipitate consists of
barium sulphate and zinc sulphide. Both of these products are
beautifully white. The precipitate is washed, dried, ground, and
mixed with oil to form a paste, which resembles white-lead paint.
Lithopone is strongly recommended as a substitute for white lead,
but according to Petit it has less covering power owing to the large
quantity of barium sulphate it contains. It is composed of 67 per
cent of barium sulphate and 33 of zinc sulphide. When lithopone is
applied to certain metallic surfaces the zinc sulphide is said to part
with its sulphur to the iron and to form iron sulphide, also that
while the zinc sulphide mixes readily enough with oil, yet, owing to
a process of vulcanization, it is liable to undergo decomposition.
Dr. Ignace Kaup says that in Vienna the master decorators have of
late been substituting zinc white and lithopone for white lead, but

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

for public buildings they use white-lead paint and varnish. In the
case of a Government building recently painted with lead, he states
that several of the men suffered from plumbism. In 10 years there
were 944 cases of plumbism with 20,391 days of illness notified, a
number hardly less than that of persons employed in the printing
trades, although the membership of the painters’ benefit societies was
only one-fifth of those employed in the polygraphic industries.1
Painting executed with lithopone does not, according to some
master decorators, retain its color well. This circumstance, they say,
makes its use only partial at the best. Its covering power is not so
good as that of lead. It does well on plaster, but not so well on wood,
especially new wood. Lithopone possesses one advantage, it is cheap;
it sells for 4 shillings (97 cents) less per hundredweight than white
lead. Opposed to this, it is interesting to know that at the large
engineering works of Messrs. Sulzer Bros., Winterthur, Switzer
land, the contractors for the Simplon railway tunnel and other great
enterprises, no white lead is used for painting, but only zinc white
and lithopone. On the other hand, the use of white lead on the Swiss
railways has not been altogether abolished. Allusion has been made
to the attitude of Switzerland in regard to the white lead question.
As far back as 1902 the Swiss Federal Council was requested by the
guilds of painters and plasterers to encourage and try experiments
with colors free from lead, which private enterprise had already
begun, but the difficulty has been to get the various Cantons to work
unitedly. The sympathy of and the support of hospitals and medical
colleges have been enlisted on the side of the discontinuance of lead.
In Great Britain many of the large railway companies have replaced
lead paints by harmless substitutes.
ERENCH LAW REGULATING USE OF LEAD FAINTS.

The following are the main points of the "law in France regarding
the use of white lead in the painting of buildings.
In all the factories, workshops, and buildings in course of con
struction or repair, master decorators and foremen must comply with
the law which requires that at the end of five years the use of white
lead will be prohibited in all painting of whatever kind executed by
working painters, both in the interior and on the exterior of build
ings. If there is occasion, permission to use lead may be granted for
special kinds of work. Factory inspectors are to have the right of
entry into all buildings except inhabited houses, into which they can
enter only after having received permission from the persons occupy
ing them.12
1Dr. Ignace Kaup, Blei- und Phosphorvergiftungen in den gewerblichen Betrieben
5sterreichs, p. 34. Wien, 1902.
2 For text of law, see pp. 173 and 174.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

ATTITUDE OF MASTER PAINTERS TOWARD DISPLACEMENT OF LEAD
PAINTS.

If there is one circumstance which will hasten the substitution of
harmless compounds for lead in paints, it is the attitude of the
master painters to the subject. In this matter events are moving
slowly, but in the proper direction, for there is a growing conviction
that zinc white can in all respects adequately replace lead. The de
mands made by lead-poisoned workmen upon employers’ funds
through the Workmen’s Compensation Act have stimulated enterprise
and encouraged experiments. In October, 1910, the seventeenth an
nual convention of the National Association of Master House Painters
and Decorators of England and Wales was held in Newcastle-uponTyne. The writer carefully inspected the exhibits and their designs
for house painting, in fully 50 per cent of which efforts had been
successfully made to show what effective results could be obtained by
the use of zinc oxide and zinc sulphide as compared with lead. The
subject of the use of white lead was discussed at considerable length
by the master painters themselves. After comparing the properties
of white lead with basic sulphate of lead, zinc oxide, and lithopone,
the three substances which the opener of the debate put forward as
alternatives to the use of white lead, he said each of the four pig
ments—white lead and the three suggested alternatives—had certain
virtues and defects which prevented him from recommending any one
of them to the exclusion of the others under all conceivable circum
stances. It was maintained that each had a particular sphere in
which it was superior to others. A series of exposure tests was about
to be carried out, and in order to place the investigation upon a firm
and scientific basis it was suggested that a representative investiga
tion committee should be appointed whose opinions should be authori
tative. In the discussion which followed the feeling was in favor of
the retention of lead in the manufacture of paints for the present.
POTTERY: MANUFACTURE OF EARTHENWARE AND CHINA.

Next to painting, the manufacture of china and earthenware is
one of the most frequent causes of industrial plumbism. The writer
has visited the potteries of Great Britain, France, Belgium, Holland,
Germany, and Hungary, and has thus had opportunities of contrast
ing the methods and workpeople of various countries. In Great
Britain there are 550 places where pottery is made. Many of these
factories are in large towns like Newcastle, Glasgow, Derby, the
neighborhood of Manchester, Worcester, and Bristol, but in England
the industry is concentrated in a group of towns in North Stafford
shire. Here, since there are located 329 of the 550 factories already

35
mentioned, the towns collectively constitute the Potteries. In Great
Britain 63,000 persons are employed in the manufacture of pottery.
Of these 48,000 are employed in North Staffordshire. There are
6.865 persons employed in dangerous processes involving contact
with lead and 23,000 who are daily incurring danger from breathing
dust.1 About 11 per cent of pottery workers are exposed to the
possibility of lead poisoning.
The dangers incidental to the manufacture, from the point of view
of plumbism, are traceable in largest measure to the use of glazes
containing lead, but great as is the risk to health from this cause it is
considerably less than the possibility of lung diseases due to breath
ing dust. So serious was the amount of lead poisoning in the pottery
industry of Great Britain a few years ago that the Government
appointed Prof. T. E. Thorpe (now Sir Edward Thorpe), of the
Government laboratory, and the writer to make a special inquiry
both at home and abroad into the causes of the prevalence of plumb
ism and the means whereby the evil might be mitigated. Before
alluding further to the subject, it might be well to describe briefly
some of the processes in the manufacture of pottery.
INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

PROCESSES IN THE MANUFACTURE OF POTTERY.

For ordinary earthenware the common clay of the locality may be
used, but for better ware such ingredients as Cornish stone, china
clay, or calcined bone are required. These constitute the “ body ” of
the ware. The better ware found on a dinner or tea table is com
posed of fine day to which considerable quantities of calcined bone
or fddspar have been added. In Limoges the ware is made from
kaolin, a beautifully white clay found in the neighborhood. The
glaze into which earthenware and china are dipped with the object of
giving them a polished surface and of rendering them impervious
is a liquid containing finely ground clay suspended in water. In
most instances it usually contains lead in some form or other and is,
roughly speaking, a mixture of silicates and silica borates. At the
time when Thorpe and myself commenced our inquiry the glazes
contained large quantities of white or raw lead, to which circum
stance the great amount of sickness among the workpeople was due.
In other glazes lead was present in the form of red oxide or as the
native sulphide galena. Pottery workers are more exposed to lead
in some branches of the industry than in others. The 6,865 persons
employed in lead processes were distributed as follows.123
1 Report of the Departm ental Committee Appointed to Inquire into th e bangers A t
tendant on the Use of Lead in the M anufacture of Earthenware and China, vol. 1, pp.
4, 5. Home Office, London, 1910.
3 Idem, p. 7.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

NUMBER OF LEAD WORKERS EM PLOYED IN BR ITISH EARTHENW ARE AND
CHINA FACTORIES, 1907.
Kind of manufacture.
China...............................................................
Earthenware................................................
T iles.................................................................
M ajolica.........................................................

Number
of lead
workers
em
ployed
(1907).

Kind of manufacture.

927 Jet and Rockingham.................................
3,946 China furniture and electrical fittings.
961 Sanitary w are..............................................
266

Number
of lead
workers
em
ployed
(1907).
241
245
279

By China is meant such translucent ware as is placed upon the
breakfast and dinner table, and by earthenware the ordinary ware used
for domestic and other purposes. Tiles, while made from the same
material as earthenware, are not worked up in a moist state, but
are made of dust molded under great pressure. Majolica is deco
rative ware, made from clay, china clay, flint, and stone, and upon
which colored glazes containing lead or other pigments are applied.
To articles made from simple brown clays without other ingredients
and which have been dipped in glazes containing cobalt, which causes
the ware to become black, the term “ jet ” is applied, while the ware
dipped in manganese glaze, owing to its brown hue and plum-colored
shade, is spoken of as Bockingham.
It was in May, 1898, that the subject of lead poisoning in the
potteries was referred by the Home Office to Sir Edward Thorpe and
the writer. At this date the amount of sickness and the fatalities to
workers had become so great that public opinion was fully roused. A
previous commission upon which the writer sat had recommended
that all cases of industrial plumbism should be notified so that not
only would the country have correct information as to the amount of
industrial poisoning which was going on, but that by directing
attention early to the malady in particular factories the causes
might be found and the defect if possible quickly remedied or
removed. This was the commencement of the compulsory notifica
tion of industrial diseases which has since played such an important
part in legislation both at home and abroad.
In Newcastle-upon-Tyne and neighborhood there are a few whitelead factories from which lead-poisoned workmen occasionally come
to the infirmary, while in other factories the workpeople remain quite
well. On making investigations the writer generally found that some
defect had occurred in the ventilation, that the means for facilitating
the escape of dust had broken down, the joints of machinery had
become loose, or the floors imperfect, or that the regulations had
been less stringently attended to. Excessive employment of casual
labor is also a cause of plumbism, since men thus engaged are less
careful. Over-pressure of work tends to carelessness. These remarks

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

apply equally to pottery manufacture as to white-lead works, since it
has been recently shown that 173 potteries were responsible for 517
cases of plumbism, whereas from 377 factories no case of lead poison
ing had been reported; in other words, in 68 per cent of factories
plumbism did not exist at all.
Keverting to the description of the processes of manufacture of
earthenware and china, the pieces leave the hands of the potter and
are either dried naturally or artificially in an oven. When dried
in an oven or kiln, the ware is said to have been biscuited. The
products are afterwards dipped in glaze. Such ware as terra cotta
and stoneware require only one firing, but the greater proportion,
for example, that used for domestic purposes is fired twice—once
before being dipped (biscuited), and again after having been dipped.
Mention has already been made of the fact that glazes usually con
tain lead. This may be in the form of raw white lead (carbonate),
or it may have undergone a special preparation known as “ fritting,”
in which it is fired with other substances such as silica or boric acid,
and converted into a glasslike material. Lead thus vitrified or
fritted is rendered less soluble in acids and is therefore less dan
gerous to the workers than when used in the raw state. Whether
used in the fritted form or in the raw state all lead compounds are
ground and mixed with fine clay and water to form a glaze, a white
liquid like a mixture of stirred up chalk and water. All ware which
has been dipped in glaze has to be subsequently smoothed and
cleaned by the dipper’s assistant. This is dusty work. According
to the form in which lead is present in the glaze, so are the character
and the solubility of the dust. If raw lead has been added, the
dust is practically an attenuated white lead, if it has been fritted
a less soluble lead dust is given off from the ware. It is inhalation
of this dust which renders dippers’ assistants so liable to plumbism.
After having been cleaned the dipped ware is placed in “ saggers,”
large earthenware vessels made from coarse clay and capable of
withstanding high temperatures. The saggers are carried into the
kilns, and deposited there by the glost placers. When the kilns have
been filled, they are closed, and the fires are lit. In consequence of
the high temperatures to which the ware in the kiln is exposed, the
glaze on the ware melts, leaving a glistening surface, such as is seen
on cups and saucers.
The men who make and mix the glaze incur the risk of plumbism,
especially if raw lead is used. In the fritting of lead the ingredients
are fired in a kiln, from which the finished product flows away, like
a stream of molten glass, into water, where it solidifies. As larger quan
tities of fritted glazes are usually made at one operation than those
from raw lead, there is a greater danger in making raw-lead than
fritted-lead glazes on account of the more frequent repetition of the

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

process. Fritted lead has to be finely ground before being mixed with
clay and water. As, under all circumstances, glaze after it has stood
for a time tends to contain solid particles of too large a size to render
the glaze effective, it has to be strained through a lawn sieve, hence
the term “ lawning the glaze,” a process which may be carried on by
hand by the dipper, or by means of an automatic machine. Lawn
ing of glaze made from raw lead, if done by hand, is dangerous
on account of splashing. In British potteries no women are allowed
to weigh or mix the ingredients of glazes. This is done by men
wearing respirators, and who have to undergo a medical examination
once a month. On account of the dust evolved, the weighing and mix
ing of the materials are a source of plumbism to all who work in the
lead house. The men thus employed frequently suffer from plumbism,
and workmen will continue to suffer until efforts are made by means
of exhaust fans to remove dust generated during weighing and mixing.
In Great Britain the dippers plunge the ware with their naked
hands into the liquid glaze, but in France this is done by a pair of
fine tongs. In some countries gloves are used. On removal from the
tub the dipper inverts the ware, and with a slight swirl allows the
excess of glaze to fall back into the tub. The dipped article is there
after set aside for further drainage and to dry. The following table
shows the number of cases of lead poisoning among dippers and ware
cleaners in the United Kingdom:1
CASES OF LEAD POISONING AMONG POTTERY W ORKERS IN GREAT BRITAIN ,
1899 TO 1909.
Occupation.

Number of cases in the year—
1909

1908

1907

1906

1905

1904

1903

1902

1901

1900

14
4

20
7
6
19
2
20
28
46

21
6
1
13

23
5
4
19

12
4
4
15
3
14
19
33

20
8

11
4
8
12
2
19
16
35

19
4
4

Dippers:
M a le...................
Fem ale...............
Dippers’ assistants:
Fem ale...............
Ware cleaners:
M ale...................
Fem ale...............
Total m ales...
Total females.

1
9
13
15
26

22
36

1
18
28
42

20
26

20
54

1
6
18
3
15
25
34

11
1
23
24
38

6
9
23 .
6
44
51
72

1899
38
17
13

21
3
33
54
71

There were employed in Great Britain in 1904 781 male dippers
and 182 female dippers, or 913 altogether, and for 1907 the numbers
were 786 and 150, respectively, or a total of 936. Although dippers
when at work have their hands and forearms frequently immersed in
the glaze, many of them go on working thus for years without suf
fering, a circumstance which shows how tardily plumbism is in1Report of the Departmental Committee Appointed to Inquire into the Dangers At
tendant on the Use of Lead in the Manufacture of Earthenware and China, vol. 1, pp,
67, 70, 75. Home Office, London, 1910.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

duced by absorption through the skin. Probably plumbism in those
employed in the dipping room is caused by inhalation of the dust
given off during the cleaning of the dry ware and friction of the
dried splashes on the floor. This fact points to the necessity of
having the dipping house well lighted, also well ventilated, and of
having a concrete floor, from which splashes of glaze can be removed
by a daily washing. Dippers’ assistants are usually young persons.
As there is a tendency to employ assistants of too tender an age a
great risk is thereby incurred, since experience has shown that young
persons are more prone to lead poisoning than those of maturer years.
At present young persons of 15 years of age may be employed, but
where lead glaze is used it is a question whether the age should not
be raised to 17 or 18. It has been found that female dippers’ assist
ants are three times more liable to plumbism than male assistants, the
ratio being 4.7 and 1.4. These figures point to the desirability of
at any rate raising the age of the female dippers’ assistants.
Ware cleaners who remove by scrapers the superfluous glaze on
the dried dipped ware preparatory to fixing or placing it in the
glost oven can hardly avoid inhaling dust. Ware can be cleaned
equally well by the moist method, in which the articles are rubbed
with a wet sponge or piece of flannel or scraped with a knife before
the glaze has had time to become too dry. It was at Messrs. Bou
langer et Cie’s works, at Choisy-le-Roi, France, where I first saw the
wet method used and where I found, as a consequence, the work
people remarkably free from plumbism. The method is becoming
more widely adopted all over. In Great Britain in 176 potteries
all the ware cleaning is now done by the moist method, and in 105
part of it. As an encouragement the Home Office allows the provision
of a fan or exhaust draft to be dispensed with, where the cleaning
is done moist. In Holland the factory inspector of the first district
has drawn attention to the great improvement of the health of the
workers consequent upon the substitution of the wet method for the
dry in cleaning the ware by means of a piece of wet felt. It is ad
vantageous to have the ware cleaned in a room separate from the
dipping house, especially if the ware which is being cleaned is in
the dry state, for by means of fans or exhaust drafts dust can be
more readily removed.
Glost placers, the men who carry the saggers filled with dipped
ware to the kilns and who also remove the saggers when they have
been fixed, do not suffer from plumbism in the same ratio as persons
employed in the dipping and cleaning house. Owing to the labori
ous and dusty nature of the work, also the changes of temperature
to which the men are exposed, the dangers incurred by them are
rather on the side of the lungs than from lead poisoning. The
work is not suitable for females.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,

Since the introduction of and demand for leadless glazed ware
manufacturers, in order to meet the wishes of the public, occa
sionally dip the ware in glaze free from lead, so that the words
“ Made from leadless glaze ” appear upon the products, but they fire
the articles in saggers which have been washed internally or have
been lined with a paste rich in lead, so that during the act of firing
volatilized lead passes from the internal lining of the sagger to the
ware. Sagger washing is not the harmless process which manu
facturers and some factory inspectors consider it. While I pen
these lines I have under my care in the infirmary a young man, a
sagger washer, who is the subject of an extremely severe and pro
tracted form of plumbism, in which colic, recurrent vomiting, head
ache, and nervousness are the principal symptoms, and in whose
urine and faeces, several months after giving up the work, there have
been found traces of lead.
In the manufacture of majolica ware, glazes rich in lead and other
pigments are used. The glazes melt at low temperature and are
applied at one process to biscuited ware by dipping, painting, mot
tling, and blowing. Dipping of majolica differs in no way from
dipping of other articles. Painting is done by brushes and is gen
erally done by females. It is not high-class painting. Although
done by the moist process, there is a considerable amount of splash
ing. The splashed material dries rapidly. The fingers and hands
of the women become smeared with the colored glaze. In my vis
its to the potteries it was the majolica paintresses who impressed
me most by their pallid appearance and in whom I found plumbism
more than usually prevalent. The anaemia and lead poisoning from
which they suffered had been probably hastened by the imperfectly
ventilated and overcrowded condition of the workrooms. It can not
be too strongly insisted upon that badly lighted, badly ventilated,
and overcrowded workrooms predispose to plumbism by reducing
the physical resistance of the workers. Where a cheap class of
majolica ware is being produced the conditions in the factory are not
as a rule favorable to the workers. There are usually greater careless
ness, less supervision of the work, more splashing, and, as a conse
quence, more plumbism. In order to produce a mottled appearance
of majolica ware, the colored glaze is applied by means of a sponge,
but only to certain parts of the surface. Both in this kind of work
and in glaze blowing, by which colored glaze is driven from a small
reservoir by means of a jet of compressed air through a fine nozzle
in the form of spray, the hands and clothing of the paintresses be
come besmeared with glaze. The colored glaze ought to be drawn
away from the workers by an exhaust draft.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

PRINTING ON POTTERY.

The printing of patterns upon ware is usually done by females,
who place upon the pieces the transfer or colored paper with the
design or pattern upon it, rubbing the back of the paper with a dry
tool to make it adhere to the ware and subsequently removing the
paper by dipping the article in a tub of water. The designs are im
printed upon paper pressed upon a metal plate and rolled between
cylinders. The colors having been previously mixed in a suitable
medium containing boiled oil are thus transferred from the paper to
the ware and do not come off in the water.
Once ware has been glazed, all colors subsequently applied upon
it must be fixed by an additional firing. This is known as “ onglaze” printing and differs from “ under-glaze” decoration, where
the colors are applied to the biscuit ware before it is dipped in glaze
free from lead; this metal being believed by many to be essential in
“ on-glaze ” decoration, since it acts as a flux and thereby facilitates
the process. As the painting is done wet by hand, by means of a
brush, those persons who are thus employed seldom suffer from
plumbism, but it is otherwise with “ ground-laying.” This process,
which is known in the potteries as “ oil and dusting,” is confined to
“ on-glaze” decoration. It consists of the application of an oily
medium to the surface of the ware and then dusting a dry powdered
enamel color upon it by means of a pad of cotton wadding. The
pigment adheres wherever required. Ground laying is a dangerous
process, as the powders used are dry and frequently contain large
quantities of lead. All cotton wool which has been used for this
purpose should, when finished with, be burnt. The number of per
sons, male and female, employed as ground layers were in 1904, over
the whole country, 249 and in 1907 215, while in North Staffordshire
for the same years the numbers were 237 and 195, respectively, the
decrease in numbers being due to the blowing process having largely
replaced ground laying. The number of cases of lead poisoning in
this occupation in North Staffordshire alone is shown below:1

In 1898 fans were introduced, and a monthly medical inspection of
women and young persons was begun, with the result that the num-1
ber of cases of plumbism began at once to decline.
1Report of the Departmental Committee Appointed to Inquire into the Dangers Attend*
ant on the Use of Lead in the Manufacture of Earthenware and China, vol. 1, p. 89.
Home Office, London, 1910.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

In what is called color dusting the tissue paper bearing the imprint
of the design obtained by an oily medium and which has been trans
ferred to the ware is not washed off in water, but is quickly pulled
off, leaving a rough surface, upon which is dusted the powdered color,
which adheres to the oily medium, the remainder being dusted off.
The number of persons employed as color dusters were for the whole
of the United Kingdom 159 in 1904 and 157 in 1907. The follow
ing are the numbers of cases of lead poisoning in this occupation:1

The fall in the number of cases of lead poisoning in color dusters
is, according to the framers of the Keport of the Departmental Com
mittee, 1910, largely due to a reduction in the amount of color dust
ing, consequent upon the growth of the blowing process, and to an
increased perfection of the printing process, whereby it is possible
by means of the simple method of transferring and washing off to
apply many colors, for which the operation of dusting was formerly
believed to be indispensable.
The “ aerographic ” process consists in the application of colored
liquids to the surface of ware by compressed air. Fine clays sus
pended in water and colored with simple pigments free from lead
are blown through a nozzle upon ware before it is fired. There is
no danger attendant upon this, but it is otherwise when the glaze
blown contains lead. Unless there is sufficient exhaust draft the
aerographer runs the risk of becoming the subject of plumbism. In
the whole of the United Kingdom there were employed in color and
glaze blowing 251 persons, male and female, in 1904, and 339 per
sons in 1907. Among color and glaze blowers the following is the
number of cases of lead poisoning:2

Shortsightedness in an aerographer should be a disqualification,
since it obliges the individual to lean forward too much when at
work.*8
1 Report of the Departm ental Committee Appointed to Inquire into the Dangers Attend
ant on the U se of Lead in th e M anufacture of Earthenware and China, vol. 1, p. 91.
Home Office, London, 1910.
8 Idem, p. 92.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

In the making of lithographic transfers by printing machines and
the dusting of the papers with enamel colors the excess of powder
is removed by means of cotton wool. Should the powder which is
dusted on contain lead, there is the risk of plumbism. Some of the
severest types of lead poisoning I have seen have been in youths 17
to 18 years of age, who only worked a few months in this process
when they developed lead poisoning. At Limoges, in France, most
of the cases of plumbism I found occurred among lithographic
transfer workers. By means of a strong exhaust draft the dust
should be drawn away from the face of the worker. Seven potteries
in England make their own transfers, and in three the persons
employed number 132 males and 125 females, or a total of 257. In
these 7 factories the cases of lead poisoning have been as follows:1
Year.

Males. Females. Total.

1899............................
1900............................
1901............................
ly
02 ............................
ions
1904............................
1905............................

7
7

6
2
2

8
1
21
3
3

11
10
7
23
3
5

Males. Females. Total.

Year.
1906............................
1907............................
1908............................
1909............................
T otal.............

2
1
27

5
8
2
32

5
10
2
1
59

These numbers show a larger total and relative incidence of
plumbism among females than males.
The processes in the manufacture of pottery which are responsible
for lead poisoning of the workers are the handling of glazes and
colors. It is more important therefore that a substitute should be
found for lead in glaze than in the pigments used for decorative pur
poses, owing to the large number of persons employed, as the follow
ing table shows:2
N umber of cases of lead poisoning.
Year.

1901...........................................................................................................
1902...........................................................................................................
1903...........................................................................................................
1904...........................................................................................................
1905...........................................................................................................
1906...........................................................................................................
1907...........................................................................................................
1908...........................................................................................................
1909...........................................................................................................
Total..............................................................................................
Number of persons employed in 1907............................................
Average annual rate per 1,000 employed.................. ..................

deco Un
In glaze Inrative
processes. processes.
classified. Total.
97
78
84
99
78
98
90
106
58
788
5,695
15

6
7
8
3
4
9
8
6

3
2
5
4
2
5
5

51
711

26
459

106
87
97
106
84
107
103
117
58
865
6,865
13.7

1 Report of the Departm ental Committee Appointed to Inquire into the Dangers Attend
an t on the Use of Lead in the M anufacture of Earthenware and China, vol. 1, p. 94.
Home Office, London, 1910.
a Idem, p. 13.

99823°—No. 95—11----- 4

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,

In the following table is summarized all the lead-poisoning cases
in the potteries of the United Kingdom for the last 11 years:1
Number and rate per 1,000 of cases of poisoning, by sex, in the year—
Industry, etc.

1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 19041 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
M. F. M. F. M. F. M. F. M. F. M. F. M. F. M. F. M. F. M. F. M. F.

China:
Cases.................................. 18 8
Attack rate per 1,000... 24 34
Earthenware:
Cases................................. 106 83
Attack rate per 1,000... 39 74
Tiles:
Cases................................. 7 21
Attack rate per 1,000... 13 37
Majolica:
Cases.................................. 2 4
Attack rate per 1,000... 20 36
Jet and Rockingham:
Cases..................................
Attack rate per 1,000...
China, furniture, and elec
trical fittings:
5
Cases..................................
Attack rate per 1,000
32
Sanitary:
Cases..................................
Attack rate per 1,000...
Total:
Cases...................... 128 121
Attack rate per
1,000..................... 29 53
Total cases, male and
fem ale...................... 249
Attack rate per 1,000. 37

11
21
62
23
12
22
3
30
5
23

10 7
13
37
13
9
16
2
18
3
14

42
67
60
15
27

2
8
28
25
7
12
2
18
1
14

1 11 1 9
23 70 23 57
1
5

3 2 1 6
6 8 2 25
30 33 29 32
11 29 11 29
6 5 8 9
11 9 14 16

2 1 6

18 10 55
1 3
14 14
4
25

1
1
5 ... 5

1
6

2 1 4
4 4 8
31 41 25
11 37 9
6 19 4
11 34 7
1
9
1
14

3 5 2 6
13 8 7 10
23 34 41 38
20 12 37 13
14 7 10 4
25 15 21 8
3
4
36
18

1
6

4 2 2
25 45 13

4 1
6 3
45 42
16 38
6 3 8
12 6 16
7
23
33
30

3
17

1
6

2
3
22
8
4
8

1
3
17
15
7
14
2

3 1 8
17 15 45

2
11
1
24

1
1 1 3 1 2 1
5 --- 4 24 13 24 8 24

95 105 57 49 40 47 43 54 39 67 36 48 47 60 52 51 56 61 28 30
22 46 13 21 9 20 10 23 9 29 8 21 10 25 12 22 12 26 6 13

200
30

106
16

87
13

97
14

106
16

84
13

107
16

103
16

117
17

i Medical examination of men began.

OFFICIAL INVESTIGATIONS OF THE USE OF LEAD IN POTTERY
MANUFACTURE.

The prevalence of lead poisoning in the manufacture of china and
earthenware in Great Britain has been the occasion of three im
portant inquiries, one of the main questions always being the possi
bility of substituting other materials for lead in glazes. Pottery
manufacture is one of the most conservative of industries. The cus
toms of any trade die hard. We are not surprised, therefore, to be
told by manufacturers that lead is the only substance which produces
all round a satisfactory glaze for every kind of ware. This was also
the opinion of the committee appointed in 1893 to inquire into the use
of glazes free from lead—“ after carefully considering the evidence
before us we do not see any immediate prospect of such glazes be
coming universally applicable to pottery manufacture.” As the
number of cases of lead poisoning in the potteries during the nineties
still remained far in excess of what the trade should bear, and as
public opinion was not satisfied the subject again attracted the at1 Report of the Departmental Committee Appointed to Inquire into the Dangers Attend
ant on the Use of Lead in the Manufacture of Earthenware and China, vol. 1, p. 96,
Home Office, London, 1910.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

tention of Parliament, with the result that a fresh inquiry was in
stituted by Prof. Thomas E. Thorpe (now Sir Edward Thorpe)
and the writer. We were appointed on May 7,1898, by Home Secre
tary Sir Matthew White Ridley (afterwards Viscount Ridley) to in
quire into and to ascertain “(1) How far the danger may be dimin
ished or removed by substituting for the carbonate of lead ordinarily
used, either (a) one or other less soluble compound of lead, e. g., a
silicate; (b) ‘leadless’ glaze; (2) how far any substitutes found to be
harmless or less dangerous than the carbonate lend themselves to the
varied practical requirements of the manufacturer; (3) what other
preventive measures can be adopted:1
In order to satisfy ourselves upon these points Sir Edward Thorpe
and I visited singly or together not only the potteries of Staffordshire
and other districts of England and Scotland, but also several of the
large factories in France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, and Den
mark. Our recommendations, published in a bluebook presented
to the House of Commons in Februray, 1899, were as follows:2
1. That by far the greater amount of earthenware of the class
already specified [i. e., white and cream-colored ware] can be glazed
without the use of lead in any form. It has been demonstrated, with
out the slightest doubt, that the ware so made is in no respects infe
rior to that coated with lead glaze. There seems no reason, therefore,
why in the manufacture of this class of goods the operatives should
still continue to be exposed to the evils which the use of lead glaze
entails.
2. There are, however, certain branches of the pottery industry
in which it would be more difficult to dispense with the use of lead
compounds. But there is no reason why, in these cases, the lead so
employed should not be in the form of a iritted double silicate. Such
a compound, if properly made, is but slightly attacked by even strong
hydrochloric, acetic, or lactic acid. There can be little doubt that, if
lead must be used, the employment of such a compound silicate—if
its use could be insured—would greatly diminish the evil of lead
poisoning.
3. The use of raw lead as an ingredient of glazing material, or as
an ingredient of colors which have to be subsequently fired, should be
absolutely prohibited.
4. As it would be very difficult to insure that an innocuous lead
glaze shall be employed, we are of opinion that young persons and
women should be excluded from employment as dippers, dippers’
assistants, ware cleaners after dippers, and glost placers in factories
where lead glaze is used, and that the adult male dippers, dippers’
assistants, ware cleaners, and glost placers should be subjected to sys
tematic medical inspection.
It was hardly to be expected that these recommendations would
be received by the manufacturers with general approval, for an old
industry was being dealt with whose methods of production it was*
1 Report on the Em ploym ent of Compounds of Lead in the M anufacture of Pottery,
etc., p. 3.
* Idem, p. 15.

BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OP LABOR.

difficult to change. There was a financial as well as an industrial
and economic side to the question. A compromise was temporarily
effected between the Home Office and the manufacturers, but the sub
ject was afterwards referred to arbitration, Lord James of Hereford
receiving evidence at an open court at Stoke-upon-Trent in Novem
ber, 1910. Briefly, the Thorpe-Oliver recommendations were the use of
leadless glaze for certain kinds of goods, the more frequent use of
fritted lead in the form of a double silicate, the abolition of raw lead
in the glazes, and the exclusion of young persons and women as glost
placers and from the dipping and ware-cleaning departments.
At the time of the inquiry above alluded to raw lead was being added
to glaze in a manner bordering upon the reckless and which called for
interference if the industry was to become reinstated in public favor.
Among the master potters themselves there was no unanimity of
opinion as to the quantity of lead the glazes should contain. As an
indication that raw lead was being simply added to glazes by rule
of thumb and upon no scientific basis, it may be mentioned that some
manufacturers used glazes containing as much as 20 per cent of
white lead and others 10 per cent or less. On analysis Sir Edward
Thorpe found on some of the ware 12 per cent of lead estimated as
monoxide, and in the glazes 13 to 24 per cent of lead. As a result of
Prof. Thorpe’s examinations and experiments, the Home Secretary
announced that there must be in pottery a standard of insolubility
of fritted lead for glazes, the standard of insolubility to be that the
glaze shall not yield more than 2 per cent of lead when acted upon
by hydrochloric acid under certain conditions. The 2 per cent stand
ard of insolubility being regarded as too hard a requirement, the
manufacturers suggested 5 per cent. It was pointed out to the manu
facturers that if the standard was fixed at 5 per cent this would
allow of the use of a glaze from which it was possible in one hour
to extract one-third of the lead by dilute acid at ordinary tempera
tures and that this would only perpetuate the evils which at the
time existed. Without coming to any conclusion, the manufacturers
were given two years to improve the conditions of work in their
factories, after which, in July, 1903, Lord James of Hereford as
umpire, at the close of the adjourned arbitration, delivered his award,
the text of which became the basis of a series of amended rules issued
by the Home Office, in which'the spirit of compromise is apparent.
One reason why the fritting of lead was not made compulsory was
that if fritting is performed in a slovenly manner it affords no pro
tection at all to the worker. It was therefore settled that no glaze
was to be used which gave to 0.25 per cent of solution of hydrochloric
acid more than 5 per cent of its dry weight of lead calculated as lead
monoxide, that a monthly medical examination of the workers em
ployed in certain specified processes was to be held, power of suspen

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

sion given to certifying surgeons, casual workers to be examined at
their own expense, a health register to be kept, overalls and head
coverings to be provided and maintained by employers for women
and young persons engaged in certain specified processes, respirators
to be worn by persons when mixing unfritted lead compounds and
in preparing frits and glazes, drying stoves were to be ventilated,
the floors of the workrooms to be sprinkled and swept daily, and a
scheme of compensation for workers in lead processes arranged.
FATAL CASES OF LEAD POISONING, 1899 TO 1909.

That manufacturers honestly tried to improve the conditions on the
factories, also that the introduction of the 5 per cent standard of in
solubility and the greater use of fritted lead compounds did some
thing to lessen the amount of lead poisoning in the pottery industry
is shown by comparing the number of cases of plumbism in 1898,
457, with 58 in 1909, but although in one sense this may appear sat
isfactory, there has not been the uninterrupted reduction in the
amount of sickness there ought to have been, especially during recent
years. It has been suggested that the system* of granting compensa
tion to persons suffering from lead poisoning contracted at work is
partly responsible for the large number of cases of plumbism notified,
but even allowing for this probability, defective hygiene, laxity of
management, partial observance only of regulations, and carelessness
on the part of the workers are the more likely causes. Under no
circumstances could it explain the increase in the fatal cases during
1907 and 1908. It is fortunate that only a small proportion of cases
of plumbism prove fatal, the average being about 1 per 1,000 persons
employed in lead processes, as the following table shows:1
NUMBER OF DEATHS AND DEATH RATE PER 1,000 FROM PLUM BISM IN TH E
UNITED KINGDOM, 1899 TO 1909.

Locality.

Number of fatal cases of lead poisoning in the y e a r Num
ber of
lead
work
ers em
ployed,
accord 1899 1900 1901 1902 1908 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
ing to
the re
turns of
1909.

North Staffordshire dis
11
trict ............................... 5,299
Potteries outside North
Staffordshire................ 1,566
1
Whole of United
K ingdom ........... 6,865 17
12
Death rate per 1,000.
2.46 1.16 0.73 0.73 0.43 0.58 0.43 I 0.58 1.30 1.74

0.73

1 Report of the Departmental Committee Appointed to Inquire into the Dangers Attend
ant on the Use of Lead in the Manufacture of Earthenware and China, vol. 1, p. 10.
Home Office, London, 1910.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.
USE OF LEADLESS GLAZES IN POTTERY MANUFACTURE.

Ten years have passed since the Thorpe-Oliver report was pub
lished and the use of leadless glazes recommended. An opportunity
has therefore been given to the manufacturers to overcome some of
the difficulties which if leadless glazes were used they stated would
be encountered, such as crazing or cracking of the glazed surface of
the ware. To the public, with whom after all rests the decision of
this matter, has been equally given the opportunity of purchasing
and thereby of testing leadless dipped ware, since, if there is a
growing demand for such products, whatever at present may be the
difficulties and defects in the methods of manufacture, these are
certain to be overcome by greater industrial skill and by closer at
tention to chemical and other details.
The Departmental Committee on the use of lead in potteries in 1910
took evidence from 20 persons experienced in the manufacture of
pottery and from 8 large buyers of earthenware and china. One of
the manufacturers, using leadless glazes only, informed the com
mittee that while his firm had been entirely successful in the use of
leadless glazes for the whole of their output, yet their ware, which
was one of common quality and possessing a good gloss and bril
liancy of coloring, did not satisfactorily compare with the highest
products of British manufacture. In India and Africa they found
a good market for their leadless glazed ware, and as regards the
manufacture they had overcome all the difficulties of production.
They had no crazing or cracking of the glazed surface of their
products, either shortly after their manufacture or months after
wards, and they had found leadless glaze cheaper than the lead glaze
it had supplanted. Another manufacturer stated that the leadless
glazed earthenware had competed satisfactorily in the open markets
both at home and abroad with lead-glazed ware, that leadless glazed
ware was 12| to 20 per cent cheaper than that made from raw lead,
that with care in firing there is practically no loss in “ seconds”
(i. e., pieces not of first-rate finish and which have therefore to be
sold at a cheaper rate), the cost of the finished article is 25 per cent
less than that made from lead, the colors are brighter, and that there
has been no complaint from purchasers in regard to crazing. One
of the manufacturers stated that he had formerly more crazing
when he used lead glazes than now. It is only right to add that the
larger mass of evidence supplied by manufacturers was opposed to
the views just expressed.
It was a recommendation of Sir Edward Thorpe and the writer
that leadless glazes should be given a fairly long trial and that in their
opinion there was a large quantity of cheap ware, for example, san
itary ware, which could be made just as well from leadless as from

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

lead glazes, also that while lead might yet have to be used for certain
kinds of ware, it could even then be more sparingly employed.
The bulk of the manufacturers who have given leadless glazes a
trial are of the opinion that for common articles, such as jam pots,
it is satisfactory and cheaper. Others, however, stated that the loss
in “ seconds ” is greater with ware dipped in leadless glaze, so that
in some factories it, on this account, raised the cost of production
10 per cent, that the gold tended to peel off the edges of the ware,
and that the enamel colors were not so bright. It was affirmed by
the chief clerk to the metropolitan police that all the ware purchased
by the department since 1900, such as tea and dinner services, fire-clay
sanitary goods, glazed bricks and tiles, had been made with leadless
glaze, and that in regard to their quality and durability he was quite
satisfied. A representative of the prisons’ department had found the
goods satisfactory as to quality and durability, but the cost was about
10 per cent more than for lead-glazed ware. It is only right to inter
pose the remark that this slight increase in cost might be due to the
difficulty of getting manufacturers to submit bids for leadless glazed
ware. The director of naval contracts of the Admiralty stated that
the leadless glazed ware cost from 10 to 15 per cent more than leadglazed ware, that as regards durability no complaints had been
received, but that so far as general quality was concerned the reports
were conflicting, some being favorable, others the reverse. The rep
resentatives of the War Office had not found leadless glazed ware
quite satisfactory.
So far as concerns the use of leadless glazes for electrical insulators,
the evidence supplied by the Post-Office and Telegraph Department
showed that the products were quite as good as those glazed with
lead, not more costly, and that brown insulators coated with leadless
salt glaze had been found to be even more efficient than the white
specimens which contained lead.
Under this mass of conflicting evidence it was hardly possible for
the Departmental Committee to come to a definite opinion as to the
advantages and disadvantages of leadless glazes.
This difficulty is not lightened by the latest pronouncement upon
this subject. Since the above sentences were penned the postmaster
general, Mr. Herbert Samuel, in reply to a question in the House of
Commons (Daily Press, Nov. 21, 1910) regarding the use of leadless
glazes in post-office requirements, stated that more recent experiments
of the post-office engineers had shown leadless glazed insulators to
be less efficient for telegraphic and telephonic purposes than leadglazed insulators and therefore not serviceable for long-distance lines.
For this reason only about 20 per cent of the insulators ordered by
the post office during the last four years had been leadless glazed,
the actual number being 4,600 gross out of 23,700 gross. He also

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

stated that of the firms employed only one quoted a higher price for
leadljess than lead-glazed insulators, the difference being 1 shilling
(24 cents) per gross. The manager of a large works where electrical
fittings are made informed the writer that the porcelain insulators
for high-tension currents inserted in switchboards of generating
and distributing stations answer equally well when coated with lead
less glaze.
Notwithstanding this conflict of opinion, there is yet much to show
that the recommendations regarding the use of leadless glazes as con
tained in the Thorpe-Oliver report rested upon a sufficiently sound
experimental basis to warrant leadless glazes being given a longer
trial, while later experience of several manufacturers has shown that
their use is not altogether impracticable. It was never contended by
Thorpe and the writer that lead should be eliminated entirely from
the manufacture of pottery. All they maintained was that it could
be diminished in many instances and in others entirely abolished.
The Departmental Committee, 1910, thus concludes: “ While con
sidering that every encouragement should be given to manufacturers
to dispense with the use of lead, [we] do not recommend that any at
tempt should at present be made to prohibit it in the manufacture of
certain articles by scheduling them for that purpose.” From this
conclusion Miss Gertrude M. Tuckwell, one of the members of the
committee, expresses her dissent. She is in favor of scheduling cer
tain articles to be made only with leadless glaze and that, as time goes
on, the schedule could be gradually extended in accordance with ex
perience, so that by degrees the use of lead in the manufacture of
china and earthenware might be abandoned. The use of lead, too, in
colors should be restricted and the importation into Great Britain of
articles made with lead prohibited. As stated in a previous part of
this paper, ware dipped in leadless glaze is occasionally fired in
saggers which have been washed internally with a raw lead glaze.
In the act of firing the volatilized lead passes to the leadless glazed
ware and makes it leaded.
In Holland specimens of leadless glazed ware are handed over to
Dr. van Eyck, professor of chemistry in the Royal Military Acad
emy, who is paid by the Government to examine the glazes and render
to pottery manufacturers such chemical assistance as may help them
with their products.
On two occasions at least, exhibitions of leadless glazed ware have
been held in London on a large scale. Those who have had the
opportunity of inspecting the products have been struck by the highclass character of the goods exhibited, and by the variety, depth, and
brilliancy of the coloring. Since a wider use of leadless glazes
would obviate much human suffering, all the assistance which tech
nical chemistry and industrial skill can give ought to be brought to
bear upon solving this problem, the importance of which to thou

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

sands of workers throughout the whole civilized world is so great as
to require no pleading from any person, especially when viewed in
the light of antiquarian research it is known that the enameled bricks
used in Babylon 522 B. C. and the decorative tiles in Egypt did not
contain lead and in regard to the durability of which there is no
question.
The hygienic value of fritted lead compared with raw lead has
never been contested. Some continental manufacturers are as keenly
alive to its advantage as are the British; they even make a greater
use of it, but this is not general. As the pottery manufacturers in
Holland did not adopt the 2 per cent solubility test recommended by
Thorpe, the Dutch Government permitted them to use a larger per
centage of lead.in the glaze, but even with this concession some manu
facturers were found exceeding the limits allowed. There is much
to be said in favor of the 5 per cent standard of solubility of lead in
the glaze, but in Holland there is a feeling that the test of mere solu
bility is not enough, since if a glaze is coarsely ground and the
particles on that account are fairly large the hydrochloric acid acts
solely upon the outer surface of the granule and in the one hour
required by Government regulations will dissolve off only a small
portion of lead, leaving the central portion unaffected, whereas if
the particles have been more finely ground and are smaller they
present more suitable conditions for the hydrochloric acid to act upon,
and as a consequence a greater amount of lead will pass into solution.
In Germany earthenware is sometimes fired in saggers washed in
ternally with litharge, common salt, and potash, so that during the
process of firing there are formed chloride of lead and alkaline com
pounds, which mix during the melting with the clay of the pieces of
the pottery. Prof. Sommerfeld, who is an acknowledged authority
upon dangerous trades, is in favor of substituting leadless for lead
glazes, and of raw lead being under most circumstances prohibited.
The prefect of police in Berlin as far back as 1888 ordained that the
kilns in a pottery should be so situated that lead vapors given off
must not enter into the workshops but be drawn away by hooded
chimneys or by aspiration, also that the grinding of lead glazes
should be done moist, and that all workers engaged in mixing and
sifting lead glazes or in cleaning dry ware should wear respirators
containing a piece of sponge soaked in weak acetic acid.
Of 226 potteries examined in Austria there was found in the
earthenware of 155 an excess of lead.1 As a consequence, the minister
of the interior in 1896 gave the police authorities power to examine
roughly all earthenware with a clear polish exposed for sale in the
public markets, and to remove samples for a more careful examina
tion by means of sulphureted hydrogen. Sulphureted hydrogen
1 B ulletin de 1’Inspection du Travail, 1904, p. 431.

BULLETIN” OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOR.

water is poured upon the ware in such quantity as gently to cover
the surface by inclining the article so that all portions can be suc
cessively moistened. If, after having wetted all portions, the color
of the enamel remains the same the ware is regarded as sanitary.
Especially is this the case if ammonium sulphide produces no
effect. Should the enamel, on the other hand, exhibit a deeper
or doubtful color, the ware has to be more carefully examined, to
see whether it contains only traces or larger quantities of lead,
which might become soluble in food or drinks. For this purpose
weak vinegar, 6 to 8 per cent, is placed in the ware, and this is
boiled for at least 10 minutes. If after this period the vinegar
precipitates a concentrated solution of sulphureted hydrogen, which
has been added to it, and forms flakes of the brownish-black lead
sulphide, the ware is discarded as being dangerous to health. If
the color is only deepened, yet tending to brown, such ware is re
garded as harmful, according to the degree of coloration. Glazes
can be made containing lead and yet be not easily attacked by acetic
acid. The lead has to be fritted and in the form of a double silicate
when an alloy of lead oxide and silicic acid is formed during the
process of fusion.
On the Continent of Europe closed stoves take the place of our
open fires. In connection with these, the manufacture and use of
enameled tiles are a fruitful source of plumbism. Complaints are
made that it is not always easy to get the workmen to take the
necessary precautions. At Wurzen, in Saxony, notwithstanding the
introduction into the works of the most modem improvements, it
was impossible to get the men to realize the necessity of carefulness.
As a consequence, several of them became ill. Similar exhibitions
of carelessness occurred at Chemnitz, and was the cause of a consid
erable amount of suffering. In the glazes used for enameling the
tiles of stoves in the pottery works at Yelten, in Germany, Rasch
found from 1 to 10 per cent of oxide of lead soluble in acids and
alkalies.1 The process of fritting the lead compounds as carried on
there was a source of danger to the workpeople, for it was shown that
by respiration the men might absorb in 12 hours about 0.03 gram, and
even as much as 0.69 gram of lead oxide in a badly arranged
workshop.
RECOMMENDATIONS OE THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR LABOR
LEGISLATION AS TO USE OE LEAD GLAZES.

At the meeting of the delegates of the International Association
for Labor Legislation held in Lugano in September, 1910, the sub
ject of lead poisoning in the manufacture of earthenware and china
was carefully discussed and several recommendations drafted which
1 B ulletin de l’lnspection du Travail, 1904, p. 403.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

were to be submitted to the various Governments. As these have more
or less the sanction of international agreement and are the most
recently expressed views of experts, they are digested here at con
siderable, but not greater, length than the importance of the subject
demands. There was a general consensus of opinion that the Govern
ments should put forth their best efforts to abolish the use of lead in
its poisonous forms in the manufacture of pottery, and that wherever
porcelain and other forms of manufacture required a high tem
perature in firing all glazes containing lead should be prohibited.
There are many articles glazed without lead which can be fired at a
low temperature. It was felt that if a list of these could be drawn
out it might furnish the basis of international agreement. In the
manufacture of cheap pottery, which is fired at a low tempera
ture, and of earthenware such as is made in small potteries and in
the homes of the people on the Continent, an industry to which atten
tion will be drawn later on, it was recommended that lead sulphide
(galena) should be substituted for the litharge and minium in
use at present, and that it is desirable to have the glazes purchased
from special factories, wherein glazes could be manufactured on
a large scale, rather than made by the owners of small potteries
themselves. It would be of considerable assistance to the move
ment if State instruction could be given to potters who are wishful
to try glazes free from lead. It was felt that all glazes might
be considered as free from lead, all substances, too, the products
of vitrification which do not contain more than 1 per cent of lead,
or so long as the amount of lead contained in either of them does not
exceed that arising from such impurities as are commercially un
avoidable in the substances used. The following glazes are regarded
as being, comparatively speaking, free from danger: Those which
contain galena, those which before firing do not contain more than
2 per cent of lead, and all fritted glazes which do not yield more than
2 per cent of their dry weight of a soluble lead compound calculated
as lead monoxide determined by the Thorpe test—i. e., continuous
shaking of the glaze material, ground freely for use, for 1 hour with
1,000 times its weight of an aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid
containing 0.25 per cent of acid.
The mixing and grinding of the lead compounds of glazes as well
as the transport of these should be effected in the moist state or in
closed apparatus from which dust can not escape. Fritted lead
should be diverted in the liquid state into water. In all dusty proc
esses efficient exhaust draft should be provided. What the height
of the rooms should be where lead compounds and lead glazes are
manipulated it is difficult to say. Three and a half meters (11.48
feet) high, and l& cubic meters (529.72 cubic feet) space of air for
each workman, have been recommended. There is nothing to be

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

gained by making the rooms too lofty, unless other means of venti
lation are provided. Good flooring and walls which can be washed
are of importance. The manufacture and manipulation of the com
pounds for glazes should be absolutely forbidden in living and sleep
ing rooms, and there should not be introduced info either of these
rooms glazes or their lead ingredients, or any articles of pottery which
have been dipped in a glaze the ingredients of which have not been
fritted.
Females should not be employed in any kind of work whatever
which brings them into contact with lead compounds and lead
glazes. Opinions are divided as to the age at which apprentices
should commence work in processes in which lead compounds are
used. Eighteen years of age was recommended, but by some of the
delegates it was felt that 16 years would be, if not quite safe, cer
tainly more in keeping with the conditions of labor in some coun
tries. So far as the limitation of age is concerned it must not be
forgotten that young people are more liable to plumbism than those
of maturer age, and that two or three years one way or the other in
late adolescence is, so far as predisposition to plumbism is concerned,
a matter of the greatest importance. Dipping and firing of the
glazed ware, also cleaning of ware dipped in glaze, whose principal
ingredients have not been fritted, are not occupations for females
or for young persons.
It is desirable that persons employed in the fritting of lead com
pounds should not be occupied more than four hours on any one
day, nor on more than six days in succession. There should be an
interval of at least a fortnight between two such spells of work.
Overalls should be worn by all persons employed in mixing lead com
pounds and in manipulating raw-lead glazes. It should be incum
bent upon employers to provide the overalls, also a plentiful supply
of water for drinking and washing purposes, individual drinking
glasses, soap, and towels; the washing of the overalls and towels to
be the duty of the employers. There should be no eating, drinking,
or smoking, or even the introduction of food, drink, or tobacco into
places where lead compounds and lead glazes are manipulated, and
all persons whose work brings them into contact with lead should
be medically examined at least once every three months, the results
of the examination to be entered in a health register to be placed
at the disposal of the factory inspector whenever required.
Workers suspended on account of plumbism should not be reem
ployed until after a medical examination. Two cloakrooms, one for
the working clothes and one for the outdoor clothes, bathrooms sup
plied with hot and cold water, and a dining room should be pro
vided, and on their engagement employers should, by means of

INDUSTRIAL. LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

printed instructions, inform the workers of the danger of lead poison
ing and of the means of preventing it. Where a workman has fallen
ill or has been suspended from work for medical reasons, and is not
receiving an allowance from a sick club or insurance fund to which
the employer has contributed, the employer should indemnify him
for the loss of money to which he is exposed during his illness or
suspension. An employer may fulfill this obligation by providing
the employee with other work, paid for at the same rate and of such
a character as the state of health and the general circumstances of
the case will reasonably allow the suspended workman to undertake.
MANUFACTURE OF POTTERY AS A HOME INDUSTRY.

The writer’s attention was first directed to work in lead as a home
industry during a visit to the hand file makers of Sheffield. How
ever harmful file making has been in Sheffield, and however insalu
brious the conditions of labor, these are as nothing compared with
the disastrous results which have followed the manufacture of cheap
pottery and earthenware in the homes of the small master potters
of Hungary. In consequence of the enormous amount of sickness
and the extremely high death rate among the wives and children of
small potters in Hungary, circumstances specially brought under my
notice by the late Dr. Adalbert Chyzer, of Budapest, I went to Hun
gary accompanied by Mr. Hermann Belger, of the Armstrong Col
lege, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Along with Dr. Chyzer and Mr. Marcel
Gallai, one of the royal inspectors of factories, whose services
had been kindly placed at my disposal by His Excellency Mr. Josef
Szterenyi, secretary of state, I made a tour of inspection of those
villages wherein, apart from agriculture, pottery is the chief indus
try and where the work is carried on in the homes of the people..
At Hodmezo-Vasarhely we were met by M. Berecci, a master pot
ter, chairman of the potters’ guild. He had assembled in the court
yard of his house 80 working potters, many of whom were paralyzed
in their hands, face, and legs. I examined several of the men.
Some of them were the worst cases of plumbism I had ever seen. It
was appalling to see so many men, not yet in the prime of life, ren
dered helpless through their occupation. Some of them not more
than 35 to 40 years of age had been paralyzed for 6 years and more.
In several of the kitchens of the master potters I found, for example,
the wheel for grinding the raw lead glaze, the tub filled and
ready for the dipping of the ware, the potter’s wheel upon which is
thrown the clay, the usual furniture met with in kitchens, also a
bed and a cradle with, in some instances, a child in it, while between
the kitchen and the bedroom was the kiln or oven in which the leaddipped pottery was fired.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

The glazes used by the small master potters of Csakvar contain
60 per cent or more of white lead, 30 of kaolin, and one-half of 1 per
cent of copper, and, as dipping is attended by a good deal of splash
ing, there is in many of the living rooms abundant evidence of dry
glaze all over the hardened earth which forms the floor. Husband
and wife work together in the lead processes and frequently suffer in
consequence. Children, if bom in the adjoining room, are cradled
in the workroom, where dried glaze dust rich in lead carbonate is
much in evidence not only on the floor and upon the furniture and
shelves in the room, but also on the utensils used for cooking, as well
as on the bedclothes and pillows in the cradles.
Dr. Chyzer, on analyzing dust taken from the kitchens, found that
it contained lead varying from 0.63 to 1.08 per cent. In one of the
houses which I visited with Dr. Chyzer the husband, wife, grown-up
children, and a child of 4 years of age lived and took their meals
in the workroom. As a consequence all the children had suffered
from colic, and on the gums of each member of this household there
was a well-marked blue line. Close by, in an adjoining house, I
found a child 6 years of age who had suffered from saturnine enceph
alopathy, which had left him with cramped limbs, legs flexed upon
abdomen, head retracted, eyeballs paralyzed, loss of control of the
sphincters, and with defective mental development. Saturnine men
ingitis in children usually proves fatal within two or three days, or
there is an incomplete recovery with such sequelae as I have men
tioned. How much of the lead encephalopathy is relatively due to
heredity, congenital toxaemia, and to environment, it is difficult to
say. Children born to potters, where both of the parents are impreg
nated with lead, invariably die; but of the children born into the
unhealthy surroundings I have indicated, while some of them live,
all rim the risk of becoming lead poisoned and of developing at an
early age the peculiar nervous symptoms to which further attention
will be directed.
In one potter’s house, where the owner had but recently recovered
from lead colic, the dust removed from the top of the oven 6 feet
high was found to contain 3.9 per cent of lead. In the dust removed
from the floor near the grinding wheel in another potter’s house
at Bekes, where the husband was paralyzed in both hands, and where
the wife, who had suffered severely from colic, had become the
subject of osteomalacia, Dr. Chyzer found 14.9 per cent of lead, while
in the dust removed from the kitchen floor of yet another potter,
who was the subject of profound cachexia and of double wrist drop,
there was 8.7 per cent of lead. Carrying his investigations fur
ther, Dr. Chyzer found in the blouse of the son of a potter, aged
5 years, and on whose gums there was a well-marked blue line, lead
to the extent of 0.243 gram, and in his cap 0.0144 gram of lead. In

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

these two articles of clothing were also found traces of copper which
the father was in the habit of mixing with the glaze. These are only
a few examples of many analyses of the dust which were made, all
of which point to a wide dissemination of lead, not only in the living
rooms of working potters, but upon the clothes worn by their chil
dren. No wonder, therefore, that during my visit to Hungary I
was able to confirm all that Chyzer had drawn my attention to. I
have never seen such widespread suffering from lead poisoning, nor
have I witnessed such harrowing sights as those I saw among the
Hungarian potters who make their trade a home industry. Young
men paralyzed in hands, face, and feet, helpless, and unable to dress
and feed themselves; women paralyzed; children imbecile and blind,
paralyzed in their legs, or suffering from colic, and all of them with
a well-marked blue line on their gums. As to the connection of
the illness with lead there is no possibility of doubt. One master
potter whom I saw had lost his wife from plumbism; this man mar
ried again; his second wife had also died from lead poisoning. He
has three children; one was paralyzed and at home, the other two
were being treated for plumbism in the hospital of an adjoining town.
Some children whom I examined were suffering from rickets, were
undersized and undeveloped. A child 3 years old, carried in his
mother’s arms, looked like an infant of 12 months; he could not
speak; his legs were atrophied; he was imbecile. In Mezotur I
found in a potter’s family a boy, aged 7 years, the subject of recur
rent convulsions; he was paralyzed in left hand and foot, was imbe
cile, and could not talk. His brother, 3 years old, also could not talk.
A man of 21 looked more like a boy of 14 years.
The infant mortality of the home-working potters of Hungary is
high. They have few children, some none at all, owing to their
wives so frequently miscarrying. At Bekes, Dr. Elek Henszlman
informed us that a large number of the children in the village die
from acute saturnine meningitis. At Temerin seven children in one
family born to potter parents died from convulsions, and at Silos
a master potter had lost six of his children from the same cause.
In Hungary, therefore, it is not only the working potters who
suffer from plumbism, but their wives and families as well. The
domestic animals, too, do not escape. A potter can not keep in his
house a singing bird nor can he rear fowls in the courtyard, for the
dried splashed lead glaze rapidly kills them. Cats are extremely
susceptible to lead. They suffer from colic and in their agony they
roll upon the ground, bending their limbs toward their body, or
they strike their abdomen against the floor, mewing as if in pain.
In some of these animals symptoms akin to madness arise. Losing
control of themselves they run wildly about heedless of obstacles,

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

or they throw themselves into water and are drowned. In one
instance a cat in its agony leaped into the fire.
Struck by the distressing consequences of the manufacture of pot
tery as a home industry in Hungary, upward of 60 per cent of the
master potters in the village of Csakvar, for example, being the
subjects of plumbism, we drew up a few recommendations, which
were forwarded to the Government in the hope of ameliorating the
misery and the suffering which prevailed. One difficulty in altering
the conditions of manufacture of earthenware in Hungary is the
scarcity and dearness of fuel. The kilns are heated by wood. It
is owing to the ready volatilization of lead at a comparatively low
temperature that the rather free use of raw lead in the glazes has
arisen. Steps will be taken, if not to abolish the manufacture of
pottery as a home industry in Hungary, to at any rate forbid the
processes being carried on in the rooms occupied by potters and
their families; regulations will be drawn up for altering the methods
of preparing and using the glazes, and the potters and their wives
instructed in the dangers incidental to the unregulated use of lead.
FILE MAKING.

File cutting by hand is an unhealthy occupation. The death rate
of file cutters from lead poisoning and from pulmonary phthisis
exceeds the mortality standard of ordinary occupied males by 90
per cent, and after 35 years of age it is still higher. The explana
tion of the unhealthy nature of the trade in England is not far to
seek. The work is frequently carried on in small buildings in the
rear of dwelling houses and in back yards in which there is little
circulation of air. In most of the workshops in Sheffield—the prin
cipal seat of the industry in Great Britain—there is no ventilation.
Usually the floor is the ordinary earth. Men and women work
together, and overcrowding is common.
In file cutting by hand the man or woman sits astride a 44stock.” 1
In front of him is a stone block, into the center of which a steel bar
called a 44stiddy ” is inserted, and on this 44stiddy ” is placed a
piece of metallic lead called 44the bed ” or 44cushion.” When about
to be cut, the file is strapped flat on the 44bed.” By means of a ham
mer and chisel fine lines are made upon the file, each line represent
ing one blow of the hammer. The work calls forth a considerable
amount of effort on the part of the file cutter, for the hammer usually
weighs from 7 to 9^ pounds, and in a large file there may be as many
as 3,800 lines. When one face of the file has been cut it is lifted
from the cushion, rubbed with charcoal or chalk, and then replaced,
cut face downward, for the other side to be similarly dealt with.
Much dust is given off both during the cutting of the file and on its
1 Oliver, D iseases of Occupation, p. 169. London, 1908.

INDUSTRIAL. LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

being rubbed with, charcoal. In the dust collected from the rafters
of a file-cutting nhop in Sheffield there were found 2.64 grains of
metallic lead, in dust taken from the top of a “ stock” 14.82 and
22.28 grains per 100, and from the floor under the stock 2.68 and
4.37 grains per 100.
File cutters are not a cleanly class of men. They were until lately
in the habit of taking food into the workshops and of eating it there
without previously washing their hands. They acquire the dirty
habit, too, of licking their fingers when at work, so as to get a better
grip of the chisel. Their work obliges them to bend down toward
the “ stiddy ” and thus they inhale dust, which is the cause alike of
plumbism and diseases of the lungs. Although the lead given off is
generally in a metallic state, yet there is always a certain amount of
oxidation taking place, and this converts the lead into a soluble form.
Partly as the result of the work being carried on in close ill-ven
tilated rooms and partly also owing to the nature of the work itself,
the men and women sooner or later become anaemic, suffer from colic,
or develop paralysis of the extensor muscles of the fingers and wrists,
especially of the left hand, since it is by the fingers of this hand the
chisel is tightly gripped. The prolonged muscular strain thereby
incurred is one explanation of the left hand becoming more fre
quently affected than the right. In other instances there is double
“ wrist.drop.” Plumbism in file cutters tends to chronicity, and as a
consequence we find in them a high death rate from diseases of the
kidneys. The number of cases of lead poisoning in file cutters re
ported to the Home Office during the last 11 years has been as
follows:1
N U M B E R OF CASES OP LEAD PO ISO NIN G AM ONG PILE CUTTERS REPORTED
TO TH E BR ITISH HOME OFFICE, 1899 TO 1909.
occupation.
Pile cutting:
All cases.....................................
Fatal cases................................

Number of cases of lead poisoning reported in the year—
1909 1908 1907 1906 1905 1904 1903 1902 1901 1900 1899

9
2

20
4

46
7

40
3

The upper figures are those of all cases, fatal and nonfatal; the fig
ures in the lower line of the table relate to fatal cases only. Between
1900 and 1909 there were reported in the United Kingdom 241 cases
of plumbism in file cutters and of these 19 terminated fatally. In 211
cases of plumbism notified as occurring in file makers, 202 were file
cutters proper and 9 file hardeners, i. e., men who temper files by
plunging them into a bath of molten lead. Greater attention to ven1 Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops [of Great Britain]
for the year 1909, p. 193.
99828°—No. 95—11----- 5

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

tilation and better hooding of the bath, whereby the lead fumes can
be drawn away from the worker, would, if file cutting is to be carried
on on the old lines, materially reduce the tendency to plumbism.
Machine-made files are replacing those made by hand, and in many
engineering shops work hitherto done by hand filing is now done by
wheels coated with carborundum and run at a great speed. Several
substitutes, too, have been tried for the metallic lead plate upon which
the file rests when being cut, but until lately for hand files there seems
to have been considerable difficulty in finding anything which ade
quately replaces it. In Prussia the factory inspectors state that the
men can not makes files without a lead cushion. There, too, as in
England, numerous unsuccessful attempts have been made to find
a substitute, but from nearly every country comes the same answer,
that the lead cushion is softer and receives the recoil better. For files
of a coarser character an alloy of tin and zinc can be used, but,
whether this or any other cushion is adopted, personal cleanliness
on the part of file cutters is an absolute necessity. In Bavaria there
are 26 small file factories giving employment to 59 men and 13
youths. Only two cases of plumbism are said to have occurred in
these factories in five years. Pure-lead cushions were used in 5
of the works, in 13 lead alloys, and in the remainder tin and zinc.
Employers and workmen in the file shops of Saxony say that they
can get along well without the use of lead in the cushions. For
files which are subsequently to be used upon wood it is said that,
while lead is desirable, it is not necessary, since tin can take its
place. The factory inspector for the Brunswick Government states
that in his district there is a file maker who has worked uninter
ruptedly for 38 years without being ill. This is a proof that by
cleanliness and attention to details of hygiene the occupation can be
robbed of many of its dangers. The same inspector states that lead
cushions can be replaced by tin, and that the molten-lead baths into
which the files are plunged in order to harden them can also be dis
pensed with. For the purpose of hardening, it is enough to insert*
the files between hot iron bars.
File cutting is one of the unhealthiest of occupations. For this the
stooping attitude at work, the ill-ventilated workrooms, and the in
halation of the dust are responsible. Phthisis is extremely prevalent
among file cutters. The work is arduous and fatiguing, as well as
dusty. In a sample of dust taken from the outside of a furnace for
tempering files Prof. Sommerfeld1 found 1.2 per cent of lead.
As bearing upon the question of substitutes for lead, the opinion
of continental authorities and of sick assurance funds is of import
ance. A recent report of the Sick Insurance Fund of Machine Con
structors of Berlin states that during a period of two years and
1 B ulletin de l’lnspection du Travail, Paris, Imprimerie N ationale, 1904, p. 899.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

three months, there were 148 file cutters at work. Of these 55 used
only tin cushions and remained in good health, whereas of the 98
who used lead, 55 were attacked with plumbism. The Chamber of
Commerce of West Prussia reports that during 1903 nearly all the
file cutters of the district suffered from lead poisoning. Similar
accounts come from Magdeburg, Hildesheim, and Diisseldorf.
In Germany, Prof. Sommerfeld has for years been pressing hard
for the suppression of lead and for the use of tin as a substitute. He
is of opinion that it is only the higher price of tin as opposed to lead
which prevents employers using it irjore freely. Upon this point
the testimony of Dr. Ignace K au p ^ **v::i at the meeting of the In
ternational Association for Labor Legislation at Basel, 1904, is of
special interest, although it refers only to Austria. In the annual
reports of the hospitals of Vienna from 1895 to 1898 .there appeared
on an average three to four cases of plumbism in file cutters who had
worked with soft lead cushions. The factory inspector thereafter
proposed that the cushions should be made of a composition other
than lead, and since then there have been no cases of lead poisoning.
This experience points strongly in the direction of interdicting lead
in file cutting.
In some countries the workmen themselves have taken up the
question. Dr. Karl Wachter1 states that lead cushions can be re
placed by zinc, but that the cost is slightly greater. In 1906, there
was a strike of file makers in Offenbach. Before returning to work
the men insisted upon the lead cushions being replaced by an alloy
of zinc, that the files should not be hardened in a lead bath, the ven
tilation should be improved, regular cleaning of the workshops take
place, and that they should be provided with sulphur soap for their
personal use.
Apart from the risk of lead poisoning and disease of the kidneys,
to which file cutters are prone, they are also liable to phthisis in
greater proportion than men employed in other ordinary occupations.
Of 27 deceased members- of the Sick Insurance Fund of Machine
Constructors, in Berlin, 13 (48.1 per cent) died from phthisis, the
mean age at death of these 27 men being 43.7 years. In the Occupa
tion Mortality Tables of Ogle the average age at death of file cutters
is stated to be 40 years. The British Home Office has done much
by special rules to remove from file cutting many of its dangers.2
ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATOR W ORKS.

The increasing use of electricity for lighting and motor purposes,
for telegraph and telephone requirements, has led to the manufac
ture of electrical accumulators (storage batteries) on a large scale
1Die gewerbliche Blevergiftung und ihre Bekhmpfung im deutschen Reich. Karls
ruhe, 1908.
*For rules in full, see pp. 143, 144.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

and made it an important industry. In the manufacture of elec
trical accumulators a paste made of red lead and sulphuric acid is
rubbed into the openings of perforated plates. The workmen thus
employed wear india-rubber gloves. But these become thin with
friction so that, unless the greatest watchfulness is exercised, the
gloves cease to be a protection and become a source of danger. The
mixing of the paste should be done automatically in a closed cham
ber provided with an exhaust draft. The stringent regulations in
force in Germany have considerably diminished the amount of lead
poisoning in electrical accumulator works in that country, and
although in Great Britain the manufacture is well supervised there
are yet far too many cases of plumbism, as the following table shows i1
NUMBER OF CASES OF LEAD POISONING IN ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATOR
WORKS REP.ORTED TO TH E BRITISH HOME OFFICE, 1899 TO 1909.
Number of cases of lead poisoning reported in the year—
1909 1908 1907 1906 1905 1904 1903 1902 1901 1900 1899
All cases................................
Fatal cases............................

49 -33

Total.
317

During 11 years there have been notified 317 cases of lead poison
ing, including 6 deaths, in men employed in electrical accumulator
works. Most of the illness the men suffer from is the result of the use
of the red lead paste already referred to, but there are other risks,
such as those consequent upon casting the plates, soldering by means
of a blowpipe flame, and the inhalation of dust when fitting up the
plates in a battery. Of 69 cases of plumbism which occurred in a
large accumulator works near Ashton, Dr. Hugh Hughes states that
45 of the men affected were mixers, pasters, laborers, and 16 were
lead burners. In a large works in Germany 37.5 per cent of the
cases of lead poisoning occurred in men employed in the soldering
department, 30 per cent in plumbing, 30 in pasting, and 10 per cent
in casting. It is in the soldering, plumbing, and pasting processes
that the men are exposed to the greatest risks. Of 106 men employed
in electrical accumulator works, Dr. Puddock found that 53.5 per
cent showed a well-marked blue line on the gums and that 9 per
cent were anaemic.
Electrical accumulator works resemble white-lead factories in so
far as in certain works there is always a certain amount of plumbism
among the men, whereas other works are remarkably free, a cir
cumstance which points often to some structural defect in the buildings, probably old to commence with, or to laxity in observance of the
1Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops [of Great Britain]
for the year 1909, p. 193.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

regulations. In one works in Vienna 19 per cent of the men fell ill;
in another 50 per cent.1 It is well, therefore, to set as high a stand
ard of requirements as possible and to insist upon attention to the
most minute details, such as good ventilation, effectual separation of
the processes, provision of receptacles for lead ashes, exhaust drafts
on the pasting benches, and conveniently situated lavatories sup
plied with hot and cold water.
A difference exists between factories where electrical accumulators
are simply used and where they are made. While there is little
danger in the use of accumulators, there is a considerable risk to
health in their manufacture, since, as already stated, lead in one form
or another enters into most of the processes. Metallic lead has to be
melted and made into grids or perforated plates; these have to be
pasted with red lead; soldering of the plates is required, and the
plates when finished have to be placed in wooden boxes lined with
lead. There is scarcely a process, therefore, in which the men either
do not handle metallic lead, are not exposed to its fumes, or do not
run the risk of inhaling red lead dust. The most severe cases of
plumbism are usually met with among the younger men. That it
is an industry attended by risk to health is shown by the fact that in
one large works in Vienna, giving employment to 107 men, an average
of between 4 and 5 workmen daily were unable to follow their occupa
tion on account of lead poisoning. Several of the men suffered from
colic, which lasted a few days, but kept returning, while others were
off ill on account of stomach trouble and bronchial catarrh.1
Men commencing work in electrical accumulator factories should
have the dangers and the risks of the occupation explained to them.
In a large accumulator works in Berlin several of the men became
ill because the regulations were neither understood nor followed.
Within one month two medical examinations in one works revealed
the presence of 7 cases of plumbism among 14 workmen, equal to 50
per cent. The owner was fined for not having the rules observed. It
has again and again been shown that the best way to teach workmen
to take preventive measures is to have them periodically medically
examined. In one accumulator works personal cleanliness on the
part of the workmen was sought to be assured by the promise of a
gift to the men of 10 to 20 marks ($2.38 to $4.76) if they would
faithfully observe the rules. The value of a periodical medical ex
amination of the workers is testified to from all parts. In Pomerania
there was an electrical accumulator works which had lain idle for a
time. Before being taken on again all the workmen were examined.
After commencing work there was no further medical examination
for two months. By this time many of the workmen had fallen ill,
1Dr. Ignace Kaup, Blei- und Phosphorvergiftungen in den gewerblichen Betrieben Osterreichs, p. 48. Wien, 1902.

BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OP LABOR.

and to such an extent that they had to be dismissed. As a few of
the old hands also suffered the monthly examination was reestab
lished and with excellent results.
In men employed in small electrical accumulator works where ven
tilation is defective symptoms of plumbism may develop with great
rapidity. A patient under the writer’s care became the subject of
lead poisoning after having worked for 10| days as a paster of grids
for small hand batteries. The workroom was not adapted for the
kind of work it had been put to.
PRINTING, LINOTYPING, AND TYPE FOUNDING.

The occupation of printing and type founding is attended with
risks to health, not only from lead poisoning, but from tuberculous
phthisis as well. The rooms in which printing is carried on are gen
erally kept too hot, are badly ventilated, and too frequently illumi
nated by such artificial means as gas or lamps, which consume the
oxygen of the air and add combustion products to it. Type metal is
an alloy of lead with one-fourth or one-third of antimony, which is
added in order to give hardness to the type. Occasionally tin and
copper are also added in small quantities.
The high death rate among printers and type founders from
phthisis contradicts the opinion expressed several years ago by two
French physicians, Tanquerel and Pidoux, that there exists an antag
onism between lead poisoning and tuberculosis, or, in other words,
that the presence of one of these diseases tends to exclude the other.
On the contrary, experience of several trades in which lead is used
raises the question as to whether lead by reducing the resistance of
the worker does not rather predispose him to tuberculosis. There is
a growing belief that such is the case. It was the opinion of Leudet,
another French physician, that when pulmonary phthisis becomes
grafted upon plumbism, the disease of the lungs tends to run a more
rapid course than in other sick but not lead-poisoned persons. While
work in everheated and badly ventilated rooms may of itself predis
pose the printer and type founder to lung disease, there is the
influence of dust as dust to reckon with. Since tuberculous phthisis
as a special morbid incident is not met with in all industries in which
lead is used, it would seem as if some other factors were present, such
as an unusually irritating form of dust. The lead miner, for in
stance, is more prone to lung trouble than either the coal or the iron
stone miner. Bad ventilation and the absence of means for the
removal of the smoke of the lamp of the miners and of the fumes
given off by explosives are largely responsible for the pulmonary
troubles of the lead miners. Type founders, grinders, fitters, finish
ers, and stereotypers suffer from the fumes given off by the molten
lead to which they are exposed, where the old method of stereotyping
is done by casting. During the polishing of type by means of files,

65
the men can hardly avoid inhaling dust. According to Kaup, this
work in Vienna is done by young girls, and they suffer severely from
lead poisoning.1 Printers and machine workers run risks when, after
having soiled their hands with lead through handling the type, they
wash the metal characters in benzine. In type founding there is
another possible risk—when the antimony contains arsenic.
Between 1900 and 1909 there were reported to the British Home
Office 200 cases of lead poisoning in printers; of these 17 were fatal.
During 1909, 21 cases were notified, whilst for the previous nine years
the numbers were, respectively, 30, 26, 16, 19, 15, 13, 19, 23, and 18.
The 200 cases were made up as follows: Ninety-two compositors, 71
stereotypers and linotype operatives, and 37 persons employed in the
type-casting room.12* Taking his figures for four years from the
Typographers and Type Founders’ Assurance Society of Vienna,
Jehle found on an average that per 100 printers, 1.02; per 100 print
ers’ assistants, 0.52; per 100 compositors, 1.92; per 100 type founders,
7.07; per 100 female printers, 0.98; and per 100 female compositors,
21.25 suffered from lead poisoning.8
At Lugano in September, 1910, Dr. Teleky, of Vienna, informed
the writer that if female labor in the compositors’ room had not been
already entirely suppressed in Austria, it was on the point of being
abolished, for it is among compositors that the largest number of cases
of plumbism occur. Although in Great Britain the number of cases
of lead poisoning in printers is not great considering the number of
persons employed, still the symptoms are usually severe. The nerv
ous system is specially prone to be affected in printers, hence the
high proportion of paralysis and of brain symptoms. Mention may
also be made of the fact that in many female printers who are suffer
ing from lead intoxication there is frequently an absence of a blue
line on the gums.
The remarks made in regard to printers and compositors apply
equally to type founders and linotypists. To the fumes which rise
from the molten metal in the casting and lino melting pots must be
attributed the plumbism from which the men suffer. Other proba
ble sources of illness are inhalation of dust and absorption of poison
through the skin by handling the type. The dust given off by type
frequently contains as much as 14 per cent of lead. In Great Britain,
although cases of plumbism among printers and type founders can
not be said to be on the decline, on the Continent the percentage of
persons affected in the polygraphic trades is much higher. In Leip
zig alone in one year 132 typists, 25 type founders, and 9 music
typists suffered from lead poisoning. An interesting legal point was
INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

1 Kaup, op, cit., p. 20 .
2 Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and W orkshops [of Great B ritain]
for the year 1909, pp. 193, 195.
8 Kaup, op. cit., p. 23.

BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOR.

recently raised in Bavaria, when a printer’s apprentice, 13 years old,
developed lead colic. The father of the boy was advised to change
his son’s occupation, but refused. Law, while sufficient to keep the
youth away from work when ill, had no power to prevent his return
ing to work when he had recovered. In Great Britain such a diffi
culty might be got over by requiring the worker who had suffered
from lead poisoning to furnish a medical certificate, stating that he
had recovered and was fit for work. The certifying surgeon could
refuse to pass the applicant for work on the ground that he was
physically unfitted for it.
Although Holland is a small country, her polygraphic trades are
very important. In 1899 there was given employment to 13,749 men
and 147 women; in 1904, 16,199 workers were employed, of whom
10,143, or 62.5 per cent, were adults. The subject of the maladies of
printers and type founders has formed the basis of an interesting
inquiry by Is. P. de Vooys,1 factory inspector, Deventer. In Amster
dam, Rotterdam, ’s Gravenhage, and Utrecht the youths employed
equal 32.5 per cent of the whole.
Since in Holland boys are employed in the printing trades at a
comparatively early age, Dr. S. Elias,123of Rotterdam, has made an
inquiry into the effect of the occupation upon the subsequent growth
and development of these youths. Comparing the height and weight
of the boys who enter the printing shops at the age of 12 years with
boys at the orphanage in Brussels; well-developed German lads; sons
of wealthy Italians, and with healthy boys generally, Elias finds
that the Dutch boys at the age stated are taller and heavier than the
others mentioned, but that at the end of three years they are shorter
and of lighter weight than all of them. This effect of work in
printing shops raises the question as to the advisability of the height
and weight measurements of all young persons taken by certifying
surgeons on commencing work being registered with the view of
comparing the influence of various occupations upon the growth and
development of youths.
The average daily wages of the adult printers are about 3 shillings
and 6 pence (85 cents), which, compared with those of the agricul
tural laborers, 2 shillings and 9 pence (67 cents), are not much con
sidering the risks of the occupation and the necessity of good food.
In order to make a decent living the men engaged in the typographic
industries have to work longer than the alloted 10 hours, but even
with overtime the wage increment is so small as to be hardly worth
the extra strain which the labor involves. Considerable interest is
being taken in the printing trades on account of the frequency of
1 Bericht iiber B leivergiftung in den polygraphischen Gewerben in den Niederlanden,
erstattet von Is. P . de Vooys, Arbeitsinspektor, Deventer.
3 Qnelques observations chez les jeunes ouvriers travaillant dans les ateliers de Polygraphie et Imprimerie. B ruxelles: Congress, Sept., 1910.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

tuberculosis among the workers. In Holland compulsory notifica
tion of plumbism among printers is not yet required. The following
table suggests a higher mortality for printers and house painters than
for the other trades:1
Per cent of persons working in specified occupations, by age groups.
Occupation.
Printers.......................
Shoemakers...............
House painters..........
All trades...................

12 to 17 18 to 22 23 to 36 36 to 50 51 to 60 61 to 65 66 to 70 71 years
years. years. years. years. years. years. years. and over.
26.71
14.29
14.21
10.61

19.72
14.92
16.42
13.46

30.14
28.95
30.57
29.88

16.19
13.15
23.73
24.86

1.38
3.69
2.90
4.35

5.13
9.54
8.76
H.60

1.02

2.77
1.82
2.81

6.71
2.69
1.59
2.53

After 50 years of age there are fewer persons working in the
printing trade than in most other trades. In the case of shoemaking,
which is to some extent a sedentary occupation and is usually carried
on in overheated rooms, the influence of the occupation is probably
more felt as the men become older.
It is not the number of cases of lead poisoning which strikes us
as a cause of death of printers so much as phthisis. As showing the
unhealthiness of the trade from this point of view, there died in the
18 years from 1850 to 1868 in Vienna 712 printers, of whom 69.7 per
tent died from tuberculosis.12*
The high mortality rate from phthisis in printers in the Nether
lands between the ages of 18 and 35 is readily apparent.
PER CENT OF DEA TH S DUE TO P H T H ISIS IN SPEC IFIED OCCUPATIONS, BY
AGE GROUPS .8
Per cent of the total deaths in the age group due to phthisis.
Trade.
Printers...................................
Shoemakers............................
House painters......................
All trades..................................

years Aver
12 to 17 18 to 22 23 to 35 36 to 50 51 to 60 61 to 65 66 to 70 71and
years. years. years. years. years. years. years.. over. age.
5.92
4.06
3.87
2.70

31.23
21.79
14.82
U.96

22.67
19.35
15.54
12.40

17.83
16.13
15.87
11.25

16.88
15.16
16.64
12.16

7.04
7.34
14.86

28.30
5.44
19.35

11.22 11.00

13.51
9.06
4.92
6.80

18.75
15.30
13.85
10.65

In many instances work in lead and inhalation of dust appear to
undermine the health of workmen without their exhibiting signs of
plumbism. This circumstance has already been mentioned. Miss
Anderson, principal lady inspector of factories, drew attention in
her annual report, 1906, to the absence of a blue line on the gums in
32 women and female young persons engaged in printing, and yet in
several of them there were other signs suggestive of plumbism.
De Vooys mentions the occurrence of plumbism in a family where
type casting was carried on as a home industry. To the habit of

1 De Vooys, op. cit., p. 6 .
2 Kaup, op. cit., p. 21 .
8 De Vooys, op. cit., p. 9.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

young printers holding the type between their teeth, when correcting,
several cases of lead poisoning have been traced, also to the disagree
able practice printers occasionally have of moistening their fingers
with saliva in order to get a better hold of the type. In one print
ing shop De Yooys found seven workmen with signs of lead poi
soning, including tremor, presence of a blue line on the gums, and in
some of the men a history of colic, and yet no cases of plumbism had
been reported from the district, a circumstance which shows how
unreliable statistics of industrial poisoning may be, unless notifica
tion is compulsory and the medical profession loyally cooperates
with the Government inspectors.
The dangers to which printers are exposed are inhalation of dust
which contains lead, cleaning the type; also inhalation of fumes from
rotary presses and printing machines. In the dust taken from type
boxes both lead and antimony have been found. Dr. C. van Eyk,
professor of chemistry at the Eoyal Military Academy at Breda, has
made several examinations of the dust. He estimates the amount
of lead present by shaking it in 0.25 per cent solution of hydrochloric
acid for one hour.1
P e r c e n ta g e of
lead dissolved
after s h a k in g
in 0.25 per cent
solution of hy
drochloric acid
for 1 hour.

Test.

1 ......................................................
23 ......................................................
......................................................
4 ......................................................
5 .....................................................

3.48
3.70
3.59
3.38
1.23

P e r c e n ta g e of
lead dissolved
after sh a k in g
in 0.25 per cent
solution of hy
drochloric acid
for 1 hour.

Test.

6 ........................................................
7........................................................
8 ........................................................
9........................................................

1.76
1.82
1.68
2.43

The foregoing table shows how much of the lead present in the
dust is soluble, while the succeeding table shows the character of the
dust taken from different parts of the workroom:1
Test.

2.3.1.
4.
5.6.

Place from which the dust was taken.

Gas pipes..............................
A beam..................................
Water pipes..........................
Stovepipes..........................
Top of cupboard.................
Beams supporting ceiling.
A beam ..................................

Percentage
of lead dis
solved
Height shakingafter
in
above 0.26 per cent
floor solution of
(feet). hydrochloric
acid for 1
hour.
8.03
10.82
8.20
7.87
7.64
10.82
9.84

2.34
1.47
1.64
1.43
2.04
2.25
1.29

From all parts of Europe comes the same indictment of dust in
printing works. It is dust which menaces health from all points of

*De Vooys, op. cit., p. 22.

INDUSTRYATj LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

view. Prof. Steingraber analyzed the dust from a type box in a
Krakow printing works and he found it contained 16.43 per cent of
lead; the dust from the top of a stove in a compositor’s room con
tained 0.24 per cent; while that from the floor of a gallery 5 meters
(16.4 feet) high in a compositor’s room contained 0.37 per cent of
lead. In these works there were several cases of plumbism.1
Dr. van Eyk having raised the question as to why some dust con
tains more lead than others, answers it by saying that where the per
centage of lead is small the dust must be coming from other sources
than the printing. A number of printers after working for hours
with type were asked to wash their hands in a weak solution of
hydrochloric acid. In this liquid there was found on an average
from 6 to 15 milligrams of lead per man.
An equally interesting study of the unhealthiness of printing as
an occupation has been made by Prof. Martin Hahn,*2 of Munich.
The union of German book printers has a membership of 54,000.
Among these the sickness rate is higher than in the occupied male
population generally. From 1891 to 1904 printers gave a morbidity
rate of 46.10 per 100 members, whereas in the sick funds of Germany it
was 37.58. In Munich the ordinary insurance sickness fund gave 49.5
for males and 43.4 for females, whereas for the polygraphic trades the
numbers were 39.7 and 50.5 per 100 members, respectively. In Ber
lin the figures for printers and the general insurance funds are prac
tically equal, but if book printers alone are taken, the illness of
printers, 1901 to 1907, amounts to 45.65 per 100 members, compared
with that of the male members of sick funds other than printers,
39.59. The type founders in Berlin show, strange to say, compara
tively low figures—37.1 for males and 37.8 for females. Compared
with the other trades the mortality rate of printers and persons em
ployed in some parts of Germany in the polygraphic industries is
low. In Dresden the polygraphic trades gave a mortality rate of
0.67 per 100 members and trades generally 0.84; in Munich the fig
ures were, respectively, 0.57 and 0.89. From Berlin comes similar
information.
MORTALITY RATE PER 100 MEMBERS IN BERLIN .8

Years. | Males. Females. Average.
General mortality, local sick funds............................................ 1902-1907
Book-printing trades........................................................................ 1901-1907
Type founders______ __________ ____ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1902-1907

1.26
.92
.98

0.74
.62

0.99
.84
.93

Where there is an excess of sickness among persons employed in the
polygraphic trades, Hahn is disposed to regard it as the result of the
harmful nature of the occupation and the employment of women in
iR au p , op. cit., p. 23.
2 M artin Hahn, M. D., Die G esundheitsverhaltnisse im polygraphischen Gewerbe Deutschlands m it besonderer Beriicksichtigung der B leivergiftung. Berlin, 1910.

8 Idem, p. 15.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

lead processes, and not as the results of the conditions under which
the work is carried on, nor from the fact of printers being physically
a weaker class of persons than those employed in other trades or of
their being more poorly paid.
In the polygraphic trades some of the work brings a few of the
persons employed more into contact with lead than others. Taking
all cases of lead poisoning in these trades, it would appear that from
60 to 90 per cent occur in printers and type founders, and among
them the incidence of plumbism is especially high in the male
assistants on account of their youth. Other departments, such as
chromolithography and lithography, furnish, comparatively speak
ing, few cases of plumbism and then mostly as the result of careless
ness. In the Munich section of the German Senefeld Union, out of
1,000 members of lithographers, chromolithographers, etc., excluding
printers and type founders, there were 600 cases of illness between
1904 and 1907, with only 1 certain and 1 doubtful case of lead poison
ing.1 Plumbism can not, therefore, be said to be prevalent to any
extent in the lithographic department of printing.
In Germany as elsewhere it is the diseases indirectly caused by
plumbism and, notwithstanding what has already been said, the
conditions under which the work is carried on which cause printing
to be regarded as an unhealthy occupation. The rate of pulmonary
diseases, for example, increases with a rise in the incidence of lead
poisoning. In Stuttgart for 1906 the figures are:
CASES OF SICKNESS PER 100 M EMBERS FROM TUBERCULOSIS OF LUNGS AND
OTHER ORGANS, STUTTGART, 1906.12
Males. Females. Average.
Total,local sick fu n d s..................................................................................
Book-printers* sick fu n d ......................................... ...........................................

5.95
11.32

8.73
9.32

6.80
10.10

As a contrast to the above, the figures for Munich for 1907 may be
taken, but in this instance not for book printing, but for the poly
graphic trades generally:
CASES OF SICK NESS PER 100 M EMBERS FROM TUBERCULOSIS OF ALL ORGANS,
M UNICH, 1907.2
Males. Females. Average.
Total local sick funds..........................................................................................
Polygraphie trades_______ . . . . . _____ __________________ ____________

5,30
9.69

8.79
10.59

6.58
10.12

The polygraphic trades show a much higher rate of sickness than
the general insurance funds, but of all the polygraphic trades in
Germany book printers show in this respect the worst record. Tak
ing the years 1901 to 1904, the mortality of printers was 48.05 per

1 Hahn, op. cit., p. 18.
2 Idem, p. 20.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

10,000 members, whilst for the same years in seven of the most densely
populated districts of Germany, such as Hamburg and Saxony, the
figures were 38.5 for the general population. The figures are con
firmed by the percentage mortality of tuberculosis in Berlin:1
PER CENT OF TOTAL DEATHS DUE TO TUBERCULOSIS AMONG MEMBERS OF
SICK FUND S IN BERLIN.
Years.
Total, local sick funds.................................................................... 1902-1907
Book-printers' sick fund................................................................. 1901-1907

Males. Females. Average.
29.5
37.2

33.1
39.4

30.9
37.7

It has already been stated that if the various departments of the
polygraphic trades are separated printers show the highest mortality
from tuberculosis. In Berlin, between 1901 and 1907, the mortality
of book printers and apprentices was 35 per 10,000 members, whilst
in the other departments it was 31.1 The Berlin type founders show
among the male members comparatively a low figure for diseases of
the respiratory organs, but a high tuberculosis mortality. No great
statistical value, however, can be attached to the figures owing to the
small number of persons employed in type founding.
Austria also presents problems connected with the polygraphic in
dustries. Her printing trades give employment to at least 18,000
men and women, and the principal diseases from which these people
suffer are plumbism and pulmonary tuberculosis. Among persons
employed in the polygraphic trades of Vienna and neighborhood,
Lewy states that during 10 years, 1862 to 1872,1,186 cases of lead poi
soning were reported.12 Contrary to the experience of most physicians,
he is of the opinion that in printers plumbism is more frequent than
tuberculosis. Twenty years later things were no better as regards
lead poisoning, for Kaup 3 tells us that in the 10 years 1891 to 1900
there were 1,308 cases of plumbism among the printers and type
founders of Vienna, with 41,838 days of sickness and 8 deaths. To
these should be added other 400 cases of plumbism, but of such mild
character as not to have prevented the persons working. This gives
a total of 1,780 cases of lead poisoning, a terrible figure, which tells
its own tale of lost health and of work abandoned through indus
trial poisoning. The tale becomes the sadder when to these is added
1,652 cases of tuberculosis which occurred among the printers during
the same period. At the time to which Kaup refers the conditions
of the printing shops in Vienna were bad. Compositors were suffer
ing from lead poisoning to the number of 2.5 to 5.48 per 100 members,
but the greatest amount of suffering fell upon the founders, and
especially the female hands employed in the type-casting shops.

1 Hahn, op. cit., p. 21 .
2 Kaup, op. cit., p. 20.
8 Idem, p. 23.

BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

While of the male type casters 3.6 to 11.7 per cent fell ill with lead
poisoning, female workers suffered to the extent of from 13.1 to 45
per cent. “ Badly nourished, young, barely out of school, knowing
nothing of the danger of the occupation, these girls enter the work
shops only to be overcome a few weeks after by the harmful action of
dust and the fumes of lead.” Speaking of married women working
in type-casting shops, Kaup says that only 50 per cent of them are
capable of becoming mothers. Taking his figures from the typogra
phers’ sick funds for the years 1887 to 1890, he tells us that of 288
pregnant women working in typographic printing shops, 258 were
confined normally, while 30, or 10.4 per cent, had miscarriages. Of
78 pregnant women employed in the type-casting shops only 37
reached the natural term of pregnancy; the remaining 41, that is to
say, 52.4 per cent, had miscarriages.1
Lead poisoning as an immediate cause of death does not appear in
the mortality columns of the annual reports of the British Typo
graphical Association for the last few years, but since chronic plumbism leads to the establishment of pathological changes in the kidneys,
heart, and blood vessels, the number of deaths from disease of these
organs conveys some idea of the extent to which lead may have been
slowly but surely exerting its malign influence. Taking the deaths
for the separate years 1904 and 1907 the percentage of deaths, speak
ing roughly, from kidney and circulatory diseases combined was 18.7
and 20, respectively, but for tuberculosis the per cents for the same
years were 22.6 and 25.4.
A similar high death rate from tuberculosis, with a remarkable
freedom from the immediate consequences of lead poisoning, is also
found among members of the London Society of Compositors.
Through the kindness of their secretary, the writer has had the oppor
tunity of studying its mortality experience for the last three years.
In 1907 the society had a membership of 12,387. During this year the
deaths numbered 138. One member died from lead poisoning at the
age of 38. The deaths from tuberculosis were 36 and from heart and
kidney diseases 25, or 26.1 and 18.1 per cent, respectively. With a
membership of 12,202 in 1908 there occurred 141 deaths; no mention
is made of lead poisoning having been an immediate cause of death.
Tuberculosis removed 30 members and diseases of heart and kidney
combined 24, or 21.3 and 17 per cent, respectively. Although in
1909 the membership had fallen to 12,090, the deaths, rose to 152.
Lead poisoning was not an immediate cause of death. Tuberculosis
caused 39, or 25.7 per cent, of the deaths and diseases of heart and
kidneys combined 20, or 13.2 per cent. Both in the British Typo
graphical Association and the London Society of Compositors, it is
not lead poisoning or its immediate consequences which is destruc

1Kaup, op. cit., p. 24.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

tive to life. Tuberculosis carries off more of the members than
diseases of the heart and kidneys combined.
From all of the northwestern European countries comes the same
evidence of the high death rate from tuberculosis among printers and
those engaged in the typographic industries generally. To the ques
tion incidentally raised here and there in the text, as to the rela
tionship between plumbism and tuberculosis in printers, I shall now
briefly address myself. Does plumbism predispose to tuberculosis?
Prof. Hahn draws attention to the fact that in Vienna and Berlin
for 1901 to 1907 the cases of sickness from lead poisoning and the
mortality from tuberculosis ran concurrently.1 In Vienna the cases
of sickness from lead poisoning per 100 members declined 48 per cent,
while the deaths from tuberculosis per 100 members declined 57 per
cent between 1901 and 1907; in Berlin in the same period cases of
lead sickness per 100 members fell 46 per cent and deaths from tuber
culosis per 100 members fell 40 per cent. Hahn has attempted to
impress this parallelism of the two diseases by diagrams, which are
reproduced herewith. (Pp. 74 and 75.)
When a comparison is made between the various sections of the
polygraphic trades as regards percentage mortality from lead poison
ing and tuberculosis we find that while the highest figures for
plumbism obtain for printers and type founders, the highest death
rate from tuberculosis is also found in printers and type founders.
The attention which is being given everywhere to the detection and
treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis in its early stages is bearing
fruit in the reduction of the death rate from this disease in nearly
every country. Nowhere is this more noticeable than in Germany,
and yet if the decrease in the sickness and mortality rates of diseases
of the respiratory organs, including tuberculosis, among book printers
be compared with those of the total population it is seen that the
disease among printers is higher than that among the occupied
male population generally. It is difficult to explain this difference
solely by any improvement that may have taken place in the condi
tions of life owing to the slightly increased wages of the printers and
by the public measures which are in force for the suppression of
tuberculosis. Hahn is of the opinion that in consequence of the means
which are being adopted to diminish lead poisoning in the typo
graphic trades there has been a correlative reduction in the amount
of pulmonary tuberculosis. A predisposition on the part of printers
to tuberculosis would therefore appear to be the result of the influ
ence of chronic lead poisoning; but this raises the question as to
why this relationship is specially noticeable in printers. Workers
in white-lead factories are exposed to dust, finer in form and richer
in lead than are printers, without developing pulmonary tubercu
losis, and yet to this malady printers, file cutters, and potters suc

1Hahn, op. cit., pp. 22, 58, 59.

BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOR,

SICKNESS RATES FROM LEAD POISONING AND DEATH RATES FROM TUBER
CULOSIS, PER 100 MEMBERS, OF M ALE AND FEM ALE MEMBERS OF THE
VIENNA BOOK-PRINTERS’ SICK FUND.
[I = Cases o f lead poisoning. 11= D eaths from tuberculosis.]

Fig 1.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE,

SICKNESS RATES FROM LEAD POISONING AND DEATH RATES FROM TUBER
CULOSIS, PER 500 MEMBERS, AMONG COMPOSITORS AND PRINTERS OF THE
BERLIN LOCAL SICK FUND FOR THE BOOK-PRINTING TRADES.
[I= C a se s of lead poisoning. 11= D eaths from tuberculosis.]

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

cumb in large numbers. It must be, therefore, the physical rather
than the chemical quality of the dust which is responsible for the
injuries inflicted upon the lung, whereby the respiratory organs of
printers and file cutters become more easily affected by Koch’s ba
cillus, a circumstance to which work in overheated and ill-ventilated
rooms may also contribute.
Can type metal be made without lead? Until now it has been
thought that nothing can take the place of lead and that the best
alloy is one of lead and antimony. Iron and wooden characters
have been used but without success. The suitability of lead is
largely due to the fact that it can be easily melted, that it forms
sharp outlines, distributes the ink well, and when combined with
antimony becomes sufficiently hard to withstand pressure and fric
tion. Since it can hardly be that the last word has been said upon
this subject, it is to be hoped that by the combined resources of
chemistry and metallurgy a substance may yet be found possessing
none of the harmful attributes of lead.
Although printing by typesetting is being rapidly replaced by
linotyping and monotyping, the manufacturers of the machines often
fail to attach ventilating tubes to the metal pots, and even where the
hooding and the exhaust of these machines are attempted the results
are often unsatisfactory owing to defective construction or design.
DIAMOND CUTTING AND THE SETTING OF PRECIOUS STONES.

The market for diamonds is London and the workshop Amster
dam. The cutting of diamonds is one of the oldest industries of
Amsterdam. In Antwerp, Oldenburg, and elsewhere branches of
the trade have sprung up. Diamond cutters are a well-educated
and an intelligent body of men. They make good wages, frequently
£4 to £5 ($19.47 to $24.33) a week. The work is trying to the eyes,
and can be undertaken by skilled men only. On the occasion of the
writer’s visit to the diamond-cutting shops of Amsterdam there were
8,000 men employed in the various processes. By one of the largest
firms 400 men were employed. I found the workrooms overheated,
owing to the large number of gas jets in use, and the rooms generally
were badly ventilated. Work under these circumstances creates on
the part of those following it an oversensitiveness to changes of tem
perature and a diminished resistance to cold.
After a rough diamond has been cut by another diamond, it is
fixed in a mass of molten metal the size of a walnut. To the me
tallic mass, which is an alloy of 60 parts of lead and 40 parts of tin,
a handle is attached. The diamond thus securely fixed is polished
by hand or by a small iron wheel rotating at the rate of 2,400 revo
lutions a minute. It is during the melting of the metal that lead

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

fumes are given off, also during the polishing processes that dust
is given off, which become dangerous to the workmen. The fingers
of the men become quite black, partly through handling the alloy,
and partly through handling the varnishes used. There is always
floating in the air of the workrooms a certain amount of dust, rich
in oxide of lead. Most diamond cutters are pale and anaemic. On
the gums of several of the men I found a well-marked blue line,
while other men whom I spoke to had suffered from colic, and others
again had for a period lost the power of their hands. Wrist drop
and colic are the prevailing forms of lead poisoning among diamond
cutters.
In order to suppress plumbism in diamond cutting, the Dutch
Government a few years ago offered a prize of £500 ($2,433.25) for
a substitute for lead in the alloy, but no award has as yet been made,
although there are prospects of its taking place in the immediate
future. Any alloy introduced must not add too much to the cost of
production, otherwise trade limitations can not be ignored. In Old
enburg, on account of the possibilities of plumbism, the Government
suggested that no young person should be employed, but the condi
tions of the trade did not allow of the recommendation being adopted,
owing to the long apprenticeship required.
What has been said of diamond cutting applies equally to the cut
ting and polishing of precious stones. The medical officer of health
of Eeichenberg, in Bohemia,1 points out that in the men employed in
polishing precious stones in Tumau there is a considerable amount
of lead poisoning. There were 25 men suffering from lead colic and
paralysis. In addition several mild cases had passed unobserved
by the workmen themselves. There are not included in the above
the cases of plumbism in men who make the cutting and polishing
of gems a home industry and who treat themselves by simple reme
dies. These men and the members of their household, having con
verted the living rooms of their houses into workshops, sit down to
their meals often without washing their hands. The polishing is
done on pieces of metallic lead, which from time to time require
remelting. The men are exposed to the fumes of molten lead and
to metallic dust. Lead is said by some to be no longer necessary, for
in the technical school of the town disks of copper and zinc are used.
The factory inspectors have tried to prohibit lead, but without suc
cess. As the work is still carried on by the old methods plumbism is
not unknown. In Oldenburg some of the polishers of gems use an
alloy of tin, copper, and bronze. Only one-fourth of the workmen
1 Leg Industries Insalubres. Rapports sur leurs dangers et les moyens de les prdvenir, particulidrem ent dans l’industrie des allum ettes et celles qui fabriquent ou emploient des couleurs de plomb. Published in the name of the International Association
for Labor Legislation, p / 91, Jena, G. F isch er; Berne, A. F ran ck e; Paris, Le Soudier.
1903.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.
78
are directly exposed to plumbism. through.using lead disks, and all
of them are men of experience. Apprentices are not allowed to use
lead. Three cases of plumbism occurred a few years ago. The
powder which is used for grinding contains metallic lead and comes
into contact with the fingers of the polishers. „ Once polished the
stones are not allowed to come again near lead. This obliges the
workmen to wash their hands frequently, and, as full opportunities
to do so are given, to this enforced personal cleanliness is attributed
the absence of lead poisoning during recent years. The grinding
powder is kept in a moist state in a box below the revolving disk, and
each part of the workshop where the grinding powder has been
used is immediately cleaned.
PLUMBING.

Plumbers incur the risk of plumbism through handling and solder
ing metallic lead pipes and through using red and-white lead for
jointing purposes*. They are not a healthy class of men. „ Some of
them suffer from the minor forms of saturnism without being aware
of the fact. In the older workmen anatomical changes, of a degen
erative character are set up in the kidneys, heart, and blood, vessels
in consequence of the tissues having become slowly poisoned by lead.
Since 1902 there has been in Saxony an inspection of gas workers, .In
stead of the men using lead for jointing purposes, “ fermite,” a special
kind of putty, whose composition by the way is not stated, has been
recommended. At the end of a year’s trial 11 gas-works managers
were invited to give their opinion as to the value of “ fermite.”
While the opinions differed, there was greater uniformity in regard
to lead not being considered absolutely necessary, Six of the 11
managers expressed themselves as satisfied with “ fermite one of
the managers at Annaberg said that he had given up “ fermite ” on
the grounds that it does not become hard enough, that it soils the
hands more than lead does. He prefers-a manganese compound ob
tained from the manganisite works of Hildburghausen. , Jn this sub
stance he believes he has found a substitute for lead putty.
PUTTY MAKING.

In consequence of putty usually containing red or white lead, the
men who make it frequently suffer from colic. Meissl, an employer
of labor in Vienna, found in making putty that on one occasion the
use of 80 kilos (176.37 pounds) of white lead was followed by one of
the workmen becoming ill with lead colic, whereas the use of2.5 tons
of white-lead paint was followed by only one case of plumbism.
Meissl maintained that it is not necessary to introduce lead into putty,
since chalk can replace it quite well. In a visit to- a large color works

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE,

in Scotland the writer found that the putty which is produced on a
commercial scale is made from whiting and linseed oil mechanically
mixed. Formerly it was made by hand because it was thought that
putty could only thus be made, but experience has shown that equally
good material can be produced by machinery. Unless specially asked
for, the Scotch firm does not add white lead to the putty. One of the
advantages conferred upon putty by lead is that it keeps better.
The putty is sent out in bladders and thereby retains its moisture
well. Red-iead putty, which is used by engineers for jointing pur
poses, is said to harden better than any other kind. It is used
especially for metallic pipes, and is a good protective. As a protec
tive against rust, lead is said by Andes to be irreplaceable. He maintains that by the addition of lead putty acquires greater resistance to
moisture and to acid vapors. Putty to which both glycerin and
lead oxide are added is used for fixing iron to iron and iron to stone.
DYE WORKS AND CALICO PRINTING.

Yarn is dyed yellow by means of chromate of lead. In theJnod
dling of yarn, dust is given off which, when swallowed or inhaled,
is poisonous. In one large factory where this work was being car
ried on the writer found the hands of the girls aiid women stained and
their hair lightly powdered with yellow dust. Many of the workers
were anaemic, complained of headache, and had suffered from colic.
On one occasion in a dye works in Scotland during a severe winter the
female workers closed, unknown for a time to the foreman* the ven
tilators on account of the cold and they also stopped the running of
the fan. An epidemic of acute lead poisoning, as unexpected as it
was at first inexplicable, broke out among the women, one of whom
died from saturnine encephalopathy.' With the restarting of the
fan and the reopening of the ventilators, no further case of plumbism
occurred, a circumstance which shows the importance of free ven
tilation of places wherein lead compounds are used and dust is
evolved. In addition to the provision of exhaust draft to carry away
dust, women working in dyeing sheds should wear overalls, caps,
and respirators.
In calico printing plumbism becomes possible during the printing
of the colors on the cotton cloth by means of lead salts. The danger
commences in the drying room and is also present during the han
dling of the dried goods, when dust is floating in the atmosphere.
The dyeing of silk is attended by similar risks. In Vienna this
is a home industry. It is estimated that there are 700 women thus
employed in dyeing silk thread and in trimming lace. The admission
of two serious cases into the General Hospital of Vienna led to in
quiries being made, with the result that of 41 samples of black silk

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

thread examined which were being used 32 contained lead—the
quantity estimated as lead oxide varying from 14 to 32 per cent.
Of 12 samples of lace similarly treated 10 contained lead. The silk
thread is dipped in a solution of lead acetate after which it is allowed
to drip and become dry. By exposure to the air the lead on the
thread becomes converted into an oxide, and this comes off readily
in the form of fine dust to such an extent in fact that in the sweep
ings of the floor there is often as much as 15 per cent of lead present.
In nearly every instance the seamstresses had no idea of the danger
until perhaps one of the household fell ill. Attempts have been
made to replace the lead acetate by zinc salts, silicates, and iron.
Lead is not necessary, for it is used as much to increase the weight
of the products as to improve their color. During the weaving,
cutting, and tailoring of the silk the women run the risk of plumbism
partly from inhaling dust and partly from putting the silk threads
into their mouth.
GLASS POLISHING AND PAINTING.

Crystal and certain kinds of glass when cut require to be polished.^
This is done by means of rouge or putty powder mixed with water
and allowed to fall automatically upon revolving brushes running
at great speed. Putty powder varies in its composition, but in several
workshops the writer found it frequently contained as much as 60
to 70 per cent of carbonate or other compound of lead combined with
tin. Owing to the friction between the piece of glass which is being
polished and the rapidly-revolving brushes a considerable quantity
of thick spray is thrown off. This spray falls upon the clothes and
hands of the workers and upon the floor and the machinery of the
workroom. It dries, and, rising into the atmosphere, is inhaled.
Either by this means or by the workmen eating without having pre
viously washed their hands, or by chewing tobacco when at work,
many of the men become the subjects of plumbism. Colic is fre
quently complained of. Many glass polishers examined by the writer
in Birmingham and neighborhood had suffered and recovered from
paralysis of the hands, and they told him that some of their mates
had died in convulsions.
Various substitutes have been tried for lead in the rouge or putty
powder, some of which have been even more dangerous than lead.
In one instance a putty powder which was advertised as a sub
stitute for lead was found, on chemical analysis by Sir Edward
Thorpe, to contain arsenic. In France a compound of metastannic
acid has been found of service. In the glass works at Baccarat it has
been used with satisfactory results. Clearly lead should be entirely
abolished from putty powder, or if this is impossible, as some glass

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

polishers maintain, then the amount of lead should be diminished,
and the cupboard-like spaces in which the work is carried on should
be provided with a strong exhaust draft.
In glass painting some of the colors used contain lead. Attempts
are being made to introduce colors free from lead.
TINNING OF HOLLOW WARE.

In Great Britain in the making of hollow tinware for domestic pur
poses considerable quantities of lead are used. The interior of such
homely articles as pots and pans is swilled with molten metal com
posed of lead and tin. The cheaper the ware the greater is the
amount of lead present. It may be as much as 70 per cent and more.
It is all but impossible for the workman who swills the ware and
who stands over the pot of molten metal to avoid inhaling fumes of
lead, unless the furnace is hooded and provided with a good draft.
Where the draft of the chimney and hood is insufficient, the insertion
of gas heaters in the hood are well worthy of a trial. The people
who use the ware also incur the risk of plumbism, since during the
process of cooking food lead is readily dissolved out of the enamel.
Dippers of hollow tinware are an anaemic and a badly nourished
class of men. The muscles of their hands and arms are feeble, and
on the gums a well-marked blue line is frequently present. Among
them colic is a frequent complaint. The men as a class are intem
perate, a circumstance which predisposes them to plumbism.
In the lining of hollow ware by vitrified white enamel lead was
formerly used in much larger proportion than at present. This was
not without danger, for during cooking pieces of enamel might chip
off and lead might possibly be dissolved. Since manufacturers began
to use enamels containing less than 1 per cent of lead there has been
in this trade a notable decline of plumbism among the workmen.
WALL PAPER MAKING.

On two occasions the writer has had to treat serious symptoms of
lead poisoning in persons caused by sleeping in bedrooms the wall
paper of which, on chemical examination, was found to contain lead.
A few years ago there was a public outcry against the use of arsenic
in wall papers, in consequence of many people having become seriously
ill through sleeping in rooms lined with the poisonous paper. It is
not so generally known that serious symptoms may follow the han
dling of wall paper impregnated with lead, or by sleeping in rooms
therewith papered. In France attention has been recently drawn to
the subject by Dr. L. D. M. Charron,1 who not only details his expe
rience of patients treated by him for plumbism, the cause of which
1 De TIntoxication saturnine par le Papier de Teinture. Bordeaux, A. Destout ain€ et
Cie., 1909.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

for some time remained unknown, until the walls of the sleeping
rooms were analyzed, when they were found to contain 1.20 to 7.60
grams of lead per square meter (10.76 square feet). He also car
ried out a series of experiments with various papers. In the flock,
satin, and velvety wall papers made in France lead is sometimes used,
and especially in those papers of a deep yellowT and beautiful red
color. Wall papers* impregnated with Cologne yellow, which is a
mixture of calcium sulphate 60, lead sulphate 15, and chromate of lead
25, owe their attractive yellow color to the large quantity of lead they
contain. Of 75 samples of wall paper of different kinds and color
examined, 16 only were free from lead. It was found that the red
and yellow colored papers contained the most lead, but even green
paper, hitherto regarded as obtaining its color solely from arsenic,
was also found to contain lead.
Charron carried out a series of experiments with animals, mostly
guinea pigs, by placing them as far as possible under similar con-?
ditions to human beings, care being taken so that they could not
gnaw the colored panels of their hutches. Several of the anim-als
died. In the brain, liver, kidneys, stomach, and intestines of these
animals traces of lead were found varying from & to 5 milligrams*
In the stomach of some of the guinea pigs to whom dust from the
wall papers had been administered lead was found. The younger
animals were found to be more susceptible than their elders; preg
nant guinea pigs aborted. In the foetuses, and in one of the mothers
who died in convulsions 13 days after having given birth to an off
spring of two, chemical analysis of the internal organs revealed the
presence of lead. Analysis of the air of the cages showed--the. pres
ence of colored particles of lead. Dust had therefore entered the
bodies of the animals by the mouth and nostrils.
Men engaged in the manufacture of wall papers containing lead
occasionally suffer from plumbism. This applies specially to the
grinders, mixers of colors, and to the men who spread by hand the
colors. Machine printing has materially diminished the risk of lead
poisoning. Although such French physicians as Merat, Tanquerel,
Gautier, and others speak of wall-paper makers as running consid
erable risk from plumbism in consequence of the dust to which they
are exposed, my own experience is that plumbism is, on the whole,
relatively infrequent. Although I have diagnosed only two cases of
plumbism as the result of sleeping in rooms lined with lead-impreg
nated papers, it is more than likely that cases of serious illness
similarly induced may have escaped my observation.
In the manufacture of certain kinds of wall paper large quantities
of dry bronze powders which frequently contain small quantities of
lead are used, but notwithstanding this circumstance the workers ?re
main unaffected. This is largely due to the fact that the wall paper

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

on its way from the printing machine to the drying chamber passes
through inclosed bronzing and dusting-off machines, and' that while
a certain amount of dust may escape this is carried away by exhaust
ventilation.
BRONZING IN LITHOGRAPHIC PRINTING.

Under the term “ bronzing” is included all processes for the pro
duction of a gold, silver, bronze, or similar metallic effect upon
paper, wood, leather, and glass, etc., by means of metallic powders.
Bronzing may be done by the dry or wet method by hand or by
machinery^ The wet methods by inks have not been so successful.
Dry bronzing by hand is still had recourse to, although it is gradually
being replaced by machine work. The process consists in the applica
tion of powder to the printed or sticky surface of paper or wood by
means of cotton wool or a pad of felt. The surface is thereafter
dusted off by rubbing with a clean pad. During this process clouds
of dust rise into the air.
The bronze powders used in Great Britain come mostly from
Nuremberg and other towns of Bavaria. Gold bronze powders are
composed of copper and zinc in varying proportions, with usually
traces of lead, tin, arsenic, and iron. Although these powders et>n^
tain a small quantity of lead, it is seldom that the workers suffer
from plumbism. Many of them become the subject of recurrent
laryngeal and nasal catarrh, irritation of the eyes; they suffer from
repeated headache and vomiting, and complain of a coppery taste in
the mouth, symptoms not necessarily and solely the result of lead
intoxication.
MINOR INDUSTRIES IN WHICH LEAD IS USED.

In addition to the trades described in the preceding pages, lead
enters into a large number of other industries, so that cases of plumbism* keep cropping up in most unexpected places. Beyond briefly
mentioning incidences of lead poisoning and stating the circum
stances under which they have arisen, it will be unnecessary to deal
with these at length.
In a tannery in Berlin where the skins had to be rubbed with alum
talc and a white powder which was not known to the employers or
the workmen to contain lead, plumbism appeared among the workmen.
In a brass tap factory the repeated handling of molded plates con
taining 10 per cent of lead was the cause of several of the men be
coming ill. Women who make leaden capsules for the tops of bot
tles frequently develop symptoms of saturnism. Solderers employed
in piano factories, men who polish marble tombstones with lead
disks, men who make the enamel faces of watches, men engaged in the

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU

LABOR.

manufacture of electric lamps, and men who use wThite lead cement
instead of gypsum run the risk of becoming lead poisoned.
In the making of artificial flowers the women who melt and handle
the metal which becomes the stem of the flowers often suffer in con
sequence. The handling of lead weights which in silk factories are
attached to the ends of suspended threads during weaving has given
rise to symptoms of saturnine poisoning. There is no reason why
these weights should be made of lead. In the manufacture of Masonic
aprons the girls who bind the white skin with ribbon complain of the
dust that is given off. It causes headache and induces anaemia. On
the gums of several of the girls a blue line is found. India-rubber
mixers suffer from plumbism as a result of the use of lead carbonate as
a whitening agent. Since in several instances painters of safes have
become the subjects of plumbism, paints free from lead have been
introduced. Men occupied in the tempering of the spiral springs of
railway buffers by dipping them in a bath of molten lead have become
poisoned. In the bronzing of piano frames a good deal of dust is
given off and as a consequence symptoms of plumbism have followed.
Mr. Hermann Belger has reported to the writer an interesting case
of lead colic in an organ builder in Johannesburg. It shows how a
workman who has hitherto remained free from plumbism may, under
altered circumstances, rather suddenly develop signs of lead poison
ing. The man was sent out by a firm of English organ builders to
clean and repair an organ in South Africa. In three weeks after
being engaged in this work he developed symptoms of acute lead
colic, and yet this man had followed the same occupation for 20 years
in England without having had a symptom of plumbism.
In the annual reports of the chief inspector of factories there are
noted from time to time outbreaks of plumbism under unexpected
circumstances. The soldering and unsoldering of cartridge cases pro
duced an epidemic of lead poisoning in a factory. Nearly two-thirds
of the men employed were found to be suffering from plumbism not
withstanding the provisions of excellent washing conveniences and the
insistence on washing. The introduction of exhaust ventilation into
the workrooms arrested the spread of the disease. A fatal case of
lead poisoning occurred in an engine works where textile machinery
is made and where the work consisted in the fitting of “ pot guides,”
i. e., small porcelain rings through which the yam passes into the
iron sockets of trap levers for twist frames. White lead made into a
stiff paste with oil, applied by means of a stick, was used for the
purpose. The man had followed this occupation for 10 years. It
was not assumed that any danger was present, and as a consequence
no precautions were taken. Since the death of this workman efforts
have been made to find a nonpoisonous substitute for lead, but so far
without success.

INDUSTRIAL* LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

ORGANS OF THE BODY AFFECTED BY LEAD POISONING.

BLOOD PRESSURE EXPERIMENTS.

While we are familiar with chronic lead poisoning, we know little
of the action of lead when directly introduced into the blood stream.
Taken in a single dose, and not too large, lead is not a powerful poison,
I have had patients under my care who had intentionally taken a few
drams of acetate of lead, and who recovered without any incon
venience, but, on the other hand, I have seen women almost die from
the effects of diachylon pills taken with the view of producing
abortion. With the view of ascertaining upon which organ or
organs lead primarily acts, when introduced intravenously, I carried
out a series of experiments. For assistance rendered I am indebted
to my colleague, Prof. E. A. Bolam.
Sollman, in his textbook of pharmacology (p. 638), says lead is a
specialized poison for a number of tissues and organs, and a general
poison to protoplasm. It seems to have a greater effect upon the
more highly developed and formed tissues of the body—for example,
nerve and muscle—than upon blood corpuscles, and yet in time the
blood suffers, too. There is the opinion that lead acts upon striped
muscular fiber so as readily to induce fatigue, but we require more
information as regards its action both upon voluntary and involun
tary muscular fiber. One of the most common and painful symptoms
of plumbism is colic, and this is the result of strong contraction of
segments of the intestine rather than of a peristaltic wave traveling
downward. Attention has been drawn to the influence of lead in
causing miscarriage. This may be induced by the metal acting
directly upon the foetus and killing it or by setting up contraction
of the muscular fibers of the womb and thereby expelling its contents.
Sollman considers colic to be the result of violent contraction of
the intestinal muscular fiber which, by forcing blood out of the
splanchnic area raises the blood pressure, hardens the pulse, and
slows the beat of the heart, the cause of the spasm of the intestinal
musculature being stimulation of the nerve endings, since it has
nothing of the peristaltic character of ganglionic stimulation and is
entirely abolished by atropine. Since, too, the colic is relieved by
nitrites, which by dilating the small arteries reduce the blood pres
sure, a primary vasoconstriction suggests itself as one of the effects
of lead. There is undoubtedly observed in some cases of lead colic
high arterial tension, but in a greater number, where the pain is ex
tremely severe, the pulse is so small and feeble that it can scarcely
be felt, and the heart’s sounds are so weak as to be practically
inaudible.
The experiments about,to be detailed were undertaken by me with
the view of clearing up the question of the particular organ of the

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF TABOR.
86
body upon which lead exerts its harmful influence.1 The experi
ments consisted in the intravenous injection of varying quantities of
solutions of nitrate of lead into dogs anaesthetized by chloroform or
ether. When 5 cubic centimeters of distilled water were injected into
the vein of a dog, no effect was produced on the arterial pressure.
The injection of 5 cubic centimeters of a 1 per cent solution of lead
nitrate was followed shortly afterwards by a slight fall of blood
pressure. Five cubic centimeters of a 2 per cent solution were also
followed by a slight fall, which in each instance was quickly recov
ered from. After an injection of 10 cubic centimeters of a 10 per
cent solution and recovery from a pronounced fall of arterial pres*
sure, a second injection of the same quantity and strength of nitrate
of lead was succeeded by a rapid declension of pressure and stoppage
of the beat of the heart. Respiration continued. After an interval
of from three to four minutes, the heart recovered itself; the beats
returned feebly at first and becoming stronger they gradually reached
the normal. In consequence of a further injection ~of 5 cubic centi
meters of a 10 per cent solution there occurred a fresh decline in the
arterial pressure of brief duration, but on injecting a double quantity
of a double strength of lead-nitrate solution the blood •pressure
rapidly fell, and to an extreme degree, although respiration, continued.
Several struggling beats of the heart occurred, and the respiration be
came interrupted. By degrees the heart stopped beating; respiration
also ceased. At the autopsy 24 hours afterwards the urine was found
free from albumen, but it contained a reducing substance not unlike
Fehling’s solution. The wall of the heart was flabby, especially that
of the right ventricle. The right ventricle contained a small quan
tity of dark-colored blood. Lungs were healthly, the abdominal
veins were full and tense, kidneys appeared to be congested, the liver
was dark but healthy, and the brain was slightly congested on the
surface, although on section pale internally.
By a male dog, into whose veins 5 cubic centimeters of a 5 per cent
solution of lead nitrate were slowly injected, and whose blood pres
sure had been gradually restored after the primary fall, amyl nitrite
was inhaled, the result being a fresh fall of arterial pressure. The
effect of a renewed injection of lead-nitrate solution was a rapid fall
of blood pressure with a rise of the respiratory curve, possibly the
result of stimulation of the respiratory center through want of blood.
The beat of the heart and the respiratory movements ceased, but
further attempts at respiration were renewed at intervals of two to
four minutes, after which they ceased, the beat of the heart never
having been reestablished. At the autopsy nothing specially was
1 Some Unusual Features of Lead Poisoning: A lecture delivered at the Polyclinic in
London, May 19, 1909. The Hospital, May 29 and June 5, 1909.

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and Bolam.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD, -POISONING IN EUROPE.

found,-. except that the heart was filled with fluid blood and the
abdominal veins were turgid.
Whether, the animal made use of in these experiments was a rabbit
or.a dog, the effects of the intravenous injection of a solution of lead
nitrate.were invariably the same, viz, a general fall of blood pressure.
This occurred equally in the splanchnic area as in the general sys
temic vessels. In the splanchnic area it was gradual, but yet on the
whole fairly rapid. The heart would eease to beat, but this might
he recovered.
The effect-of. lead salts carried directly into the blood stream is
upon the heart and vasomotor center; the fall and subsequent rise of
arterial pressure occur simultaneously in the systemic and splanchnic
vessels. Respiration is not directly affected by lead; it is only indi
rectly affected: through: the falling blood pressure. One of the
noticeable effects of the continuation of respiration is the reestablish
ment*of4he beats of th^
In* reviewing the results of the injection of lead into the venous
system, it can not be said that there is any striking uniformity in
regardbto the^ amount of lead required to cause death. It is krioWh
that some men and women are less liable to be affected by lead than
others. There is a personal idiosyncrasy. In animals experimented
upon no difference as to susceptibility was noticed between males and
females. A sexual difference is observed in the subacute and chronic
forms of plumbism, as will be seen further on. The previous injec
tion of atropine had not the slightest influence in altering the effect
of lead upon the heart or of preventing the fall of arterial pressure.
In the following tracings are reproduced the effects of lead upon
the heart* and circulation alluded to in the text.
HQW LEAD POISONING- IS PRODUCED.

The repeated entrance of lead into the human body in minute
quantities over a lengthened period of time is more productive of
harm and gives rise to more serious symptoms than the absorption of
lead in larger doses upon only one or two occasions. It is a question
of elimination failing to keep pace with absorption. This is the secret
of industrial lead poisoning in persons who follow their employ
ment quite unconscious of the danger to which they are exposing
themselves and of the slow development of the malady which will
finally overtake them. Health is in many instances so gradually lost
that it may never strike the worker that the occupation followed
is the cause of his undermined health and of the loss of strength
which is taking place. It is the circumstance of men and women
being allowed to work in dangerous. processes without employers
having taken steps to forewarn them of the danger which makes

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

work of this nature the painful episode it often is, and lays upon
employers a responsibility which can not be ignored.
Although the worst forms of plumbism are the result of minute
doses of lead having been slowly absorbed, there is one instance on
record of sudden exposure to enormous quantities of lead having been
followed by permanent plumbism, and as the circumstances are
unusual, the case deserves to be mentioned. The factory inspector
for the district of Prague1 reports the case of a workman employed
in an engineering factory whose duty it was to grind red lead in
properly guarded machinery, and who at the time of the accident was
in good health. When carrying a cask containing 80 pounds of red
lead the cask suddenly fell and broke. The workman was immedi
ately enveloped in red dust. His eyes were blinded by the colored
cloud; his nose was choked, and his mouth was partially filled with
the dust. Acute lead poisoning followed, which became chronic and
ultimately incurable, so that as a consequence of one overwhelming
dose of lead the man became from a health point of view a total
wreck.
Of all industrial poisons, lead is most productive of ill health.
It is a subtle poison. There is an individual as well as a family
and sexual idiosyncrasy to. lead. That such is the case I pointed
out a few years ago in my Goulstonian lectures, when, as the result
of investigations on Tyneside, I indicated that there were members
of certain families who were oftener ill and more frequently sus
pended from work than others who were equally if not not more
exposed to similar risks in the factories. In addition to family pre
disposition there is an individual susceptibility as well. Some per
sons are more readily influenced by lead than others. Speaking gen
erally, young persons are more liable to plumbism than those of
maturer years, hence the necessity of forbidding the employment of
persons under 18 years of age in lead processes.
It is not always easy to say what is the type of constitution which is
the more likely to be influenced by lead. The pale-faced, anaemic,
and badly nourished worker becomes on the whole an easy victim
of plumbism. Poor food and the usual concomitants of poverty are
predisponents.
Clinical experience and my experiments upon animals have con
clusively demonstrated the enormous influence of alcohol for harm
in predisposing to lead poisoning. It can not be too strongly stated
that alcoholic excess precipitates an attack of plumbism and aggra
vates the severity of it far and away beyond almost anything else.
No person known to indulge freely in alcohol should be allowed to
undertake work in processes connected with lead.
1

Internationale Uebersicht fiber Gewerbebygiene, Neisser, 1907.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

If age and habits as thus defined predispose to plumbism, the in
fluence of sex is equally pronounced. Females are far and away
more liable not only to plumbism in its subacute form, but to the
worst types of it. There is a greater tendency in them, especially in
young women, to the cerebral form of the malady known as saturnine
encephalopathy. This predisposition on the part of females is purely
sexual and is not the result of women when at work being exposed to
greater risks, for in my feeding experiments I found it equally pres
ent in the lower animals. It is connected with menstruation and the
function of reproduction and is therefore one of the strongest argu
ments for the prohibition of female labor in lead processes.
I am not aware of there being such a thing as a racial predisposi
tion to industrial plumbism. One of my most serious cases was that
of a young negro, in whom severe colic and headache, with a transi
tory but recurrent albuminuria, were the prominent symptoms.
The prevention of industrial lead poisoning is largely a question
of personal cleanliness, when at work and on leaving it, and of loy
alty in carrying out the regulations. While it is an obligation on
the part of employers to see that the plant in their works is in good
condition and up to date, that the floors of the factory are not loose
so as to harbor dust, and that the workmen have been instructed as
to the harmful nature of the substances they are manipulating, an
equal obligation rests upon the workpeople also to faithfully observe
the regulations drawn up on their behalf. Abstention from the smok
ing and the chewing of tobacco should be rigidly enforced. This
interdiction, hitherto resting on academic grounds, is sanctioned by
experience. In a large white lead and smelting works at Nantes the
managers forbade the workmen to smoke in the factory for two
years* This was followed by remarkable results, both as regards the
incidence of plumbism and the gravity of the cases. The average
number of workmen was 670. In 1901 there were 26 cases of plumb
ism ; in 1902, 42 cases; in 1903, 9 cases; and in 1904, 4 cases.
It is not contended that the improvement in health after 1902 was
solely the result of the interdiction of tobacco smoking and chewing
when at work, for certain alterations had been made in the drying
stoves at the same time; but the managers were disposed to attribute
the better health of the workmen as much to the abstinence from
tobacco as to the change in the methods of drying the lead. As an
illustration of the thoughtless indifference of workmen to their own
health, mention may be made of a typesetter who suffered from
plumbism through keeping his tobacco for chewing in an open type
box in a printing shop, also of the fact that in a printing works at
Frankfort-on-the-Oder the typesetters smoked and drank beer when
at work. The factory inspector of the district remonstrated with
the men, but only received abuse. Subsequently they listened to and

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

tor a time, acting upon the advice given by the owner of the print
ing works, discontinued the practice. The abstention, however, was
not of long duration, for the beer drinking and the smoking were
resumed. The employer’s regulations prohibiting these had to be
canceled, as the men threatened to strike. They insisted, too, upon
a fellow workman who had been dismissed for breaking the rules
being reinstated.
There is a difficulty experienced by lead manufacturers in the
eastern provinces of mid-Europe to which those of Great Britain are
not exposed. This is the employment of foreigners who can not
read and who do not understand the language of the district. Much
of the work in a lead factory is unskilled labor. Foreigners under
taking the work incur greater risks than the inhabitants of the
place, owing to not having had the dangers of the occupation suffi
ciently explained to them. These men do not stay longer in a fac
tory than three months. They correspond to the casual laborers
met with in the larger towns in England, where experience has
shown that casual laborers are much more prone to lead poisoning
than the men who are permanently employed. They are more care
less—they do not appreciate the dangers; besides the fact of their
hjaying to undertake casual labor is often an indication of their
irregular habits and of poverty.
LENGTH OE EXPOSURE TO LEAD REQUIRED TO PRODUCE SYMPTOMS OE
INDUSTRIAL POISONING.

There is no specified length of time of exposure necessary to pro
duce lead poisoning. It varies with the idiosyncrasy and condition of
health of the worker, the methods of labor in the factory, and the
amount of lead dust to which the person is exposed. Mention has
already been made of symptoms of plumbism developing in a male
10| days after pasting grids with red lead in a small electric accumu
lator works. One of the writer’s female patients died from saturnine
encephalopathy within three months after entering the factory. As
bearing upon this question, there is in “ Vorwarts,” 1897, the follow
ing short account of a small accumulator works with 10 workmen:
Weeks.

1 man became ill with colic after.
1 man became ill with colic after.
1 man became ill with colic after.
1 man became ill with colic after.

Weeks.

1.5 1 man became ill with colic after. 5.5
2.5 1 man became ill with colic-after. 6.0
3.5 2 men became ill with colic after- 7.5
4.5

Recurrences of plumbism in lead workers are frequent. Instead
of conferring immunity, one attack of plumbism rather prepares the
way for another. Since 1904 the painters’ guilds of Berlin have
been in the habit of publishing health registers of their members,
also tables of the diseases from which they have died. The list for

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

1905 gives the following: E. K., bom 1858; since 1886 has had 13
attacks of lead colic and 3 of rheumatism. O. E., born 1861; since
1893 has had 11 attacks of colic and 1 of gastric catarrh. L. S.,
bom 1857; since 1890 has had 15 attacks of lead colic and 1 of
rheumatism; while E. K., born I860, has had 11 attacks of colic,
once his joints have been inflamed, and on one occasion the function
of the kidneys was seriously deranged.
FORM IN WHICH LEAD ENTERS THE SYSTEM.

Lead enters the body in the form of fume, or as dust obtained from
flues; from oxidation of the metal as in typesetting; in the form of
white and red lead dust, or of chromate or yellow lead particles given
off in the process of dyeing; also as dust evolved in various industries,
such as the manufacture of earthenware. The readiness with which
plumbism develops is determined by the solubility of the lead com
pounds in the secretions of the body. Considering the large number
of trades in which lead is used, dust is the injurious form in which
it is most frequently presented to the workers.
Mr. Kenneth Goadby1 has carried out a series of experiments with
gastric juice obtained by giving a test breakfast of tea and toast
when fasting and subsequently removing some of the semidigested
meal by the stomach tube, his object being to ascertain the compara
tive solubility in the gastric juice of lead sulphate, white lead, and
litharge. It has been claimed by manufacturers of lead sulphate
that lead in this form is less dangerous than the carbonate on account
of its supposed greater insolubility in the stomach. The following
were the results obtained: To 10 cubic centimeters of each of the
samples of gastric juice were added (a) 0.1 gram lead sulphate, (5)
0.1 gram white lead, (c) 0.1 gram litharge. The mixtures were di
gested at 37° C. (98.6° F.) for one hour; the digest was centrifuged
and 2 cubic centimeters of the supernatant fluid removed with a
pipette and titrated with ammonium molybdate solution, 1 cubic
centimeter of which was equal to 0.0008 gram PbO. The digests
were made in duplicate and two estimations made of each. The
average quantities of PbO present in the digests were:
1. (a) Lead sulphate, 0.080 per cent; (5) white lead, 0.048 per
cent; (c) litharge, 0.040 per cent.
2. (a) Lead sulphate, 0.046 per cent; (b) white lead, 0.042 per
cent; (c) litharge, 0.034 per cent.
From the above it would appear that of the three lead compounds
lead sulphate is the most soluble; a circumstance which shows that
the administration of sulphuric-acid lemonade to lead workers,
hitherto so much relied upon in the belief that it converted in the
1 T h e Journal of H ygiene, Vol. IX, No. 1, A pril, 1900, p. 129.

99823°—No. 95—11-----7

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

stomach any carbonate of lead which had been swallowed into the
1ms soluble sulphate, and was therefore a protective, receives no sup
port from chemical tests, and yet on this point there remains the fact,
which Sir Edward Thorpe drew attention to in our investigations
into lead poisoning in the potteries, that the men who are beer
drinkers do not suffer from plumbism to the same extent as workmen
who are abstainers, a difference which was attributed to the presence
of sulphates in the beer.
CHANNELS OE ENTRANCE.

Lead enters the body through the skin, the respiratory organs, and
the alimentary canal. Of these three channels the skin is the least
important. Since in white-lead workers the eyelids are often white
with dust, some lead may also be absorbed from the inner surface
of the eyelids. It has long been known that the poison may enter
by the lungs, but it is Messrs. Kenneth Goadby and F. W. Goodbody 1 who, by their experiments, have drawn fresh attention to this
part of the inquiry. Their work is a valuable contribution to the
subject of lead poisoning.
In the writer’s Goulstonian lectures delivered at the Royal College
of Physicians, London, in 1891, it was remarked that lead dust dis
seminated through the atmosphere, whilst entering by the digestive
organs, may also pass into the system by the respiratory mucous
membrane. The lead carbonate is carried into the trachea and
bronchi and probably into the air cells of the lungs, but in what
ever part of the respiratory passages it is deposited it comes under
the influence of heat and moisture, it is moistened by fluids rich in
carbonic acid coming from the lungs, whereby the lead carbonate
becomes converted into bicarbonate, whieh is fairly soluble. A simi
lar chemical change in all probability occurs with the fumes of the
molten metal. Carried into the respiratory passages, the suspended
particles of lead would first be deposited, then acted upon by the car
bonic acid during expiration, and converted first into carbonate and
subsequently into bicarbonate. Statistical observations have shown
that absorption by respiration is more dangerous and is followed
by more deleterious consequences than reception of the metal by
any other channel. The entrance of lead into the body through
the respiratory organs is not only a fruitful source of plumbism,
but is of a type in which the symptoms are often severe. Mr.
Goadby’s 12 experiments were carried out with white and red lead
dust. Red lead, or litharge, is a heavier powder than the carbonate,
and tends to induce coughing and sneezing on the part of the ani
1 The Journal o f H ygiene, April, 1909, p. 122.
2 Report o f the Departm ental Com m ittee Appointed to Inquire into th e D angers Attend
ant on the Use o f Lead-in the M anufacture o f Earthenware and China, toL 2, Appendixes,
p. 56. Home Office, London, 1910.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

mals exposed to it. Bed lead is irritating to the lung, and is there
fore productive of considerable discomfort. Flue dust, on the other
hand, is composed of finely divided particles, which are extremely
light and remain long suspended in the air. Within 18 days after
inhaling flue dust on 10 occasions Goadby found that a cat suffered
from colic, and shortly afterwards from extensor paralysis of the
front paws, weakness of the muscles of the back, and from retinal
hemorrhages, accompanied by loss of body weight. Inhalations of
litharge and white lead produced similar symptoms. His experi
ments are extremely valuable, since they show the readiness with
which men working in a confined space and exposed to lead dust
become the subjects of plumbism, and they explain, too, those unex
pected outbreaks of plumbism in a factory where there has been a
breakdown in the ventilating apparatus. The greatest care was
taken in the experiments to exclude the possibility of the animal
licking its fur and of thus introducing lead by the alimentary canal.
In addition to the skin and the respiratory organs, lead enters the
body by the alimentary canal. This is the mode of entrance in per
sons who have been poisoned by drinking water which has been for
hours in lead pipes, also by lead dust caught in the mouth, dissolved
in the saliva, and swallowed. As it is a common mode of entrance, I
had a series of digestive experiments carried out for me by Prof.
Bedson and his assistant, Dr. Best, in the chemical laboratory of the
Armstrong College, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in order to determine if
possible the fate of any lead which might be swallowed. Human
saliva was found to have a slight solvent action upon lead carbonate.
Its influence is greater when there is no other substance present.
During the digestion of starch by saliva in the presence of lead car
bonate less of the metal was dissolved than when the saliva operated
upon lead alone. The minced tonsils of a dog and a small quantity
of white lead were digested together, but no lead was dissolved,
either when the two substances were alone or during the additional
digestion of starch. While human salivary secretion has a slight
solvent influence upon lead carbonate, that of the tonsils of a dog
has none at all, but buccal digestion in the dog is known to be never
at any time very active.
DIGESTIVE EXPERIMENTS WITH CARBONATE OF LEAD (BEDSON FOR
OLIVER).1
(a )

Amount of lead carbonate.

W ITH HUMAN SALIVA.
Amount of human saliva.

Amount of lead carbon
ate taken up by saliva.

(1) 15.4 grain s........................................ 154 grain s............__................................. 0.01488 grain per ounce.
( 2) 15.4 grain s......................................... 154 grain s.................................................. .01688 grain per ounce.

1 Lead poisoning, G oulstonian lectures, Oliver, 1891. Young, I. Pentland, Edinburgh.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,

94
ib )

W ITH HUM AN SALIVA W HEN DIGESTING STARCH (7.7 G RAINS).

Amount of lead carbonate.

Amount of human saliva.

Amount of lead carbon
ate taken up by saliva.

(1) 15.4 grain s......................................... 154 grains.................................................. 0.00816 grain per ounce.
(2) 15.4 grain s......................................... 154 grains.................................................. .00816 grain per ounce.

Two double sets of experiments were performed with gastric juice,
artificial and natural. The natural juice was obtained through the
gastric fistula of a dog, the experiments, being conducted both in
ordinary test tubes and in parchment tubes. When white lead was
simply digested by gastric juice for three hours at blood heat a cer
tain quantity of lead was always found to have dissolved.
(A ) W ITH NATURAL GASTRIC JUICE OF DOG (O BTAINED FROM FISTU LA IN
STOMACH OF DOG)— 1 PART OF GASTRIC SECRETION M IXED W ITH 2 PARTS
OF WATER.
Amount of lead car
bonate.

Amount of gastric juice.

Amount of lead dissolved.

(1) 15.4 grains............ 154 grains, diluted................................... 0.00312 grain per ounce of gastric juice.
(2) 15.4 grains............ 154 grains, diluted.............................
. 00206 grain per ounce of gastric juice.
(3) 15.4 grain s............ 154 grains, diluted................................... . 00298 grain per ounce of gastric;juice.
(B )

15.4 grains.

W ITH ARTIFICIAL GASTRIC JUICE (MERCK’S).
154 grains

0.001916 grains per ounce.

EXPERIM ENT TO SHOW THAT TH E ACTIVE AGENT IN EFFECTING TH E SOLU
TION OF LEAD CARBONATE IN GASTRIC DIGESTION IS HYDROCHLORIC ACID
(EXPERIM EN T IN PARCHM ENT M EM BRANE).
Lead, in grains, per ounce.
Amount of lead car
bonate.

Amount of pepsin.

Amount of HC1 (in
terms of solution).

15.4 grains.....................
15.4 grains....................
15.4 grains.....................
15.4 grfl.insT...............__
15.4 grains...................

15.4 grains.....................
7.7 grains.....................
3.85 grains...................
15.4 grains.....................

0.3 per c e n t.....................
. 3 per c e n t.....................
.3 per c e n t.....................
. 3 per c e n t.....................

Total
NonDiffused. diffused.
dis
solved.
4.22
3.28
3.32
3.56

1.25
2.05
2.16
2.31

5.47
5.33
5.48
5.87

( C ) W ITH NATURAL GASTRIC JUICE OF DOG, ETC., W HEN DIGESTING
ALBUMEN.
Amount of lead car
bonate.

Amount of gastric juice.

Amount of lead dissolved.

15.4 grains................... 154 grains, diluted; 200 grains albu 0. C0048 grain per ounce of gastric juice.
men, diluted.
15.4 grains................... 154 grains, diluted; 200 grains albu . 00057 grain per ounce of gastric juice.
men, diluted.
15.4 grains................... 154 grains, diluted; 200 grains albu .00048 grain per ounce of gastric juice.
men, diluted.
ARTIFICIAL GASTRIC JUICE.
15.4 grains................... 154 grains, diluted; 200 grains albu 0.00048 grain per ounce of gastric juice.
men, diluted.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

Gastric juice contains hydrochloric acid and pepsin. Hydrochloric
acid is present in human gastric juice to the extent of 0.25 to 0.3 per
cent. These chemical experiments just detailed show that it is the
acid which is the principal agent concerned in converting carbonate
of lead into the soluble and diffusible chloride. The greatest amount
of lead carbonate becomes dissolved when only the acid and the metal
are together in the fluid. When pepsin alone is present with lead,
none of the metal is dissolved.
Having settled so far that it is the acid of the gastric juice which
is the active agent in dissolving lead in the stomach, the next prob
lem was to determine the influence of the digestion of proteids, i. e.,
albuminous food, upon the amount of lead carbonate dissolved. Here,
as in the case of the salivary digestion of starch and lead, the presence ;
of proteid during gastric digestion was found to reduce considerably
the amount of lead dissolved. If there is no food in the stomach, but
only saliva impregnated with lead which has been swallowed, any
gastric juice present will act upon the lead, converting some of it into
lead chloride, which, as a fairly soluble compound, will, when ab
sorbed, unite with the proteids of the tissues and of the blood to form
an insoluble albuminate; but if food is present the acid is first used
up in the conversion of the proteid into acid albumen and peptone,
leaving therefore the lead unacted upon; and as this is insoluble,
it would pass out from the stomach, along with the chyme, into the
intestine.
It is more than probable that it is in the form of chloride—a
soluble and diffusible salt—that lead which has been swallowed is
absorbed into the blood stream from the stomach. It must be as
chloride, and not as albuminate, that lead is absorbed, for lead chlo
ride, if mixed with albumen, forms at once a dense coagulum, which
is neither very soluble nor diffusible. It is difficult to say what the
compound called albuminate of lead really is. It is either a definite
chemical compound of albumen and chloride of lead, or the albumen
simply retains, mechanically, the chloride of lead. If this substance
were bathed in a fluid rich in saline,, such as lymph, the lead would
be gradually transformed into a compound readily soluble in blood,
which contains sodium chloride. In this form it would circulate
through the body and pass out by the kidneys. It is thus, in my opin
ion, that lead is eliminated by these organs. Peptone, the end product
of the gastric digestion of proteid food is, like native albumen, pre
cipitated by lead, so that, as lead albuminate and peptone are both
insoluble compounds, these are not likely to be absorbed in the stom
ach, but to pass on with the chyme into the intestine.
Lead taken into the system dissolved in drinking water is probably
in the form of bicarbonate, and as this is a soluble salt, it might
pass as such at once into the blood vessels of the stomach, or might

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR*

be first converted into chloride by the gastric juice. Whether lead
reaches the stomach as white lead, red or yellow lead, these experi
ments show that if proteid digestion is going on at the same time,
less lead is dissolved, and there is therefore less risk of plumbism.
We find in these experiments an explanation of the readiness with
which saturnine poison is induced in persons drinking, in the early
morning before food is taken, water contaminated by lead, also of
the fact of which white-lead manufacturers in Newcastle were long
familiar, viz, that the workpeople who breakfast before beginning
their toil are much less likely to become lead poisoned than those
who have not broken their fast. The giving of a simple breakfast
of cocoa, milk, and bread by the employers to the workpeople is a
distinct preventive against plumbism. So satisfactory have been the
results that no person should be retained in continuous employment
in a lead works unless he has regularly a morning meal before commencing work.
Experiments, too, were made with bile and pancreatic juice, in
order to demonstrate what probably happens when any undissolved
lead passes out of the stomach. When lead carbonate was alone
digested with bile, a relatively large quantity of lead was dissolved
compared with that obtained by gastric juice. Bedson and Best
found three times the amount of lead dissolved. When bile was al
lowed to act upon fat at the same time as upon lead less of the metal
passed into solution.
(Z>) EFFECT OF BIL E O N LEAR CARBONATE (O X BILE U S E D ).
Amount of lead carbonate.

Amount of bile.

(a) 15.4 g r a in s ......_____ . . . . . . . . . . . 156 grain s.........................................
156g r a in # .......................................
ffr/ 35.4 g r a in s........................ ..

Amount of lead dis
solved.
5.0152 grain per ounce.
.5185 grain per ounce.

(d) Ten cubic centimeters of albumen and 1 gram of lead were di
gested in presence of 10 cubic centimeters of natural gastric juice;
after three hours, at S8QF., 10 cubic centimeters of bile were added,
and digestion at 98a F. was continued for another hour.
Lead dissolved, 0.00625 grain per ounce of fluid.
Lead dissolved, 0.0125 grain per ounce of bile.
With natural gastric juice alone, 0.00812; with albumen and nat
ural gastric juice, 0.00625.
With bile alone it was 0.0152; with albumen, natural gastric juice,
and bile, 0.0125.
In order to ascertain what would probably occur in the human
body during normal digestion, when the semidigested food called
chyme passes out of the stomach into the duodenum and is there
brought into contact with bile and the pancreatic juice, first of all

INDUSTRIAL. LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

lead carbonate and white of egg were digested in gastric juice for
three hours, then bile was added and digestion allowed to go on for
an hour, when the amount of lead was found to be greater than in
ordinary gastric digestion, although less than in biliary digestion
alone. The diffusibility of lead under these circumstances was also
investigated. Lead carbonate was digested for three hours in a
parchment tube with excess of bile, but no lead was diffused, fat was
then added, still none of the metal passed through the membrane.
In purely pancreatic digestion no lead carbonate was found to be
dissolved, either when acted upon alone or in the presence of peptone,
fat, or starch. On the addition of bile a small quantity of lead was
dissolved, but an amount equivalent only to that dissolved by the bile
alone.
As an addition to the above the writer carried out in the physio
logical laboratory a series of experiments with lead dust obtained
from the file makers’ shops in Sheffield. The dust when boiled in
water gave none of the chemical reactions of lead. Placed in a 10
per cent solution of hydrochloric acid, slow bubbling occurred.
Shortly afterwards it gave with sulphureted hydrogen a brown pre
cipitate. In 0.2 per cent of hydrochloric acid gently warmed to body
temperature, it gave a distinctly brown precipitate with ammonium
sulphide. Two-tenths per cent of hydrochloric acid and pepsin when
digested with the dust for half an hour gave distinct traces of lead.
One-tenth gram of file dust in 20 cubic centimeters of 0.2 per cent
hydrochloric acid gave distinct coloration with sulphureted hydrogen,
which did not disappear on being made strongly acid. In an experi
ment of 20 cubic centimeters of artificial gastric juice to which fibrin,
bread, and butter were added along with Sheffield file dust, all the
fibrin was dissolved, but there was only a doubtful trace of lead pres
ent, if any at all, a circumstance of some importance when taken with
the statement already made that when food is being digested at the
same time with lead very little, if any, of the lead is dissolved.
METALLIC LEAD AND ITS DANGERS.

The foregoing remarks apply to the absorption of lead by the ali
mentary and respiratory passages, but metallic lead is also capable of
being acted upon by the fluids of the body. Lead poisoning has fol
lowed, years afterwards it may be, the encystment in the body of
pellets of lead after a gunshot injury. Messrs. Ribierre and Flandin1
exhibited a patient at the Society Medicale des Hopitaux, Paris, June
9, 1911, the subject of paralysis of extensors of hands and wrists, the
remains of a wider spread paralysis which had involved the lower
extremities, larynx, and eyeballs. These physical signs had been

1 La Presse MSdicale, 14 juin. 1911, p, 490,

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

preceded by colic and were consequent upon a -gunshot wound of the
chest. Radiography showed several pellets of lead encysted in the
lung, dissolution of the pellets being favored by the large quantities
of carbonic acid present in the pulmonary media and of lipoids of
leucocyte origin. In the pus escaping from the suppurating wound
in the chest wall caused by the gunshot, lead was detected.
SYMPTOMATOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY OF LEAD POISONING.

As already stated, it is the repeated entrance of lead in minute
doses into the system which is productive of plumbism. One of the
earliest signs of saturnine poisoning is pallor; the face becomes
anaemic. Accompanying the pallor is a peculiar sallowness or
cachexia, which, wTith alteration of the facial expression, the educated
physician can usually interpret as pointing to lead intoxication.
Once pallor has become pronounced it tends to persist, for it is due
to the injurious influence of lead upon the blood-making organs.
Sooner or later there is complaint of a disagreeable metallic taste in
the mouth, especially in the morning. This prevents the workman
taking breakfast with relish. If the distaste for food is increasing
the individual should retire or be suspended from work, for it is
one of the earliest indications of the resistance to lead having become
diminished. There may also be complaint of a feeling of sickness
and a tendency to vomit. Obstinate constipation and a sense of
tiredness out of proportion to the amount of energy expended are
also complained of.
In the midst of this there is more or less suddenly developed severe
pain in the abdomen in the neighborhood of the navel. The pain is
of an agonizing character and is often accompanied by vomiting.
Patients roll about in bed, begging for relief to their suffering.
The restlessness is in a sense peculiar to lead colic. The character
of the pain varies. Some persons obtain relief by firmly pressing
with their hands the abdomen, which is hard and retracted, while
others can not bear even gentle pressure. The attack of colic may,
with remissions, last for a few days and be pretty sharp, or, grad
ually subsiding, it may linger on for a week or two, and even after
this lapse of time be attended by hyperesthesia of the abdominal wall
on pressure. In other instances the pain becomes confined to onehalf of the abdomen and is revealed only by firm pressure. The
tongue is coated and the breath fetid.
On examining the gums a blue line is observed close to the teeth.
If it is an old worker, who is the subject of colic, the gums will prob
ably be found ulcerated as well, so that the teeth are elongated and
discolored. There are two kinds of blue line. One in which it ap
pears as a delicate cloud lying upon the gums, and which will disap
pear on rinsing the mouth or by the use of a damp cloth. This col

F ig . 6.— E ffect of L ead P o iso n ing .
H. W., age 89; white-lead worker; admitted to infirmary, suffering from colic and paresis of
arms. Shows blue line on gums and bluish-black patches inside lower lip.

99
oration is seen on the teeth and gums of persons after working in a
dusty process in the factory for a few hours, and there is the other,
the true Burtonian line, close to the teeth, but on the gum. This
persists. It is absent where the teeth have fallen out or been re
moved. Occasionally inside the cheek or inside the lower lip a bluishblack patch is seen the size of a 3-penny or 6-penny piece. These
patches are found where the mucous membrane comes into contact
with a decayed tooth. Occasionally, too, the surface of the tongue
shows similar discoloration. Any vomit there may be is composed
mostly of the food taken, accompanied by mucus. On chemical
examination it is often found to contain lead. The urine is scanty,
probably not more than 6 to 8 ounces are passed in 24 hours; it may
contain a trace of albumen. Usually the pulse is feeble and slow;
almost imperceptible. In a few patients during the height of the
colic the pulse is firm and of high tension. The bowels may be
opened with the greatest difficulty, for owing to the vomiting aperi
ents can not be retained sufficiently long for them to act. Enemata
of olive oil and warm water, however, can always be given. Al
though constipation is not altogether the cause of the colic yet move
ment of the bowels is attended at first with a distinct sense of relief.
Where the extremely acute pain of colic has subsided a degree of it
may still continue and become localized in one-half of the abdomen,
and along with this patient will frequently wince when pressure is
made upon the pneumogastric nerve in its course in the neck on that
side. The radial pulses are often unequal; one is distinctly feebler
than the other, a fact which the sphygmograph confirms, the pecu
liarity being that sometimes the weaker radial pulse is on the same
side as that on which the abdominal and vagal pain is greater, some
times the reverse. In addition the pupils are observed to be unequal,
the more contracted pupil being usually, but not invariably, on the
same side as the abdominal and vagal pain and the smaller radial
pulse. The saliva of a patient who is suffering from acute lead
colic as a rule contains no sulphocyanate of potassium. On the addi
tion of a few drops of liquor ferri perchloridi to the saliva of a
healthy person there is observed a brownish-red ring where the two
fluids meet. This is absent in the saliva in lead colic, but the sul
phocyanate returns on the subsidence of the pain in the abdomen.
The blue line on the gums demands further consideration. When
present it is, when accompanied by other symptoms, a valuable aid
in the diagnosis of lead poisoning. It is difficult to say how much
importance ought to be attached to it, especially since a similar blue
line can develop on the gums of persons who have taken internally
large doses of bismuth, or made use of a bismuth mouthwash for
ulceration of the gums and mucous membrane of the mouth. There
is occasionally observed, too, a bluish-black blush and line on the
INDUSTRIAL, LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

100

BTOLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF -LABOR.

gums of persons using a carbolic and charcoal tooth powder. A blue
line is present in over 50 per cent of lead workers who have no
symptoms of plumbism, and it may be absent in persons who are
undoubtedly suffering from the malady and in whose urine lead
may be found. It can not, therefore, be regarded as an absolute
sign of lead poisoning. It points to the presence of lead in the
system, a slightly increased accession of which at any time might
cause the development of symptoms. On that account, even although
the person who has a blue line may never develop symptoms of
plumbism, yet its presence and importance can not altogether be
ignored, provided other metals than lead can be excluded. The blue
line is due to fine dark granules in the large connective tissue cor
puscles which are present at the edge of the gums, and is not the
result of blocking of the capillary blood vessels with small emboli
as earlier writers taught. The lead particles are deposited in the
cells either as the result of lead having been excreted into the mouth
in a soluble form from the blood by the salivary glands and there
taken up by the phagocytic cells of the connective tissue, or as lead
dust caught in the mouth, dissolved in the saliva, and converted
into lead sulphide indirectly by the salivary sulphocyanate or by the
microorganisms of the mouth inducing decomposition of the remnants
of proteid food left between the teeth. As showing the rapidity with
which the blue line can develop, it appeared in two of the writer’s
patients on the day following that on which they had swallowed
rather large doses of acetate of lead.
In order to show whether lead is eliminated by the salivary glands,
pilocarpin was administered to some of the writer’s patients with the
result that Prof. Bedson found as much as three parts of lead per
million. That the metal is also eliminated by the mucous membrane
of the stomach is shown by its presence in the vomit, not only during
the acute stage of the poisoning, but in the recurrent vomiting occa
sionally met with long after patients have given up their work. In
one of the writer’s cases lead was found in the vomit several months
after the man had given up work in the factory.
Lead colic has again and again been mistaken for appendicitis,
and patients have been operated upon only for the surgeon to find
the appendix healthy. Cases of appendicitis, too, have been over
looked in the belief that they were lead colic. A lead worker, like
other people, is liable to appendicitis. When the pain of lead colic
is referred to the appendix area, and no blue line is present in the
gums, and no history of contact with lead is obtainable, the greatest
care should be exercised in coming to a decision. In some cases a
differential diagnosis may be impossible. Another source of ab
dominal pain in a lead worker is moderate stenosis or spasm of
the pylorus. This gives rise to recurrent pain and to vomiting.

INI)USTRIAL» LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

101

Although lead colic can be extremely severe, it is rare for a patient
to die during the attack of pain.
Since obstinate constipation is the usual accompaniment of lead
colic and is frequently attended by vomiting, the pain, vomiting, and
constipation have frequently been mistaken for intestinal obstruction.
Recently an old lead worker was sent into the surgical wards of the
Newcastle Infirmary for operation for supposed intestinal obstruc
tion, the diagnosis having been made upon a history of constipation
and of recurrent vomiting. The abdomen was retracted, the vomit
was distinctly fecal, the face pinched, and the expression anxious;
patient was in a state of collapse and had a subnormal temperature*
No operation was performed. A blue line was present on the gums,
and the urine contained albumen. Patient died within 48 hours after
his admission. The autopsy confirmed the view we took, that the
man had been suffering from uraemia, due to chronic disease of the
kidneys, the result of lead poisoning. At the post-mortem examina
tion there was no evidence of intestinal obstruction. .
In obscure abdominal cases, where pain, constipation, and recur
rent vomiting are the prominent symptoms and where intestinal
obstruction and strangulated hernia can be excluded, an inquiry
into the occupation of the patient ought to be made, the gums
examined, and if the symptoms continue, the urine should be exam
ined for albumen and lead. Occasionally in women the pain of
lead colic is referred to the organs of the pelvis and is mistaken for
ovarian or tubal disease, functional or organic.
The uterine and pelvic pain caused by taking diachylon pills is
often of an excruciating character, even when miscarriage has not
taken place. It may also continue for days after the uterus has
emptied itself.
In the chronic forms of saturnine intoxication severe headache of
a persisting character is complained of. It is accompanied by a sense
of inability to use the brain and by a feeling of great listlessness.
Mention has been made of the pallid appearance of lead workers
and of saturnine cachexia. The blood on microscopical examination
is found to be deficient in red corpuscles. Instead of there being
5,000,000 colored corpuscles, or erythrocytes, there may be only half
or a little more than half that number per cubic millimeter, and with
the fall in the number ©f red corpuscles there is also a corresponding
diminution in the amount of haemoglobin or coloring matter. The
blood becomes thin, pale, and watery. The colorless corpuscles, or
leucocytes, which in health are present to the extent of 10,000 per
cubic millimeter, vary less than the red. It is unusual for them to be
increased in number or to exhibit structural alterations. There is
occasionally a very slight increase in the number of eosinophile
corpuscles, a type of colorless cell which readily takes on the aniline

102

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

stain eosin. In health these cells form 2 to 4 per cent of the total of
white corpuscles of the blood. In some of my lead patients the
eosinophiles reached 8 per cent.
LEAD AND ITS EFFECT UPON THE BLOOD.

Because anaemia is a sign of lead poisoning, some physicians have
stated that the degree of anaemia is proportional to the length of
time persons have worked in lead. There is no absolute relationship
between the two. Anaemia commences early. On that account Grawitz and others have attempted to show that by a microscopical
examination of the blood a diagnosis of plumbism can be made before
some of the ordinary and more familiar signs of lead poisoning ap
pear. Not only is there a deficiency in the number of red corpuscles
and a diminution of the coloring matter, but there is also a struc
tural change in these corpuscles, which is revealed by special reagents, such as Jenner’s or Manson’s staining fluids. The contents of
the corpuscles,- which in health appear to be homogeneous, become
studded with dark granules, brought into evidence by the basic
aniline stain used.
Prof. Franz Hofmann,1 after having taken a drop of blood from a
workman and spread it out as a thin film on a microscopic slide, fixes
it in absolute alcohol for 15 minutes and then stains it for 10 seconds
in Manson’s solution (borax, 5; methylene blue, 2; water, 100).
He afterwards washes the slide in water, dries and examines the
stained blood under a high power.
P. Schmidt2 maintains that if the number of basophile stained
erythrocytes reach 100 per million red blood corpuscles this circum
stance is pathognomonic of lead poisoning. He considers it to be
of assistance in diagnosing plumbism, when other symptoms are
absent. Schmidt examined the blood of 546 lead workers and of
110 persons (including sick and healthy people) who had not been
brought into contact with lead. In only 2 persons, or 1.8 per cent
of the 110 persons, did he find over 100 basophile granular red cor
puscles per million; in 14 persons, or 12.7 per cent, these were present
up to 100; and in 94, or 85.5 per cent, there were no basophile red
corpuscles. Dr. Arno Trautman3 examined the blood of 100 anaemic
patients whose haemoglobin maximum was 80 per cent, also of 100
healthy persons who had never worked in lead and whose haemo
globin minimum was 85 per cent, for the purpose of comparing the
results with those obtained from an examination of 238 lead workers.
The technique adopted was exactly the same as that already de
scribed. In the blood of 86 of the 100 anaemic patients above referred
1 M iinchener M edizinische W ocbenschrift, July 6, 1909, p. 1371.
•A rch iv fur H ygiene, vol. 63, H . I.
•M iinchener M edizinische W ochenschrift, No. 27, July 6, 1909, p.,1371.

INDUSTRIAL* LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

103

to there were no basophile granular erythrocytes; in 2 over 100
(1 of whom had 283 per million and the other 120); 14 of the 100
patients had, on an average, 61 granular erythrocytes per million.
The blood of 45 soldiers whose haemoglobin averaged 94.2 per cent
was examined and in 86.7 per cent there were no basophile red cor
puscles; in the remaining 13.3 per cent there were basophile cor
puscles on an average of 44 per million. In a perfectly healthy
man Trautman found 33 basophile granular erythrocytes per mil
lion. In this man both the number of basophile corpuscles and the
amount of haemoglobin varied from time to time. In the bacterio
logical department of the Hygienic Institute of Leipzig University,
up to the end of February, 1909, the blood of 779 lead workers had
been examined, and of these 233 were examined by Trautman him
self. When in any of the blood films the basophile corpuscles rose
above 100 per million red corpuscles the circumstance was regarded
as a sign of lead, poisoning, and prophylactic jneasures were taken
accordingly. The men whose blood was examined were painters,
typesetters, type founders, music engravers, plumbers, and workers
in electrical accumulator works. Most of the men were the sub
jects of more or less well-defined abdominal pain and complained
of fatigue, headache, and loss of appetite. Others were suffering
from paralysis of arms and legs. On the gums of many of the men
there was a well-marked blue line. Most of the workmen were not
suffering to any extent. Of these 233 patients—
Per cent.

102 showed no basophile erythrocytes----------------------------------------------------43.8
48 showed over 100 basophile erythrocytes per million__________ _______ 20. 6
83 showed under 100 basophile erythrocytes per million________________ 35. 0

The examination of the blood of 60 painters gave the following
results:
In 18, or 30 per cent, no basophile erythrocytes.
In 22, or 36.7 per cent, up to 100 basophile erythrocytes per million.
In 7, or 11.6 per cent, 100 to 200 basophile erythrocytes per million.
In 13, or 21.7 per cent, over 200 basophile erythrocytes per million.
Of the 233 lead workers above indicated, although 195 complained
of pains, only 12 exhibited unmistakable signs of plumbism, and
in all of these the blood contained more than 100 basophile granular
corpuscles per million. Schmidt found in 15 patients suffering from
plumbism over 100 basophile corpuscles; the urine of 4 of the
patients was examined for lead, and in 3 it was found. Of 38 lead
workers who had no complaint, 6 had from 116 to 750 basophile
corpuscles, and 32 had up to 100 or more. Trautman?s opinion is
that the number of basophile erythrocytes bears no relation to the
gravity of the case. In one lead worker with slight symptoms of
plumbism whose blood was examined on 25 occasions, the haemoglobin

104

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,

averaged 74 per cent and the basophile corpuscles 597 per million.
M. Andre1 found several nucleated red blood corpuscles in the blood
of two men, employed in an electrical accumulator works, who hard
suffered from colic. This form of red corpuscle is usually only met
with in severe types of anaemia, and yet anaemia was not present in
either of the men, for their red blood corpuscles averaged 4,900,000
and the white corpuscles 7,700 per cubic millimeter of blood.
Nucleated red corpuscles had been previously described by Sabrazes
as occurring in lead poisoned guinea? pigs.
In my own patients suffering from plumbism of various degrees
of severity, and in the many lead workers whose blood I have ex
amined, I have not found basophilia to be either so frequent or to
be the early and important sign of plumbism which Grawitz and
other writers have claimed for it. It occurs, but as I have found
basophilia present in only a small percentage of cases, I do not
attach the diagnostic value to it which many Continental physicians
do. From 3 paint grinders my house physician, Dr. John Hare,
and I took several films of blood, when the men were in the paint
factory where they had worked from 13 to 29 years. No basophile
corpuscles were found in the blood of a man who had worked
15 years, although his gums showed a faint blue line; in 3 films
of blood of a paint grinder who had worked 18 months, but had
been a laborer in the factor for 12 years, who had never suffered
from colic, and on whose gums no blue line was discernible, only 6
basophile cells were found; while in the third man, with 29 years of
service, 16 of which had been spent in paint grinding, and who
had suffered from colic on three occasions and was the subject of
well-marked arteriosclerosis, 7 basophile corpuscles were found.
On another occasion we took films of blood from 15 men in a whitelead works whose years of service ra?nged from 7 to 23 years. These
men were employed in various lead processes. Only a few of the men
showed a blue line on the gums, several of them had decayed teeth,
but none gave a history of colic, although in the urine of all of them
traces of lead were found. In the blood of 9 of these 15 men, taken
when the men were in the factory, here and there a degenerated red
cell was found, but in none of them did the basophilia reach 100 per
million. In the case of a male patient suffering from deep-seated
malignant disease of the abdominal glands, accompanied by leucocytosis, a man who had not been brought into contact with lead, the
writer found just as many basophile red corpuscles. Similarly in
two women whose gums and internal lining of cheeks were deeply
pigmented by lead, after having nearly poisoned themselves with
diachylon pills, and who were still seriously ill, careful and repeated

1 Lyon M edical, Nov. 30, 1902.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

105

microscopical examination failed to reveal the presence of basophile
red blood corpuscles. Dr. D. Gilbert, medical inspector of factories,
Belgium, while not doubting the frequent presence of basophile cells
in the blood in plumbism, says that basophile granules appear in the
course of other intoxications than lead, sometimes, too, under the
influence of debilitating circumstances which have nothing to do with
occupation disease.
The erythrocytes of a red-lead worker aged 48, the subject of wrist
drop, whose father, aged 80 years, had also followed the same occupa
tion for 44 years, enjoying good health all the while, numbered 3,66flr
660, the white corpuscles 6,562, and the haemoglobin measured 60 per
cent. Only a very few of the red corpuscles of this patient had
undergone basophile degeneration. The red-blood corpuscles of
H. W., aged 39, whose photograph is reproduced, numbered 2,000,000
per cubic millimeter of blood. Among these was found here and
there only after careful search a basophile corpuscle. Basophilia
was absent in 6 of the 15 lead workers whose blood we removed when
in the factory, and it was present in a red-lead worker in whose urine
no lead was found on chemical examination. As a sign of plumb
ism, therefore, is basophilia more reliable than the presence of lead in
the urine? There is always the possibility of lead in the urine being
intermittent and of basophilia persisting. Neither in the blood of
by no means the smaller number of patients admitted into the in
firmary under my care for plumbism, nor in the blood of animals
the subjects of experimental plumbism, have I found the granular
degeneration of the erythrocytes above described so frequent or so
pronounced as to be of the diagnostic value which some physicians
have assigned to it. The negative position I have assumed in regard
to the importance of basophilia is, as already shown, based upon the
examination of several series of films of blood.
The diagnostic value of the presence of granular red-blood cor
puscles in lead poisoning formed the subject of a discussion at a
meeting of the Medical Society of Vienna in June, 1910. M. A.
Gdtzl had examined 808 slides of blood taken from workers suffering
from plumbism and from others working in lead who had not
been ill, but were anemic and exhibited a blue line on the gums.
The blood had been stained with Loffler’s methylene blue. Gotzl
gave it as his opinion that basophilia is not often met with in per
sons who are engaged in manipulating lead and its compounds, and
that it is frequently absent in well-marked cases of saturnism. Ac
cording to him the structural alteration in the red corpuscles is of no
diagnostic importance. H. Weiss found basophilia in the blood after

106

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

the ingestion of raw meat. Max Sternberg stated that while basophile erythrocytes are frequently absent in lead poisoning, they are
met with in tuberculosis, cancer, intestinal hemorrhages, and malaria.
The importance attached by Continental physicians to basophilia in
plumbism must be my excuse for having dwelt at such length upon
this part of the subject. Notwithstanding all that has been said, I
yet deem it advisable to provide the opportunity of drawing attention
to the structural changes which occur in the red corpuscles by repro
ducing a colored drawing of the blood of one of my cases of lead
poisoning in which basophilia was present, but not in such a pro
nounced form as appears in the drawing. Reviewing the question
generally, the fact that basophilia up to 100 per million red cells was
found by Schmidt in 14 persons who had never worked in lead, that
it was present in 13.3 per cent of soldiers, that in 102 out of 233 lead
workers, or 43.8 per cent, no basophilia was found at all, and that in
40 per cent of my own cases of plumbism it was absent, are cir
cumstances which weaken the value of the presence of degenerated
red corpuscles as proof of lead intoxication. The presence of baso
philia in 70 per cent of painters is no doubt of importance, but equally
so is its absence in 30 per cent.
Opinions differ as to the cause of basophilia. Does it mean degen
eration of red-blood corpuscles? Possibly, although J. Sabrazes is
inclined to regard the presence of granules within the cells rather
as a sign of regeneration. Since even in the early stages of plumbism
there is often already established quite an appreciable degree of
anaemia, and since, too, lead is occasionally found in the bones of.
men and animals who have died from saturnine poisoning, and it is
in bone marrow that blood corpuscles are formed, it is reasonable to
expect that chemical and structural changes would be found in the
blood. Without in any way, therefore, undervaluing basophilia as a
sign of plumbism, I unhesitatingly affirm that it is not a ready
method of diagnosing plumbism. Preparation of the blood films
requires technical skill. The granular erythrocytes are not always
easy of detection; they have to be carefully searched for with an oilimmersion lens under a high magnifying power. It is these circum
stances which prevent the microscopical examination of the blood
becoming a ready method of diagnosis in the hands of busy medical
practitioners. In the diagnosis of plumbism there is still a place for
clinical methods, and while these can and ought to be aided by the
researches of the physiological laboratory, I am, owing to basophilia
occurring in other conditions, disposed to regard as more reliable
signs of saturnine poisoning the presence of lead in the urine and
faeces.

F ig . 7.—B lood in L ead P oisoning .
a. Normal red blood corpuscles, b. Basophile degenerated red corpuscles,
c. Eosinophile leucocyte, d. Eosinophile corpuscle, e. Mononuclear
leucocyte. /. Blood platelets.

The,

Lithographing Company.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

ID T

EFFECT OF LEAD TOON MOTHERHOOD.

It is largely the harmful effects of lead upon the blood-making
organs of the body and the recurrent demands of menstruation upon
the system which render females more susceptible to plumbism than
males. Taking the pottery statistics for 1898 there were 3,123 men.
employed in lead or dangerous processes in the North Staffordshire
district alone. Of these 152, or 4.9 per cent, suffered from plumbism,
while of 1,580 women similarly employed 196, or 12.4 per cent, became
ill. Of 12 deaths from plumbism 11 occurred in females; of 23
deaths from plumbism over a period of a few years in Newcastleupon-Tyne, Miss M. E. Abraham (now Mrs. H. J. Tennant), when
principal lady inspector of factories, found that 22 occurred in
females. The reproductive functions become early deranged by lead,
so that in consequence of this women workers suffer from menor
rhagia. The excessive losses of blood thus induced at the men
strual periods doubtlessly contribute to the anaemia which is so
strikingly present, but as anaemia is also present in male workers
other causes must be in operation. Under the influence of lead
women, if pregnant—and this remark applies also to females of
the lower animals—miscarry in larger numbers than those who have
not been exposed to the metal. Lead destroys equally the power of
reproduction in man. It is almost impossible for a pregnant woman
working in lead to go to term and give birth to a healthy child. She
will either miscarry, or if a child is born at full time the infant is
badly nourished and dies soon after birth in convulsions. It was
because the writer found lead was the cause of an enormous destruc
tion of human life through the numerous abortions and miscarriages
it caused, also of the high death rate of infants born to .lead
workers, that he pressed the British Government to abolish female
labor in lead works. Despite considerable opposition on the part
of manufacturers, the recommendation was adopted, with the result
that no tongue can tell what number of human lives has been
saved and what amount of suffering has thereby been averted.
Female lead workers who gave a history of having miscarried on six
or seven occasions only succeeded in becoming mothers by giving up
their work in the factory, as the following illustrations from the
writer’s notebook show:
Mrs. H., aged 35, had 4 healthy children bom at full time. She
went to work in a white-lead factory and was there for 6 years,
during which she had 9 miscarriages and no living child. Mrs. K.,
aged 34, had 4 children before going into a white-lead factory and
2 children afterwards. Continuing at her employment she had 6
miscarriages in succession, when she was admitted into the Royal
Infirmary under my care on account of paralysis of arms and legs,
99823°—No. 95—11-----8

108

BULLETIN OF THE BUEEATX OF LABOR.

due to lead poisoning. For a time she was extremely ill—a complete
wreck, in fact—and unable to do anything for herself. She made a
slow but good recovery, and, acting upon my advice, did not return to
work in the factory. In her next pregnancy she went to term and
gave birth to a healthy living child.
It is characteristic of lead poisoning that the withdrawal of the
expectant mother from contact with lead usually enables her to go un
interruptedly not only through her immediate pregnancy but through
successive pregnancies, and for the children born to be healthy.
Similar testimony to the malign influence of lead upon maternity
is furnished by other physicians. Constantin Paul has published the
results of 123 pregnancies where both parents worked in lead. Of
these 64 ended in abortion, 4 were premature confinements, 5 were
stillbirths, while 20 of the infants born alive died within the first year.
Of 43 pregnancies of women working in lead 32 ended in miscarriages
and 3 in stillbirths; only 2 living children were bom, and these were
badly nourished. Malnutrition and maldevelopment are character
istic of infants of lead workers. Balland gives the details of 100
pregnancies where one or both parents were lead workers. Abortion
occurred in 40 instances; in 26 confinement was premature. Of 32 of
the accouchements at term 60 per cent ended in stillbirths. Of other
40 children bom alive to lead workers 26 died in their first year.
Lead acts prejudicially upon the offspring, both through the mother
and the father, but its harmful influence is, as might be expected,
greater through the mother. When both parents have been lead
workers, the power for harm is then greatest. Rennert has attempted
to express in statistical terms the varying degree of gravity in the
prognosis of cases, in which at the moment of conception both par
ents are the subjects of mild lead intoxication without symptoms, also
where one only is working in lead processes. Where both parents
have been working in lead, pregnancy is prematurely brought to a
close 94 times out of 100, 92 times when the mother alone is
thus employed, and 63 times when the father alone is working in
lead. In cases where women have had a series of miscarriages so
long as their husbands worked in lead, a change of industrial occupa
tion on the part of the men restores the wives to normal child-bearing
powers. P. Rudaux1 draws special attention to the effects of paternal
lead intoxication. Of 752 women whose husbands were lead workers,
he found in 442 pregnancies that 66 aborted, that 96 miscarried
before the ninth month and 147 in the ninth month, and that 113 went
to full term. In 47 instances the foetus was dead and macerated.
The more by his occupation a man is exposed to lead the more harm
ful are the effects of this occupation upon his progeny. White-lead
1 La Clinique, 21 janv, 1910. Intoxications chroniques et Puerp€ralit&

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONIim IN EUROPE.

109

workers, painters, printers, plumbers, and pottery dippers furnish
the largest number of reproductive failures. Of the children of
paint grinders I find that 40 per cent die of convulsions during the
first year of life.
Maternal lead intoxication carries greater potentiality for harm
than paternal. Where an expectant mother continues to follow her
employment in lead processes the influence of the poison persists all
through the period of intrauterine gestation, so that lead is found in
the placenta and in the internal organs of the offspring as well. A
young woman aged 20, a white-lead worker of four years’ standing,
and who during that period had been off work twice on account of
colic and vomiting, and who since her marriage had had one mis
carriage, gave birth to an infant at term, Her husband was a paint
grinder; he was pale, and on his gums there was a well-marked blue
line. The infant at birth was in size and weight more like a four or
six months’ foetus. The child lived for two weeks, during which it
seemed to be unable to assimilate food. I made a post-mortem exam
ination 18 hours after death, and was struck by the rapidity with
which decomposition of the body was progressing. All the internal
organs were small and in keeping with the diminutive size of the
body generally. On microscopical examination the liver showed
distinct atrophy of the hepatic cells and an exaggeration of the capil
lary spaces between the cells, also an increase of the interstitial tissue
as in cirrhosis. In the kidneys there were found shrunken Mal
pighian glomeruli and degenerated epithelia with an increase of the
connective tissue. On chemical examination lead was found in the
internal organs. Lead had, therefore, passed through the maternal
barrier, the placenta or “ afterbirth,” and had penetrated into the
foetus, setting up structural changes in its liver and kidneys which
led to death. Animals in whom I had produced experimentally
plumbism suffered in a similar manner. In all the foetuses of a leadintoxicated rabbit which had miscarried traces of lead were found.
The occupations which expose women to lead and which interfere
with pregnancy are painting, typographing, and ware polishing;
and, in countries where permitted, work in white-lead factories. At
the risk of repeating myself, when the mild form of lead intoxica
tion accompanies pregnancy and is unattended by symptoms on the
part of women, it is in some respects a fleeting affair, for if they
renounce the occupation and avoid further exposure to lead intoxi
cation a normal termination to the pregnancy and the birth of a
healthy child may yet be secured. Saturnism not only makes the
continuation of pregnancy almost an impossibility, but it tends to
aggravate some of its functional disorders, such as vomiting, head
ache, and albuminuria. Lead may kill the foetus in the womb
directly by poisoning it and thus induce miscarriage, or the signs

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR*
110
of intoxication may not reveal themselves until shortly after birth,
when the infant-dies from convulsions or, as in the children of the
Hungarian potters, may later on give rise to idiocy and other signs
of an imperfectly developed nervous system.
Lead exercises its harmful influences upon reproduction probably
through toxaemia. The abortifaoient powers of lead have for long
been known, not only to the medical profession, but to the public as
well. In the potteries its use. is resorted to by pregnant women who
are anxious to get rid of their conception, a use not free from danger,'
since diachylon pills have on several occasions caused death of the
child carrier as well as of the foetus. Lead produces powerful con
traction of the muscle fibers of the intestines and of the womb; hence
colic when the bowel is spasmodically contracted, and miscarriage1
when the musculature of the womb is similarly stimulated. Lead1
acts, too, as a direct poison to nearly all living beings. To its
harmful action the foetus in utero is no exception, as the presence of
the metal in its internal organs indicates. In one or other of these
ways lead is prejudicial to reproduction, for an expectant mother
without herself exhibiting signs or symptoms of plumbism can yet
poison the offspring in her womb. Lead in some way, too, seems to
alter the seminal fluid of the male, whereby the sperm cells are weak
ened and the impulses toward structural evolution are curtailed. In
support of this statement the following table by Prof, Lewin1 shows
the result of 32 pregnancies of 7 women married to men working
in lead:
RESULT OF 32 PREGNANCIES OF, 7 WOMEN M ARRIED TO M EN WORKING IN
LEAD.

Each of the women had aborted. Out of 32 pregnancies there were
only 2 living children.
While it was known to the older writers that lead administered in
wine induced atrophy of the seminal vesicles of men, our knowledge
of the malign effects of lead upon women is of comparatively recent
date. Practically speaking, it is coterminous with the century that
is past, and is associated with the rise of factories and the in
1 E ulletin de l’lnspection du Travail, 1904, numgros 5 et 6, p: 375.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

I ll

dustrial employment of women. Although during the sixties of last
century Tardieu in France had drawn attention to the fact that
of 1,000 pregnancies of women working in lead 700 terminated pre
maturely, yet it is only within the last 30 or 40 years that medical
men have begun to seriously realize the enormous influence of lead
for harm upon female life in general. On the Harz Mountains,
where there are lead smelting and desilvering works, it had been
noticed that the cows, sheep, and hares which grazed on the pastures
in the neighborhood were frequently attacked with hsematuria and
miscarried. Pregnant women who ate the hares also miscarried and
subsequently became sterile. They remained childless during the
remainder of their life, or at least during their residence on the
Harz Mountains. Probably the drinking water and the vegetables
grown in the gardens had also become contaminated; a circumstance
which shows that whatever the source of plumbism, the result upon
pregnant women is always the same.
Industrial lead poisoning as it affects woman surpasses in impor
tance plumbism in man, since the morbid condition concerns not only
the individual, but through her the future of the race. The subject
has therefore a national as well as a socio-economic aspect. The num
ber of human lives, actual and potential, sacrificed to lead will never
be accurately known, but by the abolition of female labor in the
dangerous processes of lead one step has already been taken, and by
it mankind has been the gainer.
In an address1 given to the Eugenics Education Society, London,
May 4, 1911, on “ Lead Poisoning and the Race,” the writer asks the
question, What is the fate of the children born to lead-intoxicated
parents and who do not die in infancy? Since several of their
brothers and sisters succumbed to convulsions, which they have es
caped, are the survivors endowed with a good constitution and fitted
to fight the battle of life? There is not the least doubt that while
many of these children grow up and are quite healthy, others are of
inferior physique: they are handicapped in their start in life, and
they subsequently exhibit signs of mental as well as of physical
deterioration. Such, too, is the opinion of Dr. Prendergast, of Han
ley, Staffordshire, whose professional career has been spent in the
Potteries. Something is inherited from lead-intoxicated parents
which in later years may show itself in some of the obscure forms of
nervous disease which are often otherwise inexplicable. Potters’
children in Hungary exhibit a greater tendency to convulsions than
the children of healthy parents free from lead. They are of shorter
stature, too. The writer was struck by the infantilism of the potters’
children in Hungary. Men upward of 20 years of age looked like
lads of 13 and 14.
1 Sir Thom as Oliver, in Journal of Eugenics Education Society, July, 1011.

112

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.
FATHOLOGY OF LEAD POISONING.

Lead, if taken into the system in small quantities for a considerable
length of time, induces structural changes in the eliminating organs,
one sign of which is the presence of albumen in the urine. Albumi
nuria may appear early in plumbism and disappear, or it may not
occur until late, and then be a sign of kidney disease. It is because
interstitial nephritis is the form of kidney disease met with in oldstanding cases of plumbism that it has come to be regarded as the
renal lesion special to plumbism; but this does not apply to the condi
tion of the kidney met with in patients who have died in acute lead
poisoning of short duration. In these cases it is the cells which line
the tubules and the glomerular epithelium that are the first to be
come affected. The fact that albuminuria may come and go with
each returning and waning attack of colic suggests a toxic origin for
the albumen in the urine in the early stages of the malady, but
in chronic plumbism the structural changes in the kidneys are of
another kind, and are part of a more widely distributed degenera
tion affecting the heart and arteries as well.
When a person is daily swallowing or breathing lead dust, it is more
than probable that there is an elimination of the poison which keeps
pace with its absorption. It is when a check is placed upon elimina
tion that there commences storage of the poison. Plumbism, however,
is not always a question of any stated amount of lead being present
in the body, for some persons are more susceptible to its influence
than others, and, besides, lead may, by destroying the functional
activity of the eliminating organs, favor the retention within the body
of poisons generated by the individual himself, so that the patient dies
from a mixed form of toxaemia. While the death of old lead patients
often comes with convulsions, due to chronic kidney disease, saturnine
encephalopathy may occur in young adults in whose urine no albumen
is found and in whose nervous system after death no lead is found on
chemical analysis. In other cases lead is found in the brain, or there
are observed small subarachnoid hemorrhages to which Dr. Mosny, of
the Hospital St. Antoine, Paris, has drawn attention. It has been
my fortune to see several cases of saturnine encephalopathy in young
persons in whose urine no albumen was found. The attack is occa
sionally preceded by severe headache; in other instances by symptoms
suggestive of hysteria. A young female lead worker, for example,
who has not been known even to have felt ill, becomes rather excited.
She laughs or cries on the slightest provocation and presents all the
symptoms of ordinary hysteria. The attack must not he ignored, for
it masks a serious implication of the nervous system. Within three
days of the development of the toxic hysteria the patient maybe dead.
The hysteria is in itself a symptom of saturnine poisoning. Lead

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

113

stimulates into activity a neurosal tendency, to which the patient is
hereditarily or otherwise predisposed.
Loss of vision, complete or partial, is not an unusually rare sequela
of poisoning of the nervous system by lead. As far back as the
middle of the eighteenth century, French physicians had noted the
blindness and deafness to which potters were liable, and which were
attributed to the lead glaze used. In 1775 it was reported of a lead
worker that having gone to bed one evening quite well and with good
eyesight he awoke next morning completely blind. The writer has
had similar experience of lead workers in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Usu
ally, however, the onset of blindness is preceded by severe headache
or by convulsions, and on ophthalmoscopic examination there are
found evidences of acute neuro-retinitis or of retinal hemorrhages.
Since retinal hemorrhages may occur without albumen being present
in the urine, they are not always, therefore, the result of kidney dis
ease, as some physicians believe, but are caused by either the direct ac
tion of lead upon the optic disk and retina, or, as Leuber and Deutschmann maintain, by irritating or infective particles carried by means
of the subarachnoid fluid from the cavity of the brain to the vaginal
sheath which surrounds the optic nerve. Probably more than one
cause is in operation. In chronic lead intoxication retinal hemor
rhages may be the result of uraemic retinitis. The influence of arte
rial constriction brought about by lead can not be ignored as a cause
of loss of sight, nor can the fleeting toxic effects produced by lead
upon the deeper parts of the brain concerned with vision be altogether
set aside. Once blindness occurs, it may persist for life, or after last
ing for weeks, eyesight may be gradually restored. Occasionally the
loss of vision instead of being complete is limited to one-half of the
visual field, or the trouble is not within the eye itself, but in the
external muscles of the eyeball. When these become paralyzed the
patient complains of diplopia or double vision.
Taking various lead industries into consideration, Prof. Lewin1
found that of 130 men and women exposed to lead and whose eye
sight had become affected, 34 were painters and 20 were white-lead
workers. As there are far more painters than white-lead workers in
the population, this gives an extremely high average of affected eye
sight in white-lead workers. It would have been interesting if Prof.
Lewin could have told us how far the nerve and muscle strain, and
therefore fatigue, to which the eyeballs of the painters are exposed
in their work may not have played a part in causing some of the
defects of vision met with among these men, since probably among
them much of defective vision was the result of muscular paralysis
and not, as in white-lead workers, due to retinal changes. Lead
respects neither age nor sex, hence men, women, and children can
all be rendered blind by it. Taking 163 lead-poisoned persons,
1 B ulletin de l’lnspection du Travail, 1904.

114

BULLETIN OE THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

Lewin found that 122 of these were men and 41 were women; that
of 70 of the men affected, 51 had become blind between 20 and 40
years of age; and of 27 females, 16 had become blind between
the ages of 10 to 20, and 8 between 20 and 30. My own experi
ence confirms what these figures show, namely, the earlier devel
opment of blindness in female compared with male lead workers.
In the lead workers just referred to there had been other symptoms
of plumbism previous to the onset of the blindness. Several of
them gave a history of colic, others had suffered from headache,
others again from paralysis, and a few had had convulsions. It is
fortunate that a fairly large percentage of those who have suffered
from blindness regain their eyesight. Of 114 thus affected, 40 re
covered their eyesight entirely; in 22 only a fair recovery took place,
while in 36 the optic disk passed into a state of atrophy, and in 16
life was brought to a premature close. It is unnecessary to add that
where a patient has suffered from saturnine amblyopia and re
gained his eyesight he must for the remainder of his life avoid com
ing into contact with lead.
Once there has been lead intoxication, the individual ever after
wards exhibits an increased susceptibility to it. Many of the in
fectious diseases from which we suffer leave a protective influence
behind them. There is conferred by one attack an immunity to other
attacks, but there are other diseases, of which plumbism is one,
which induce anaphylaxis, or a tendency for the body to become
more readily affected by smaller doses of the poison.
While this in the main is true of lead, there are exceptions. The
writer knows a family of lead workers the father of whom is still
alive at the age of 80, after having worked for 44 years as a redlead drawer. His three sons have been similarly employed without
any of them becoming ill, until one of them, after 32 years’ serv
ice became paralyzed in wrists and hands, but made a rapid recovery.
Just as there is a personal and family idiosyncrasy to plumbism, so,
too, there may be an increased resistance to it. This I have found
in certain animals. Rats are resistant to lead. Rabbits are more
readily affected, and yet one of my rabbits during the last 28 months
has swallowed upward of 300 grains of nitrate of lead and remains in
good condition.
RETENTION OF LEAD WITHIN THE BODY.

Another item of interest and of importance from the point of view
of the British Workmen’s Compensation Act is the length of time
lead may remain in the system. Years after the symptoms of
plumbism first show themselves and have disappeared there may be
fresh signs of intoxication. Lead is slowly eliminated from the body
by the kidneys and the intestinal canal. To Prof. Dixon Mann we

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

115

are indebted for having indicated the extent to which it is thrown
out by the bowels. In one of the writer’s patients who has no blue
line on the gums, and therefore no visible signs of the presence of
the metal within the body, who has, too, no symptoms of plumbism
other than recurrent abdominal pain accompanied by attacks of
vomiting, lead has been found in the urine, faeces, and vomit 16
months after leaving work.
The elimination of lead may extend over many months or years,
or the elimination may cease, and the lead after lying dormant in
the tissues for years be again eliminated with a renewal of symptoms
of plumbism, as the following case shows: Mrs. P., aged 36, was ad
mitted into the infirmary under my care, suffering from headache
and paralysis of the muscles of the eyeball, attended with defective
vision. She was the mother of six children, of whom five were
alive. She had had three miscarriages. I recognized her as a pa
tient who 17 years previously had been a white-lead worker, and
been under my care on account of colic, followed by saturnine enceph*
alopathy and blindness. After total blindness, which had per
sisted for several weeks, eyesight had been gradually regained, and
patient ultimately made a good recovery. She did not return to
the lead works, but after a time married and had children as above
recorded. During her 16 years of married life neither she, her husr
band, nor any of the children had been brought into contact with
lead. There was no history of syphilis, alcohol, or other cause to
explain the severe headache and defective vision. Thinking that it
was just possible the old occupation had something to do with her
illness, I sent a sample of her urine to the chemical laboratory of
the Armstrong College and asked Prof. Bedson for a report upon
the same. The urine was found to contain lead. Knowing that lead
may lie dormant in the tissues for a considerable length of time, I
could not but regard this case as one of saturnine poisoning, al
though 17 years had elapsed since her recovery from the previous
attack. During all these years patient had apparently been a
healthy woman, and yet some chemical change had occurred in her
system, whereby resolution of deposited inert lead had taken place,
and this circulating in the blood had induced fresh symptoms of
lead poisoning. Similarly in a laborer aged 41, with atrophy of
hands, paralysis of extensors of wrists, and muscular tremor of six
weeks’ duration, who gave up house painting 18 years previously,
the administration of potassium iodide was followed by the elimina
tion of lead by the urine to the extent of 1 part per million. This
is the longest duration of latent plumbism with which I am familiar.
I have frequently found lead in the urine of patients two or three
years after they had given up work in the factory. In such a case
as that just mentioned the presence of lead in the urine was an

116

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

important sign, and of the greatest assistance in the diagnosis of
plumbism.
In a large number of cases of lead colic indican is present in the
urine. The test for indican is to pour a small quantity of urine
into a test tube and to add to it an equal quantity of hydrochloric
acid. Chloroform is then added and the fluid well shaken. At the
lower level of the layer of supernatant chloroform indican will be
revealed by a blue or red color, according to the kind of indican
present—blue color being due to indican or blue indigotin, while
a red color points to oxidized indigotin, or what is known as indirubin. Although indicanuria occurs in other diseases it is yet an
additional, but not a reliable, sign of plumbism.
One of the commonest signs of lead poisoning is paralysis of the
hands and wrists, or what is known as “ wrist-drop.” Although the
affection is usually bilateral, on account of being the result of a gen
eral toxaemia, the loss of power is greater on the side that the muscles
of which, when at work, have been most exposed to fatigue. Dimin
ished local resistance caused by fatigue predisposes to the location of
the paralysis, a point to which later on we shall return. Other
factors, of course, may also be in operation.
Boerhaave was among the first to associate paralysis with saturnine
poisoning, but it is to Tanquerel de Planches and to Duchenne, of
Boulogne, that we are indebted for the earliest and most complete
clinical description of paralysis in lead poisoning. It was Duchenne
who, by using electricity in his investigations, first localized the pa
ralysis and described the order in which the various muscles become
affected. He observed, too, the immunity of certain muscles, such
as the supinator longus, in “ wrist-drop.” Before paralysis appears
the patient may have had headache, colic, and vomiting, or he may
have had encephalopathy, but none of these are essential as prodromata, for experience shows that without any warning paralysis
may develop. The common seat of the loss of power is the extensor
muscles of the wrist and fingers. The muscles, while presenting the
“ degenerative reaction”—namely, loss of faradic irritability—still
preserve their voltaic, but as the wasting of the muscles proceeds
both faradic and voltaic irritability become in proportion lessened,
and especially is this the case in that form of saturnine atrophic
paralysis where weakness and wasting come on simultaneously and
proceed pari passu. Double “ wrist-drop,” where the patient can not
extend his hands and fingers, is the classical form of paralysis in
lead poisoning. It usually develops on one side earlier than the
other. It may commence as simple weakness or paresis and pro
ceed to complete loss of power or paralysis.
Space will not permit an elaborative description in detail of the
various muscles affected or of how in one instance certain fingers

F ig . 8.— “ W rist -D rop , ” t h e C ommonest F orm of L ead P aralysis .
A. C., age 30; a red-lead worker for five years. Paralyzed in both arms.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

117

escape and not others. The flexor muscles gradually become weak
ened partly through disuse and partly through the withdrawal of the
antagonizing influence of the extensors. In the Duchenne-Erb type
of the malady the muscles of the upper arm become involved. Here
the deltoid, biceps, brachialis anticus, and the supinator longus be
come affected with the addition of the supra and infra spinatus
muscles. Of these the deltoid is generally the first to become weak
ened. When “ wrist-drop ” alone is present the patient can not hold
anything in his hand, he is unable to fasten his clothes, and he has
difficulty in feeding himself; but when the Duchenne-Erb type of
muscles is affected, the arms hang powerless by the side of the body,
for the patient is quite unable to raise them. In other cases the
small muscles of the hand are paralyzed, e. g., the thenar, hypothenar,
and interossei.
Occasionally also the muscles of the legs become paralyzed. In
the leg the peroneal and the long extensors of the toe.s, which corre
spond to the muscles of the forearm, suffer most—the tibialis anticus,
like the supinator longus of the forearm, usually escaping. There is
a form of generalized paralysis of rapid development met with in
lead poisoning, where the muscular system is involved in its whole
length, en bloc, so to speak. I have only seen three cases of this
form of paralysis. On account of the extent of its distribution and
the rapidity with which it develops, it is not without danger. The
patient occupies the dorsal decubitus, is unable to move a limb, and
is often even incapable of masticating and swallowing food, and
yet, as happened in two of my cases, rapid as was the development
of the paralysis, it just as rapidly amended. One of the patients
who recovered gave birth a few years afterwards to a living child.
Whilst recovery is the rule, death has occurred by respiratory
paralysis.
Considerable discussion has taken place as to whether paralysis
in lead poisoning is to be regarded as the result of a central lesion
of the nervous system or whether the lesion is peripheral and seated
in the nerves or muscles. In old standing cases the nerves are
generally found to be the seat of an interstitial neuritis, in which the
connective tissue framework of the nerve is found to have become
increased and the nerve fiber to have undergone degeneration. We
must draw conclusions, however, not from the late but from the early
stages of the disease. The first question, therefore, we ask ourselves
is whether lead paralysis is primarily a nervous or a muscular affec
tion, for pathological changes are ultimately present in both. Where
then does the change first begin? Charcot, Leyden, and Westphal
support the neuropathic theory, whilst of the followers of the myo
pathic theory may be mentioned Gusserow, Henle, and Hitzig.
Friedlander is of the opinion that lead causes primarily a functional

118

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

disturbance of muscle and that this is followed by a degeneration
of the nerve. It is not a question of the affected muscles containing
more lead than those which still functionate normally, for experi
ments carefully conducted by Bernhardt show that the flexors of the
fingers and wrists and the supinator longus, which usually escape in
“ wrist drop,” contain exactly the same quantity of lead as the
extensors, the amount in each instance being small. Weight for
weight, compared with the other organs of the body, the muscles
contain the smallest amount of lead in saturnine intoxication.
If, therefore, peripheral conditions under the circumstances
sketched above do not explain lead paralysis, does a study of the
central nervous system throw any light upon the problem? Often no
change is found in the spinal cord on microscopical examination, but
this is no proof that lead may not have inflicted damage upon the
cells in the anterior cornua of gray matter. Function may be de
ranged without any apparent structural alteration. In a few cases
of fairly acute lead paralysis, minute hemorrhages have been found
in the spinal cord, as in a case reported by Oeller.1 Vulpian found
in a man who died from saturnine poisoning and in a dog in which
he produced experimentally lead paralysis distinct evidence of sub
acute myelitis. My own opinion is that in many cases of lead
paralysis the lesion is primarily started in the nervous system. It
is the most vulnerable.
Nearly all writers are agreed that if there is one thing in lead
poisoning which favors the localization of paralysis it is fatigue of
muscle; that is to say, the muscles which become paralyzed are those
which do the greatest amount of work. It is on this theory that,
along with other physicians, I have sought to explain the paralysis
of the left-hand muscles in file makers, and of which a determining
cause is the fatigue consequent upon the prolonged and tight grip
of the chisel. There is nothing to prove that lead has a special
predilection for any particular muscle or group of muscles.
This subject has been revived and is ably dealt with by Dr. Lud
wig Teleky, of Vienna, in Zur Kasuistik der Bleilahmungen, in
which he elaborates Edinger’s theory of the influence of muscular
work in determining the localization of paralysis. Teleky has had
unusual opportunities of studying the question, since between No
vember 1, 1905, and January 1, 1909, he examined and closely
watched 40 cases of lead paralysis. He reminds us that in coarse
work the muscles of the forearm and hand are used, but in finer work
only those of the fingers and hands. Although quantitatively the
smallest, it is the latter muscles which are most affected. They are
required for prompt and accurate action. The human forearm is
made for heavy work, the hands and fingers for lighter work. It is

1 Oeller, zur Pathol. Anal, der Bleilahm ungen.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

119

not always easy to say what is light and what is heavy work, .With
his right hand the file cutter wields a heavy hammer, but it is his
left thumb and index finger which become paralyzed through the
prolonged strain of gripping a chisel the greater part of the working
day. Painters, printers, typesetters, porcelain painters, and diamond
cutters, whose work, though .coarse, is yet of a fine character, suffer
from paralysis involving the long extensors of. the fingers, and.
especially, too, the muscles of the thumb, if this finger is particu
larly involved in the operations. The weight of the muscles is no
criterion of the work they do and can do. Of 14 vamishers and
painters treated by Teleky for paralysis, 3 only showed one-sided
paralysis, viz, the right hand; in the remainder the paralysis was
bilateral. While in dextrous people it is the right hand which suf
fers the more frequently and severely, in those with a sinister bend it
is the left.
In children who become poisoned by lead the paralysis affects not
the forearms, as in adults, but the legs, probably because they run
about more and exercise these muscles more than do their seniors.
If lead has any predilection at all for muscles, it is for those
which are most used, and therefore most liable to fatigue. But how
does fatigue act? Fatigue has both a peripheral and a central expla
nation. The peripheral nerve endings in the muscles are affected
by the waste products formed therein, while the circulation of the
toxins in the blood impair for the time being the activity of the
nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Fatigued muscles in a
person whose general resistance is reduced, as in slowly developing
plumbism, have a difficulty of getting rid of their waste products
and of securing proper nutrition; the sensory nerve endings of the
muscles become weakened, as do also the large cells in the central
nervous system, so that when saturnine toxaemia takes place it is the
muscles whose resistance is reduced and their associated nerve con
nections which first fall victims to the action of lead. Since, with
the exception of size, the muscles are the same in adults and chil
dren, and yet in children the legs suffer while the forearms escape, it
is rather a question of the amount of use to which the muscles are put.
An engineer, aged 27, left-handed for hammering and screwing,
but right-handed for writing, whose work consisted in joining iron
plates with red-lead paste, developed plumbism with paralysis of
both hands, but the loss of power of the left hand, which did the
screwing work, was much more pronounced than that of the right
hand. A lead worker was recently under my care on account of
paralysis of the muscles which pronate the right hand. As these
muscles alone were affected, it turned out that the man supplemented
his income by acting as a lamplighter, and the muscles affected were
those with which he extinguished the lights by means of a long staff.

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

“ Wrist-drop ” may develop suddenly between night and morning,
or it may come on gradually. It may or may not be accompanied
by pain. The affected muscles rapidly undergo atrophy. The loss
of power is usually confined to the muscles of the hand and wrist,
but the muscles of the upper arm and those of the shoulder may
also become affected, likewise those of the feet and legs, giving rise
to “-ankle-drop.” Paralysis of the muscles of all the limbs is a seri
ous sign, for not only is the patient rendered completely helpless, but
there is the possibility of the paralysis spreading to the muscles of
the trunk and of respiration becoming arrested. In some instances
speech is affected, and the symptoms resemble those met with in
general paralysis. In a "large percentage of lead-intoxicated persons
there is distinct tremor of the labio-facial muscles, which is brought
into view when they are asked to show their teeth. Some of the
writer’s lead-poisoned patients, when apparently progressing satisfac
torily, have without warning suddenly become convulsed and there
after delirious. For days their mental balance would be broken.
Most of the patients under these circumstances recover, but acute
delirium, attended by a rising temperature, is an unfavorable
condition.
Although double “ wrist-drop ” is the commonest form of saturnine
paralysis, the loss of power may be confined to the arm and leg on
the same side only. Tabes dorsalis, or locomotor ataxia, is occasion-'
ally simulated by poisoning of the nervous system by lead. There
may be well-marked incoordination, the patient being unable to stand
or walk with his eyes closed, but the simulated differs from the classic
form of the malady in being more amenable to treatment.
LEAD AND GOUT.

The association of lead poisoning and gout has long been known.
Sir Alfred Garrod found that 33 per cent of his patients who were
suffering from gout had been poisoned by lead, while Sir Dyce Duck
worth states that of 136 patients who were the subjects of gout, 18
per cent showed signs of lead intoxication. In Newcastle-upon-Tyne
the association of lead and gout is hardly known. Whether it is in
consequence of our rigorous climatic conditions and the difference in
their habits as regards food and alcoholic beverages, lead workers
in the north of England seldom become gouty like their confreres in
London and the Midlands.
The almost complete absence of gout among lead workers on Tyne
side is of considerable interest from a physiological point of view.
Does lead per se determine gout, or is it that a gouty diathesis pre
disposes to plumbism? The late Sir William Roberts said he could
hardly believe that lead poisoning produced the same constitutional

F ig s . 9 and 10. — “ W rist -D rop .” T y pes o f L ead P a r a j ' t '

F ig s . 11 and 12.— “ W rist -D ro ^ ” ^

.^ iS I S .

F ig . 13.—“ A nkle -D rop, ’ 9 Tvr

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

121

diathesis as that which exists in true gout. He recognized that while
the gouty constitution and lead poisoning differed in all other re
spects, they had one vice in common, and that is a gouty tendency
or “ uratosis.” According to him, uratosis is a gouty tendency, which
may become reenforced by plumbism, and saturnine uratosis is a
particular form of lead intoxication, aggravated by a previously
existing gouty diathesis. Taking the amount of urea eliminated
daily as a measure of the proteid metabolism of the body, I have
found in many of my lead patients before treatment that the urea
rate fell to one-half, or 250 grains, for the day, but that under treat
ment the urea gradually rose to the normal, provided the kidneys
were healthy. With a rise in the amounts of urea thrown off, severe
headache previously complained of disappeared. As regards uric
acid, the forerunner of gout, Prof. Bedson found in the samples of
urine of my patients submitted for analysis that the daily quan
tities of this constituent of the urine was subject to considerable
variation. Roughly speaking, in health a little less than half a gram
(6 to 7 grains) of uric acid is eliminated daily by the kidneys. In
some of my lead patients the amounts thrown off varied from 12 to 21
grains per diem, without any signs or symptoms of gout. In my
efforts to ascertain whether there was any constant relationship
between the daily elimination of urea, uric acid, and lead, the follow
ing data were obtained in the chemical laboratory of Armstrong
College:
DAILY ELIM INATION OF UREA, URIC ACID, AND LEAD BY TH E K IDNEYS FROM
WORKERS IN LEAD.
Date.
January 15.........................................................................
1 6 ..........................................................................
17 ..........................................................................
18..........................................................................
19 .........................................................................
2 0 .........................................................................
2 1 .............................................. '..........................
2 2 .........................................................................
2 3 ..........................................................................
2 1 .........................................................................
2 5 ..........................................................................
26 ..........................................................................

Quantity
of urine Specific Urea, in Uric acid, Lead, in
daily, in gravity. grains. in grains. grains.
ounces.
62
64
78
68
69
72
100
80
88
82
105
68

1010
1010
1014
1012
1010
1012
1012
1012

ioio

1012

328.0
343.0
417.0
395.7
467.1
488.8
665.4
469.7
438.9
388.6

5.23
7.25
5.84
6.09
3.31
2.07
.76
.13
.60
1.89
2.01
.26

.00386
.00307
.00374
.00651
Trace.
Trace.
Nil.
.00957
;00394
.00756
.00153

While according to the above there is no constant relationship
between the two, it would almost appear as if the elimination of
uric acid and lead is inversely related to each other.
DEATH CAUSED BY LEAD POISONING.

Since the passing of the Workmen’s Compensation Act numerous
coroners’ inquiries have been held in regard to deaths of lead work

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.
122
ers. In the majority of cases there is given a history of the person
who worked in lead having had colic and suffered from head
ache, or of having had paralysis, from some or all of which he
perhaps had recovered and returned to work. Death of the workman
may have been comparatively sudden and been due to cerebral
hemorrhage, for apoplexy is a common mode of termination of life
in chronic lead poisoning. At the autopsy the ruptured cerebral
vessel is seen, the kidneys are found to be smaller than usual, and
their capsule adherent, while the left ventricle of the heart is observed
to be hypertrophied. The structural alterations of heart and arteries
can be a consequence of chronic kidney disease, caused by other condi
tions and poisons than lead, but because lead induces interstitial
nephritis, and the person is said to have worked in lead, compensation
is usually awarded to the friends. Lead may or may not have given
the impetus to the structural alterations of the kidneys. The presence
of a blue line on the gums of a dead body would be supplementary
evidence of plumbism. Apart from it the pathological findings above
recorded are not per se positive proof of lead poisoning. Hereditary
tendencies, alcoholic habits, and gout may, quite apart from lead,
have initiated the kidney disease, the first link in the chain of
morbid events, so that, unless lead is found in the internal organs
or in the urine removed from the bladder after death, there is no
absolute post mortem evidence of saturnine poisoning.
In the case of young lead workers dying from saturnine encepha
lopathy a few weeks or months after taking up the occupation, and in
whose urine during life no albumen was detected, there may be,
practically speaking, beyond a blue line on the gums no well-defined
evidence at the post mortem examination of death having been due
to plumbism. To the untrained eye all the organs appear to be
healthy. An experienced pathologist on carefully looking at the
brain may observe that it is shrunken, paler on section, and firmer
to the touch than usual or that it is pale and watery as in uraemia.
Such a brain, in the absence of albumen in the urine, is extremely
suggestive of lead poisoning. If there has been an attack of acute
colic before death the small intestine may be found extremely con
tracted in places, and in older, patients there may be found small
bluish-black patches on the mucous membrane. Although in acute
lead poisoning the kidneys appear to the naked eye healthy, yet on
microscopical examination the tubular epithelium may be observed
to have undergone cloudy degeneration. Heart, lungs, and liver look
healthy. Any urine in the bladder in a doubtful case should be re
moved for chemical analysis; so, too, ought portions of the brain,
liver, and kidneys. Prof. Bedson made for the writer a chemical
examination of the internal organs of several lead workers who

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

123

died in the Newcastle Infirmary, of which the following may be
mentioned
Eliza T., aged 22, had worked two and one-half years in a whitelead factory. After the first three months she had colic and was off
work for three weeks; returned to factory and worked seven weeks,
when again obliged to desist on account of colic. A year afterwards,
when still following her occupation, she had severe, headache, which
was followed by partial blindness. Sight was gradually regained.
She returned to work in the white-lead factory, but again becoming
ill, was admitted into the infirmary under my care, where she devel
oped convulsions and died. The urine was free from albumen. At
the post mortem examination, beyond a blue, line on the gums, the
body presented no external signs calling for comment. On examin
ing the brain the dura mater was found to be adherent at the vertex;
the subarachnoid fluid had accumulated to excess in. the inter pedum
eular space; the pons and cerebellum were pale compared with the
other parts of the brain. The surface of the brain was healthy and
the blood vessels not unduly injected. : The corpus callosum was pale,
and the puncta hsemorrhagica were extremely few. Each lateral
ventricle contained 2 or 3 drams of clear fluid. The membranes were
healthy. The spinal cord felt hard and on section was paler than
usual.. Heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys call for no comment.
The distribution of lead in the internal organs of the bodies of
this woman and of two of my other patients is shown in the following
table drawn out by Prof. Bedson:1
DISTRIBUTIO N OF LEAD IN TH E INTERNAL ORGANS OF THREE PERSONS WHO
DIED FROM LEAD POISONING.
Description of organs.
TATgft in testin e.............................................
Small intestin e.................................... ........
M uscle...............................................................
Lung.................................................................
H eart.................................................................
Mammary gland............................................
K id n ey.............................................................
Sp leen...............................................................
Liver..................................................................
Cerebellum and pon s...................................
Grav matter of basal gan glia....................
Brain, gray matter of cortex......................
Brain, white substance...............................
Spinal co rd .........................................:..........
B rain ................................................................
Cerebellum .....................................................
P on s.............................................................
Brain and cerebellum ......... . .....................

Lead found expressed as Lead, in grains, calculated
metallic lead, in parts per on total weight of organ.
million.
I.

II.

14.6 *
9.2
3.1
2.2
6.7
4.8
15.5
14.7
47.7
36.9
53.0
40.9
18.9

37.70

III.

7.60
4.12
10.00
12.00
37.80

5.00
13.30
39.00
41.60

0.0243
.0270
.0193
.9180

1.16
9.80
24.80
22.60

21.60
8.59

.6880

II.

0.0189
.0229
.0341
1.0000

0.0164
.0261
.0853
.7280

.7790

.6340

1 Dictionary of Applied Chemistry, T. E. Thorpe, vol. 2, p. 445.
9 9 8 2 3 °— N o. 9 5 — 11------ 9

124

BULLETIN OF TELE BUREAU OF LABOR.

A chemical examination of the internal organs of another of my
patients, Charlotte K., gave spleen 1.3 parts of lead per million,
heart 8.2, liver 20.4, kidney 1.9, and brain 1.7 per million.
In rabbits to which I administered lead in food the metal was
found in the muscles, liver, stomach, brain, and kidneys. I am not
in a position to state in what chemical form lead is present in the
brain and in the tissues. The quantities found in my patients have
therefore been expressed in terms of metallic lead. Sir William
Gowers, in Medical Ophthalmoscopy, states that on one occasion 5
grains of lead were found in a human brain. The largest amount in
any of my cases was 1 grain of metallic lead. To the presence of
lead in that organ are attributed by some pathologists the convul
sions and death in plumbism. It is believed that some highly com
plex chemical combination takes place between brain tissue and lead,
whereby one of the hydrogen elements in a molecule of kephalin is
replaced by lead. Brain cells thus impregnated with lead would be
come incapable of performing their functions normally. It is quite
conceivable that lead under those circumstances might be the cause of
flie convulsive seizures, but even in lead workers the metal per se can
not in every instance be the cause of convulsions and death, since in
a young female white-lead worker under my care, who died from
saturnine encephalopathy a few months after taking up her em
ployment in a factory, no lead was found in the brain on the most
careful chemical analysis.
The blood, too, has been frequently examined for lead. C. Oppenheimer1 tells us that as far back as 1844 Cozz found lead in the
blood. Chevalier found small quantities in the blood of a man who
died from saturnine poisoning and Gusserow in a rabbit, the subject
of experimental plumbism. Oppenheimer obtained the following re
sults on analyzing the blood of two rabbits experimentally poisoned
by lead:
ANALYSES OF TH E BLOOD OF TWO RA BBITS POISONED BY LEAD.

•Qiraiatity of b lood ______ __ __ __ ______ ___________________
PbS04 found...........................................................................................
Pb fou n d ________________ ________ ____ __ ____ ___________
100 grammes of blood contained PbS04 ..........................................
100 grammes of blood contained Pb...............................................

II.

G ram s.

■ 52.30500
.00400
.00237
.00765
.00522.

29.10500
.00200
.00137
.00690
.00471

These analyses show the presence of lead in a fairly considerable
quantity in the blood, but as mention has already been made of lead
affecting very severely the blood-making organs of the body, let us
see what amounts of lead are stored up in the bones and marrow, for
l Zur K enntnis der Experim entellen Bleivergiftung. Berlin, Boas und H esse, 1899.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

125

it is in the marrow of bone that red-blood cells are formed. In 100
parts of bone there were found (a) 0.1138, (&) 0.00338, (e) 0.0803
gram of lead, while in marrow Oppenheimer found (a) 0.07689, (&)
0.07717, (c) 0.189 gram of metallic lead. Like the bones, marrow
contains relatively a large amount of lead.
Lead early disturbs the functions of the kidneys and liver, and
this in time is followed by alterations of structure. It is by the
activity of these organs that lead is removed from the body in the
urine and faeces. Before the liver and kidneys become structurally
affected, lead in consequence of deranged function of these organs
may not be thrown out, nor will there be eliminated the animal
poisons which are normally produced within the body, so that over
and above the possibilities of plumbism, there is also created an
autointoxication, which probably contributes as much to the con
vulsive seizures observed in saturnine encephalopathy as the presence
of lead itself.
As bearing upon the comparative absence of distinctive signs of
lead poisoning in the body, the following case is worthy of being
recorded: A plumber aged 35 was admitted into the Newcastleupon-Tyne Royal Victoria Infirmary under the care of Dr. W. E.
Hume, one of the writer’s colleagues, in a state of unconsciousness, on
November 30,1908. On the evening of November 27, on his way home
from work, this man was seized with severe headache, but he returned
to work next morning, although not feeling well. When at work he
fell down in a slight convulsion. Recovering within an hour, he
walked home, where he had another convulsion. This was followed
by loss of consciousness. In this condition he was admitted into
the infirmary. (It was subsequently ascertained that patient in
the early part of the year had been treated at the eye infirmary on
account of defective vision.) Knee jerks were present on both sides.
The right arm and leg lay rigid and motionless; the left arm and
leg were moved convulsively. Babinski’s sign was absent on the
right, but present on the left side. There was marked optic neuritis
in the right eye, less in the left. Urine had a specific gravity of
1,020, and did not contain albumen or sugar. Heart was healthy;
blood pressure 105 millimeters Hg. As the coma deepened it was
decided to trephine the skull in order to give relief to pressure.
One of the assistant surgeons trephined the left side of the skull,
but found that beyond oedema the brain was healthy. Patient re
covered from the effects of the operation, but the coma increasing,
he died on December 4. The writer was present at the autopsy. The
liver, spleen, heart, lungs, and kidneys were found to be healthy. The
cedematous condition of the side of the brain which had not been
operated upon along with a slightly thickened but not adherent piarachnoid membrane, the history of the man’s occupation, and the

126

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

absence to the naked eye of signs of disease in the other internal
organs, led me to suggest to the pathologist that the internal organs
should be examined for lead. Portions of the internal organs along
with urine removed from the bladder were sent to the chemical
laboratory with the following result: Urine contains lead; brain con
tains 3 parts, liver contains 6 parts, kidney contains 50 parts, and
spleen contains 40 parts of lead per million of tissue. But for the
chemical examination of the internal organs in this case, the diag
nosis would not have been possible. Plumbism might have been
surmised, but it would not have been confirmed by even a micro
scopical examination of the kidneys, since in them nothing abnormal
was found. An interesting point in this case is that notwithstand
ing the fact of a general cause such as toxaemia being in operation
the paralysis was limited to one-half of the body.
EFFECT OF OCCUPATION ON THE FORM OF LEAD POISONING.

In discussing lead paralysis mention was made of fatigue and the
important part it played in determining the location of the weakness
and loss of muscular power. Compositors employed in the printing
shops of Vienna are said by Teleky to suffer infrequently from colic
and the severer types of the malady, a statement to which both
Sternberg and Hirt subscribe. Only in 8 out of 1,000 printers did
Sternberg find a blue line on the gums. Teleky found it in 23 out of
157 compositors whom he examined. While printers are less liable
to plumbism than is generally believed, they have a greater tendency
to diseases of the lungs and kidneys than men occupied in most,
other occupations which bring them into contact with lead. The dis
cussion of this circumstance a few pages back suggested the question
as to whether lead by being slowly absorbed did not act so imperceptibly upon the internal organs of the men as to render them more
liable to other forms of disease, as witness the special tendency of
printers to pulmonary tuberculosis.
In Great Britain lead colic is not frequently complained of by com
positors and printers, but in Vienna gastrointestinal derangements
are common. These, as well as affections of the cardio-vascular sys
tem, are attributed to the slow rate at which lead in very minute
doses is absorbed into the system. Dr. T. M. Legge finds that the
industries in which the most serious forms of plumbism occur are
brass, plumbing, printing, file cutting, tinning, glass cutting, and
ship painting, and that the form of paralysis which lead poisoning
produces under these circumstances is generally above the average in
severity, also that in white lead, red lead, litho transfers, enameling,
electric accumulators, paints, colors, and coach painting the symp
toms are generally colic rather than a high degree of paralysis. The
differences depend upon the nature-of the employment, with which

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

127

is naturally associated the age of the worker and the opportunity of
inhaling lead dust.
When lead poisoning is induced rapidly it is more likely to cause
colic or encephalopathy than paralysis. The slowness of the onset
of symptoms in brass workers, plumbers, printers, file cutters, and
tinners is, according to Legge, rather the result of inhalation of
fumes or of metallic lead dust than of salts of lead. Saturnine en
cephalopathy is more than twice as frequent in females than males.
In hand file cutters the paralysis affects mainly the muscles of the
left thumb and hand, since it is these which are most exposed to
fatigue. Bond, in alluding to the making of lead capsules for bot
tles by women, speaks of the freedom of the workers from lead colic
and internal troubles, a statement not confirmed by other physicians,
nearly all of whom, however, agree as to the liability of the women
to anaemia and to optic neuritis, and who, if pregnant, usually mis
carry. Where no group of muscles is exposed to fatigue more than
other muscles of the body, it can not be said that occupation per se
determines the form paralysis will take.
As for the rapidity with which anaemia, colic, and wrist drop de
velop, it is largely a question of the amount of lead to which the
workers are exposed and its mode of entrance into the body. While
some writers maintain that the slower and more insidious forms of
saturnine poisoning are brought about by handling metallic Jead, and
that the absorption of lead compounds in the form in which they are
present in paints produces more serious symptoms than when there
is absorption of lead in the form of fume and dust, there is really no
unanimity of opinion as to whether lead as vapor is less or more
dangerous than lead in the form of dust. Teleky draws attention to
a type of nervous symptoms which he has observed on three occasions
in young painters and which he calls hysterical colic. Its peculiar
features are its long duration, its divergence from the classic type,
its yielding to cold-water cure, and to faradism. Where the dyeing
of silk black by means of acetate of lead is carried on as a home
industry there is a higher percentage of kidney disease among young
women thus employed than in those engaged in other lead processes;
but this is hardly to be wondered at, for they live in an atmosphere
heavily charged with lead dust, judging from the appearance of the
living and sleeping rooms, so that here again it is a question of the
amount of lead dust inhaled.
WHAT CONSTITUTES INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING.

In other words, when is a worker really suffering from lead
poisoning? The blue line on the gums, present in fully 25 per cent
of workers, according to the nature of their occupation, is not, unless

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

128

it is accompanied by other symptoms, a proof per se of lead poison
ing, for a similar blue line, exactly located as in plumbism, close to
the teeth, may be found under other circumstances, as, for example,
in one of my own empyema patients who had his pleural cavity in
jected with bismuth paste in order to check suppuration and favor
closure of the cavity. A greenish-blue line is also observed in
copper workers. Yet in the case of a person with an unmistakable
Burtonian line on the gums, such a line, when attended by obscure
symptoms becomes of considerable assistance in diagnosis and espe
cially so if the occupation is known. After all, the cases in which
bismuth and nitrate of silver show a blue line on the gums are few
when compared with lead. In previous parts of this monograph
I have alluded to the presence of lead in the urine. What signifi
cance is to be attached to this circumstance? Prof. Bedson has made
for me a chemical analysis of urine passed by 20 male lead workers
in the morning before going to the white-lead factory, also of three
paint grinders in another factory.
SER IES OF URINE EXAM INATIONS FOR LEAD IN MALE W HITE-LEAD AND REDLEAD WORKERS AND IN PAIN T GRINDERS, MAY 31 TO JUNE 15, 1910.
W H IT E -L E A D AN D B E D -L E A D W O R K ER S.

1 ....
2___
3___
4___
5___
67___
....
8___
9___
,10___
11___
12___
13___
.14___
15___
16___
17___
18---19
2 0 ....

80
23
25
56
43
25
36
40
41
36
36
68
43
35
38
45
47
48
64
58

Urine per
Years of million
employ parts,
ment. amount
of lead.

Occupation.

.No. Age.

White-lead worker.............................................................................................
........d o..........•.........................................................................................................
........do.....................................................................................................................
........do.....................................................................................................................
........do.....................................................................................................................
........do................. .............. .............. .....................................................................
........do.................................................................................................. :................
........do............................................. ......................................................................
........do.....................................................................................................................
........do........ ...........................................................................................................
.d o................................................................................... ................................
........do.....................................................................................................................
........do......................................... ..........................................................................
........do......................................... ...........................................................................
........do.....................................................................................................................
do....................................................................................................................
........do.....................................................................................................................
White and red lead worker...........................................................................
.d o...................................................................................................................
do........................................................................ ...........................................

1
2
2
2
3
7
11
12
121
13
13
14
16
17
20
20
20
30
30
33

0.64
1.83
2.40
1.20
1.20
.64
.80
2.00
1.83
1.48
L92
L60
.90
.80
.40
1.82
2.40
1.84
1.08
2.75

P A IN T G R IN D E R S .

No. Age.
1........
2........
3........

Occupation.

44 Grinding lead and o il.................... .............................................
42 ........d o ....................................... .....................................................
52 .....d o ...............................................................................................

Number of years— Urine per
million
parts,
amount
Infirm . In mill. of lead.

291

26
16

2
6
9

0.88
1.20
1.60

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

129

The amount of lead in the urine of the three paint grinders is
proportional to the length of time the men have been employed in
the mill, but this remark does not apply with such regularity to the
white and red lead workers; partly because the men are not exposed
to equal risks. So far as the presence of lead in the urine is con
cerned it is to be remembered that long after a person who has
suffered from saturnine intoxication has retired from working in a
lead factory, traces of the metal may still be found in the urine,
especially after the administration of iodide of potassium. In one of
my patients, a red-lead worker, suffering from double^ wrist drop,
lead was found in the urine to the extent of 1.76 per million 16
months after he had given up work, a larger amount than was
present in the urine of paint grinder No. 3 in the above table, who at
the time of the examination was working in lead and with possible
opportunities therefore of absorbing it. In the urine of a female aged
55, who 11 years ago had been a white-lead worker and who was
admitted under my care in the infirmary (July, 1910) for gangrene
of the toes of the right foot and arteriosclerosis, 3 parts of lead per
million were found.
By none of the 23 men, the analysis of whose urine is recorded
above, was there the slightest complaint as to the state of his health.
But suppose one of them had complained of colic or of weakness of the
muscles of the hands, and a blue line had been observed on his gums,
would the detection of lead in his urine not have been pretty con
clusive evidence of lead poisoning? I think it would. Is it symp
toms alone which constitute plumbism, or is it symptoms plus evi
dence of the presence of lead in the body and in the secretions?
Many persons are the subjects of serious illness without experiencing
discomfort. An applicant for life insurance is on medical examina
tion found to have a diseased heart; he is ignorant of the fact
because he has never found any inconvenience from it. He is in the
same position as a lead-intoxicated person who has no symptoms.
A patient looks and says he feels quite well, and that he is as fit for
work as ever, but he has a slight cough, and in his sputum on bac
teriological examination tubercle bacilli are found. Is such a person
suffering from tuberculosis, or is he only on the road to it ? He is a
menace to others, because he is a bacillus carrier. A miner has had
ankylostomiasis or what is known as the hookworm disease. So
severe were the symptoms that in ' consequence of abstraction of
blood by the intestinal parasite and the accompanying toxaemia the
man just escaped death. Under treatment perhaps all the worms
were got rid of, but he has become reinfected, and yet he has no
symptoms, nor does he complain, for he has become immune to anky
lostomiasis. Although he looks well nourished, does not complain,
and is fit for hard work, yet his faeces swarm with the ova of the

130

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

hookworm. If such symptoms as anaemia, breathlessness on exertion,
debility, gastrointestinal derangements, and swelling of the feet con
stitute the disease, then the miner in question is not suffering from
ankylostomiasis although he is harboring the parasite, and may by
his carelessness infect a mine, and through it many of his fellow
workmen. It would seem therefore that although Koch’s bacillus is
the cause of tuberculosis and the presence of the hookworm in the
intestine is the cause of ankylostomiasis, yet for a particular indivi
dual concerned something more is required than the organism special
to the disease, something purely personal over and above the organ
ism, even although without the organism the disease could not exist
at all. A malady may be latent and may be only awaiting the fall
of a spark to light it into activity. If from the cerebral exudate of a
person whose illness lasted only a few days a bacteriologist obtains a
particular organism, the finding of which gives its name to the dis
ease, shall the detection of lead in the urine and tissues on chemical
examination not stand in a similar relationship to the disease and
be regarded as the cause of death? Lead in the urine means lead in
the system, and the possibility at any moment not only of symptoms
of saturnine intoxication breaking forth, but of its influence in deleterioiisly modifying the course of any disease which may supervene
other than plumbism.
The power for harm of unrevealed plumbism, or where no symp
tom# are exhibited, is shown in the terrible toll of infant life in the
numerous miscarriages and stillbirths due to latent saturnine poison
ing of the female lead worker. It is not necessary that in order to
destroy the product of conception a female lead worker should either
before or after impregnation have exhibited the classic symptoms of
lead poisoning. She may never have shown signs of plumbism, and
yet without the slightest doubt her child dies from plumbism by
direct maternal transmission. Like the plumber whose case I re
ported a few pages back, although the appearance of the brain at
the post mortem examination might to an expert pathologist have
suggested the probability of saturnine encephalopathy, it was the
detection of lead in the tissues on chemical analysis which made the
diagnosis absolute.
None of the above-mentioned 23 lead workers whose urine con
tains lead may die from plumbism, and yet some of them may suc
cumb to its ulterior consequences; on the other hand, all of them
would probably have their recovery from any incidental illness
retarded by the lead which is present in their system. There are
therefore two forms of plumbism; the actual, which gives rise to
symptoms, and the potential, which awaits the arrival of a tertiuin
quid, the development of something unusual within the individual
himself, consequent upon an alteration of his internal chemistry,

131
before symptoms can be lit up. Is the potential form of plumbism
to be regarded as a disease under the Workmen’s Compensation Act ?
It may never become actual, and to that extent it may never give
rise to the ordinary signs of plumbism. Yet all the same, patho
logical changes are silently taking place within the body, the con
sequences of which may be even more disastrous ultimately than
where the malady has revealed itself by symptoms and can be treated.
It is well before concluding from a chemical examination of the
urine that a particular patient is suffering from plumbism to bear
in mind the possibility of the presence of other metals, such as bis
muth, arsenic, silver, antimony, copper, and mercury, and especially
should this be remembered when a claim for compensation is ad
vanced by a workman or his friends.
The following table published by Legge1 shows the relative fre
quency of the particular form of plumbism and the organs affected
in the several groups of industries, also the average ages at death*
when due to acute or chronic lead poisoning:
INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

MAIN SYMPTOMS APPEARING AS TH E CAUSE IN 264 DEATH CERTIFICATES
OF LEAD POISONING.

Industry.

Smelting of m etals.....................
Brass w orks..................................
Sheet lead and lead piping___
Plumbing, soldering.................
Printing.........................................
File cutting.................................
Tinning, enam eling..................
White lea d ...................................
China, earthenware...................
Glass cutting...............................
Flfifitrift a ccu m u la to rs................
Paints and colors........................
Coach making..............................
Shipbuilding. ..........................
Paints used in other industries.
Other industries..........................
T otal...................................
Average age at d ea th ...............

Pneumo
nia, bron
chitis,
Lead
heart
Encepha Bright’s Cerebral
hemor
poison
Paralysis.
Phthisis.
failure,
lopathy. disease. rhage.
ing.
colic.,
hernia,
aneu
1 rism.
1
2
3
1
13
8
1
2
4
1
1
1
38 |
32 !

6
3
1
3
3
11
1
2
24
6
1
1
8
4
3
2
79
43 |

2
2
14
5
1
1
1
26
47

3
1
1
2
2
4
3
1
6
4
27

1 43

5
1
1
2
5
2
1
2
c
1
2
10
1
6
11
56
44

1
1
1
1
1
2
1
3
1
1
13
38

l
1
1
2
3
3
1
2
3
4
2
2
25
40

The largest number of cases of saturnine encephalopathy occurs in
the white-lead industry and in pottery manufacture. Workers in
china and earthenware, also file cutters, die in greater proportion
than other workers in lead from disease of the kidneys; coach painters
follow closely upon these.
1 Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and W orkshops [of Great B ritain]
for the year 1909, p. 197.

132

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

LEAD POISONING AND THE BRITISH WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION
ACT OF 1906.

In Great Britain lead poisoning is one of the industrial diseases
scheduled in the act of 1906 for compensation. The act provides that
a workman shall be entitled to compensation as for an injury by
accident, when it can be shown that he is disabled from work by
having contracted lead poisoning due to his employment in any
process involving the use of lead or its preparations or compounds.
He must (1) produce a certificate from the local certifying surgeon
under the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901, or (2) prove that he has
actually been suspended from his usual employment on account of
plumbism, or (3) when a workman dies, his death must be proved to
be due to saturnine poisoning. Compensation is payable from the
date of the workman’s suspension or disablement from work, but if
at the time of entering the employment a workman willfully repre
sented himself in writing as not having previously suffered from
lead poisoning, when in fact he had so suffered, he deprives himself
of the right of compensation. During total or partial incapacity for
work the compensation is 50 per cent of the workman’s average
weekly earnings. As in the case of accident, if the incapacity lasts
less than two weeks no compensation is to be payable in respect of
the first week, but if the incapacity lasts for two weeks or more com
pensation is paid from the date of the incapacity the result of the
illness.
For several years previously to the passing of the Workmen’s Com
pensation Act in Great Britain a similar problem had been grappled
with by France. At almost every congress of hygiene, too, in Europe
the question had been from time to time discussed as to whether in
dustrial diseases should not, for compensation purposes, be placed
in the same category as accidents. It was held by jurists that as an
accident is something which happens suddenly on a particular day,
is fortuitous and unexpected, industrial diseases could not be in
cluded in the same category, since it can not be said that they are
altogether unexpected.
In Great Britain this distinction broke down when on a case of
anthrax a workman, by operating upon a particular bale of infected
hair, became poisoned by the bacilli of anthrax and died a few hours
afterwards. Here was illness due to infection caught by a workman
while performing a distinct and specific act, at a certain hour on a
particular day, whereby unexpectedly a fatal blow was struck by
microorganisms just as suddenly as if he had received a stroke from
an injury. Under these circumstances anthrax could not be regarded
as other than an accident, nor could it be disregarded as a disease.
It is both.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

133

Occupational diseases usually develop slowly; they are a con
sequence of employment. To that extent, therefore, they are not
unexpected, and in many instances they are preventable. There
are occasions, however, in which even with the greatest care they
can not be prevented, as where men when at work are immediately
overpowered by the sudden escape of noxious gas, such as sulphureted hydrogen or carbon monoxide, and are killed as rapidly by
the poison as if they had received a serious accident in the ordinary
sense of the term. There are cases> too, as in lead poisoning, where
an industrial disease develops so slowly that for a time it does not
interfere with a man’s ability to follow his occupation, until some
thing suddenly occurs in the factory, such as a breakdown in the
ventilation, when as a consequence of fresh inhalation of dust there is
a sudden accession of poison to the system, followed by symptoms
of acute saturnine intoxication, thereby more permanently damaging
the workman’s health than if he had sustained a fractured limb. It
is only right, therefore, that persons suffering from lead poisoning
due to their occupation should receive compensation, especially if it
can be shown not to have arisen through any fault of their own.
This raises the question of how far a workman engaged in lead
processes and who has become the subject of plumbism is entitled to
compensation when, after having been warned, he has persisted in
using tobacco during working hours. I do not raise the debatable
point as to whether the practice is a safeguard against plumbism,
as many of the men believe, for the experience of the owners of
the factory at Nantes, mentioned earlier (p. 89) in this mono
graph, points to the contrary, but I do say that tobacco taken out
of an open waistcoat pocket, or out of a metal case, handled by
dirty fingers, bitten by dust-stained teeth, and gripped by similarly
soiled lips by men when at work, becomes a vehicle for the intro
duction of lead into the system. The same applies to the smoking
of cigarettes when at work. Whether the chewing of tobacco is
indulged in or not, saturnine poisoning may develop, but it is cer
tainly much more likely to be precipitated by men when at work
indulging in the obnoxious habit than by abstaining from it. Per
sistent disregard of instructions after receipt of a warning in writing
as to the use of tobacco by men when at work should, in the event
of lead poisoning taking place, become a reason for reducing the
amount of compensation awarded.
. It is needless to add that, like many beneficent movements, the
Workmen’s Compensation Act has been much abused. Lead poison
ing is not always easy of recognition. In some instances the symp
toms are largely subjective and can be simulated by other diseases.
There is a tendency when lead workers fall ill from any cause to
attribute their indisposition to their occupation, since, if the two

134

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

circumstances can be correlated, the patients can abstain from work,
knowing that their means of sustenance will not be altogether cut
off. Medical men have therefore to be on their guard. They must
not in this matter be partisans, but with a perfectly open mind take
such a comprehensive view of the case as the situation demands, try
ing faithfully to discharge a duty alike to the employer and to the
employed.
Lead workers seek medical advice for the most trivial aches in
their limbs and chest to an extent which was not done a few years
ago, and they invite reassurance that they are suffering from lead
poisoning in order to obtain benefits under the act.
As illustrations of a few doubtful cases referred to the writer for
an opinion as possibly coming within the sphere of the Workmen’s
Compensation Act, the following may be quoted:
(1) A man who was “ holding u p ” an iron plate on a ship was
suddenly burnt by hot red paint. He was taken to the local hospital,
where his wounds were dressed. In a few days he developed acute
lead poisoning, from which he made a slower recovery than from the
burns.
(2) A painter, aged 46, was sent to me on account of weakness and
numbness of the legs which rendered walking difficult. There was
incoordination of movement, and as a consequence he had fallen on
a few occasions. There was no blue line on the gums; patient had
never had colic; there was no albumen in the urine; the knee jerks
were exaggerated. No syphilitic history was obtainable. In the
physical signs there was nothing specially pointing to lead, and yet
lead was found in the urine.
(3) A man, aged 26, employed as a plumber by a water company
to make joints with white lead and to melt down old pipes began
to lose flesh; he subsequently developed influenza. The case was re-,
garded as plumbism by his medical man. There had never been
colic. In this man I found simple dilatation of the stomach. As no
lead was found in the urine, the theory of plumbism was discarded,
the stomach was treated and with satisfactory results.
(4) A painter, 37 years of age, gave a history of colic three years,
previously. A year afterwards he had headache and influenza, fol
lowed by rheumatism in his feet and toes, and as a consequence
walking became a matter of difficulty. There was no blue line on
the gums nor albumen in the urine, and yet the urine contained lead,
a circumstance which showed that his infirmity was largely the result
of his occupation.
(5) A healthy man, a white-lead worker, aged 36, who had served:
in the South African War, began to experience severe headache on
returning home from the factory in the evenings. On reaching home
he often had to go to bed. He continued to follow his employment,

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

135

but the headaches becoming more severe and accompanied by vomit
ing, he gradually became unable to stand through loss of power to
balance his head, and was obliged to remain in bed. There was no
paralysis, but there was a faint blue line on the gums. The urine
was free from albumen. Knee jerks were present. The optic disks
were pale and showed signs of commencing atrophy. There was
nothing in the symptoms apart from the history of the occupation
except the faint blue line to warrant the diagnosis of plumbism, until
on examination the urine was found to contain lead. Treatment for
plumbism was begun, and in a few weeks the man was convalescent.
(6) A ship’s painter, aged 43, gave a history of having been seized
with pain in his side after lifting with a fellow workman a heavy
box. Patient claimed compensation on the ground that he. was suf?
fering from lead poisoning, but on careful examination I could find
nothing to suggest plumbism, and as no lead was found in the urine
the claim did not receive support.
Some of these cases are illustrations of ill-defined and atypical
forms of plumbism, where the health had been lowered by the poison
and where but for the prescence of lead in the urine it would have
been difficult to prove or disprove that the patient was suffering from
saturnine poisoning.
In two of the above cases, Nos. 3 and 6, an attempt was made to i
obtain compensation for indispositions in no way the result of occti-:
pation. Men and women working in lead are liable, to the same
maladies as persons following other occupations. There are certain
trades, such as type founding, printing, and pottery manufacture,
where the danger comes not so much from lead itself as that those
employed become more prone to tuberculosis than persons follewing other trades. It is difficult to know how to compensate, if at all,
in these cases, for admitting that there is a causal relationship be
tween lead, the particular occupation, and pulmonary disease, the
feet that tuberculosis is widely spread, Koch’s bacillus being ubiqui
tous,and that possibilities of infection meet one almost everywhere,
in the street, the home, and in places of public resort, all of these
make it practically impossible, unless the lung disease take the form
of pneumoconiosis, to assign to occupation its share in the pro
duction of pulmonary disease.;
In cases of industrial lead poisoning, where one-half of the wages
is allowed as compensation to the sick workman, it might well he
asked whether under the circumstances this is enough, for if a man
is, in consequence of lead poisoning, thrown out of work for any
length of time, he will be obliged, as a result of receiving only half
of his wages, to go into poorer rooms, and he will have less money
to purchase food, neither of which will help him to regain his health.
There is, therefore, a tendency for a wage earner who is threatened

136

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

with plumbism to go on working and to conceal his symptoms, know
ing what awaits him should he perchance be suspended or obliged
to give up work. Insufficient compensation and the possibility of
dismissal are discouraging prospects to lead workers on the advent
of plumbism. Since certain diseases alone have been scheduled and
not others, the act only partly meets the pathological events of in
dustrial life. It is circumstances such as those recorded above which
have raised the question, Whether Great Britain should not embark
upon a complete system of sickness and invalidity insurance, contribu
tory in character, like that in Germany, by which all workmen ill
from any cause would be placed beyond the pale of absolute poverty,
the influence of which in all sickness, but especially that which we
have been discussing, is to retard recovery?
In view of possible claims arising out of the workman’s compensa
tion act for the death of a relative from supposed plumbism, the
following question presents itself: Does lead normally exist in the
human body? Orfila was of the affirmative opinion. Armand Gau
tier maintained that even in healthy persons who were not eating
food cooked or preserved in utensils soldered by or enameled with
lead, or drinking aerated water out of siphons, as much as half
a milligram of lead entered the alimentary canal daily. G. MeilIfere,1 as a result of an experimental inquiry, concluded that the
organs of the human body contain the merest but still indisputable
traces of lead. Admitting this possibility, there can not be in the
human body, so long as the eliminating organs are healthy, any
such thing as lead present in physiological quantities in the same
sense as that in which arsenic and 'iodine are found, for lead is not
a constant element of the body. It is not necessary to any of its
functions; it is entirely accidental to the organs and at the best is
badly tolerated.
Another point calling for consideration is insurance under the
Workmen’s Compensation Act. Although in Great Britain there has
been during recent years a decline in the mortality from plumbism
in several of the lead trades, the same can not be said of house and
coach painting. In Germany, on the contrary, while there has been
a decrease in the amount of plumbism in painters, the sick rate has
increased in white-lead workers and color grinders. Between 1905
and 1906 the percentage of cases of lead poisoning in painters fell
from 35.4 to 31.8, and in 1908 to 29, whereas in white-lead workers
and color grinders the percentages were for 1904,12.2, and for 1908,
19.1.12 Experience of the Workmen’s Compensation Act has obliged
British insurance companies to raise their premiums.
1 Le Saturnism e. fitude historique,. physiologique, clinique et prophyiactique. Thfese,
Paris, 1903.
•
2 Der Stand der Bleivergiftungen in den GewerWichen Betrieben Preussens. Leipzig,
F. C. W. Vogel, 1910.

INDUSTRIAL* LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

137

In consequence of lead poisoning in painters not being compul
sorily notifiable to the Home Office, there must be several cases of
plumbism which do not come within the cognizance of the chief in
spector of factories, but which have yet to be dealt with by the
funds of the friendly societies. This increases the difficulty of ob
taining exact statistical information. In Prussia a similar thing is
noted as regards hospital statistics and those of the sick funds. In
Berlin, according to the sick funds of the various trades, there were
in 1904, 879 cases; 1905, 748; 1906, 653; and in 1907, 572 persons
suffering from metallic poisoning, mostly lead, while in the various
hospitals the figures for the same years were 178, 167, 151, and 146,
respectively; that is to say, the number of cases which received hos
pital treatment compared with those existing stood in the ratio of
1 to 4. In Vienna only one-fourth of the cases of lead poisoning go
into the hospitals for treatment. In Newcastle-upon-Tyne the ratio
is about the same. The figures of the Prussian sick funds show that
one-third of the workpeople claiming benefits from lead poisoning
are painters, and that in the painters of Berlin alone are included
fully one-third of all the cases of plumbism occurring in Prussia.
Since the experience of British offices as regards the insurance of
workpeople for plumbism has not been quite satisfactory, some of
them now require 1.5 per cent to insure against the risks of lead
poisoning and accidents to painters. The reason of this can be seen
from a perusal of the comparative mortality figures recently sup
plied to a correspondent by the statistical department of Somerset
House.
NUM BER O F DEATHS OF WORKMEN IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS DURING
SPEC IFIED PERIODS.
Occupation.
Lead workers..................................................................... .....................................................
File makers............... ........................ ........................ ............... ...............................
Potters................................................................................................................................
Painters................................................................................................................................... .
All occupied males 25 to 65 years..........................................................................................

1890-1892 1900-1902
243
87
19
22
1

103
579
22
1

TREATMENT OF LEAD POISONING.

The treatment of lead poisoning is preventive and curative. We
shall deal with the latter first. One of the commonest complaints
calling for treatment is colic. As this is usually attended by con
stipation, the administration of aperients is frequently but not always
followed by relief. Magnesium sulphate with tincture of bella
donna and carminatives answer well, or castor oil may be admin
istered. Should these fail to empty the bowel, an enema of olive
oil and warm water may be administered. Hot applications may be

138

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

applied to the abdomen if the pain does not subside, or a hot bath
taken by the patient. Even after these the pain may still continue
and require the administration of morphia hypodermically. One or
other of these methods of treatment may be supplemented with ad
vantage by monosulphite of soda, one-half to 3 grains thrice daily.
Dr. Stephens, of Swansea, found that half-grain doses of calcium
permanganate in a paraffin capsule twice or thrice daily gave great
relief to the abdominal pains complained of by lead workers. If
there is sickness, an effervescing mixture of soda and magnesium
carbonate, with or without liquor bismuthi, may be administered.
Because iodide of potassium favors the elimination of lead there is
a tendency on the part of medical practitioners to administer the
drug in all stages of lead poisoning. It is n.ot a safe procedure. The
medicine should be given cautiously, for experience has confirmed
Melsen’s teaching that the drug, by redissolving lead stored up in
the tissues, may aggravate symptoms. In the case of chronic lead
intoxication without active signs of the malady the indiscriminate
administration of potassium iodide has occasionally lit up symptoms,
of acute poisoning and caused death. The drug increases the amount
of lead thrown off in the urine. In some of the writer’s patients it
has. also brought on albuminuria and severe headache, both of which
ceased on discontinuing the medicine and returned on recommencing
it. As the white corpuscles of the blood and pus have a special affinity
for lead, injections of turpentine into the skin have been recom
mended by Dr. Jacques Carles, of Bordeaux,1 with the view of setting up an abscess. The pus which is removed from the abscess is
extremely rich in lead, there having been found in it as much as
0.005 to 0.08 grams of sulphide of lead. In dogs the subjects of
chronic plumbism and to which no lead had been given for two
months prior to the injection of turpentine, Carles found more lead
in the pus than in the internal organs, and from the pus of an arti
ficially induced abscess in a painter who was suffering from tremor
and paralysis, Jmt who had not been near lead for three months, 2J
milligrams of lead were recovered. In this way considerable quan
tities of lead can be removed from the system in acute plumbism.
The drawback to this method of treatment is the pain experienced by
the patient.
For paralysis, electric baths and massage with the internal admin
istration of liquor strychnise or tinctura nucis vomicse give the best
results. As the return of power to the paralyzed muscles is slow,
the treatment may have to be continued for weeks or months. In the
case of one of the writer’s lead-poisoned rabbits paralysis of the limbs
disappeared entirely under the use of the electric bath. On the
1 B ulletin G6n6ral de Thgrapeutique, 8 fev. 1909, p. 161.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE,

139

aluminum electrodes as well as in the bath water lead was found, a
circumstance which showed that lead is extracted from the body by
means of electricity. Treatment of lead paralysis by the electric
bath has been carried out with successful results in the potteries for
several years past.' In some cases iodide of potassium may be
administered first in small doses, combined with magnesium sulphate
and tincture of nux vomica. For the anaemia of plumbism small
doses of iron may be given. Iron in the form of haemaboloids or
hsematogen is worthy of a trial, or for these bone marrow may be
substituted. The treatment of chronic plumbism with accompany
ing disease of the kidneys must be conducted on general lines. For
the convulsions of saturnine encephalopathy inhalation of nitrite
of amyl, with or without lumbar puncture, and the removal of
cerebro-spinal fluid may be resorted to.
MEANS OF PREVENTION OF INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING.

IMPORTANCE OF CLEANLINESS.

The prevention of industrial lead poisoning is largely summed up
in attention to the regulations which have been drawn up by the
factory department of each country for employers and employed^
These regulations appear as an appendix to this monograph. The:
value of cleanliness of the individual and of the workshop can not
be too much insisted upon. No food should be eaten in the work
shop and never at any time or in any place until after the hands and
face have been well washed, also the mouth and throat well rinsed
with an alkaline mouth wash. In Neuwied the men employed in
the sugar-of-lead works rinse the mouth with 0.2 per cent solution*
of sulphite of soda. These men keep in good health.
In one of the best conducted white-lead works with which the writer
is familiar, the firm provides chocolate-coated tabloids containing 5
grains of hyposulphite of soda. The men of their own accord take
sometimes two or three of these tabloids daily, and although on the*
gums of some of the men there is a well-marked blue line, and in
their urine lead has been found, yet in none of the men are there*
symptoms of lead poisoning. These tabloids are preferable to the*
sulphur lozenges, which are sometimes prescribed, and they are more
reliable than the sulphuric-acid lemonade, which in some factories*
the workmen are still encouraged to drink in the belief that the acid
converts any lead present in the stomach into sulphate, erroneously^
believed to be more insoluble; for, as Goadby’s experiments have*
shown, lead sulphate is even more soluble in gastric juice than the*
carbonate and oxide.
No work in a lead factory should ever be begun for the day without
the workpeople having had food. The preventive influence of milk
99823°—No. 95—11---- 10

140

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

is beyond question. Employers would only be considering their own
interests if they saw or knew that their workpeople had partaken of
food before beginning work for the day. Lavatory basins with hot
and cold water and plenty of towels should be provided by the em
ployers. Washing appliances should be ample and the bathrooms of
such cleanliness that any self-respecting workman can use them.
SOAP.

Various kinds of soap have been recommended. In Burgbrohl the
workmen use with benefit soap containing pumice stone. Akremnine
soap, evidently a sulphur combination, is recommended on the ground
that it removes traces of lead from the hands. Opinions are divided
as regards its utility. Tried in a German factory, the men discon
tinued its use, because it did not lather. .In other factories the men
stopped using it because it affected the skin. The diamond cutters
of Amsterdam objected to it on the ground that it blackened their
hands. In one of the districts of Holland, the workmen after a
thorough and repeated washing with ordinary soap, used immedi
ately afterwards akremnine soap with the result that the skin be
came brown, showing that the skin still contained traces of lead.
The same experiment was made in two printing shops where the
men worked with type, and as a similar result was obtained the men
were encouraged to try akremnine soap a little longer, and since then
their prejudice in regard to it has gone. In other places where it has
been tried it has been discontinued on account of the discoloration of
the skin which it causes, its disagreeable odor, and expense, for
akremnine soap retains its supposed good qualities for a short time
only, and has therefore to be discarded.
USE OF RESPIRATORS.

Lead dust is readily caught in the respirators worn by persons
working in lead processes. Objections, not without reason, are raised
by the workpeople in regard to their use. They say they can not
breathe easily when wearing a respirator, that they feel uncomfort
ably hot and perspire too freely. The late Dr. Dupre,* chemical ex
pert of the Home Office and to the members of the white-lead com
mission, analyzed the respirators worn by lead workers and found
that they contained considerable quantities of lead. All respirators
should be light and made of the simplest material, so that respiration
may be embarrassed as little as possible and the air breathed be kept
correspondingly cool. The numerous respirators on the market for
bid a description of any of them.
As bearing upon the protection which respirators afford to the
worker, the following information is of interest. Parry1 gives the
1The Risks and Dangers of Various Occupations. Leonard A. Parry. London, Scott,
Greenwood & Co., 1906.

INDUSTRIAE LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

141

Tesult of the examination of new moist,sponges which had been placed
in the respirators worn by women working in a factory where yams
were dyed yellow by chromate of -lead. The experiments were made
(a) during ventilation of the workroom by a fan running and (&)
when the fan was stopped. The data obtained convey also some
idea of the clearing of the atmosphere effected by fans. Two periods
of three hours’ work were tried with exactly the same kinds of yarn
and under precisely the same conditions, except that in one of the
trials a powerful down draft from a fan was in action, while in the
other the fan was stopped and the work was allowed to proceed with
only such natural means of ventilation as open windows. Dr. A.
Stiider, who carried out the experiments, reported as follows:
(a) Where the fan was working the sponge of the respirator was
found to contain 0.0034 gram of metallic lead. The yellow color
of the dust on the sponge was only slightly noticeable; (b) where
the fan was stopped the sponge was found to contain 0.02 gram of
metalloid lead, and the sponge was colored yellow by the dust. The
atmosphere of the room in which the u noddling ” of the yarn was
carried on by the women was clouded with yellow dust. These fig
ures, drawn from an examination of the respirators worn by work
people, show what can be done by dust-extracting arrangements to
render the atmosphere of a workroom clear, but even with the.best
of fans there will always remain suspended in the air of a workroom
a certain amount of fine dust. Wherever practicable, all work in
a lead factory done by hand should as far as possible be replaced
by dust-proof machinery.
MEDICAL EXAMINATION 0E THE WORKERS.

Experience confirms the value of periodical medical inspection of
workers in lead processes and of the reexamination by certifying
factory surgeons of workers who have been suspended on account
of plumbism. Notwithstanding the benefits obtained, the value and
the protection afforded by the medical examination have been ques
tioned because* workpeople have died from unmistakable signs of
plumbism a few days after the examination. It is desirable that the
examination should be carefully conducted, for experience shows
how subtle lead poisoning is and how quickly latent plumbism may
become active. Workers in lead who have suffered from recurrent
attacks of colic would be well advised if they gave up their occupa
tion or sought for some other work in the factory which does not
bring them info close contact with lead.
#■

CONCLUSION.

In bringing to a close this contribution to the literature of lead
poisoning, it may be said that, while factory legislation has already
accomplished much, there yet remains much to be done in order to still
further protect the health of the workers. The abolition of female

142

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

labor in the dangerous processes of lead factories has been an in
calculable boon to humanity. It would seem as if in this question of
industrial lead poisoning a climax has been reached and a time has
come when further good may be effected by employers instructing
their workpeople in the dangers to which occupation exposes them
and by the employees loyally cooperating with employers, doctors, and
factory inspectors so as to insure that regulations shall be carried
into effect. Owing to the importance which this subject is assuming
in all progressive countries, medical men should have greater op
portunities of studying diseases of occupation and, with the interests
of the employers properly safeguarded, of following up their in
quiries in a reasonable manner into the factories, so that they might
become, familiar with the peculiar circumstances under which indus
trial diseases arise.
The city of Milan has set the example of establishing a clinical
institution for the study of industrial diseases. It remains to be seen
what other countries will do in this matter. Hungary has in Buda
pest founded a museum of social service where old and dangerous
processes of manufacture can be contrasted with those of modem
date and healthier nature, and where lectures upon occupation diseases
are.given to the industrial classes. In Amsterdam there is also
a museum of safety appliances. From the report of the chief in
spector of British factories for 1909 we learn that during the last
10 years, including painters and plumbers, 8,973 cases of plumbism
were reported to the Home Office, and that during this period there
occurred 667 deaths from industrial lead poisoning. These figures
do not include all who have suffered, for notification of lead poison
ing in painters, and plumbers is not compulsory in Great Britain.
From Prussia comes the equally sad tale by Dr. Kaup of 21,000 days
of sickness spent by workpeople in the hospitals in 1908 as the result
of plumbism, and of the total number of days spent in the hospitals
during 1908 and the four years preceding reaching .122,000. Since
the cases of plumbism which do not enter hospitals are more than
three times greater in number than those which seek hospital treat
ment, the statistics for western Europe, including those of the
British Isles, are such as call for thoughtful reflection. What a
loss of life, weakening of energy, and check to national welfare
industrial lead poisoning is still causing! Shall this be allowed to
continue when we know so much can be done to prevent it?

APPENDIX,
REGULATIONS FOR FACTORIES AND WORKSHOPS
INDUSTRIES USING LEAD.

CERTAIN

GREAT BRITAIN.

PART I—REGULATIONS.
FOB THE PKOCESS OF FILE CUTTING BY HAND.8

1903. No. 507.
Whereas the process of file cutting by hand has been certified in pursuance
of section 79 of the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901,8 to be dangerous:
I hereby, in pursuance of the powers conferred on me by that act, make the
following regulations, and direct that they shall apply to all factories and
workshops (including tenement factories and tenement workshops) or parts
thereof in which the process of file cutting by hand is carried on: P ro vid ed ,
That the chief inspector of factories may, by certificate in writing, exempt
from all or any of these regulations any factory or workshop in which he is
satisfied that the beds used are of such composition as not to entail danger to
the health of the persons employed.
1. The number of stocks in any room shall not be more than one stock for
every 350 cubic feet of air space in the room; and in calculating air space for
the purpose of this regulation any space more than 10 feet above the floor of
the room shall not be reckoned.
2. After the 1st day of January, 1904, the distance between the stocks
measured frpm the center of one stock to the center of the next shall not be
less than 2 feet 6 inches, and after the 1st day of January, 1905, the said dis
tance shall not be less than 3 feet. .
3. Every room shall have a substantial floor, the whole of which shall be
covered with a washable material, save that it shall be optional to leave a space
not exceeding 6 inches in width around the base of each stock.
The floor of every room shall be kept in good repair.
4. Efficient inlet and outlet ventilators shall be provided in every room. The
inlet ventilators shall be so arranged and placed as not to cause a direct
draft of incoming air to fall on the workmen employed at the stocks.
The ventilators shall be kept in good repair and in working order.
5. No person shall interfere with or impede the working of the ventilators.
6. Sufficient and suitable washing conveniences shall be provided and main
tained for the use of the file cutters. The washing conveniences shall be under
cover and shall comprise at least one fixed basin for every 10 or less stocks.12
1 Factory and Workshop Acts. Dangerous and U nhealthy Industries. Regulations a n d
Special Rules in force on January 1, 1908. London, 1907.
N ote .— This print contains the codes of regulations and special rules (subject to the
exception mentioned on p. 150) in force on January 1, 1908, in places under the factory
acts. The regulations appear in P art I of the print. They have been made under the
procedure enacted by the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901 (secs. 7 9 -8 6 ), in substitution
for the “ special rules ” procedure of the earlier factory and workshop acts. Regula
tions apply autom atically to all places of the class for w hich they are made. The
special rules appear in P art II. They are made under the procedure enacted in the Fac
tory and Workshop Acts, 1891 and 1895, and are not in force at a factory or workshop
until they have been established individually for that factory or workshop. The codes
of special rules are being gradually replaced by regulations under the act of 1901.
2 These regulations were granted June 23, 1903.
* 1 Edw. 7, ch. 22.

143

144

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

Every basin shall be fitted with a waste pipe discharging over a drain or into
some receptacle of a capacity at least equal to 1 gallon for every file cutter
using the basin. Water shall be laid on to every basin either from the main or
from a tank of a capacity of not less than gallons to every worker supplied
from such tank. A supply of clean water shall be kept in the said tank while
work is going on at least sufficient to enable every worker supplied from such
tank to wash.
7. The walls and ceiling of every room, except such parts as are painted or
varnished or made of glazed brick, shall be limewashed once in every six
months ending the 30th of June and once in every six months ending the 31st
of December.
8. The floor and such parts of the walls and ceiling as are not limewashed
and the benches shall be cleansed once a week.
9. If the factory or workshop is situated in a dwelling house, the work of
file cutting shall not be carried on in any room which is used as a sleeping
place or for cooking or eating meals.
10. Every file cutter shall when at work wear a long apron reaching from the
shoulders and neck to below the knees. The apron shall be kept in a cleanly
state.
11. A copy of these regulations and an abstract of the provisions of the
Factory and Workshop Act, 1901,1 shall be kept affixed in the factory or work
shop in a conspicuous place.
12. It shall be the duty of the occupier to carry out regulations 1, 2, 3, 4, 6,
7, and 11, except that, in any room in a tenement factory or tenement workshop
which is let to more than one occupier, it shall be the duty of the owner to carry
out these regulations, except the last clause of regulation 6, which shall bo
carried out by the occupiers.
It shall be the duty of the occupier or occupiers to carry out regulation 8.
It shall be the duty of the occupier or occupiers and of every workman to
observe regulations 5, 9, and 10.
These regulations shall come into force on the 1st day of September, 1903.
H o m e O f f ic e , W h it e h a l l ,

Ju n e 1 9 , 1 9 0 8 .

FOB THE MANUFACTURE OF ELECTRIC ACCUMULATORS.*

1903. No. 1004
Whereas the manufacture of electric accumulators has been certified in pur
suance of section 79 of the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901,1 to be (langerous:
I hereby, in pursuance of the powers conferred on me by that act, make the
following regulations, and direct that they, shall apply to all factories and work
shops or parts thereof in which electric accumulators are manufactured.
In these regulations “ lead process ” means pasting, casting, lead burning, or
any work involving contact with dry compounds of lead.
Aiiy approval given by the chief inspector of factories in pursuance of these
regulations shall be given in writing, and may at any time be revoked by notice
in writing signed by him.
D u ties o f oecupier.

1. Every room in which casting, pasting, or lead burning is carried on shall
contain at least 500 cubic feet of air space for each person employed therein,
and in computing this air space no height above 14 feet shall be taken into
account.
These rooms and that In which the plates are formed shall be capable of
through ventilation. They shall be provided with windows made to open.
2. Each of the following processes shall be carried on in such manner and
under such conditions as to secure effectual separation from one another and
from any other process:
(a) Manipulation of dry compounds of lead.
(b) Pasting.
(c) Formation and lead burning necessarily carried on therewith.
(d) Melting down of old plates.
P ro vid ed , That manipulation of dry compounds of lead carried on as in regu
lation 5 (b) need not be separated from pasting.*2
11 Edw. 7, ch. 22.
2 These regulations were gazetted November 24, 1903.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

145

3. The floors of the rooms in which manipulation of dry compounds of lead
or pasting is carried on shall he of cement or similar impervious material and
shall be kept constantly moist while work is being done.
The floors of these rooms shall be washed with a hose pipe daily.
4. Every melting pot shall be covered with a hood and shaft so arranged as to
remove the fumes and hot air from the workrooms.
Iiead ashes and old plates shall be kept in receptacles specially provided for
the purpose.
5. Manipulation of dry compounds of lead in the mixing of the paste or other
processes shall not be done except (a) in an apparatus so closed or so arranged
with an exhaust draft as to prevent the escape of dust into the workroom, or
(6) at a bench provided with (1) efficient exhaust draft and air guide so ar
ranged as to draw the dust away from the worker, and (2) a grating on which
each reeeptacle of the compound of lead in use at the time shall stand.
d. The benches at which pasting is done shall be covered with sheet lead or
other impervious material and shall have raised edges.
7. No woman, young person, or child shall be employed in the manipulation of
dry compounds of lead or in pasting.
8. (a ) A duly qualified medical practitioner (in these regulations referred to
as the “ appointed surgeon ”), who may be the certifying surgeon, shall be
appointed by the occupier, such appointment, unless held by the certifying sur
geon to be subject to the approval of the chief inspector of factories.
(b) Every person employed in a lead process shall be examined once a month
by the appointed surgeon, who shall have power to suspend from, employment in
any lead process.
(c) No person, after such suspension, shall be employed in a lead process
without written sanction entered in the health register by the appointed sur
geon. It shall be sufficient compliance with this regulation for a written certifi
cate to be given by the appointed surgeon and attached to the health register,
such certificate to be replaced by a proper entry in the health register at the
appointed surgeon’s next visit.
(d ) A health register in a form approved by the chief inspector of factories
shall be kept, and shall contain a list of all persons employed in lead processes.
The appointed surgeon will enter in the health register the dates and results of
his examinations of the persons employed and particulars of any directions
given by him. He shall on a prescribed form furnish to the chief inspector of
factories on the 1st day of January in each year a list of the persons suspended
by him during the previous year, the cause and duration of such suspension, and
the number of examinations made.
The health register shall be produced at any time when required by His
Majesty’s inspectors of factories or by the certifying surgeon or by the ap
pointed surgeon.
9. Overalls shall be provided for all persons employed in manipulating dry
compounds of lead or in pasting.
The overalls shall be washed or renewed once every week.
10. The occupier shall provide and maintain—
(a ) A cloakroom in which workers can deposit clothing put off during work
ing hours. Separate and suitable arrangements shall be made for the storage
of the overalls required in regulation 9.
(b) A dining room unless the factory is closed during meal hours.
11. No person shall be allowed to introduce, keep, prepare, or partake of any
food, drink, or tobacco in any room in which a lead process is carried on.
Suitable provisions shall be made for the deposit of food brought by the
workers.
This regulation shall not apply to any sanitary drink provided by the occu
pier and approved by the appointed surgeon.
12. The occupier shall provide and maintain for the use of the persons em
ployed in lead processes a lavatory, with soap, nailbrushes, towels, and at
least one lavatory basin for every five such persons. Each such basin shall be
provided with a waste pipe, or the basins shall be placed on a trough fitted
with a waste pipe. There shall be. a constant supply of hot and cold water
laid on to each basin.
Or, in the place of basins the occupier shall provide and maintain troughs of
enamel or similar smooth impervious material, in good repair, of a total length
of 2 feet for every five persons employed, fitted with waste pipes, and without
plugs, with a sufficient supply of warm water constantly available.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

146

The lavatory shall be kept thoroughly cleansed and shall be supplied with a
sufficient quantity of clean towels once every day.
13. Before each meal and before the end of the day’s work at least 10
minutes, in addition to the regular meal times, shall be allowed for washing to
each person who has been employed in the manipulation of dry compounds of
lead or in pasting.
P ro vid ed , That if the lavatory accommodation specially reserved for such per
sons exceeds that required by regulation 12, the time allowance may be pro
portionately reduced, and that if there be one basin or 2 feet of trough for
each such person this regulation shall not apply.
14. Sufficient bath accommodation shall be provided for all persons engaged
in the manipulation of dry compounds of lead or in pasting, with hot and cold
water laid on, and a sufficient supply of soap and towels.
This rule shall not apply if in consideration of the special circumstances of
any particular case, the chief inspector of factories approves the use of local
public baths when conveniently near, under the conditions (if any) named in
such approval.
15. The floors and benches of each workroom shall be thoroughly cleansed
daily, at a time when no other work is being carried on in the room.
D u ties o f p e rso m em ployed .
16. All persons employed in lead processes shall present themselves at the
appointed times for examination by the appointed surgeon as provided in
regulation 8.
No person after suspension shall work in a lead process, in any factory or
workshop in which electric accumulators are manufactured, without written
sanction entered in the health register by the appointed surgeon.
17. Every person employed in the manipulation of dry compounds of lead or
in pasting shall wear the overalls provided under regulation 9. The overalls,
when not being worn, and clothing put off during working hours, shall be depos
ited in the places provided under regulation 10.
18. No person shall introduce, keep, prepare, or partake of any food, drink
(other than any sanitary drink provided by the occupier and approved by the
appointed surgeon), or tobacco.in any room in which a lead process is car
ried on.
19. No person employed in a lead process shall leave .the premises or partake
of meals without previously and carefully cleansing and washing the hands.
20. Every person employed in the manipulation of dry compounds of lead or
in pasting shall take a bath at least once a week.
21. No person shall in any way interfere, without the concurrence of the
occupier or manager, with the means and appliances provided for the removal
of the dust or fumes, and for the carrying out of these regulations.
These regulations shall come into force on the 1st day of January, 1904.
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FOB THE MANUFACTURE OF PAINTS AND COLORS.1

1907. No. 17.
Whereas the manufacture of paints and colors has been certified in pursu
ance of section 79 of the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901,2 to be dangerous;
I hereby, in pursuance of the powers conferred on me by that act, make the
following regulations, and direct that they shall apply to all factories and
workshops in which dry carbonate of lead or red lead is used in the manufac
ture of paints and colors or chromate of lead is produced by boiling: P ro vid ed
as fo llo w s:
(1) The regulations shall not apply to factories and workshops in which
paints and colors are manufactured not for sale but solely for use in the busi
ness of the occupier; or to factories or workshops in which only the manu
facture of artists’ colors is carried on; or to the manufacture of varnish paints.
(2) Regulation 2, and so much of regulation 3 as prevents the employment of
a woman in manufacturing lead color, shall not apply to the packing in par
cels or kegs not exceeding 14 pounds in weight, unless and until so required by
notice in writing from the chief inspector of factories.*
1 These regulations were gazetted January 25, 1907.
*Edw . 7, ch. 22.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

147

(3) Regulations 4, 5, 6, 11, and 12 shall not apply to factories or workshops
in which the grinding of lead color occupies less than three hours in any week,
unless and until so required by notice in writing from the chief inspector of
factories.
D efin ition s .
For the purpose of these regulations—
“ Lead color ” means dry carbonate of lead and red lead, and any color into
which either of these substances enters.
“ Lead process ” jneans any process involving the mixing, crushing, sifting,
grinding in oil, or any other manipulation of lead color giving rise to dust; or
the manufacture and manipulation of chromate of lead produced by boiling in
the color house.
It shall be the duty of the occupier to observe Part I of these regulations.
It shall be the duty of all persons employed to observe Part II of these regula
tions.
P
I.—D u ties o f em ployers .
1. No lead color shall be placed in any hopper or shoot without an efficient
exhaust draft and air guide so arranged as to draw the dust away from the
worker as near as possible to the point of origin.
2. No lead process shall be carried on, save either—
(a) With an efficient exhaust draft and air guide so arranged as to carry
away the dust or steam as near as possible to the point of origin; or
(b) In the case of processes giving rise to dust, in an apparatus so closed as
to prevent the escape of dust.
P ro vid ed , That this regulation shall not apply to the immersion and manipula
tion of lead color in water.
3. No woman, young person, or child shall be employed in manipulating lead
color.
4. Every person employed in a lead process or at the roller mills connected
with the grinding in oil of lead color (hereinafter referred to as the roller
mills)* shall once in each calendar month, on a date of which notice shall be
given to every such person, be examined by the certifying surgeon of the dis
trict or other duly qualified medical practitioner (hereinafter referred to as
the appointed surgeon) if appointed for the purpose by the chief inspector of
factories by a certificate under his hand and subject to such conditions as may
be specified in that certificate.
The certifying or appointed surgeon shall have power to suspend from em
ployment in any lead process or at the roller mills.
5. No person after suspension, in accordance with regulation 4, shall be em
ployed in any lead process or at the roller mills without written sanction
entered in the health register by the certifying or appointed surgeon.
6. A health register in a form approved by the chief inspector of factories
shall be kept and shall contain a list of all persons employed in any lead process
or at the roller mills. The certifying or appointed surgeon will enter therein
the dates and results of his examinations of such persons with particulars of
any directions given by him.
The health register shall be produced at any time when required by any of
His Majesty’s inspectors of factories or by the certifying or appointed surgeon.
7. Overalls shall be provided for all persons employed in lead processes or
at the roller m ills; and shall be washed or renewed at least once every week.
8. The occupier shall provide and maintain for the use of all persons em
ployed in lead processes or at the roller mills—
(a) A cloakroom or other suitable place in which such person can deposit
clothing put off during working hours, and separate and suitable arrangements
for the storage of overalls required by regulation 7;
(b) A dining room, unless all workers leave the factory during meal hours.
9. No person shall be allowed to introduce, keep, prepare, or partake of any
food, drink (other than a medicine provided by the occupier and approved by
the certifying or appointed surgeon), or tobacco in any room in which a lead
process is carried on. Suitable provision shall be made for the deposit of food
brought by persons employed.
10. The occupier shall provide and maintain in a cleanly state and in good
repair for the use of persons employed in lead processes or at the roller mills
a lavatory containing either—
( a ) At least one lavatory basin for every five such persons, fitted with a
waste pipe, or placed in a trough having a waste pipe, and having a constant

art

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

148

supply of cold water laid on and a sufficient supply of hot water constantly
available; or
(&) Troughs of enamel or similar smooth impervious material, fitted with
waste pipes without plugs, and having a constant supply of warm water laid
on. The length of such troughs shall be in a proportion of not less than 2 feet
for every five persons employed in lead processes or at the roller mills.
He shall also provide in the lavatory soap, nailbrushes, and a sufficient supply
©f clean bowels renewed daily.
P a s t I I . — D u ties o f person s em ployed . #
11. All persons employed in lead processes or at the roller mills shall present
themselves at the appointed time for examination by the certifying or appointed
surgeon as provided in regulation 4.
12. No person after suspension under regulation 4 shall work in a lead process
or at the roller mills in any paint and color factory or workshop to which these
regulations apply without written sanction entered in the health register by
the certifying or appointed surgeon.
13. All persons employed in lead processes or at the roller mills shall wear
the overalls provided under regulation 7 and shall deposit such overalls and
any clothing put off during working hours in the places provided under regula
tion 8.
The overalls shall not be removed by persons employed from the factory or
workshop.
14. No person shall introduce, keep, prepare, or partake of any food, drink
(other than a medicine provided by the occupier and approved by the certifying
or appointed surgeon), or tobacco in any room in which a lead process is car
ried on.
15. All persons employed in lead processes or at the roller mills shall care
fully clean and wash their hands before leaving the premises or partaking of
any food
16. No person shall, without the permission of the occupier or manager, inter
fere in any way with the means and appliances provided for the removal of
dust, steam, or fumes and for the carrying out of these regulations.
These regulations shall come into force on the 1st February, 1907.
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FOE THE HEADING OF YARN DYED BY MEANS OF A LEAD COMPOUND.1

1907. No. 616.
Whereas the process of heading of yarn dyed by means of a lead compound
has been certified in pursuance of section 79 of the Factory and Workshop Act,
1901,** to be dangerous;
I hereby, in pursuance of the powers conferred on me by that act, make the
following regulations, and direct that they shall apply to all factories in which
the said process is carried on.
P ro vid ed , That if the chief inspector of factories is satisfied; with regard to
any such factory, that the heading of yam dyed by means of a lead compound
will not occupy more than three hours in any week, he may, by certificate,
suspend regulations 2, 3, 4, 7 (a), and 8 (a), or any of them. Every such cer
tificate shall be in writing, signed by the chief inspector of factories, and shall
be revocable at any time by further certificate.
D efinitions.

“ Heading ” means the manipulation of yarn dyed by means of a lead com
pound over a bar or post, and includes picking, making-up, and noddling.
“ Employed ” means employed in heading of yarn dyed by means of a lead
compound.
“ Surgeon*’ means the certifying factory surgeon of the district or a duly
qualified medical practitioner appointed by certificate under the hand of the
chief inspector of factories, which appointment shall be subject to such condi
tions as may be specified in that certificate.
“ Suspension ” means suspension by written certificate in the health register,
signed by the surgeon, from employment in heading of yarn dyed by means of a
lead compound.
1 These regulations were gazetted August 13, 1907.
*1 Edw. 7, ch. 22.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.
D u ties,

149

It shall be the duty of the occupier to observe Part I of these regulations.
It shall be the duty of all persons employed to observe Part II of these regu
lations.
P
I , — DuH es o f em ployers,
1. No yarn dyed by means of a lead compound shall be headed unless there be
an efficient exhaust draft so arranged as to draw the dust away from the worker,
as near as possible to the point of origin. The speed of the draft at the exhaust
opening shall be determined at least once in every three months and recorded
in the general register.
2. No person under 16 years of age shall be employed.
3. A health register, containing the names of all persons employed, shall be
kept in a form approved by the chief inspector of factories.
4. Every person employed shall be examined by the surgeon once in every
three months (or at shorter intervals if and as required in writing by the chief
inspector of factories) on a date of which due notice shall be given to all
concerned.
The surgeon shall have power of suspension as regards all persons employed,
and no person after suspension shall be employed without written sanction
from the surgeon entered in the health register.
5. There shall be provided and maintained for the use of all persons
employed—
(a ) A suitable cloakroom for clothing put off during working hours;
(b) A suitable meal room separate from any room in which heading of
yarn dyed by means of a lead compound is carried on, unless the works are
closed during meal hours;
and, if so required by notice in writing from the chief inspector of factories,
(c) Suitable overalls and head coverings which shall be collected at the end
of every day’s work, and be washed and renewed at least once every week;
(d ) A suitable place, separate from the cloakroom and meal room, for the
storage of the overalls and head coverings.
6. There shall be provided and maintained in a cleanly state and in good
repair, for the use of all persons employed, a lavatory, under cover, with a
sufficient supply of clean towels renewed daily, and of soap and nail brushes,
and with either—
(a) A trough with a smooth impervious surface, fitted with a waste pipe
without plug, and of such length as to allow at least 2 feet for every five such
persons, and having a constant supply of warm water from taps or jets above
the trough at intervals of not more than 2 feet; or
(b) At least one lavatory basin for every five such persons, fitted with a
waste pipe and plug or placed in a trough having a waste pipe, and having
either a constant supply of hot and cold water or warm water laid on, or (if a
constant supply of heated water be not reasonably practicable) a constant
supply of cold water laid on and a supply of hot water always at hand when
required for use by persons employed.
P
II.—D u ties o f person s em ployed,
7. Every person employed shall—
(a) Present himself at the appointed time for examination by the surgeon
as provided in regulation 4;
(b) Wear the overall and head covering (provided in pursuance of regula
tion 5 (c) while at work, and shall remove them before partaking of food or
leaving the premises, and shall deposit in the cloakroom, provided in pursuance
of regulation 5 («), clothing put off during working hours;
(c) Wash the hands before partaking of food or leaving the premises.
8. No person shall—
( a ) Work in heading of yarn dyed by means of a lead compound after sus
pension without written sanction from the surgeon entered in the health
register.
(b) Introduce, keep, prepare, or partake of any food or drink, or tobacco
in any room in which heading of yarn dyed by means of a lead compound is
carried on;
(c) Interfere in any way, without the concurrence of the occupier or man
ager, with the means and appliances provided for the removal of the dust, and
for the carrying out of these regulations.
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150

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.
PART II.—SPECIAL RULES.

FOB THE MANUFACTURE AND DECORATION OF EARTHENWARE AND CHINA .1
Amended special rules established, after arbitration, by the awards of the umpire, Lord
Jam es of Hereford, dated December 30, 1901, and November 28, 1903.

D u ties of occupiers .
1. Deleted.
2. After the first day of February, 1904, no glaze shall be used which yields
to a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid more* than 5 per cent of its dry weight
of a soluble lead compound calculated as lead monoxide when determined in the
manner described below.
A weighed quantity of dried material is to be continuously shaken for one
hour at the common temperature, with 1,000 times its weight of an aqueous
solution of hydrochloric acid containing 0.25 per cent of HC1. This solution
is thereafter to be allowed to stand for one hour and to be passed through a
filter. The lead salt contained in an aliquot portion of the clear filtrate is
then to be precipitated as lead sulphide and weighed as lead sulphate.
If any occupier shall give notice in writing to the inspector for the district
that he desires to use a glaze wliich does not conform to the above-mentioned
conditions, and to adopt in his factory the scheme of compensation prescribed
in schedule B, and shall affix and keep the same affixed in his factory, the
above provisions shall not apply to his factory but instead thereof the follow
ing provisions shall apply.
. All persons employed in any process included in schedule A other than china
scouring shall be examined before the commencement of their employment or
at the first subsequent visit of the certifying surgeon, and once in each calen
dar month by the certifying surgeon of the district.
The certifying surgeon may at any time order by signed certificate the
suspension of any such person from employment in any process included in
schedule A other than china scouring, if such certifying surgeon is of opinion
that such person by continuous work in lead will incur special danger from the
effects of plumbism, and no person after such suspension shall be allowed to
work in any process included in schedule A other than china scouring without
a certificate of fitness from the certifying surgeon entered in the register.
Any workman who, by reason of his employment being intermittent or
casual, or of his being in regular employment for more than one employer,
is unable to present himself regularly for examination by the certifying sur
geon, may procure himself at his own* expense to be examined once a month
by a certifying surgeon, and such examination shall be a sufficient compliance
with this rule. The result of such examination shall be entered by the cer
tifying surgeon in a book to be kept in the possession of the workman. He
shall produce and show the said book to a factory inspector or to any employer
on demand, and he shall not make any entry or erasure therein.
If the occupier of any factory to which this rule applies fails duly to
observe the conditions of the said scheme, or if any such factory shall by
reason of the occurrence of cases of lead poisoning appear to the secretary
of state to be in an unsatisfactory condition, he may, after an inquiry, at
which the occupier shall have an opportunity of being heard,. prohibit the
use of lead for such time and subject to such conditions as he may prescribe.
All persons employed in the processes included in schedule A other than china
scouring shall present themselves at the appointed time for examination by the
certifying surgeon; as prescribed in this rule.
In addition to the examinations at the appointed times, any person so
employed may at any time present himself to the certifying surgeon for
examination, and shall be examined on paying the prescribed fee.
All persons shall obey any directions given by the certifying surgeon.
No person after suspension by the certifying surgeon shall work in any.
process included in schedule A other than china scouring without a certificate
of fitness from the certifying surgeon entered in the register. Any operative
who fails without reasonable cause to attend any monthly examination shall
procure himself, at his own expense, to be examined within 14 days there
after by the certifying surgeon, and shall himself pay the prescribed fee.
superseded
those of of1894,
1898, regulations
and 1901, which,
however,allarefour
still codes
in forceis
.in i aThis
fewcode
works.
The question
making
to supersede
under consideration.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

151

- A register in the form which has been prescribed by the secretary of state
for-use in earthenware and china works shall be kept, and in it the certifying
surgeon shall enter the dates and results of his visits, the number of per
sons examined, and particulars of any directions given by him. . This register
shall contain a list of all persons employed in the processes included in schedule
A, or in emptying china biscuit ware, and shall be produced at any time when
required by His. Majesty’s inspector of factories or by the certifying surgeon.
3. The occupier shall allow any of His Majesty’s inspectors of factories
to take at any time sufficient samples for analysis of any material in use
or mixed for use:
P ro vid ed , That the occupier may at the time when the sample is taken,
and on providing the necessary appliances, require the inspector to take, seal,
and deliver to him a duplicate sample.
But no analytical result shall be disclosed or published in any way except
such as shall be necessary to establish a breach of these rules.
4. No woman, young person, or child shall be employed in the mixing of
unfritted lead compounds in the preparation or manufacture of fritts, glazes,
or colors.
5. No person under 15 years of age shall be employed in any process in
cluded in schedule A, or in emptying china biscuit ware.
Thimble-picking, or threading-up, or looking-over biscuit ware shall not be
carried on except in a place sufficiently separated from any process included in
schedule A.
6. All women and young persons employed in any process included in
schedule A shall be examined once in each calendar month by the certifying
surgeon for the district.
The certifying surgeon may order by signed certificate in the register
the suspension of any such woman or young persons from employment in any
process included in schedule A, and no person after such suspension shall
be allowed to work in any process included in schedule A without a cer
tificate of fitness from the certifying surgeon entered in the register.
7. A register, in the form which has been prescribed by the secretary of
state for use in earthenware and china works, shall be kept, and in it the cer
tifying surgeon shall enter the dates and results of his visits, the number
of persons examined in pursuance of rule 6 as amended, and particulars
of any directions given by him. This register shall contain a list of all per
sons employed in the processes included in schedule A, or in emptying china
biscuit ware, and shall be produced at any time when required by His Majesty’s
inspector of factories or by the certifying surgeon.
8. The occupier shall provide and maintain suitable overalls and head
coverings for all women and young persons employed in the processes included
in the schedule A, or in emptying china biscuit ware.
No person shall be allowed to work in any process included in the schedule,
or in emptying china biscuit ware, without wearing suitable overalls and
head coverings: P ro vid ed , That nothing in this rule shall render it obligatory
on any person engaged in drawing glost ovens to wear overalls and head
coverings.
All overalls, head coverings, and respirators, when not in use or being
washed or repaired, shall be kept by the occupier in proper custody. They
shall be washed or renewed at least once a week, and suitable arrangements
shall be made by the occupier for carrying out these requirements.
A suitable place, other than that provided for the keeping of overalls, head
coverings, and respirators, in which all the above workers can deposit clothing
put off during working hours, shall be provided by the occupier.
Bach respirator shall bear the distinguishing mark of the worker to whom it
is supplied.
9. No person shall be allowed to keep, or prepare, or partake of any food,
or drink, or tobacco, or to remain during meal times, in a place in which is
carried on any process included in schedule A.
The occupier shall make suitable provision to the reasonable satisfaction
of the inspector in charge of the district for the accommodation during meal
times of persons employed in such places or processes, with’ a right of appeal
to the chief inspector of factories. Such accommodation shall not be provided
in any room or rooms in which any process included in schedule A is carried
on, and no washing conveniences mentioned hereafter in rule 13 shall be main
tained in any room or rooms provided for such accommodation.

152

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

Suitable provision shall be made for the deposit of food brought by the
workers.
10. The processes of—
The towing of earthenware.
China scouring,
Ground laying,
Ware cleaning after the dipper,
Color dusting, whether on-glaze or under-glaze,
Color blowing, whether on-glaze or under-glaze,
Glaze blowing, or
Transfer making,
shall not be carried on without the use of exhaust fans, or other efficient
means for the effectual removal of dust, to be approved in each particular case
by the secretary of state, and under such conditions as he may from time to
time prescribe.
In the process of ware cleaning after the dipper, sufficient arrangements
shall be made for any glaze scraped off which is not removed by the fan, or
the other efficient means, to fall into water.
In the process of ware cleaning of earthenware after the dipper, damp
sponges or other damp material shall be provided in addition to the knife or
other instrument, and shall be used wherever practicable.
Flat-knocking and fired-flint-sifting shall be carried on only in inclosed re
ceptacles, which shall be connected with an efficient fan or other efficient
draft unless so contrived as to prevent effectually the escape of injurious
dust
In all processes the occupier shall, as far as practicable, adopt efficient meas
ures for the removal of dust and for the prevention of any injurious effects
arising therefrom.
11. No person shall be employed in the mixing of unfritted lead compounds,
in the preparation or manufacture of fritts, glazes, or colors containing lead
without wearing a suitable and efficient respirator provided and maintained by
the employer; unless the mixing is performed in a closed machine or the ma
terials are in such a condition that no dust is produced.
Each respirator shall bear the distinguishing mark of the worker to whom
it is supplied.
12. All drying stoves as well as all workshops and all parts, of factories shall
be effectually ventilated to the reasonable satisfaction of the inspector in charge
of the district.
13. The occupier shall provide and continually maintain sufficient and suitable
washing conveniences for all persons employed in the processes included in
schedule A, as near as practicable to the places in which such persons are
employed.
The washing conveniences shall comprise soap, nailbrushes, and towels, and
at least one wash (hand) basin for every five persons employed as above, with
a constant supply of water laid on, with one tap at least for every two basins,
and conveniences for emptying the same and running off the waste water on
the spot down a waste* pipe.
There shall be in front of each washing basin, or convenience, a space for
standing room which shall not be less in any direction than 21 inches.
14. The occupier shall see that the floors of workshops and of such stoves
as are entered by the workpeople are sprinkled and swept daily; that all dust,
scraps, ashes, and dirt are removed daily, and that the mangles, workbenches,
and stairs leading to workshops are cleansed weekly.
When so required by the inspector in charge of the district, by notice in writ
ing, any such floors, mangles, workbenches, and stairs shall be cleansed in such
manner and at such times as may be directed in such notice.
As regards every potters’ shop and stove, and every place in which any
process included in schedule A is carried on, the occupier shall cause the suffi
cient cleansing of floors to be done at the time when no other work is being
carried on in such room, and in the case of potters’ shops, stows, dipping houses,
and majolica painting rooms, by an adult m ale:
P ro v id e d , That in the case of rooms in which ground laying or glost placing is
carried on, or in the china dippers’ drying room, the cleansing prescribed by
this rule may be done before work commences for the day, but in no case shall
any work be carried on in the room within one hour after any such cleansing as
aforesaid has ceased.

INDUSTRIAL* LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE,

153

15. The occupier shall cause the boards used in the dipping house, dippers’
drying room, or glost-placing shop to be cleansed every week, and shall not allow
them to be used in any other department, except after being cleansed.
When so required by the inspector in charge of the district, by notice in
writing, any such boards shall be washed at such times as may be directed in
such notice.
D u ties o f persons em ployed,
16. All women and young persons employed in the processes included in
schedule A shall present themselves at the appointed time for examination by
the certifying surgeon, as provided in rule 6 as amended.
No person after suspension by the certifying surgeon shall work in any process
included in the schedule without a certificate of fitness from the certifying
surgeon entered in the register.
17. Every person employed in any process included in schedule A, or in
emptying china biscuit ware, shall, when at work, wear a suitable overall and
head covering, and also a respirator when so required by rule 11 as amended,
which shall not be worn outside the factory or workshop, and which shall not
be removed therefrom except for the purpose of being washed or repaired.
Such overall and head covering shall be in proper repair and duly washed.
The hair must be so arranged as to be fully protected from dust by the head
covering.
The overalls, head coverings, and respirators, when not being worn, and
clothing put off during working hours, shall be deposited in the respective
places provided by the occupier for such purposes under rule 8 as amended.
18. No person shall remain during meal times in any place in which is carried
on any process included in schedule A, or introduce, keep, prepare, or partake
of any food or drink, or tobacco therein at any time.
19. No person shall in any way interfere, without the knowledge and concur
rence of the occupier or manager, with the means and appliances provided by
the employers for the ventilation of the workshops and stoves, and for the
removal of dust.
20. No person included in any process included in schedule A shall leave the
works or partake of meals without previously and carefully cleaning and wash
ing his or her hands.
No person employed shall remove or damage the washing basins or conven
iences provided under rule 13.
20a. The persons appointed by the occupiers shall cleanse the several parts
of the factory regularly, as prescribed in rule 14.
Every worker shall so conduct his or her work as to avoid, as far as practica
ble, making or scattering dust, dirt, or refuse, or causing accumulation of such.
21. The boards used in the dipping house, dippers’ drying room, or glostplacing shop shall not be used in any other department, except after being
cleansed, as directed in rule 15.
22. If the occupier of a factory to which these rules apply gives with ref
erence to any process included in schedule A, other than china scouring, an
undertaking that no lead or lead compound or other poisonous material shall
be used, the chief inspector may approve in writing of the suspension of the
operation of rules 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,15, 16,17, and 21, or any of them in such process;
and thereupon such rules shall be suspended as regards the process named in
the chief inspector’s approval, and in lieu thereof the following rule shall take
effect, viz, no lead or lead compound or other poisonous material shall be used
in any process so named.
For the purpose of this rule, materials that contain no more than 1 per cent
of lead shall be regarded as tr e e from lead.
S u p p l e m e n t a r y S p e c ia l R u l e s for t h e M a n u f a c t u r e of E a r t h e n w a r e a n d
C h i n a i n F o r ce i n C e r t a in W o r k s .23

23. If the occupier of any factory to which these rules apply gives an under
taking in writing either to the effect that—
(a) No glaze shall be used which yields to a dilute solution of hydrochloric
acid more than 5 per cent of its dry weight of a soluble lead compound cal
culated as lead monoxide when determined in the manner described in rule 2,
paragraph 2.
or to the effect that—
(b) No ware shall be cleaned after the application of glaze by dipping or
other process except in the moist condition;

154

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,

The chief inspector of factories may, if satisfied that the other conditions are
sufficient for the safety of the persons employed, approve in writing of the
suspension in the factory or part of the factory of so much of rule 10 as re
quires the provision of a fan or other efficient means, to be approved by the
secretary of state, for the removal of dust in the process of ware cleaning;
and thereupon the said part of rule 10 shall be suspended accordingly, and the
said undertaking shall be deemed to be a special rule established in the factory.
24. If the occupier of any factory to which these rules apply gives an under
taking in writing to the effect that no glaze shall be used which yields to a
dilute solution of hydrochloric acid more than 2 per cent of its dry weight
of a soluble lead compound calculated as lead monoxide when determined in the
manner described in rule 2, paragraph 2, the chief inspector of factories may,
if satisfied that the other conditions are sufficient for the safety of the persons
employed, approve in writing of the modification of rule 5 in so far as it applies
to the. processes of dipping, drying after dipping, and ware cleaning, in the
factory or part of the factory, by the substitution of 14 years for 15 years of
age, and thereupon rule 5 shall be modified accordingly, and the said under
taking shall be deemed to be a special rule established in the factory.
Any approval granted under rules 23 and 24 is liable to revocation in case
it shall appear to the secretary of state that, owing to the occurrence of lead
poisoning in any factory, such revocation is desirable.
25. No ware shall be cleaned after the application of glaze by dipping or other
process, except in the moist state, or with damp sponge or other similar damp
material, or with the use of an efficient exhaust draft.
So much of rule 10 as requires the provision of a fan or other efficient means
for the removal of dust in the process of ware cleaning after the dipper shall
not apply.
S
A.
Dipping or other process carried on in the dipping house.
Glaze blowing.
Painting in majolica or other glaze.
Drying after dipping.
Ware cleaning after the application of glaze by dipping or other process.
China scouring.
Glost placing.
Ground laying.
Color blowhil Jwhether on-glaze or under-glaze.
Lithographic transfer making.
Making or mixing of fritts, glazes, or colors containing lead.
Any other process in which materials containing lead are used or handled
in the dry state, or in the form of spray, or in suspension in liquid other than
oil or similar medium.
S
B.1
ch edule

ch edule

NOTICE TO WORKMEN EMPLOYED IN PROCESSES NAMED IN SCHEDULE A , OTHER THAN
CHINA SCOURING.

C onditions of com pensation .

1. Where a workman is suspended from working by a certifying surgeon
of the district on the ground that he is of opinion that such person by continued
work in lead will incur special danger from the effects of plumbism, and the cer
tifying surgeon shall certify that in his opinion he is suffering from plumbism
arising out of his employment, he shall, subject as hereinafter mentioned, be
entitled to compensation from his employer as hereinafter provided.
(a )
If any workman who has been suspended as aforesaid dies within nine
calendar months from the date of such certificate of suspension, by reason of
plumbism contracted before the said date, there shall be paid to such of his
dependents as are wholly dependent upon his earnings at the time of his
death or upon the weekly compensation payable under this scheme, a sum
has since
been made Act,
for compensation
in case of lead poisoning by section
8 of1Provision
the Workmen’s
Compensation
1908.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

155

equal to the amount he has earned during a period of three years next preceding
the date of the said certificate, such sum not to be more than £300 [$1,459.95]
nor less than £150 r$729.98] for an adult male, £100 [$486.65] for an adult
female, and £75 [$364.99] for a young person.
(&) If the workman does not leave any dependents wholly dependent as
aforesaid, but leaves any dependents in part dependent as aforesaid, a reason
able part of that sum.
(c) If he leaves no dependents, the reasonable expenses of his medical at
tendance and burial, not exceeding £10 [$48.67].
2. With respect to such payments the following provisions shall apply:
(a )
All sums paid to the workman as compensation since the date of the said
certificate shall be deducted from the sums payable to the dependents.
(&) The payment shall, in case of death, be made to the legal personal repre
sentative of the workman, or, if he has no legal personal representative, to or
for the benefit of his dependents, or, if he leaves no dependents, to the person
to whom the expenses are due; and if made to the legal personal representative
shall be paid by him to or for the benefit of the dependents or other person en
titled thereto.
(c) Any question as to who is a dependant, or as to the amount payable to
each dependent, shall in default of agreement be settled by arbitration as here
inafter provided in clause 9.
(d ) The sum allotted as compensation to a dependent may be invested or
otherwise applied for the benefit of the person entitled thereto, as agreed,
or as ordered by the arbitrator.
( e ) Any sum which is agreed or is ordered by the arbitrator to be invested
may be invested in whole or in part in the Post-Office Savings Bank.
3. Where a workman has been suspended and certified as provided in condi
tion 1, and while he is totally or partially prevented from earning a living by
reason of such suspension, he shall be entitled to a weekly payment not exceed
ing 50 per cent of his average weekly earnings at the time of such suspension,
such payment not to exceed £1 [$4.87]. The average may be taken over such
period, not exceeding 12 months, as appears fair or reasonable, having regard to
all the circumstances of the case.
4. In fixing these weekly payments, regard shall be had to the difference be
tween the amount of the average weekly earnings of the workman .at the time
of his suspension and the average amount, if any, which it is estimated that he
will be able to earn afterwards in any occupation or employment, and to any
payments (not being wages) which he may have received from the employer
in respect to the suspension, and to all the circumstances of the case, including
his age and expectation of life.
5. If it shall appear that any workman has persistently disobeyed the special
rules or the directions given for his protection by his employers, and that such
disobedience has conduced to his suspension, or has not presented himself for
examination by the certifying surgeon, or has failed to give full information
and assistance as provided in condition 6, his conduct may be taken into con
sideration in assessing the amount of the weekly payments.
6. It shall be the duty of every workman at all times to submit to medical
examination when required and to give full information to the certifying
surgeon and to assist to the best of his power in the obtaining of all facts
necessary to enable his physical condition to be ascertained.
7. Any weekly payment may be reviewed at the request either of the em
ployer or of the workman, and on such review may be ended, diminished, or in
creased, subject to the maximum above provided, and the amount of payments
shall, in default of agreement, be settled by arbitration.
8. Any workman receiving weekly payments under this scheme shall submit
himself if required for examination by a duly qualified medical practitioner
provided and paid by the employer.
If the workman refuses to submit himself to such examination, or in any way
obstructs the same, his right to such weekly payments shall be suspended until
such examination has taken place.
9. If any dispute shall arise as to any certificate of the certifying surgeon
or as to the amount of compensation payable as herein provided, or otherwise
in relation to these provisions, the same shall be decided by an arbitrator to
be appointed by the employer and workman, or in default of agreement by
the secretary of state. The said arbitrator shall have all the powers of an
arbitrator under the arbitration act, and his decision shall be final.
99823°—No. 95—11-----11

156

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,

Tlie fee of the arbitrator shall be fixed by the secretary of state, and shall
be paid as the arbitrator shall direct.
10. No compensation shall be payable under these provisions unless a claim
In writing is made within six weeks of the date of the certificate of suspen
sion, or of the death: P ro vid ed , That the want of such notice shall not bar the
claim if in the opinion of the arbitrator there was reasonable excuse for the
want of it.
A claim for compensation by any workman whose employment is inter
mittent, or casual, or who is regularly employed by more than one employer,
shall only arise against the employers for whom he has worked in a process
included in schedule A within one month prior to his suspension. The said
employers shall bear the compensation among them in such proportion as in
default or agreement shall be determined by an arbitrator as herein provided.
11. “Employer ” includes an occupier, a corporation, and the legal representa
tives of a deceased employer. “ Workman” includes every person, male or
female, whether his agreement be one of service or apprenticeship or otherwise,
and is expressed or implied, orally or in writing, and shall include the personal
representatives of a deceased workman. “ Dependents ” has the same meaning
as in the Workmen’s'Compensation Act, 1897.1
The terms contained in this notice shall be. deemed to be part of the contract
of employment of all workmen in the above-named processes.
(Occupier’s signature.)------------------- .
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF TRANSFERS FOR EARTHENWARE AND CHINA.

D u ties o f occupiers .

1. No person under 15 years of age shall be employed in making transfers for
earthenware or china.
2. All women and young persons employed shall be examined once a month
by the certifying surgeon for the district, who shall after May 1, 1899, have
power to order suspension from employment.
i No person after such suspension shall be allowed to work without the written
sanction of the certifying surgeon.
3. A register, in the form which has been prescribed by the secretary of state
for use in earthenware and china works, shall be kept, and in it the certifying
surgeon will enter the dates and results of his visits, the number of persons
examined, and particulars of any directions given by him. This register shall
contain a list of all persons employed, and shall be produced at any time when
required by His Majesty’s inspector of factories or by the certifying surgeon.
4. The occupier shall provide and maintain suitable overalls and head cover
ings for all women and young persons employed in rooms in which color
processes are carried on.
All overalls and head coverings shall be kept by the occupier in proper
custody and shall be washed at least once a week, and suitable arrangements
shall be made for carrying out these requirements.
A suitable place shall be provided in which the above workers can deposit
clothing put off during working hours.
It shall be a sufficient compliance with the requirements of this rule as to
head coverings if they are made of suitable glazed paper and renewed once a
week. The head coverings shall be made so as completely to cover the hair and
to the satisfaction of the inspector.
5. No person shall be allowed to prepare or partake of any food or drink, or
to remain during mealtimes, in any place in which is carried on the making of
transfers.
The occupier shall make suitable provision to the reasonable satisfaction of
the inspector in charge of the district for the accommodation during mealtimes
of persons employed in such places or processes, with a right of appeal to the
chief inspector of factories.
6. Transfer making shall not be carried on without the use of exhaust fans
for the effectual removal of dust, or other efficient means for the effectual
removal of dust, to be approved in each particular case by the secretary of
state, and under such conditions as he may from time to time prescribe.*

*60, 61 Viet., ch. 37.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

157

7. The occupier shall provide and maintain sufficient and suitable washing
conveniences for all persons employed, as near as is practicable ’to the places in
which such persons are employed.
The washing conveniences shall comprise soap, nailbrushes, and towels, and
at least one wash hand basin for every five persons employed as above, with a
constant supply of water laid on, with one tap at least for every two basins, and
conveniences for emptying the same and running off the waste water on the spot
down a waste pipe.
D u ties of persons em ployed .
8. All women and young persons employed shall present themselves at the
appointed time for examination by the certifying surgeon as provided in rule 2.
No person after suspension by the certifying surgeon shall work without the
written sanction of the certifying surgeon.
9. Every person employed in any room in which color processes are carried on
shall, when at work, wear an overall suit and head covering, which shall not be
worn outside the factory or workshop, and which shall not be removed there
from except for the purpose of being washed. All overalls and head coverings
shall be washed or renewed at least once a week.
The overalls and head coverings, when not being worn, shall be deposited in
the place provided for the purpose under rule 4.
Clothing put off during working hours shall be deposited in the place provided
for the purpose under rule 4.
It shall be a sufficient compliance with the requirements of this rule as to
head coverings if they are made of suitable glazed paper and renewed once a
week. The head coverings shall be made so as completely to cover the hair and
to the satisfaction of the inspector.
10. No person shall remain during mealtimes in any place in which is carried
on the making of transfers; or prepare or partake of any food or drink therein
at any time.
11. No person shall in any way interfere, without the knowledge and concur
rence of the occupier or manager, with the means and appliances provided by
the employers for the ventilation of the workshops and for the removal of dust.
12. No person employed shall leave the works or partake of meals without
previously and carefully cleaning and washing his or her hands.
FOB THE MANUFACTUBE OF WHITE LEAD.

In these rules “ persons employed in a lead process ” means a person who is
employed in any work or process involving exposure to white lead, or to lead
or lead compounds used in its manufacture, or who is admitted to any room or
part of the factory where such process is carried on.
Any approval given by the chief inspector of factories in pursuance of rules
2, 4, 6, 9, or 12 shall be given in writing, and may at any time be revoked by
notice in writing signed by him.
D u ties of occupiers .
1. On and after July 1, 1899, no part of a white-lead factory shall be con
structed, structurally altered, or newly used, for any process in which white lead
is manufactured or prepared for sale, uifiess the plans have previously been sub
mitted to and approved in writing by the chief inspector of factories.
2. (a) Every stack shall be provided with a standpipe and movable hose, and
an adequate supply of water distributed by a rose,
(&) Every white bed shall, on the removal of the covering boards, be effectu
ally damped by the means mentioned above.
Where it is shown to the satisfaction of the chief inspector of factories that
there is no available public water service in the district, it shall be a sufficient
compliance with this rule if each white bed is, on the removal of the covering
boards, effectually damped by means of a watering can.
3. Where white lead is made by the chamber process, the chamber shall be
kept moist while the process is in operation, and the corrosions shall be effectu
ally moistened before the chamber is emptied.
4. (a) Corrosions shall not be carried except in trays of impervious material.

158

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

(6) No person shall be allowed to carry on his head or shoulder a tray of
corrosions which has been allowed to rest directly upon the corrosions, or upon
any surface where there is white lead.
(c) All corrosions before being put into the rollers or wash becks shall be
effectually damped, either by dipping the tray containing them in a trough of
water or by some other method approved by the chief inspector of factories.
5. The flooring round the rollers shall either be of smooth cement or be cov
ered with sheet lead, and shall be kept constantly moist.
6. On and after January 1, 1901, except as hereinafter provided:
(a ) Every stove shall have a window, or windows, with a total area of not
less than 8 square feet, made to open, and so placed as to admit of effectual
through ventilation.
(b ) In no stove shall bowls be placed on a rack which is more than 10 feet
from the floor.
(c ) Each bowl shall rest upon the rack and not upon another bowl.
(d ) No stove shall be entered for the purpose of drawing until the tempera
ture at a height of 5 feet from the floor has fallen either to 70° F., or to a point
not more than 10° F. above the temperature of the air outside.
(e) In drawing any stove or part of a stove there shall not be more than one
stage or standing place above the level of the floor.
P ro vid ed , That if the chief inspector approves of any other means of ventilat
ing a stove, as allowing of effectual through ventilation, such means may be
adopted, notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this rule; and if he approves of any
other method of setting and drawing the stoves, as effectually preventing white
lead from falling upon any worker, such method may be followed, notwith
standing paragraphs (6) and ( e ) of this rule.
7. No person shall be employed in drawing Dutch stoves on more than two
days in any week.
8. No dry white lead shall be deposited in any place that is not provided either
with a cover or with a fan effectually removing the dust from the worker.
9. On and after January 1, 1900, the packing of dry white lead shall be done
only under conditions which secure the effectual removal of dust, either by ex
haust fans or by other efficient means approved in each case by the chief in
spector of factories.
This rule shall not apply where the packing is effected by mechanical means
entirely closed in.
10. The floor of any place where packing of dry white lead is carried on shall
be of cement, or of stone set in cement.
11. No woman shall be employed or allowed in the white beds, rollers, wash
becks, or stoves, or in any place where dry white lead is packed, or in other
work exposing her to white-lead dust.
12. (a) A duly qualified medical practitioner (in these rules referred to as
the “appointed surgeon”) shall be appointed by the occupier for each factory,
such appointment to be subject to the approval of the chief inspector.
(b ) No person shall be employed in a lead process for more than a week with
out a certificate of fitness granted after examination by the appointed surgeon.
(c) Every person employed in a lead process shall be examined once a week
by the appointed surgeon, who shall have power to order suspension from em
ployment in any place or process.
( d ) No person, after such suspension, shall be employed in a lead process
without the written sanction of the appointed surgeon.
(e ) A register in a form approved by the chief inspector of factories shall be
kept, and shall contain a list of all persons employed in lead processes. The ap
pointed surgeon will enter in the register the dates and results of his examina
tions of the persons employed, and particulars of any directions given by him.
The registers shall be produced at any time when required by His Majesty’s in
spectors of factories or by the certifying surgeon or by the appointed surgeon.
13. Upon any person employed in a lead process complaining of being unwell,
the occupier shall, with the least possible delay, give an order upon a duly
qualified medical practitioner.
14. The occupier shall provide and maintain sufficient and suitable respira
tors, overalls, and head coverings, and shall cause them to be worn as directed
in rule 29.
At the end of every day’s work they shall be collected and kept in proper
custody in a suitable place set apart for the purpose.
They shall be thoroughly washed or renewed every week; and those which have
been used in the stoves, and all respirators, shall be washed or renewed daily.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE,

159

15. The occupier shall provide and maintain a dining room and a cloakroom
in which workers can deposit clothing put off during working hours.
16. No person employed in a lead process shall be allowed to prepare or
partake of any food or drink except in the dining room or kitchen.
17. A supply of a suitable sanitary drink, to be approved by the appointed
surgeon, shall be kept for the use of the workers.
18. The occupier shall provide and maintain a lavatory for the use of the
workers, with soap, nailbrushes, and at least one lavatory basin for every five
persons employed. Each such basin shall be fitted with a waste pipe. There
shall be a constant supply of hot and cold water laid on, except where there
is no available public water service, in which case the provision of hot and cold
water shall be such as shall satisfy the inspector in charge of the district.1
The lavatory shall be thoroughly cleaned and supplied with clean towels after
every meal.
There shall, in addition, be means of washing in close proximity to the work
ers of each department, if required by notice in writing from the inspector in
charge of the district.
There shall be facilities, to the satisfaction of the inspector in charge of the
district, for the workers to wash out their mouths.
19. Before each meal and before the end of the day’s work at least 10
minutes in addition to the regular meal times shall be allowed to each worker
for washing.
A notice to this effect shall be affixed in each department.
20. The occupier shall provide and maintain sufficient baths and dressing
rooms for all persons employed in lead processes, with hot and cold water, soap,
and towels, and shall cause each such person to take a bath once a week at the
factory.
A bath register shall be kept, containing a list of all persons employed in lead
processes, and an entry of the date when each person takes a bath.
This register shall be produced at any time when required by His Majesty’s
inspectors of factories or by the certifying surgeon or by the appointed surgeon.
21. The dressing rooms, baths, and water-closets shall be cleaned daily.
22. The floor of each workroom shall be cleaned daily, after being thoroughly
damped.
D u ties o f persons em ployed.

23. No person shall strip a white bed or empty a chamber without previously
effectually damping as directed in rules 2 and 3.
24. No person shall carry corrosions or put them into the rollers or wash
becks otherwise than as permitted by rule 4.
25. No person shall set or draw a stove otherwise than as permitted by
rules 6 and 7.
26. No person shall deposit or pack dry white lead otherwise than as per
mitted by rules 8 and 9.
27. Every person employed in a lead process shall present himself at the
appointed times for examination by the appointed surgeon, as provided in
rule 12.
28. No person, after suspension by the appointed surgeon, shall work in a
lead process without his written sanction.
29. Every person engaged in—
White beds,
Emptying chambers,
Rollers, wash becks, or grinding,
Setting or drawing stoves,
Packing,
1 The follow ing rule is in force in certain works in substitution for paragraph 1 of
rule 18:
“ The occupier shall provide and m aintain in a cleanly state and in good repair for
the use of persons employed a lavatory containing either-^“ (a) A t least one lavatory basin for every five such persons, fitted w ith a w aste pipe,
or placed in a trough having a w aste pipe, and having a constant supply of hot and cold
water, or warm water, laid o n ; or
“ (b) Troughs of enamel or sim ilar smooth im pervious m aterial, fitted w ith w aste pipes
w ithout plugs, and having a constant supply of not and cold water, or warm water, laid
on. The length of such troughs shall be in a proportion of not less than tw o feet for
every five persons employed.
“ He shall also provide in the lavatory, soap, nailbrushes, and a sufficient supply of

towels.’,

160

BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOR,

Paint mixing,
Handling dry white lead,
or in any work involving exposure to white-lead dust, shall, while so occupied,
wear an overall suit and head covering.
Every person engaged in stripping white beds, or in emptying chambers, or
in drawing stoves, or in packing, shall in addition wear a respirator while so
occupied.
30. Every person engaged in any place or process named in rule 29 shall,
before partaking of meals or leaving the premises, deposit the overalls, head
coverings, and respirators in the place appointed by the occupier for the
purpose, and shaJl thoroughly wash face and hands in the lavatory.
31. Every person employed in a lead process shall take a bath at the factory
at least once a week, and wash in the lavatory before bathing; having done so,
he shall at once sign his name in the bath register, with the date.
32. No person employed in a lead process shall smoke or use tobacco in any
form, or partake of food or drink, elsewhere than in the dining room or kitchen.
33. No person shall in any way interfere, without the knowledge and con
currence of the occupier or manager, with the means and appliances provided
for the removal of dust.
34. The foreman shall report to the manager, and the manager shall report
to the occupier, any instance coming under his notice of a worker neglecting
to observe these rules.
35. No person shall obtain employment under an assumed name or under
any false pretense.
FOB THE MANUFACTURE OF RED AND ORANGE LEAD.

D u ties of occupiers.

In drawing charges of massicot, or of red lead, or of orange lead, from the
furnace, they shall not allow the charges of massicot, or of red lead, or of
orange lead to be discharged onto the floor of the factory or workshop, but
shall arrange that it be shoveled, not raked, into wagons.
They shall arrange that no red or orange lead shall be packed in the room
or rooms where the manufacture is actually carried on.
They shall arrange that no red or orange lead shall be packed in casks or
other receptacles except in a place provided with a hood connected with a
fan, or shall provide other suitable means to create an effective draft.
They shall provide sufficient bath accommodation for all persons employed
in the manipulation of red and orange lead, and lavatories, with a good supply
of hot water, soap, nailbrushes, and towels for the use of such persons. >
They shall arrange for a monthly visit by a medical man who shall examine
every worker individually, and who shall enter the result of each examination
in a register book to be provided by the said occupiers.
They shall provide a sufficient supply of approved sanitary drink for the
workers.
D u ties of persons em ployed.

In cases where the cooperation of the workers is required for carrying out
the foregoing rules, and where such cooperation is not given, the workers shall
be held liable in accordance with the Factory and Workshop Act, 1891,1 section 9,
which runs as follows:
“ If any person who is bound to observe any special rules established for any
factory or workshop under this act, acts in contravention of, or fails to comply
with, any such special rule, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine
not exceeding £2 ” [$9.73].
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF YELLOW' LEAD.

D u ties o f occupiers.

They shall provide washing conveniences, with a sufficient supply of hot and
cold water, soap, nailbrushes, and towels.
They shall provide respirators and overall suits for the persons employed in
all dry processes.

154 and 55 Viet., ck. 75.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

161

They shall provide fans or other suitable means of ventilation wherever dust
is generated in the process of manufacture.
They shall provide a sufficient supply of Epsom salts and of an approved
Sanitary drink.
D u ties of person s em ployed.

In cases where the cooperation of the workers is required for carrying out
the foregoing rules and where such cooperation is not given, the workers shall
he held liable, in accordance with the Factory and Workshop Act, 1891,1 section
9, which runs as follows :
“ If any person who is bound to observe any special rules established for any
factory or workshop under this act, acts in contravention of, or fails to comply
with, any such special rule, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine
not exceeding £ 2 ” [$9.73].
R esp ira to rs .—A good respirator is a cambric bag with or without a thin
flexible wire made to fit over the nose.
S a n ita ry drin k su ggested .—Sulphate of magnesia, 2 ounces; water, 1 gallon;
essence of lemon, sufficient to flavor.
FOR LEAD SMELTING.

D u ties of occupiers .
They shall provide respirators and overall suits for the use of all persons
employed in cleaning the flues, and take means to see that the same are used.
. They shall arrange that no person be allowed to remain at work more than
two hours at a time in a flue. (A rest of half an hour before reentering will
be deemed sufficient.)
They shall provide sufficient bath accommodation for all persons employed
in cleaning the flues, and everyone so employed shall take a bath before leav
ing the works.
They shall provide washing conveniences, with a sufficient supply of hot and
cold water, soap, nailbrushes, and towels.
D u ties of persons em ployed.

In cases where the cooperation of the workers is required for carrying out
the foregoing rules, and where such cooperation is not given, the workers shall
be held liable, in accordance with the Factory and Workshop Act, 1891,1 section
9, which runs as follows:
“ If any person who is bound to observe any special rules established for any
factory or workship under this act, acts in contravention of, or fails to comply
with, any such special rule, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine
not exceeding £2 ” [$9.73].
FOR THE ENAMELING OF IRON PLATES WITH USE OF LEAD, ARSENIC, OR ANTIMONY .1
2

D u ties o f occupiers.

1. They shall provide washing conveniences with a sufficient supply of hot
and cold water, soap, nailbrushes, and towels, and take measures to secure that
every worker wash face and hands before meals and before leaving the works.
2. They shall provide suitable respirators, overall suits, arid head coverings
for all workers employed in the processes of grinding, dusting, and brushing.
3. They shall adopt measures on and after the 1st day of October, 1894,
in the dusting and brushing processes for the removal of all superfluous dust,
by the use of perforated benches or tables supplied with fans to carry the dust
down through the apertures of such benches or tables, the underpart of which
must be boxed in.
4. They shall provide a sufficient supply of approved sanitary drink, and shall
cause the workpeople to take it.
5. They shall arrange for a medical inspection of all persons employed, at
least once a month.
1 54 and 55 Viet., ch. 75.
2 The question of m aking regulations to supersede these special rules is under con
sideration.

162

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,

They shall see that no female is employed without previous examination
and a certificate of fitness from the medical attendant of the works.
They shall see that no person who has been absent from work through illness
shall be reemployed without a medical certificate to the effect that he or she
has recovered.
6. Upon any person employed in the works complaining of being unwell, the
occupier shall, with the least possible delay, and at his own expense, give an
order upon a doctor for professional attendance and medicine. It is to be
understood that this rule will not apply to persons suffering from complaints
which have not been contracted in the process of manufacture.
7. They shall provide a place or places free from dust and damp in which
the operatives can hang up the clothes in which they do not work.
(It is recommended that they shall provide for each fem ale before the day’s work
begins some light refreshm ent, such as a half pint of milk and a biscuit.)

D u ties o f persons em ployed.

8. Every person to whom is supplied a respirator or overall and head covering
shall wear the same when at the work for which such are provided.
9. Every person shall carefully clean and wash hands and face before meals
and before leaving the works.
10. No food shall be eaten by any person in any part of the works except in
the apartment specially provided for the purpose.
11. No person may seek employment under an assumed name or under any
false pretense.
R esp ira to rs. —A good respirator is a cambric bag with or without a thin
flexible wire made to fit over the nose.
S a n ita ry drin k suggested. —Sulphate of magnesia, 2 ounces; water, 1 gallon;
essence of lemon, sufficient to flavor.
FOR THE TINNING AND ENAMELING OF METAL HOLLOW WARE AND COOKING UTENSILS
WITH USE OF LEAD OR ARSENIC .1

D u ties of occupiers .

Every worker shall wash face and hands before meals and before leaving
the works.
No worker shall eat food in any room where the process of tinning or enam
eling is carried on.*23
FOR THE TINNING AND ENAMELING OF IRON HOLLOW WARE WITH USE OF LEAD OR
ARSENIC .1

D u ties of occupiers.

They shall provide washing conveniences with a sufficient supply of hot and
cold water, soap, nailbrushes, and towels; and take measures to secure that
every worker wash face and hands before meals and before leaving the works.
They shall see that no food is eaten in any room where the process of tinning
or enameling is carried on.
x The question of making regulations to supersede these special rules is under con
sideration.
2 The follow ing rules are in force in certain works in substitution for the second and
fourth rules, resp ectively:
“ 2. They shall not allow the persons employed in tinning to eat food in any room at
the tim e the process of tinning is being carried on.
“ 4. The workers employed in tinning shall not eat food in any room at the tim e the
process of tinnin g is being carried on.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

163

D u ties o f person s em ployed .
In cases where the cooperation of the workers is required for carrying out
the foregoing rules, and where such cooperation is not given, the workers shall
be held liable, in accordance with the Factory and Workshop Act, 1891,® section
9, which runs as follows:
“ If any person who is bound to observe any special rules established for
any factory or workshop under this act, acts in contravention of, or fails to
comply with, any such special rule, he shall be liable on summary conviction to
a fine not exceeding 2 pounds” [$9,731.
FACTORY AND WORKSHOP ACT, 1901.

R egulations for the S melting of Materials containing L ead, the Manufac
ture of R ed or Orange L ead, and the Manufacture of F laked L itharge.

With further reference to the Home Office circular of February 14, 1911, the
chief inspector of factories begs to forward a copy of the regulations as above,
made by the secretary of state on August 12, 1911. A memorandum explaining
certain of the requirements, and other papers, are also inclosed.
The regulations, based upon the report of Dr. E. L. Collis, medical inspector
of factories,*6 were issued in draft in February, 1911. The objections received in
pursuance of section 802 were considered by the secretary of state, and an
amended draft was issued in May, 1911, to which no objections, other than those
subsequently withdrawn, were made.
The regulations apply automatically to all works in which the processes named
above are carried on, and come into force on October 1, 1911, except that so
much of regulations 2 and 3 as requires provision of efficient exhaust draft is
deferred until May 1, 1912. They supersede the existing special rules for lead
smelting and for the manufacture of red and orange lead and yellow lead. The
special rules for the manufacture of white lead are unaffected by the new code;
both codes may be in force in the same works, each being limited, however, to
the particular manufacture concerned.
The following are the principal points on which the regulations differ from the
draft of February, 1911:
(1) Extension of time as regards the exhaust ventilation required by regu
lations 2 and 3.
(2) Modification of the definition of “ lead material ” so as to exempt zinc ore,
and material resulting from the treatment thereof, containing less than 2 per
cent of lead. Sulphide ores, therefore, it should be noted, are exempted only
prior to calcination.
(3) A proviso has been added to regulation 2 allowing lead material to be
moved to a furnace by persons wearing suitable respirators when damping, ex
haust ventilation, and inclosing, so as to prevent the escape of dust, are none of
them practicable.
(4) Under regulation 5 as modified the use of a covered receptacle in re
moval of lead material from the exhaust draft is only required if vapor contain
ing lead is given off.
H ome Office , S eptem ber, 1911 .
FACTORY AND WORKSHOP ACT, 1901.
Memorandum R elating to R egulations for the S melting of Materials
containing L ead, the Manufacture of R ed or Orange L ead, and the
Manufacture of F laked L itharge.

The secretary of state has made regulations, the terms of which appear in
the inclosed placard (Form 957), for the above processes. The regulations apply
automatically to all works in which the said processes are carried on. For
convenience of reference the defined terms are printed in italics.
Part I specifies the duties of the occupier, and Part II those of the persons
employed; but with regard to the latter the factory act, 1901 (sec. 852), places
concurrent responsibility upon the occupier to take all reasonable means by
publishing and to the best of his power enforcing the regulations to prevent
contravention or noncompliance.
• 54 and 55 Viet., ch. 75.
6 Special Report on Dangerous or Injurious Processes in the Sm elting of M aterials con
taining Lead and in the M anufacture of Red and Orange Lead and Flaked Litharge.
London: W yman & Sons (L td.!, 1910.

164

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

A copy of the regulations must be kept affixed in a conspicuous place in the
works, and the occupier, is required (sec. 863, 1901) to give a copy to any person
in his employment on application. For the latter purpose the smaller edition
of the code in pamphlet form will be more convenient than the placard. In
Wales and Monmouthshire a copy of the regulations in Welsh must also be
affixed. The regulations must be noted in Part I of the general register.
For the purposes of regulations 13 and 17 it will be necessary for the occu
pier to make arrangements for regular monthly examination (on dates fixed
in advance and made known to the workers concerned) by the surgeon; that is,
either by the certifying surgeon for the district, whose name and address appear
on the abstract, or by some other duly qualified medical practitioner appointed
by the chief inspector. In general, it is desirable that the certifying surgeon
should undertake the duty, and he is required by departmental instructions
to do so if called upon; apart from the regulations, he has to visit the works
officially in connection with certificates of fitness, accidents, and cases of poi
soning, and these duties rest with him even if another surgeon be appointed
for the purposes of the regulations. In the absence of intimation to the con
trary, it will be assumed that the certifying surgeon will act as surgeon under
the regulations, and in that case no formal appointment is necessary. It is,
however, open to the occupier to apply to the chief inspector for appointment
of another practitioner as surgeon; any such application should state the name,
address, and qualifications of the practitioner proposed for appointment, and
whether he is prepared to undertake the duties subject to the conditions which
would necessarily be attached, namely:
1. The duties are to be performed by the surgeon personally or, in his absence,
by a duly qualified medical practitioner temporarily appointed by the chief
inspector.®
2. In the first week of January in each year he will forward to the superin
tending inspector a return on Form 845 6 of the examinations and suspensions
made during the previous year by him or by a practitioner temporarily appointed
as above.
3. He will perform such duties, under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1900,
as are required from an appointed surgeon by that act or by the instructions
of the secretary of state; and in particular he will, if required to do so by
the employer or by any workman concerned, make such examination and give
such certificates as are required on the part of the appointed surgeon under
section 8 of that act with regard to cases of industrial disease.
4. The certificate of appointment will be revocable at any time by notice in
wanting signed by the chief inspector.
5. A copy of the certificate 6 of appointment is to be kept in the general reg
ister unless and until revoked.
Regulation 18 provides that a workman who has been suspended under any
code of regulations or special rules applicable to lead processes shall not be
employed in a lead process (as defined in this code) without certificate from
the surgeon. The codes in question are those for the manufacture of white
lead, earthenware and china (or transfers for such ware), electric accumulators,
paints and colors, and for heading of yarn (with use of lead), vitreous enamel
ing, and tinning of metals. If a workman previously employed in any of those
industries is engaged, it should be ascertained whether he has been suspended,
and the attention of the surgeon should be called to any such previous employ
ment.
The fees to the surgeon for duties arising under the regulations are payable
to him by the occupier. Where the surgeon is the certifying surgeon of the
district the scale is prescribed as follows, by order of the secretary of state,
dated March 2, 1904:
For each visit, including such examinations, entries in registers, issue of
certificates, and other duties as may be required by the regulations—
(a )
When the examination is at a factory or workshop within a mile from
the certifying surgeon’s central point, 2s. 6d. [61 cents] for each visit, and 6d.
[12 cents] for each person after the first five presented at that visit.
(&) When the examination is at a factory or workshop more than a mile
from the central point, the above fees with an additional Is. [24 cents] for each
mile or portion of a mile beyond the first mile.
“Application
temporary
is to be made to the superintending in
spector,
on Formfor194,such
copies
of whichappointment
will be supplied.
b Copies will be supplied for the purpose.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

165

Opportunity should be given the surgeon to become acquainted with the
processes. Signs of illness detected at the periodic examination may afford
important indications of inadequate precautions or defective appliances.
Regulation 13b requires that a health register shall be kept, in a form ap
proved by the chief inspector. A copy of the approved register (Form 605) is
inclosed herewith. It is the duty of the occupier to enter therein the names of
all persons employed in any lead process.
The regulations aim at prevention of lead poisoning, which is contracted
much more from inhalation of lead fumes and dust than in any other way.
Although no appreciable fume containing lead comes off until pure lead is heated
and stirred at a temperature of about 500° C. [932° F.], incidence of poisoning
on persons engaged with molten lead (especially scrap lead) at temperatures
below this is considerable, and the symptoms are often very severe. Such
poisoning is probably due to the dust arising in the operations necessary for
skimming the surface. Skimmings should never be deposited on the floor by
the side of the bath, but in a receptacle, and it is of the utmost importance that
this receptacle should be placed iirside a hood with exhaust draft.
The “ efficient exhaust draft” required for the purpose of regulation, 3
is defined in such terms as to allow of the use of a heated flue or of propelling
or exhaust fans, if sufficient to remove smoke generated at the point where the
fumes or dust originate.® •
Where heat alone is relied on to secure an efficient exhaust draft (regu
lation 3)—
(1) A hood should be applied, leaving the smallest possible opening consist
ent with proper working;
(2) Where the hood is not attached to the top of the furnace door, or not
connected up by a duct with the main chimney stack or furnace flue, an air
channel or duct at least 18 feet in height and of ample bore (in general not
less than 24 inches in diameter) should be carried vertically upward to the
outer air; and
(3) The air channel or duct should terminate in such a way as to facilitate,
whatever the direction of the wind, the free escape of heated air. A duct
should end in a wind screen having the form of a large cone, so fixed that its
lower edge is below the upper edge of the duct and the annular free space be
tween the cone and the duct rather greater than the capacity of the duct itself.
Frequently the diameter of a duct is too small, and mere increase in size will
often convert an indifferent draft into a good one.
A heated flue alone would not be adequate for removal of dust created in
feeding hoppers with or in packing compounds of lead (regulation 3).
Regulations 9 and 13c require use of respirators in certain processes. A
simple and efficient form of respirator is a pad, about 3 inches by 4 inches, of
ordinary nonabsorbent cotton wool (absorbent cotton wool quickly becomes
sodden) placed over the mouth and nostrils and kept in position by elastic bands
passed around the ears. The pad should be burnt after use.
Regulation 11a requires a suitable meal room, unless the works are closed
during meal hours. The meal room should be well lighted, the floor space
should be ample for each person likely to occupy it at any one time, and pro
vision should be made for storage and warming of food. As regards the walls
(of mess rooms, cloakrooms, and lavatories), a smooth washable surface (e. g.
paint, tiles, or enameled iron) for a height of 3 to 4 feet is desirable.
Regulations lib and 11c require provision of suitable places for deposit of
outdoor clothing and overalls, respectively, which may be as near to the work
place as is desired, if the garments so deposited are not exposed to dust or fumes.
For obvious reasons the overalls must not be kept in the meal room, and the
place for storing them (11c) must be kept apart from that provided for storage
of outdoor clothing (lib ). The same room (if apart from the meal room) may,
however, suffice for both lib and 11c, if numbered pegs on one side of a room
or wide passage are reserved for clothing and pegs on the other side, corre
spondingly numbered, for the overalls.
Under Regulation 12 the alternative of an enameled iron trough, with over
head jets of warm water, will probably be found the most effective. An in
stallation of this kind is accepted in lieu of a bath under Regulation 12b.•
• The smoke test may conveniently be made by means of special paper prepared by
dipping blotting paper in a solution of niter and subsequently (after drying) in a solu
tion of pitch in benzine. Such paper, when dry, smolders and makes a thick smoke.

166

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,

Stands for holding washbasins, if of wood, present usually a very uninviting
appearance. Douche baths have several advantages over slipper baths, in cost
of installation, economy in space, economy in water, and economy in time
required for bathing.
It is most important that full advantage should be taken of the arrangements
required by Regulations 8 to 12, and to insure this some one should be made
responsible for their cleanliness and proper maintenance.
F actory D epartment, H ome Office , S eptem ber, 1911 .
STATUTORY RULES AND ORDERS, 1911.
No. 752.
FACTORY AND WORKSHOP— DANGEROUS AND UNHEALTHY INDUSTRIES.

R egulations, dated A ugust 12, 1911, made by the S ecretary of S tater for the
S melting of Materials containing L ead, the Manufacture of R ed or
Orange L ead, and the Manufacture of F laked L itharge.

In pursuance of section 79 of the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901, I hereby
make the following regulations, and direct that they shall apply to all factories
and workshops or parts thereof (other than laboratories), in which any of the
following processes are carried on:
The smelting of materials containing lead;
The manufacture of red or orange lead;
The manufacture of flaked litharge.
These regulations shall come into force on October 1,1911, except that so much
of regulations 2 and 3 as requires the provision of efficient exhaust draught shall
come into force on May 1,1912.
definitions .®

In these regulations—
“ Lead material ” means—
(i) Material containing not less than 5 per cent of lead, including lead ore,
bullion ore (lead ore rich in precious metals), red lead, orange lead, and flaked
litharge; and
( i i ) Zinc ore, and material resulting from the treatment thereof, containing
not less than 2 per cent of lead; except ores which contain lead only in the form
of sulphide of lead.
“ Furnace,’’ “ melting pot,” “ retort,” “ condensing chamber ” mean structures
as aforesaid which are used in the treatment of lead m a te ria l .
“ Flue ” means a flue leading from a fu rn ace .
“ Lead process ” means—
( i) Manipulation, movement, or other treatment of lead m a te ria l , whether by
means of any fu rn ace, m eltin g p o t, r e to r t, condensing cham ber, flue , or other
wise; and
(ii) Cleaning or demolition of any furn ace, m eltin g pot, reto rt, condensing
cham ber, flue, or part thereof; or reconstruction thereof with material which
has formed part of any such structure.
“ Surgeon ” means the certifying factory surgeon of the district or a duly
qualified medical practitioner appointed by written certificate of the chief in
spector of factories, whiJi appointment shall be subject to such conditions as
may be specified in that certificate.
“ Suspension ” means suspension from employment in any lead process by
written certificate in the health register, signed by the surgeon, who shall have
power of suspension as regards all persons employed in any local process
“ Damp ” means sufficiently moist to prevent the escape of dust.
“ Efficient exhaust draft ” means localized ventilation effected by heat or
mechanical means, for the removal of gas, vapor, fumes, or dust so as to prevent
them (as far as practicable under the atmospheric conditions usually prevailing)
from escaping into the air of any place in which work is carried on. No draft
shall be deemed efficient which fails so to remove smoke generated at the point
where such gas, vapor, fumes, or dust originate.
“ Terms to which defined m eanings are given are printed throughout the regulations in
italics.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE,

167

DUTIES.

It shall be the duty of the occupier to observe Part I of these regulations.
It shall be the duty of every person employed to observe Part II of these
regulations.
P art I.—D u ties o f occupiers.
1. Where a lea d process is carried on so as to give rise to dust or fumes.
(a) The floor, other than sand beds, shall be maintained in good condition;
and
(b) The floor, except such portion as is permanently set apart for the deposit
of lead m a te ria l , shall be sprayed with water at least once a day.
2. (1) No lead m a teria l (other than ingots of metal) shall be deposited or
allowed to remain on any part of the floor not permanently set apart for the pur
pose, and no lea d m a teria l (other than ingots of metal) shall be moved to a
fu rn ace , unless such lead m a teria l is—
(a) D a m p ; or
(b) Under an efficient ex h au st d r a ft; or
(c) So inclosed as to prevent the escape of dust into the air of any place in
which work is carried on.
(2) P ro vid ed , h ow ever, That where none of the above conditions are prac
ticable, lead m a teria l may be moved to a fu rn ace by persons wearing suitable
respirators.
3. None of the following processes shall be carried on except with an efflr
cien t ex h au st d ra ft:
Melting old or dirty scrap lead;
H eatin g lea d m a teria l so that vapor containing lead is given off;
Cooling molten flaked litharge;
or, unless carried on in such manner as to prevent escape of gas, vapor, fumes,
or dust into any place in which work is carried on—
Feeding any fu rn ace or r e to r t;
Manipulating lead m a teria l in any fu rn ace or r e to r t;
Removing lead m a teria l from any fu rn ace or r e to r t;
Placing in any hopper or shoot or packing red or orange lead or flaked
litharge.
4. No sack which has contained lead m a teria l shall be cleaned, and, except
in the process of sampling, no lead m a te ria l shall be broken up, crushed, o r,
ground, unless such sack or lead m a te ria l is dam p or is placed in an apparatus
so inclosed as to prevent the escape of dust.
5. No lead m a te ria l' giving off vapor containing lead shall be removed from
the efficient ex h au st d ra ft required by regulation 3 unless in a receptacle
with an efficient cover.
6. No person shall be allowed to enter any fu rn ace, m eltin g p o t, re to rt, con
densing cham ber, or flue until it has been ventilated.
7. No person shall be allowed to remain in any flue (unless dam p) or con
densing cham ber for more than three hours without an interval of at least
half an hour.
8. There shall be provided suitable overalls for the use of all persons em
ployed in any of the following processes, which overalls, when required for
such use, shall be washed, cleaned, or renewed at least once every week:
(a ) Cleaning any flue (unless dam p) or condensing ch a m ber;
(b) Demolishing any part of a furn ace, m eltin g pot, reto rt, condensing
cham ber, or flue, unless either dam p or under an efficient ex h a u st d r a ft;
(c) Reconstructing any part of a fu rn ace, m eltin g pot, re to rt, condensing
cham ber, or flue with material which has formed part of any such structure
unless d a m p ;
(d ) Breaking up, crushing, or grinding, in the process of sampling, lead
m a teria l unless either dam p or placed in an apparatus so inclosed as to prevent
the escape of dust;
( e ) Placing in any hopper or shoot or packing red or orange lead or flaked
litharge.
9. There shall be provided suitable respirators for the use of all persons em
ployed in any process named in regulation 2 (2) or in regulation 8; which
respirators, when required for such use, shall be washed or renewed at least
once every day.
10. No person under 16 years of age and no female shall be employed in any
lead process .

168

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

11. There shall be provided and maintained for the use of all persons em
ployed in any lead process —
(a) A suitable meal room, unless the works are closed during meal hours;
(b) A suitable place or places for clothing put off during working hours; and
(c) A suitable place or places for the storage of overalls provided in pur
suance of regulation 8, which place or places shall be separate from those re
quired by paragraphs (a ) and (b) of this regulation;
all of which shall be so located as not to be exposed to dust or fumes from
any manufacturing process.
12. There shall be provided and maintained in a* cleanly state and in good
repair for the use of all persons employed in any lea d process —
(a ) A lavatory, under cover, with a sufficient supply of clean towels, re
newed daily, and of soap and nail brushes, and with either—
(i) A trough with a smooth, impervious surface, fitted with a waste pipe
without.plug, and of such length as to allow at least 2 feet for every five such
persons employed at any one time, and having a constant supply of warm
water from taps or jets above the trough at intervals of not more than 2
feet; or
(ii) At least one lavatory basin for every five such persons employed at any
one time, fitted with a waste pipe and plug, and having either a constant
supply of hot and cold water or warm water laid on, or (if a constant supply
of heated water be not reasonably practicable) a constant supply of cold water
laid on, and a supply of hot water always at hand when required for use by
such persons; and
(b) Sufficient and suitable bath accommodation (douche or other) with hot
water laid on, unless the water supply provided under paragraph (a ) is so
arranged that a warm douche for the face, neck, and arms can be taken.
P ro vid ed th a t , When the number of persons so employed at any one time is
temporarily increased by reason of flue cleaning it shall not be necessary to
provide (by reason only of such temporary increase) additional accommodation
in pursuance of paragraph (a ) of this regulation if adequate time is allowed
to all such persons for washing immediately before each meal (in addition to
the regular meal times) and immediately before the end of the day’s work.
13. (a ) Every person employed in a lead process shall be examined by the
surgeon once in every calendar month (or at such shorter or longer intervals
as may be prescribed in writing by the chief inspector of factories) on a date
of which due notice shall be given.
(b) A health register containing the names of all persons employed in any
lead process shall be kept in a form approved by the chief inspector of factories.
(c) No person after suspension shall be employed in any lead process without
written sanction from the surgeon , entered in the health register.
P art II.— D u ties o f person s em ployed .
14 (a ) Every person employed in any lead process shall deposit in the place or
places provided in pursuance of regulation 11 (b) all clothing put off during
working hours.
(b) Every person for whose use an overall is provided in pursuance of regu
lation 8 shall wear the overall when employed in any process named in that
regulation, and remove it before partaking of food or leaving the premises, and
deposit it in the place provided under regulation 11 (c).
(c) Every person for whose use a respirator is provided in pursuance of
regulation 9 shall wear the respirator while employed in any process to which
regulation 2 (2) or regulation 8 applies.
15. No person employed shall introduce, keep, prepare, or partake of any food
or drink (other than a nonalcoholic drink approved by the su rg eon ), or make
use of tobacco, in any place in which any lead process is carried on.
P ro vid ed th a t , Except in processes named in regulation 8, this regulation shall
not prevent any person from using tobacco, other than a cigar or cigarette, if
his hands are free from lead.
16. Every person employed in any lead process , or in any place where any
lead process is being carried on, shall, before partaking of food, wash the face
and hands, and before leaving the premises wash the face, neck, and arms, in
the lavatory provided in pursuance of regulation 12.
17. Every person employed in any lea d process shall present himself at the
appointed time for examination by the su rgeon in pursuance of regulation
13 ( a ) .

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

169

18. No person employed shall, after suspension under these regulations or
under any other regulations or special rules applying to factories or workshops
where any process involving the use of lead is carried on, work in any lead
process without written sanction from the surgeon , entered in the health register.
19. No person employed shall interfere in any way, without the concurrence
of the occupier or manager, with the means provided for the removal of gas,
vapor, fumes, and dust, and for the carrying out of these regulations.
W. S. Churchill ,
One o f H is M a jesty's P rin cipal S ecretaries o f S ta te .
H ome Office , W hitehall , 12th A u g u st , 1911 .
GERMANY.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTORY REGULATIONS OF THE CHANCELLOR
OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE REGARDING LEAD AND ITS PRODUCTS.1
1. May 20, 1903, reerection and general management of dye works using lead,
including white lead, chromate, red oxide of lead, ordinary oxide of lead, iodide,
and all pigments containing lead.
Lead smelting works are under different regulations to those which follow.
2. Workrooms for production and packing must be spacious and high; must
have a constant current of air passing through them; the floor level and solid,
so that dust can be removed by swilling. At least once a day the floors must be
cleaned by moisture, if not kept moist all the time. The walls must have a
smooth surface and be washable or oil painted and be limewashed at least
once a year.
3. The entrance into adjoining workrooms of dust, gas or vapor containing
lead must be prevented as far as possible by suitable arrangements. Where
this is not feasible, the rooms thus exposed must be separated from each other.
4. Melting pots for lead must be provided with a hood and a good draft lead
ing into the open.
5. The inner walls of oxidizing chambers must be as smooth as possible and
not porous; the wooden framework must be kept moist during the time the
sheets of lead are being hung upon it. Before and after entering these chambers
the temperature must have been allowed to fa ll; there must have been thorough
ventilation and the air moistened by steam. The converted white lead is to be
syringed off the framework by a powerful spray of water. All the time work
is being carried on therein the light in the oxidizing chambers must be good.
During the transport of the converted lead to the washing room the material
must be kept moist.
The walls of the oxidizing chambers as well as the framework must be prop
erly cleaned by playing upon them with a hose or by washing away the white
lead before the chambers are refilled.
Employers must instruct foremen and head workers acquainted with the regu
lations to supervise the workmen during the hours of labor and to see that some
person in accordance with 151 of the factory regulations is made responsible for
the regulations being strictly adhered to.
6. In the transport and specially in the washing and grinding of wet-lead
colors all handwork must be replaced by mechanical methods, so that soiling
of the hands and clothes of the workmen is reduced to the lowest possible
minimum.
The pressing of white-lead pulp must only take place after all the soluble
lead salts have been removed.
7. The interior of drying chambers must be smooth and as little porous as
possible.
8. In grinding, sifting, or sieving, in the packing of materials containing lead,
in the emptying of oxide ovens, and wherever there is dust, sufficient ventilation
must be provided.
9. Machinery which creates dust must be so constituted that lead dust can
no longer escape.
10. Female workers may be allowed to take part in the manufacture of
paints of chemical lead products like white lead, acetate and iodide of lead,
etc., so long as they are not exposed to dust, or to gases or vapors containing
lead and do not come into immediate contact with lead products.
1 Die Gewerbe-Ordnung von D. F. Hoffmann, Berlin, Carl H eym anns Verlag. 1910.

170

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

In factories where there are produced exclusively or mainly lead paints or
other lead products youthful workers must not be employed.
These regulations are to be in force until July, 1913.
11. An employer is only allowed to employ such persons in making and pack
ing the above lead products who bring medical certificates stating that they
are neither physically weak nor suffering from pulmonary disease, kidney
troubles, or disease of the digestive organs, and that they do not indulge to
excess in alcohol. These certificates must be kept and shown, when required,
to the medical and factory inspectors.
12. An employer must only employ for the filling and emptying of oxidizing
chambers such persons as are fully conversant with the dangers of the occupa
tion, and these persons must not be occupied more than eight hours per day.
If the work continues more than six hours it must be interrupted by three inter
vals of one hour each; if of shorter duration the workmen must have one hour
free after every two hours of work.
Workmen must not be employed more than eight hours per day when en
gaged in packing lead paints or pigments containing lead compounds in the
dry state or in closing casks filled with these. If the packing is done by ma
chinery provided with necessary exhausts this rule may be abrogated.
Young persons under 18 years of age must not be employed in Nos. 1 and 2,
but if the paints contain very little lead and the packing is only done in small
quantities, such youths may be employed by permission. Other workmen not
specified above but coming into contact with lead must not be employed for
more than 10 hours per 24.
13. Every employer must supply to all men whose work brings them into
contact with lead, also materials containing lead, a perfectly fitting overall, a
cap, and to those occupied in emptying oxidizing chambers properly fitting
boots.'
14. An employer must only allow work to be carried on where much dust is
developed and which can not be completely removed, so long as the men are
wearing respirators or wet sponges applied to nose and mouth.
15. In factories where the men come into contact with lead salts in solution,
the work can be carried on only after the employer has seen that the men have
greased their hands properly or are provided with impermeable gloves.
16. Employers must furnish to the men working clothes, respirators, sponges,
and gloves in sufficient quantity and of an appropriate character. They must see
that these things are made use of by the workmen according to the particular
kind of work they are employed in and are worn only by the workmen to whom
they have been supplied; that the things are kept clean and are washed once a
week, also that respirators, sponges, and gloves are kept in a special place
assigned to each article, and that they are washed on each occasion before
being used.
17. In a part of the factory free from dust there must be arranged for the
workmen coming into contact with lead suitable washing and dressing rooms,
separated from the dining room. Both must be kept clean, free from dust, and
must be heated in the cold seasons of the year. In the dining room or other
suitable place there must be the necessary arrangements for warming the
workmen’s food.
In the washing and dressing* room there must be water and vessels for
rinsing the mouth, suitable nailbrushes, soap, and towels, as well as cupboards
for the workman’s clothes and for such other portions of clothing as are
removed before going into the workrooms.
18. Employers must from a health point of view allow all workmen occupied
in lead and lead products to be supervised by a factory as well as a medical
inspector. These shall have power to examine for signs of lead poisoning all
workmen in the factory at least twice every month.
Employers must not permit any workman who is doubtfully the subject of
lead poisoning to engage in any occupation involving the use of lead or lead
products until such doubt has been removed, and any workman who is known
to be especially susceptible to lead must be entirely excluded from the occu
pation.
19. Employers are obliged to keep a register of workmen, of the date of
their entrance into the factory, and the date of their leaving it, also of the
days on which they are brought into contact with lead and of their removal
from it. They will be held responsible for the completeness and correctness of

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

171

rthe entries in the register, so long as they are not made by the doctor. The
register must contain the following:
(1) Name of the bookkeeper.
(2) Name of visiting factory surgeon.
(3) Surname and Christian name, age, address, date of admission and leav
ing of every workman, as well as the nature of the occupation.
(4) Date and nature of the indisposition of every workman.
(5) Date of recovery.
(6) Dates and results of the general medical examinations prescribed in
paragraph 18.
The sick register must be presented from time to time to the factory and
medical inspector.
20. An employer must draw up rules for all workmen coming into contact
with lead or lead products. These regulations must contain instructions for
young persons mentioned in paragraphs 13, 14, and 15.
(1) Workmen must not bring into the factory alcoholic drinks.
(2) Workmen must not take food into the workrooms. Meals must only be
taken in the dining room, unless in fine weather when out of doors altogether.
(3) Workmen must only enter the dining room, take meals, or leave the fac
tory after having removed their working clothes, cleaned their hair from dust,
carefully washed their hands and face, and cleaned their nostrils.
(4) Workmen must use the working clothes, respirators, mouth sponges, and
gloves in those departments in the factory for which they have been prescribed
by employers.
(5) Smoking, snuffing, and chewing of tobacco are prohibited during work.
(6) The baths in the factory must be used daily at the close of the day’s
work by those employed in emptying the oxidizing chambers and by the other
workmen occupied in lead or with lead products twice per week. It is stipu
lated in these regulations that if any workman in spite of repeated warnings
continues to act contrary to the rules, he shall be dismissed before the expira
tion of his contract and without notice.
21. In every dining room, dressing room, and workroom there must be hung
up in a place where it can be easily read, a printed or written copy of the
preceding regulations Nos. 1-20.
The employer is held responsible for paragraph 20, also for the introduction
of alcoholic drinks into the works. He must set aside a foreman to see that
the regulations in paragraph 20 and paragraphs 3 and 6 are carried out, and
that a foreman is made responsible for these. An employer must dismiss work
men when in spite of repeated warnings they bring alcoholic drinks into the
factory.
22. New factories for the manufacture of lead and lead products must be
inspected before being used.
23. The preceding regulations apply to those factories wherein at present the
regulations of the imperial chancellor of July 8, 1893, apply, also those which
came into force on July 1, 1903.
These regulations annul all others previously in force.
R egulations of the I mperial Chancellor Concerning the E rection
Management of L ead S melting W orks. (J une 16, 1905.)
general regulations.

and

1. The rooms wherein lead is roasted, raked out, and worked, where lead con
taining silver is ladled off, where oxides and other lead compounds are made,
ground, sieved, and stored or packed, also where zinc scum is distilled, must be
spacious, high, and so arranged that there is a sufficient and continuous
exchange of air.
The rooms must be provided with a level and solid floor, permitting of an
an easy removal of dust by wet methods.
The walls must have a smooth surface so as to prevent accumulation of dust
and must be washed or whitewashed at least once a year. In roasting sheds
with wooden walls this regulation is not enforced.
2. For the workmen engaged at the furnaces and melting pots there must be
a sufficient supply of drinking water in a convenient and completely protected
place.
In the neighborhood of the furnace there must be arrangements for spraying
the ground.
99823°—No. 95—11-----12

172

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

The floors of all the rooms mentioned in No. 1 are to be cleaned once a day in
the moist state.
3. Lead ore and smelted products containing lead, if not moist, are to be
crushed in machinery so constructed that dust will as far as possible be pre
vented entering the workrooms. This does not apply to the roasted materials
removed from the converters.
Sacks in which lead ore or lead products have been packed must only be
cleaned in closed apparatus.
4. Materials containing lead oxides, if dusty, must be moistened before being
mixed with other materials preparatory to being placed in the furnace.
5. Dust, gases, and lead fumes escaping from furnaces, converters, gutters,
and receiving pots, from sump, slag, slag wagons, slag heaps, and from the
glowing remains removed from the furnaces, as well as from the refining pots,
must be caught near their point of origin and removed.
Flues and furnaces must be properly cooled and ventilated before workmen
enter.
SPECIAL REGULATIONS

WHERE LEAD COLORS ARE PRODUCED.

6. Where the grinding, sieving, and packing of lead products are done, dur
ing the filling and emptying of oxidizing chambers, also the packing of red
lead into bladders, and in all processes where dust containing lead is produced,
there must be exhaust draft for the removal of the dust and means used to
prevent extension of the dust into the workrooms.
7. Machinery which causes dust must be so constructed that no dust can
escape.
In such machinery care must be taken that the tension of air within is not
greater than that of the air without. Such machinery must only be opened
after the dust has settled and the machinery cooled down.
SPECIAL REGULATIONS REGARDING ZINC SKIM M IN G.

8. For new forms of zinc-scum smelting furnaces permission of the authori
ties must be obtained. They must be so arranged that (1) in the front of the
place at which they are filled there shall be an open and well-lit space of 3
yards, and (2) the passage below it must be fully 4 yards high*, well lit, and
airy.
9. Any dust, gases, and fumes escaping from zinc-scum distillation furnaces
must be removed.
There must be also proper arrangements to prevent the escape of smoke and
gas from the furnaces.
10. The sifting and packing of the by-products of zinc-scum distillation must
be carried on in rooms separated from other rooms. Tide regulations, para
graph 1.
The sifting must be done in machinery which does not evolve dust.
EMPLOYMENT OF WORKMEN.

11. Females and young persons are not admitted into the rooms mentioned
in paragraph 1, nor into the flues, nor into places where flue dust is being
transported.
12. In the places mentioned in paragraph 1 and in the flues only such new
hands can be employed as are in possession of a medical certificate confirmed
by a recognized authority that the occupation will not be injurious to health.
These certificates are to be filed and kept at the disposal of the medical and
factory inspectors.
13. Men employed at the smelting furnaces must not be occupied more than
eight hours per day. This regulation equally applies to workmen occupied in
side cooled-down chambers or in clearing out flues.
In the clearing out of flues which contain dry dust, the men who work within
them are not allowed to be employed more than four hours, and the men em
ployed in clearing away and transporting the dust must not be employed more
than eight hours.
Altogether workmen employed in rooms mentioned in paragraph 1 must not
be occupied more than 10 hours exclusive of intervals.
Workmen employed on Sunday labor do not come within the scope of the
above regulations.

INDUSTRIAL! LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.
w o r k m e n ’s

cloth es

an d

w a s h in g

173

a c c o m m o d a t io n .

14. Employers must provide workmen engaged in cleaning flues, mending
cooled-down furnaces, occupied in grinding, sieving, and the packing of the
oxides and other lead products with close-fitting overalls, caps, and respirators.
15. Processes which require workmen to manipulate soluble lead salts must
not be carried on without previous smearing of the hands with grease or by the
men wearing india-rubber gloves.
16. The overalls, respirators, and gloves, etc., mentioned in paragraphs 14
and 15 must be provided by the employer in sufficient number and appropriate
to the purpose for which they are intended. The employer is responsible for the
articles only being worn by the workmen to whom they have been given; also,
that they are cleaned at certain intervals, viz, overalls once a week, respirators
and gloves before being used, also during the time they are not in use that
they are kept in proper places.
■ 17. In a part of the factory, free from dust, there must be a dining room;
there must also be a washing and dressing room separated from the dining
room. Both rooms must be kept clean and free from dust and warmed during
the cold seasons of the year. At a convenient place there must be opportunity
provided for the warming of food.
In the washing and dressing rooms there must be water, soap, and towels,
as well as convenient arrangements for keeping separately the working clothes
and also those put off before commencing work.
Employers must provide warm baths daily for the workmen occupied in
cleaning flues and mending cooled-down furnaces, and they must see that all
others working with oxidized lead products take a warm bath once a week,
during working hours, in a suitable place capable of being heated in cold
weather.
SUPERVISION OF HEALTH CONDITIONS.

18. Employers must hand over the supervision of the health conditions of
the workmen to a medical man authorized by the higher administrative author
ity and whose name has been conveyed to the factory inspector. This factory
surgeon must examine the workers at least once a month in the factory, and
must specially be on the outlook for signs of lead poisoning.
Employers are not allowed to engage men in the cleaning of flues, mending
cooled-down furnaces, or transporting flue dust who are, according to medical
opinion, suspiciously the subjects of plumbism, until they have fully regained
their health. Such workmen who show themselves to be specially sensitive
to lead must be excluded from the occupation for all time.
19. Employers are obliged to keep a control book, in which shall be entered
changes of workmen and the state of their health, and they are held responsible
for the accuracy and completeness of the entries, so long as they have not been
made by the doctor.
This control book must contain:
(a ) Name of the bookkeeper.
(b) Name of factory surgeon.
(c) Christian and family name of each workman, age, address, date of enter
ing upon and of giving up each kind of work, as well as the nature of the
occupation.
( d ) Date and nature of illness of workmen.
(e ) Date of recovery from illness.
(/) Date and results of medical examinations, mentioned in paragraph 18.
The register is to be shown to the factory inspector and to the certifying fac
tory surgeon.
FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS.20

20. Employers must exhibit the following notices to the ■ workmen:
( a ) Workmen are not allowed to take food into the workrooms; the taking
of food is only allowed outside the workrooms.
(b) Workmen are not allowed to enter the dining room, partake of meals, or
leave the smelting works until after having taken off their working clothes and
carefully washed their hands and face.
(c ) Workmen must use the overalls, respirators, and gloves both in the
workrooms and in those processes for which they are provided.
(4 ) Smoking of cigars and cigarettes, etc., is forbidden during work.

174

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

(e ) Baths must be taken daily after work by the men employed in cleaning
flues and cooled-down furnaces and once a week by other workmen coming into
contact with lead products. This prescription does not apply to those work
men for whom bathing is considered unsuitable by the factory surgeon. It is
also to be mentioned that workmen who after repeated warnings act contrary
to the above regulations, may be dismissed before the end of the contract and
without notice.
If for any smelting works other regulations have been published, the above
are to be incorporated.
21. A copy of these regulations must be placed in every workroom, dressing
room, and dining room in an accessible place and where it can be easily read.
Employers are held responsible for the carrying out of rule (a ) in para
graph 20. They must intrust a foreman to see that rules (&) and (c) in
paragraph 20 are carried out, and that the foreman is responsible for the same.
22. New lead smelting works can only be opened after their erection has been
duly notified to the factory inspector. After receipt of a notice the inspector
must examine the works, so as to see whether the buildings and the arrange
ments are in keeping with the requirements of the regulations.
23. The above regulations to become law on January 1, 1906.
In any case where considerable structural alterations are required, the time
may be extended to January 1, 1908.
Where reasons of public interest are concerned, the Government may grant
a respite to January 1, 1912.

R egulations of the I mperial Chancellor Concerning the E rection and
Management of P rinting W orks and T ype F ounding W orks from J uly
31, 1897, A ltered in the R egulations of J uly 5, 1907, and in those of
D ecember 22,1908.

On the basis of paragraph 120 (e) of the factory act the Bundesrath has
decided upon the following regulations for the above:
1. The following regulations are to be in force for workrooms in which per
sons are employed in setting up type or in stereotyping:
(1) The floor of the workroom must not be more than half a meter [1-64
feet] below the roadway. Exceptions may be permitted if, through satisfactory
isolation of the ground and through sufficient light and air, health requirements
are otherwise complied with.
Workrooms underneath a roof can only be made use of so long as the roof is
lined with wood or piaster.
(2) In workrooms wherein letters or stereotype plates are made, the number
of persons occupied must-be such that each person shall have 15 cubic meters
1529.72 cubic feet] of air space. In rooms in which persons are employed in
other processes,- 12 cubic meters [423.77 cubic feet] of air space at least must
be provided.
On occasions, when owing to a temporary stress of work more persons are
required than for a maximum of 30 days in the year, 10 cubic meters [353.14
cubic feet] may be allowed.
... (3) The workrooms must be at least 2.6 meters [8.53 feet] high, when 15
cubic meters [529.72 cubic feet] of air space are allowed to each person; in all
other instances they must be 3 meters [9.84 feet] in height.
The rooms must be provided with windows in sufficient numbers and size
so as to allow the maximum of light into all places where work is carried on.
The windows must be so constructed as to allow of being opened for the pur
pose of ventilation.
Workrooms with a slanting ceiling must have an average height, as men
tioned in section 1 of paragraph 3.
(4) The workrooms must be provided with hard and nonporous floors, so as
to permit of the ready removal of dust in a moist manner. If the floors are of
wood, they must be well planed and not allow of the absorption of liquid.
Where the walls and ceilings are not paneled or painted with oil, they must
be whitewashed at least once a year. Paneled and oil-painted walls must be
washed at least once a year; oil-painted walls if varnished must be revarnished
at least once in every 10 years, and if not revarnished, must be repainted every
5 years.
The stands of typesetters and the shelves for the cases which hold the type
must either be so fixed to the floor that no dust can accumulate below them, or
they must be provided with such high feet that cleaning of the floor beneath
them can be easily carried out.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

175

(5) Workrooms must be thoroughly ventilated at least once a day. Care
must also be taken that a sufficient change of air is obtained during the work
ing hours.
(6) The melting pots for type and stereotype metal must be provided with
proper exhausts and hoods.
The fusion of mixed type metals and the remelting of scums must be car
ried on in special workrooms. If these do not exist, the work must be done
in the absence of all the other hands who are not concerned.
(7) The workrooms and all furnishings, but especially walls, shelves, and
window sills must be thoroughly cleaned at least twice a year.
The floors must be thoroughly cleaned once a day, either by washing or by
mopping, so as to keep them free from dust.
In the case of wooden floors, or where there is linoleum smeared with an
absorbing oil (a nondrying mineral oil), washing may be disallowed, but a daily
sweeping will be necessary. The smearing with oil must be renewed in the case
of wooden floors at least every eight weeks and in the case of linoleum-covered
floors at least every two weeks.
(8) Type cases before being used and as long as they are being used must
be cleaned at least twice a year.
The dusting of these cases must be done in the open air by means of bel
lows, and must not be attempted by young persons.
(9) Spitting on the floor is forbidden. Spittoons containing water must be
provided in the ratio of one for every five men.
(10) For typesetters as well as for type founders, polishers, and grinders
there must be provided either in the workrooms or in suitable rooms close at
hand sufficient washing conveniences, including soap and one clean towel,
for each person at least once a week.
If there is no running water, there must be one washstand for at least
every five workmen. The water must be of sufficient quantity, and there must
be means of emptying it.
Employers must exercise strict vigilance that no food is taken into the fac
tory, and they must see that no man leaves without first having had a wash.
(11) The home clothes of the workmen must be kept outside of the work
rooms during working hours. The retention of these in the workrooms is only
permitted if there are dust-proof cupboards protected by a curtain or cup
boards kept closed during working hours.
(12) All lighting arrangements which give rise to considerable heat must
be provided with necessary exhausts.
(13) Employers must draw out regulations for the carrying out of para
graphs 8, 9, ID, and 11.
In any factory where there are at least 20 workmen employed the above
rules must be incorporated with the regulations of the factory.
II. In every workroom there shall be hung up a notice signed by the local
authority stating:
(a) The length, breadth, and height of the workroom.
(b) The cubic capacity of the room.
(c ) The number of men allowed to work in the room.
In every workroom there must be, in addition, a notice giving in easily read
characters the regulations of No. I.
III. Exemptions from the regulations under No. I may be granted by the
administrative authorities, when there are not more than five workmen
employed.
IY. The above regulations come into force immediately for all new factories.
For all factories which are in existence at the time of the announcement
paragraphs 5, 7, and 9 of No. I come immediately into force and the remain
der a year after the publication of the regulation.
P ublication of the I mperial Chancellor Concerning the E rection and
Management of F actories for the Manufacture of E lectrical A ccumu
lators Containing L ead or L ead Compounds (M ay , 1908).
6

On the basis of paragraph 123 of the factory act, the. Upper House has drawn
out the following regulations for the erection and management of factories of
electrical accumulators in which lead and lead products are used:
1. In works where electrical accumulators are made from lead or lead com
pounds the workrooms in which the products are manipulated must have a

176

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OE LABOR,

height of at least 3 meters T9.84 feet] and have a sufficient number of windows
which can be opened for the purpose of ventilation.
2. In rooms in which there is dust or where lead or lead compounds are spilt
the floors must be impermeable to water, and the walls and ceiling of these
rooms, unless covered with smooth, washable paneling or oil painted, must be
washed at least once a year.
The use of wood, soft asphalt, or linoleum for floors, also papered walls, are
not permitted in these rooms.
3. Melting pots for lead must be provided with effective hoods and exhausts
leading into the open air.
4. Where, in the mechanical manufacture of lead plates, saws and planes
are used care must be taken that all dust and particles of lead are carried
away from the place of their origin.
5. Machinery creating lead dust must be so constructed that no dust can
escape either during the running of the machinery or in the emptying of it.
6. All sieving, mixing, and moistening of materials intended for filling in the
lead plates, so long as they contain lead or lead compounds; the removal of the
covers of the dried plates, as well as all manipulations creating dust during
the handling of the dry or dried material for filling, must only take place
under effective exhausts or in such apparatus as will prevent the escape of
dust into other workrooms.
7* Open receptacles containing lead dust or lead compounds must be placed
upon a grating provided with a trough below, so arranged that all loose mate
rial is received therein.
8. The following operations must be carried out in a special room separated
from the others:
(a) The mechanical treatment of lead plates, frames or grids.
(ft) Production of metallic lead dust,'vide paragraph 5.
(e) The production and mixing of the filling material or paste (par. 6), as
far as it is done by machinery.
9. The tables upon which the paste is rubbed or pressed into the lead plates,
frames, or grids must have a smooth and closely joined surface and must be
cleaned at least once a day by moisture.
10. All soldering by means of a blast of hydrogen or coal gas must be done
in special workrooms under an effective exhaust.
.11. The zinc used for making hydrogen gas and likewise the sulphuric acid
for the same purpose must be pure.
.12. Workrooms are to be kept free from all soiling with lead or lead com
pounds.
The floors of the rooms mentioned in paragraph 2 must be cleaned by moist
methods at least once a day after the day's work is over.
13. Employers must place at the disposal of workmen occupied in making
electrical accumulators overalls and caps in sufficient number and appropriate
for the purpose.
They must see, by means of rules and inspection, that the overalls are used
only by those men to whom they are given, that they are washed at least every
week, and that when not in use they are kept in suitable places specially
adapted for the purpose.
14. In a part of the factory free from dust there must be reserved for the
workmen washing and dressing rooms and separated from these a dining room.
These rooms must be kept clean and free from dust and be heated during the
cold season of the year.
In the washing and dressing rooms there must be water, vessels for rinsing
the mouth, brushes for the hands, soap and towels, as well as provision made for
keeping the ordinary wearing clothes of the men when at work.
Employers must afford opportunities for a warm bath to be taken at least
once a week.
15. Employment of females and young persons is forbidden in all departments
where lead or lead products are used.
16. Employers are only allowed to give employment in accumulator works to
such persons as bring a certificate of fitness from a medical practitioner
empowered to grant such by law. These certificates must be retained and
shown to the factory inspector when required.
17. The making and mixing of the paste as well as the filling in of the plates,
frames, or grids with it must be so arranged that—
(a ) The hours of work do not exceed eight per day, and that they are inter
rupted by a break of at least one and one-half hours.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

177

(6) The hours of work do not exceed six per day, and are not interrupted for
the purpose of taking food.
If the work is arranged as under (&), the workmen can be occupied in other
departments of the factory, so long as they do not come into contact with lead
or lead products, and so long as they are granted a break of at least two hours
between the two different kinds of occupation.
Employers must notify the local authorities within a week of opening their
factory which of the two plans of working they have adopted, and they are not
allowed to alter their plans without giving notice.
18. Employers must intrust an approved medical practitioner with the care
of the health of the workmen, who have to be examined for signs of lead poison
ing at least once a month.
Workmen showing signs of lead poisoning are by order of the medical prac
titioner kept away from contact with lead until they have recovered, and such
workmen as appear specially susceptible to lead must be permanently kept away
from it.
19. Employers must keep a register of their workmen and of their health.
They are responsible for the entries except those made by the factory surgeon.
It must contain—
(1) Name of bookkeeper.
(2) Name of factory surgeon.
(3) Christian and family name, age, address, date of each workman entering
the factory and leaving it, also a note as to which department he was em
ployed in.
(4) Date and nature of illness of every workman.
(5) Date of recovery.
(6) Dates and results of medical examinations.
The register must be shown to the factory inspector and certifying factory
surgeon when required.
20. Employers must issue the following regulations, and these shall be
binding:
(1) Workmen must not bring food into the workrooms. The introduction of
alcoholic drinks is also forbidden.
(2) Workmen must make use of the overalls in accordance with instructions.
(3) Workmen can only enter the dining room to take food therein, or leave
the factory after having removed their working clothes, carefully washed them
selves, rinsed their mouth, and put on their ordinary wearing clothes.
(4) Smoking, snuffing, and chewing of tobacco are forbidden during working
hours.
In the regulations it must be stated that workmen continuing to act contrary
to them are liable, after repeated warning, to instant dismissal.
If in any factory there are already regulations dealing with the conditions
of work in that factory the above regulations are to be included.
21. A copy of the regulations, paragraphs 1 to 20 inclusive, must be hung up
in the dining room, dressing room, and in every workroom.
22. In the event of employers acting contrary to the regulations the police are
empowered to interpose and stop the factory.
23. These regulations come into force on July 1, 1908, and annul those of
May 11, 1908.
R egulations of the I mperial C hancellor Concerning T rades
P aints Containing L ead A re U sed. (J une 27, 1905.)

in which

I.— REGULATIONS.

1. In the grinding, mixing, and other processes concerning white lead and
other lead paints when dry workmen must not come into immediate contact
with these. The men must be protected against dust.
2. The mixing of white lead with oil must not be done by hand, but by
mechanical means and the receivers so arranged that the dust can not enter the
workrooms. This also holds good for the other lead paints. These, however,
may be mixed by hand, if only men are employed above 18 years of age, and the
quantity dealt with does not exceed 1 kilogram [2.20 pounds] of red lead per
day and for other colors 100 grams [3.53 ounces] per day.
3. The rubbing off of dry paint which can not be proved to be free from lead
must only be done after previous moistening.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

178

4. Employers must see that the workmen occupied in lead paints or in mix
ing lead paints wear suitable overalls and caps.
5. All workmen occupied in painting with lead paints or their compounds must
be provided with suitable washing appliances, brushes, soap, and towels.
In the case of new buildings workmen must be given a place wherein they can
keep their clothes and have opportunities for washing in a place protected from
the colds of winter.
6. Employers must indicate to workmen the dangers to health from lead
paints and hand them a copy of the following instructions:
II. — INSTRUCTIONS

FOR PLACES WHEREIN THE WORK OF PAINTING AND DECORATING
I S CARRIED ON AT THE SAME TIME A S OTHER OCCUPATIONS.

7. If the work concerns a factory or shipping wharf, then the following para
graphs 8 to 11 come into force.
8. Workmen must have a special room in which to wash and dress. It must
be kept clean and heated during the cold season and contain a place for keeping
their clothes.
9. Employers must publish regulations for the workmen thus occupied, and
the regulations must contain the following:
(1) No alcoholic drinks must be consumed in the workrooms.
(2) Workmen are only allowed to take food and drink after having left the
workroom, taken off their working clothes, and carefully washed their hands.
(3) Workmen must wear the special clothes for the particular kind of work
the clothes were given.
(4) The use of tobacco in any form is forbidden during work.
The following special notice is to be added: Workmen continuing to break
these regulations after having been repeatedly warned may be dismissed with
out notice.
If in any factory regulations for work have been previously published the
above are to be incorporated.
10. Workmen must be medically inspected once every six months* When a
workman has been suspended on account of lead poisoning he must be given
other occupation which does not bring him into contact with lead.
11. Employers must keep a register in which shall be stated the changes and
the state of health of the workmen. They are responsible for the accuracy
and completeness of the entries, so long as they have not been made by the
factory surgeon.
The register must contain:
(1) Name of the bookkeeper.
(2) Name of factory surgeon*
(3) Christian and family name, age, address of each workman, date of en
tering upon and of leaving the factory, as well as the nature of his occupation.
(4) Date and nature of the illness of each workman.
(5) Date of his recovery.
(6) Dates and results of medical examination.
The register to be handed to the factory inspector and certifying factory sur
geon when required.
12. These regulations come into force January 1, 1906.
N otice R egarding L ead.

How do painters, decorators, varnishers and all persons working in lead
protect themselves from lead poisoning?
ALL LEAD PAINTS ARE POISONOUS.

Painters and all persons working in lead are exposed to the risk of poison
ing. Plumbism occurs through the entrance by the mouth and nose of small
quantities of lead. The poison is introduced by soiled hands, from the beard
and clothing, by eating, drinking, smoking, and snuffing, also by inhalation.
The effects are not immediate, but are the results of accumulation, it may be„
of years.
HOW DOES LEAD POISONING MANIFEST ITSELF?

The first sign of lead poisoning is usually the presence of a bluish line on
the gums, also of pallor of face and lips pointing to anaemia. Further symp
toms are diverse, mostly colic; the patient experiences violent cramp-like pains

INDUSTRIAL LEAD. POISONING IN EUROPE,

commencing at the navel; the abdomen is hard and retracted. Accompanying
these there are frequent vomiting and constipation; diarrhea is rare. In other
cases there is paralysis affecting usually the muscles by which extension of the
fingers is made, generally of both hands, exceptionally of the muscles of the
arms, legs, and throat. Sometimes there is complaint of pain in the joints,
usually the knees; less frequently is there pain in the upper limbs. In specially
severe cases the brain is affected (violent headache, general convulsions, com
plete unconsciousness, or great restlessness and blindness). Finally lead
poisoning is associated with atrophied kidneys and has a causal connection with
gout. Many women who are the subjects of lead poisoning miscarry; still
births are frequent. Of the children born alive the mortality is great. Chil
dren reared at the breast by mothers suffering from lead poisoning are injured
by the milk. Apart from the severe forms of encephalopathy which often end
fatally, lead poisoning can usually be recovered from if the sufferers can be
removed early from their occupation which exposes them to lead. Recovery
comes weeks after, but in severe cases only after many months.
THE PREVENTION OF LEAD POISONING.

The widespread belief that the regular use of certain medicines (potassium
iodide, magnesium sulphate, and other drugs) or the taking of milk is sufficient
to prevent lead poisoning is not substantiated. On the other hand, proper food
rich in fat, and in this milk is included, is said to possess some value. The
most effective protectives against plumbism are cleanliness and sobriety. Per
sons who without being alcoholics are in the habit of taking alcoholic drinks
rather freely are more exposed to the danger of lead poisoning than those
who are more abstemious. Alcoholic stimulants should not be taken during
working hours. With reference to cleanliness all persons coming into contact
with lead paints can not be too careful; they ought to observe the following:
(1) Hands and working clothes should come into contact with lead paints
as little as possible.
(2) Whilst the hands can not be kept absolutely free from touching lead, the
smoking and chewing of tobacco and the habit of snuffing can certainly be
avoided during work.
(3) Workmen should only take food and drink, or leave the workroom after
having taken off their working clothes, washed their hands with soap and
water, or with pumice stone or marble soap. The face and beard require similar treatment if they have been soiled during work. If drinking can not be
avoided during working hours, the edges of the vessel should not be touched
by the hands.
(4) The working clothes specially provided by the employer should be
properly used.
In order to prevent the breathing of dust containing lead, All the items of
the regulations should be strictly followed; especially should* the grinding of
white lead with oil or varnish not be done by hand, but in inclosed machinery.
All old lead paint ought not to be rubbed off without having been previously
moistened.
A workman who has been brought into contact with lead, and who despite
all preventive measures has become ill with symptoms suggesting plumbism
ought immediately to consult a doctor both in his own interest as well as
that of his family, and he ought at the same time to inform the medical prac
titioner that he has been working in lead or with its compounds.
FRANCE.

WHITE LEAD.
D ecree

J uly 17, 1902, Concerning the U se
P ainting .

W hite L ead

H ouse

The President of the Republic on the report of the minister of commerce,
industry, post, and telegraphs, with reference to article 3 of the law of Juno
12, 1893, decrees.
A rticle 1. That white lead must only be used in a pasty condition in house
painting.
A rt. 2. It is forbidden in all house-painting operations to manipulate with,
the bare hands any material containing white lead.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,

180

Art. 3. Scraping off of white-lead paints by the dry method is forbidden.
Art. 4. In all moist scraping off, and generally in all painting with white
lead, employers must provide overalls exclusively for the work, and they must
insist upon these being worn. They must also see that the overalls are kept
clean and in good condition.
Necessary facilities for cleanliness must be provided for workmen at the
place of work.
All working tools must be kept clean; the cleaning must not be done in the
dry state.
A rt. 5. Employers must see that the text of the present decree is hung up
In the places where the workmen are engaged, and where they receive their
wages.
A rt. . The minister of commerce, industry, post, and telegraphs is empowered
to see that the present decree is carried out. It will be published in the Bul
letin des Lois and in the Journal Officiel of the French Republic.
D ecree of J uly 15, 1904; E xtension of the D ecree of J uly 17, 1902, to All
6

P ainting .

The President of the French Republic decrees—
1. That the terms of the decree of July 18, 1902, regulating the use of white
lead in house painting are extended to all painting.
2. That the minister of commerce, industry, post, and telegraphs is empowered
to see that they are given effect to. The decree will be published in the Bul
letin des Lois and in the Journal Officiel of the French Republic.
L aw of J uly 20, 1909, Concerning the U se of W hite L ead in A ll P ainting
Operations W hether

on the

Outside

or in the I nside of

B uildings .

The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies have adopted and the President
of the French Republic issues the following law :
A rticle 1. In workshops, on wharfs, in buildings in the course of construc
tion or during repair, and generally in all places where the painting of build
ings is carried on, employers, directors, or managers are obliged, independently
of the regulations prescribed by law of June 12, 1893, concerning the health and
protection of workmen, to conform to the following regulations-:
A rt. 2. At the end of the fifth year, after promulgation of the present law,
the use of white lead, of linseed oil mixed with lead, and of all specialized prod
ucts containing white lead will be forbidden in all painting, no matter its
nature, carried out by working painters either on the outside or in the inside of
buildings*
Art. 3, A public health order on the advice of the consultative committee of
arts and manufactures and of the committee of industrial hygiene shall indicate,
if need be, the special kinds of work in which the preceding regulation can be
abrogated.
A rt. 4. Factory inspectors are intrusted with power to insure the execution
of the present law. For this purpose they may enter any establishment coming
under article 1, but in any case where painting is carried on in inhabited
houses the inspector can only enter after having received permission from the
occupier.
A rt. 5. Articles 5 and 7 (pars. 1 and 3), also 9 and 12 of the law of June 12,
1893, are applicable in cases where the law is disobeyed and where obstacles are
placed in the way of its execution.
The present law discussed and adopted by the Senate and Chamber of Depu
ties will be carried out as a State law.
LEAD INDUSTRIES.
of A pril 23, 1908, P rescribing S pecial R egulations for the H ygiene
of I ndustries in w hich W orkmen are E xposed to L ead P oisoning .

D ecree

The President of the Republic, acting upon the advice of the consultative
committee of arts and manufactures, and on the strength of the report of the
minister of public works and protection of workers, concerning the law of
June 12, 1893, which deals with the health and safety of workmen in industrial
establishments, as modified by the law of July 11,1903, chiefly article 3, decrees:

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

181

A rticle 1. That in the lead industries hereafter mentioned, the metallurgy
hnd cupellation or argentiferous lead, the manufacture of accumulators and of
lead glass, manufacture of lead enamels and their application, manufacture of
pottery, painting of porcelain and earthenware, ceramic chromolithography,
manufacture of alloys, oxides, salts, and paints made from lead, employers,
directors, or managers are instructed independently of the general regulations
prescribed by the decree of November 29, 1904, to take special measures for
safety and health as indicated in the following articles:
Art. 2. Lead-melting pots must be installed in airy places, separated from
the other workshops.
Hoods or any other efficient means for the removal of fumes shall be installed—
(a) Above the sink containing the molten lead and slag in the metallurgy
of lead.
(b) Before the doors of the furnaces in the manufacture of lead oxides.
(c) Above the melting pots of lead or its alloys in the other industries men
tioned in article 1.
Art. 3. All work which deals with oxides and other lead compounds liable
to give off dust must be carried on as far as possible in the moist state.
If this is impracticable in the presence of water or other liquid, the work
must be carried on mechanically in a closed and air-tight compartment.
Where one or other of the regulations of the first two paragraphs of the
present article are unable to be carried out, the work in question must be
done under a powerful exhaust installed in such a manner that the harmful
products are arrested by suitably placed appliances.
Finally, if none of these methods can be adopted, the workmen must wear
respirators.
Art. 4. Workmen are forbidden to handle with their bare hands lead oxides
or other lead compounds, whether these are in a dry or moist state, in sus
pension or in solution. The employer is obliged to provide gratuitously to his
workmen engaged in all of the above processes gloves made of an impermeable
substance like caoutchouc, or suitable tools, and to see to their upkeep and
frequent cleaning.
A rt. 5. The tables upon which these products are manipulated must be cov
ered with an impermeable substance and maintained in a water-tight condition.
The same remark applies to the floor of workrooms, which moreover must be
kept moist. The floor must be slightly inclined toward a water-tight reservoir
where, too, the lead-refuse drainage can be received.
The work must be organized in such a manner that no spluttering of dirt
shall occur.
The tables, floor, and walls must be washed at least once a week.
Art. 6. Without in any way acting in contradiction to the regulations men
tioned in article 3, the grinding of lead products, the mixing and manipulation
of these in the form of powder shall be carried on in special rooms, wherein
a powerful exhaust is installed. If it is impossible to moisten the products the
workmen must wear respirators.
Art. 7. The dipping of pottery with bare hands in liquids containing litharge
or red oxide, chromate, or carbonate of lead in suspension is forbidden.
Art. 8. The introduction of food or drink into workrooms is forbidden.
A rt. 9. Employers are obliged to place at the disposal of the workmen, and
to maintain gratuitously, overalls and other clothing to be exclusively used
in the work, also gloves and respirators.
A rt. 10. In a part of the factory separated from the workrooms there must
be for the use of workmen exposed to dust or any other lead emanations a
well-kept dressing and washing room, provided with taps and basins in suffi
cient number and with an abundant supply of water as well as soap, and for
each workman one towel, to be renewed at least once a week.
The dressing room must be provided with cupboards and boxes capable of
being closed with a key or padlock, the home clothes being kept separate from
the working apparel.
A rt. 11. A warm bath or spray shall be at the disposal of workmen exposed
to dust or to other lead emanations, once a week.
At the close of each day’s work an opportunity of taking a warm bath or of
having a warm spray must be offered to every workman occupied in emptying
or cleaning chambers and flues, also in the repairing of furnaces in lead fac
tories, in the packing of red lead, in transporting lead from the melting places
into the white-lead factories, in the grinding of lead enamels, and in all dry
grinding.

182

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,

Art. 12. Employers must hang up in readily accessible places a copy of the
regulations which impose upon the workmen the following requirements: They
must make use of the tools, gloves, respirators, and working overalls provided
at the expense of the employers, and must not introduce into the workrooms
either food or drink; they must take care that before each meal their mouth,
hands, and nostrils are properly cleansed, and that they take weekly or daily
the baths stated in article 11.
Art. 13. The minister of public works and social welfare can, in consequence
of a decision made upon the advice of the consultative committee of arts and
manufactures, grant to an establishment for a limited period dispensation of
all parts of the regulations included in article 2, paragraphs a, b, e, in article
5, paragraph 2, and in article 6, paragraph 1, where it is obvious that the ap
plication of the regulations is practically impossible, and the health and the
safety of the workmen are secured by conditions at least equivalent to those
detailed in the present decree.
Art. 14. With the exception of supplementary delays granted by the minister
on the strength of article 6 of the law of June 12, 1893, modified by the law of
July 11, 1903, the delay in the carrying out of alterations provided for in the
present law is limited to one year from the date of its publication.
Art. 15. The minister of public works and social welfare is empowered with
the execution of the present decree, which will be published in the Journal
Officiel of the French Republic and in the Bulletin des Lois.
In “ Lois, DScrets, Arretes concernant la Reglementation du Travail, etc.,” of
April, 1910, there are published tables of the various industries in which lead
or its compounds are used, and in which persons under 18 years of age, girls
under age, and women generally are forbidden to work. Of these trades the
following are scheduled: Manufacture of white lead; goldsmith’s work in
which lead is used; chloride of lead; steeping of lace in white lead; the melting
and making of lead grids; manufacture of red lead (litharge, massicot,
minium); the separation of lead from such other metals as zinc or copper;
manufacture of electrical accumulators; also chromolithography. Under cer
tain conditions young persons may be employed in electrical accumulator
works, in the manufacture of boxes for preserved meats and fruits, but not in
the soldering processes, in potteries, and several other industries in which lead
is used, but only so long as they are not allowed to come into contact with lead
or its compounds.
{ BELGIUM.

T ranslation

of a

N ote

by the B elgian Ministry of I ndustry
B russels , N ovember 9, 1908.1

and

L abor,

In Belgium the laws and regulations concerning work carried on in the manu
facture of pottery and ceramic goods relate to—
1. The work of women, young persons, and children.
2. The health and safety of the workers.
So far as the work of women, young persons, and children is concerned,
the manufactures in question are subject to the law of December 13, 1889.
Article 7 of this law has, however, been repealed and replaced by articles 9
and 10 of the law of July 17,1905, relating to rest on Sunday.
The period of daily work, as well as the intervals for rest for young workers
engaged in the manufacture of pottery and faience, in the manufacture of re
fractory products, as well as in brick fields and handmade-tile works, are fixed
by the special royal decrees of December 26, 1892, and September 22, 1896, in
accordance with article 4 of the above-named law of December 13, 1889. On
the other hand, article 7 of the royal decree of February 19, 1895, made in
pursuance of the same law, forbids the presence and the work of children
under 14 in those parts of porcelain and faience works where dust generated
in grinding or sifting is given off freely.
From the point of view of the health and safety of the staff of operatives
of all ages and of either sex, the carrying on of the manufactures in question
is subject to the requirements of the general regulation of March 30, 1905,
which applies to industrial and commercial enterprises within the scope of the
from the onReport
of the
Departmental
Committee Appointed
to Inquire
into
the1 Reprinted
Dangers
Attendant
Use
of&Lead
the Manufacture
Earthenware
and China,
Vol.
II, Appendixes,
1910. theWyman
Sonsin(Ltd.)i
Fetter Lane,of London.

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

183

law of December 24, 1903, relating to compensation for injuries resulting from
industrial accidents.
Moreover, manufactures connected with the making of pottery and ceramic
products are included for the most part among the work classified as dangerous,
unhealthy, or likely to cause a nuisance, and are therefore subject to the royal
decree of January 29, 1863, dealing with the manner of licensing and the super
vision of these establishments. It follows from this that (independently of the
general regulations set forth above) the proper authority may in every case
make the license to carry on a particular factory conditional on the special
reservations and conditions which are deemed necessary in the interests of the
safety, health, and convenience of the public, as well as in the interests of the
workers attached to that factory.
SU M M A RY OF L A W S AND DECREES REFERRED TO IN THE ABOVE NOTE.
A .— LAW OF DECEMBER 13, 1889.
Article 2. Employment of children under 12 years of age forbidden.
A rt. 3. Power to forbid the employment of children or young persons under
16, and girls or women between 16 and 21, at work beyond cheir strength, or
which might involve danger for them.
Similar power to forbid, or only to license for a limited number of hours
per day for a limited number of days, the employment of children or young
persons under 16, and girls or women between 16 and 21, at work recognized
as unhealthy.
Art. 4. General powers to limit* by decree, the period of daily work of chil
dren or young persons under 16, and girls or women between 16 and 21. (See
decree marked “ B,” below.)
: A rt. 5. Women shall not be employed on work during the four weeks fol
lowing confinement.
Art. 6. Children and young persons under 16, as well as girls or women
between 16 and 21, shall not be employed at work after 9 p. m. or before 5
a. m. (Subject to certain exceptions.)
B. — ROYAL DECREE OF DECEMBER 26, 1892.
Manufacture of pottery and faience; and manufacture of refractory products.
Extended to porcelain works (Sept. 22, 1899), and to earthen-pipe factories
(Feb. 25, 1901).
. A rticle 2. The period of actual work for children and young persons under
16, as well as for girls or women between 16 and 21, shall not exceed 10 hours
per day.
A rt. 3. The period of employment shall be interrupted by at least three in
tervals of rest, the total duration of which shall not be less than one hour and
a half.
The midday rest shall not be less than one hour in length.
C. -ROYAL DECREE OF SEPTEMBER 22, 1896.
Deals only with brickyards, and tile works without power.
D. — ROYAL DECREE OF FEBRUARY 19, 1895.
Article 7. In manufactories of faience and porcelain, the presence and work
of children are forbidden in places where dust generated in grinding or sifting
is given off freely.
E.— LAW OF JU L Y 17, 1905.
Article 2. It is forbidden to employ any persons to work more than six days
per week, the day of rest being Sunday. (Subject to certain exceptions.)
F.----GENERAL REGULATION OF MARCH 30, 1905 (ROYAL DECREE).
Article 2. It is forbidden to use damp places regularly as workrooms.
A rt. 3. In every workroom there shall be at least 10 cubic meters (about
353 cubit feet) of space for each operative. The rooms shall be at least 2}
meters (8 feet 2$ inches) high; they shall be at all times suitably ventilated;
for this purpose arrangements shall be adopted for introducing fresh air and

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OE LABOR.

184

exhausting polluted air at the rate of at least 30 cubic meters (about 1,059
cubic feet) per hour per worker. In the workrooms of establishments in which
work of a specially unhealthy character is carried on, the renewal of the air
shall be at the rate of at least 60 cubic meters (about 2,119 cubic feet) per
hour per worker.
Nevertheless, establishments in use at the date of publication of this decree,
in which the workrooms would not be capable of being altered in such a way
as to conform to the above requirements, may be maintained in their present
state under the following reservations:
(1) That measures be taken to secure ventilation under the best possible
conditions.
(2) That the number of workers therein employed be not increased.
(3) That no poisonous materials be handled therein, and that they present
no other gravely unhealthy character. * * *
Abt. 4. During intervals of work, if circumstances permit, the atmosphere
of the work places shall be renewed by currents of air.
Abt. 5. Such measures as are necessary shall be taken to prevent fumes,
vapors, gas, or noxious dusts from being diffused in the workrooms.
Abts. 6 and 7. Lighting of workrooms to be sufficient.
A bt. . During the cold season the work places shall be suitably warmed.
In summer they shall be safeguarded, as far as possible, against undue rise of
temperature.
Abt. 9. The workers shall be protected against excessive radiation from
lighting apparatus, hearths, furnaces, and any other source of heat.
Abt. 10. The work places and adjoining parts of the factory shall be kept
in a good state of repair and cleanliness.
A bt. 11. Waste products, manufacturing residuals, waste from raw material,
sweepings, and generally all debris liable to ferment, decompose, or become
harmful in any way shall be removed daily from the workrooms, put aside
and regularly cleared away, burnt, or buried, so that no nuisance may arise.
A bt. 12. The cleansing of the work places shall be done in such a way as
to avoid creating dust, and, as far as possible, out of working hours.
A bt. 13. In places where considerable quantities of liquids may be scattered
about, the floor shall be impervious, and so constructed as to obviate any
accumulation.
A bt. 14. In places where work of an unhealthy character is carried on the
workers shall wear a working garment, which they shall take off before leaving
the establishment.
A cloakroom, with lavatories, shall be placed at their disposal.
The occupiers or managers shall prohibit their workers from taking food
in places used for handling poisonous materials.
A bts . 15 and 16. Sanitary conveniences.
A bt. 17. Either water of good quality, or a hygienic drink, shall be put at
the disposal of the staff.
A bt. 18. No polluted water shall be used in the workrooms, either for grind
ing or sprinkling.
G.— ROYAL DECREE OF JAN U AR Y 29, 1863.
Procedure for issuing licenses to establishments classified as dangerous, un
healthy, or likely to cause a nuisance.
H .— LAW OF DECEMBER 24, 1903.
Compensation for injuries resulting from industrial accidents.
8

NETHERLANDS.
T ranslation of E xtract from R oyal D ecree of J uly 13, 1906, R epealing the

Royal D ecree of March 16, 1903, as F inally A mended by the R oyal De
cree of May 8, 1906, and E stablishing a R egulation fob General Admin
istration, in A ccordance with A rticle 4 of the Labob Law,

A rticle 1. The work places in factories and workshops are classified, as re
gards the provisions contained in articles 2 to 9, inclusive, into categories A, B,
C, D, E, F, and G.
Category A includes the places wherein, as a preliminary to the manufacture
of ceramic .goods, enamels, or enameled articles, materials are regularly pre
pared or worked which contain more than one-half per cent of their weight in

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

185

the dry state of lead or compounds of lead other than sulphide of lead (galena,
lead ore), or where these materials are regularly applied to articles, or where
injurious effects may arise from the applied materials in the opinion of the
authorized inspector.
A rt. 2. It is forbidden to employ a person under 16 years of age or a woman
in a work place included in category A of article 1, unless the following pro
visions are observed:
1. In the work place there must not be present—
(a ) Materials which contain lead compounds and which have not been vitri
fied by fusion;
(b) Materials which contain lead compounds and which yield as lead monox
ide more than 2£ per cent of the weight of the dried material when treated
with a weak solution of hydrochloric acid in the manner hereafter described.
One portion by weight of the dry material is to be shaken for an hour, at the
ordinary temperature, with 1,000 portions by weight of an aqueous solution of
hydrochloric acid which contains 0.25 per cent of hydrochloric acid. This mix
ture is to be allowed to stand for one hour and is then to be filtered. From
the clear filtrate the lead is to be precipitated as lead sulphide and weighed
as lead sulphate.
2. The principal or manager of the works or undertaking is required—
(a) So far as concerns the young persons or women, to be in possession of
a certificate setting forth that the constitution of each person or woman is not
of such a nature as to expose him or her to special danger in consequence of
this work. The certificate must, after examination, be given, in the form de
creed by the minister charged with the execution of this decree,1 by a doctor
appointed by the said minister, and can not remain valid for more than two
months.
(b) To produce this certificate immediately on demand by one of the officials
named in the first paragraph of section 18 of the labor law.
(c) To provide a place for the examination, which is deemed to be suit
able by the authorized inspector, after consultation with the appointed doctor.
( d ) If, in the opinion of the authorized inspector, after consultation (if
necessary) with the doctor nominated by the minister charged with the execu
tion of this decree,1 dangers of poisoning exist in the work place, to carry out
the regulation prescribed by the said inspector to remove the dangers.
3. The work place must, if the mean height is 3 meters [9.84 feet] or over,
contain a free air space for each worker of at least 7 cubic meters [247.20 cubic
feet]. If the mean height is 2.10 meters [6.89 feet] or over, but less than 3
meters [9.84 feet], the free air space for each worker must not be less than that
given by the formula—
2.80 h
A h —180
If the mean height is less than 2.10 meters [6.89 feet] the free air space for
each worker must not be less than 25 cubic meters [882.86 cubic feet].
By mean height is meant, in this article, the mean height between the floor
and the ceiling, or, if there is no ceiling, the roof.
In the formula set out in this article, A denotes the free air space in cubic
meters and h the height in centimeters.
4. In the factory or workshop wherein the work place is situated there must
be provided, inside the building, suitable washing conveniences, separated for
the sexes, to the number of at least one for every 5 young persons or women
who have simultaneous intervals for rest or meals. In each washing con
venience must be provided soap, nailbrushes, and towels; there must be pro
vision for the water which has been used to run off, and there must be a supply
of fresh water and of warmed water if the authorized inspector deems it neces
sary. The washing conveniences must, moreover, be installed in accordance
with the instructions given by the authorized inspector.
5. Sufficient time must be allowed to young persons and women immediately
before the conclusion of each period of work to enable them to make use of a
washing convenience, as set forth in subsection 4.
6. These young persons or women must not take their meals in the work place.
7. The floor of the work place must be scrubbed or mopped at least once a
week.
1 According to th e final clause of the decree this is the m inister of agriculture, industry,
and trade.

BULLETIN OF THE BUKEAU OF LABOR.

186

8. The floor of the work place must be suitably constructed and so arranged
that it can be kept properly clean and, if necessary, disinfected.
9. At the commencement of the morning and of the afternoon periods of em
ployment there shall be placed at the disposal of these young persons and
women an overall suitably washed and dried and which has not been used after
having been washed.
Art. 9. Exemptions may be granted by or in the name of our minister
charged with the execution of this decree from the provisions set forth in
article 2, subsection 3, paragraphs 1, 2, and 3, and subsection 4.
Art. 10. (Gives general powers to inspectors to take samples.)
Art. 11. (Gives general powers to deal with dust and fumes in factories and
workshops.)
A rt. 18. This decree comes into force on the second day after its publication
in the Staatsblad and Staatscourant.
Date of publication, August 1, 1906, Staatscourant No. 177; Staatsblad No.
204.
French translation, Annuaire de la Legislation du Travail, public par l’Office
du Travail de Belgique, 10e ann£e, 1906, p. 373.
T ranslation op P aragraph 5 of the R oyal D ecree of A ugust 10,1909, R epeal
ing the R oyal D ecree of J uly 13, 1906, as F inally A mended by the R oyal
D e c r e e o f S e p t e m b e r 17, 1906, a n d E s t a b l i s h i n g a R e g u l a t i o n f o r G e n e r a l
A dministration , in A ccordance with A rticle 4 of the L abor L aw .
P aragraph

5 .—

F actories and w orksh o ps in w h ich ceram ic in d u stries are
ca rried on .

A
33. The provisions of this paragraph relate to work performed in
factories and workshops where ceramic industries are carried on, in so far
as lead compounds are prepared, applied, or used which contain more lead
than one-half per cent of the weight in a dry condition, in a form other than sul
phide of lead (galena, lead ore), or in so far as objects are therein treated to
which such lead compounds are applied.
This work is classified into categories A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H.
Category A comprises work in rooms where, or where as a rule, the prepara
tion of glaze takes place, including grinding, sifting, mixing, and making of
glaze.
Category B: Glazing (dipping biscuit into the dipping tub or applying glaze
in any other manner, e. g., by spraying).
Category C : Work other than that belonging to the preceding category, which
is performed when applying glaze to articles, namely:
(1) Putting up (the regular handing of biscuit to the dipper).
(2) Taking off (the receiving of dipped articles).
(3) Giving of finishing touches to the coating of glaze or removing of super
fluous glaze, in so far as this is not done in glost placing.
(4) Carrying away (taking of dipped articles to the glost-placing shop).
(5) Washing of boards, cleaning of tubs.
(6) The taking of saggers to the oven.
Category D : The work which is performed in glost placing (placing of dipped
articles in saggers) or, when no saggers are used, the work consisting in the
placing of dipped articles in the ovens.
Category E : The work consisting in the preparation, grinding, and mixing of
ceramic colors.
Category F : The work consisting in—
(1) The decoration of glazed articles;
(2) The application of ceramic colors to articles by spraying or dusting;
when either is done in a manner which is considered dangerous by the prin
cipal inspector for the district in consultation with a medical officer of the
labor-inspection department.
Category G : The work consisting in—
(1) The application of ceramic colors to biscuit or glost ware by printing
or painting;
(2) The decoration of dipped articles or the application of ceramic colors
to articles by spraying or dusting;
when either is done in a manner which is considered but little dangerous by the
principal inspector for the district in consultation with a medical officer of the
labor-inspection department.
r t ic l e

INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING IN EUROPE.

187

Category H: Work not mentioned in the foregoing categories carried on in
rooms where work belonging to one or more of the foregoing categories is done
and in circumstances in which there is danger of poisoning in the opinion of
the principal inspector for the district in consultation with a medical officer of
the labor-inspection department.
For purposes of this paragraph there shall be understood—
By biscuit, baked ware not covered with varnish or glaze.
By glaze, the mass with which biscuit is covered in order to obtain a vitreous
coating by heating.
By glost ware, the earthenware on which the glaze has been changed into a
vitreous coating by heating.
A
. 34. It is forbidden to cause a person under 16 years of age, or a woman,
to perform work belonging to categories A, B, E, or F of article 33.
A
. 35. It is forbidden to cause a person under 16 years of age, or a married
woman, to perform work belonging to category C of article 33.
It is forbidden to cause an unmarried woman to perform such work, unless,
in respect of her, the provisions of article 21, subsections 4, 5, and 7, and of
article 25, subsection 1, as also the following provisions, are observed:
1. The glaze to be applied shall contain no lead compounds which have not
been vitrified by fusion.
2. When treated with an aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid containing
0.25 per cent of hydrochloric acid, in accordance with the method indicated in
the last paragraph [of this article], the glaze to be applied shall not yield more
than 2 \ per cent of monoxide of lead in solution.
3. There must be available in the factory or workshop a dated certificate
showing that the bodily condition of the woman is not of such a nature that
this work would involve special danger for her.
This certificate must be issued either by a medical officer of the labor-in
spection department nominated by our minister, or by another medical man
nominated by our minister, and it must be entered in a register of the form
prescribed by our minister, and which must be kept in the manner also to be
determined by our minister.
The certificate shall not be older than three months; it may be withdrawn
at any time by the medical officer of the labor-inspection department nominated
in pursuance of the preceding paragraph.
The register must be immediately produced for perusal upon the application
of one of the officials mentioned in the first paragraph of article 18 of the
labor law.
For the purpose of the medical examination a room must be available which
is suitable for the purpose in the opinion of the principal inspector for the
district, after consultation with the nominated medical officer of the laborinspection department.
4. In the factory or workshop no food shall be eaten by the woman, nor
shall she remain during a mealtime, except in a room set apart for meals and
fitted up in accordance with the requirements made by the principal inspector
for the district.
The method mentioned in the second paragraph, subsection 2, is as follows:
One part by weight (if possible 1 gram) of the substance dried at 100° C. [212°
F.] to a constaut weight is shaken for 1 hour with 1,000 parts by weight of an
aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid containing 0.25 per cent of hydrochloric
acid. The mixture is then allowed to settle for 1 hour, after which the
liquid, which is settled as much as possible, is drawn off by a siphon and com
pletely clarified by filtration. In a known part of the clear filtrate, which must,
however, not contain less than three-fourths of the original quantity of liquid,
the lead is precipitated as sulphide of lead by means of sulphureted hydrogen.
The sulphide of lead is next dissolved by heating with dilute nitric acid <s. g.
1.2). After removing the excess of nitric acid by evaporation on the water
bath, the lead is precipitated as lead sulphate by means of an excess of dilute
sulphuric acid with the addition of double the volume of alcohol. If besides
the lead sulphate, other salts, which are precipitable by alcohol, are contained
in the solution, no alcohol is added. After at least 12 hours have elapsed
the lead sulphate is separated by filtration; if precipitated by means of alcohol
it is washed with this liquid, and if no alcohol was added for precipitation,
first with dilute sulphuric acid and afterwards with alcohol. The weight of the
precipitate is next ascertained after heating it to a dull-red heat and cooling
it down in the desiccator. Finally the weight of monoxide of lead is calculated
from the weight of lead sulphate found.
99823°—No. 95—11---- 13
rt

188

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

Abt. 36. It is forbidden to cause a person under 16 years of age to perform
work belonging to category D of article 33.
It is forbidden to cause a woman to perform such work unless the provisions
of article 21, subsections 4, 5, and 7; of article 25, subsection 1; and of article
35, subsections 1, 2, 3, and 4, are observed in regard to her.
A
. 37. It is forbidden to cause a person under 16 years of age, or a woman,
to perform work belonging to category G of article 33, unless the provisions of
article 21, subsection 7, are observed in regard to him or her.
A
. 38. It is forbidden to cause a person under 16 years of age, or a woman,
to perform work belonging to category H of article 33, unless, in regard to him
or her, the provisions of article 21, subsections 4, 5, and 7, and of article 35,
subsections 3 and 4, are observed in so far as compliance with those provisions
is necessary in the opinion of the authorized principal inspector for the district.
S
R
S
A
21
25 R
.
A
21. Subsection 4. Weekly provision of a clean overall for young
persons under 16, and women, marked for the exclusive use of the worker to
whom it is supplied.
The district inspector may prescribe more frequent provision of a clean
overall, and the shape and manner of marking the overalls.
Subsection 5. Cloakroom for outdoor clothing put off during working hours.
Subsection 7. Washing accommodation within the building, separated accord
ing to the sexes; the number of washing places to be so large that not more
than 5 persons having simultaneous periods of rest need make use of the
same washing place. Soap, nailbrushes, and towels to be available. Provision
to be made for escape of dirty water and supply of clean water. (Warm water
to be supplied if considered necessary by the district inspector.) Sufficient
time to be allowed at the termination of each period of work for the use of the
washing place.
A
. 25. Subsection 1. Free air space for each worker of at least 10 cubic
meters [353.14 cubic feet]; in calculating the free air space only those parts of
the room of which the height amounts to 3 meters [9.84 feet] or more to be
taken into account.
Date of publication of this decree, August 12, 1909, Staatsblad No. 290.
rt

u m m a r y of

e q u ir e m e n t s in

r t ic l e

u b se c t io n s in

r t ic l e s

an d

e ferred to

THE WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES, WITH AN
APPENDIX ON THE LEAD-OXIDE INDUSTRY.
BY ALICE H A M IL T O N , M . A ., M . D.
INTRODUCTION.

This study of the white-lead industry in the United States, made
in the first half of the present year, covers all of the 25* factories
known to be manufacturing white lead, with the .exception of two
on the Pacific coast and one in New Jersey, the owner of the latter
having refused admission to the investigator. Although inspection
of this factory was not permitted the writer gathered what informa
tion was possible from workmen about conditions there and made the
same search for cases of lead poisoning contracted there as in the other
factories. The figures given later include the cases in this factory.
The other 22 factories were inspected usually more than once to
see the conditions under which the work was carried on, and then
an effort was made to discover the extent of lead poisoning among
the employees. This involved a study of hospital and dispensary
records and also interviews with local physicians and druggists and
with the workmen.
As a result of this investigation 358 specific cases of lead poisoning,
16 of them resulting in death, are known to have occurred in the 16
months from January 1,1910, to April 30,1911, in these 23 white-lead
factories.1 The regular force required to run these factories is only
about 1,600 men, but a far larger number than this, perhaps even
five times as many, pass in and out of the white-lead industry in the
course of a year. It is certain that these figures much understate the
actual extent of lead poisoning, for the labor in white-lead factories is
largely unskilled, foreign, and very shifting in character, and cases
of lead poisoning of workmen who have left the employment are
extremely difficult to trace.
The white-lead industry in the United States differs much from
that in England, although the process used in most American fac
tories is the same as that used in the English. While individual
factories may differ fairly widely they yet resemble each other
more than they resemble English factories. Still greater is the dif
ference between the American and the German factories, because the
chamber process used in Germany is never seen over here. The coun
try that uses methods most nearly like ours is Belgium. The essen
tial difference between American methods and the English and the
1 For cases of poisoning among lead-oxide workers, see p. 258.

189

190

BULLETIN OE THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

German methods is that in America the white carbonate of lead is
separated from the unchanged metallic lead which has escaped cor
rosion by a dry process, while in England and in Germany the process
is wet. As dust is the great danger in work with white lead, it
follows that an American factory even at its best is much more dan
gerous than an English or a German factory.
There was until very recently no legislative control of the whitelead industry in the United States aside from the laws governing all
factories, and even now special legislation has been passed in one
State only, namely, Illinois. Much has been done voluntarily by
employers to protect their men from the dangers of this work, but
when protection depends altogether on the good will of the employer
it is obvious that very bad conditions may go uncorrected. This is
especially true when the factory is not under the direct control of the
owner.
Many of the men acting as managers and superintendents in whitelead plants were greatly interested in the suggestions offered for
making the work safer, but it was evident, especially in the case of
men who had been a long time in this sort of work, that lead poison
ing had been regarded by them as inevitable and it had not occurred
to them to look for its causes and try to remove them.
In going through these factories the writer was often struck by. the
apparent blindness of the superintendent and foreman to very
obvious dangers, to quite unnecessary dust production. This proved
to be due partly to long habit, partly to curious ideas concerning the
hygiene* of white-lead work. Some apparently well-meaning men
would declare that tobacco chewing was the best preventive for lead
poisoning and complain because they found difficulty in teaching the
habit to their Italian workmen. English and German laws, of course,
forbid tobacco chewing in any factory where poisonous lead com
pounds are handled. One foreman explained that there was no hot
water in the lavatory because hot water would melt the white lead on
the men’s hands and drive it in through the pores, though he ad
mitted that cold water was practically useless for cleansing purposes.
Many foremen asserted that gloves were the best protection, being
under the impression that white lead is absorbed through the skin,
and consequently these men ignored dust.
Even more striking was the ignorance shown by owners or man
agers as to actual sickness among their men. Several times men ap
parently quite sincere maintained that there was no lead poisoning at
all in their factories. In one instance the manager said that they had
had but two cases in 7 years; 17 cases were found in the hospital rec
ords of some 15 months. Another manager challenged the writer to
find one case for which his factory was responsible, and 21 were found
scattered through two years’ time. This manager promptly installed

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

191

a physician as medical examiner, a measure he had up to that time
considered quite superfluous.
American white-lead men have for the most part no knowledge of
the industry as carried on in other countries; some do not seem even
to know about the methods used in American factories other than
their own, and when a criticism is made of an obviously bad feature
they seem to have no idea that it is possible to do the work in any
other way. It is plain that uniform legislation, establishing a cer
tain standard of safety and cleanliness, would be of value not only in
compelling backward owners to adopt the same measures that their
more progressive competitors have taken of their own free will, but
also in educating the men in charge of the work. The necessary
improvements do not in most cases involve expensive reconstruction.
What is especially needed is intelligent control of the work—control
based upon knowledge of the dangers inherent in handling white
lead.
American factories are often large and finely constructed; in fact,
much better built and more lavishly equipped than the English or the
German factories. In the most recent ones machinery has been de
veloped to a very high point. Yet, even in the best of them, one finds
now and then a neglected spot, a relic perhaps of the old factory, in
the shape of a room with an old dusty floor, or an unprotected open
ing through which dry white lead must be thrown, or some similar
neglect of* an essential detail. There may even be found a lack of
ordinary housekeeping, as when in an otherwise admirable factory
no place has been provided for poorly corroded lead or fo^ anr excess
of scrap lead, so that it sometimes happens that great heaps of this
poisonous stuff lie about exposed to drafts and to the passage of the
men to and fro.
The lack of legislative control makes possible the survival of old,
overcrowded, outworn factories in which there may be hardly a single
place where it is safe to work. Fortunately more and more of these
are being abandoned and the tendency is toward concentration of
the white-lead industry in a few large factories with modem equip
ment. Of the 22 white-lead plants which were inspected 9 are of
modern construction with machinery displacing hand labor to a great
extent; three are older and not so well equipped; and 10 are old with
handwork chiefly. It would not, however, be fair to assume that the
newest plants are the safest or that the old are necessarily dangerous.
One of the best constructed of the new factories was, when first seen,
quite as dangerous to work in as all but the worst of the old ones, and
several of the oldest had been made safer than the majority of better
built factories by scrupulous attention to cleanliness and to the avoid
ance of dust.

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

The hygiene of a factory really depends much more upon the man
agement than upon the construction. For instance, careless manage
ment of a beautiful new factory brought about such a condition of
things that during the fourth and fifth months of its operation 11
men out of a pay roll of 50 developed severe lead poisoning. In
contrast to this, one of the oldest factories, employing 75 men, had
only one case of acute lead poisoning during the four months just
preceding the writer’s inspection. This difference could not be attrib
uted to anything but the difference in management and control.
The essentials of good construction of a white-lead factory are the
following: The floors must be of some impermeable material (cement,
stone, or sheet metal), not of wood. There must be ample space
so that the dusty processes are not crowded in with the nondusty.
There must be light enough to show dust and dirt. The water supply
must be abundant and well distributed, so that the floors can be
easily sprinkled. The ventilation required depends upon the charac
ter of the work. It is seldom that there are many people working
in one room; and if there is much dry powder about, the wind from
open windows adds to the danger. An efficient and ample dust
collecting system is essential.
Since in all of the 22 factories visited a cordial reception was given
to the investigator and comment was invited upon conditions in the
factory and suggestions as to the care of the men, it seemed better to
comply with this request at once rather than to wait for the publi
cation of this report. Therefore the notes made during the inspec
tion, supplemented by information gained from the outside, were
always discussed with the manager or superintendent of the factory
shortly after the inspection was made. The employers showed them
selves not only ready but eager for suggestions, and in most instances
prompt in carrying them out. Eleven of the 22 factories have already
put in improvements which in several instances required a large out
lay of money. Five have indicated an intention to make important
changes, four are regarded as probably to be abandoned before long,
and there are only three which are apparently to continue operating
as before without making any radical improvement in hygienic con
ditions.
Because of the great improvement that has taken place during the
last 18 months in the 11 factories mentioned it is only fair to give
two descriptions of each, showing the state of things not only at the
time the inspection was made, but also at the time of writing. The
National Lead Co., which is variously stated to produce from twothirds to three-fourths of the total output of white lead in the United
States, has the great advantage of being able to profit by the experi
ments carried on in all its factories in the matter of dustless work
and of hygienic regulations. The independent owners have naturally

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

193

a harder problem, for each has only his own experience to go by, yet
several of them had at the time this study was made brought their
factories up to as high a standard as any in the country.
OLD DUTCH PROCESS.

The old Dutch process is that most commonly used in the United
States, all but 5 of the 23 factories that form the subject of this report
making their white lead by this process.1 It consists in changing
metallic lead to the basic carbonate, “ white lead,” by subjecting it to
the vapors of acetic acid, water, and carbon dioxide, in the presence
of heat, for a period of about 90 days. For this purpose sheets of
metallic lead are buried together with acetic acid in spent tanbark,
the fermentation of which produces the carbon dioxide and the
amount of heat needed to favor chemical action.
The process begins with the casting of plates of lead which are
known as “ blue buckles.” These are thin plates about 5 or 6 inches
in diameter and a quarter to an eighth of an inch thick which, with
their circular rim and cross bars, resemble in shape an old-fashioned
shoe buckle. In the United States casting is always mechanical.
The melted lead flows out into molds which pass rapidly along on an
endless belt, and as the belt turns over the buckles fall off. The cast
ing room is usually quite separate from the rest of the factory, but
not always. The kettle or kettles are usually hooded to catch the
fumes which may escape. When pig lead only is melted there is not
much danger from fumes, but it is customary to use also for casting
dross from the kettle and scrap lead from the mill; that is, the cores
of uncorroded lead, which always have some white dead clinging to
them and are bad to handle and bad to melt. In some factories the
scrap is dampened before it is conveyed to the casting room and is
added to the kettle while still moist. This, however, takes care and
skill, for if too much damp scrap is thrown in at once and sinks to
the bottom of the kettle the sudden evolution of steam may cause an
explosion. For this reason many foremen insist that it is impossible
to melt wet scrap although it is being done all the time in several
American factories. One manager is experimenting with oil, which
keeps down the dust effectively and which, he believes, is safer to
handle than water. The presence of dry scrap is often the greatest
source of danger in the casting room when it is allowed to lie in heaps
on the floor and no precautions are taken in handling it. Another
possible source of dust is the dross skimmed from the kettle. The
men often drop this on the floor around the kettle and later scrape it
up and sweep the floor without sprinkling. If the scrap is handled
wet, if dross is dropped into a receptacle and not on the floor, and if
1 One of the five factories uses both the old D utch and a precipitation process.

194

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

these are added cautiously to the kettle or melted only at night when
no one is working in the room, there need be no danger of poisoning
the men in the casting room. The blue buckles are handled either
with pitchforks or with gloved hands because they are hot.
The following is a description of a model casting room: The cast
ing is done in a separate building in the yard which has a cement
floor. The ventilation is ample; the two kettles are well hooded.
Scrap lead from the mill is conveyed by traveling crane in large
trucks and left in these trucks till it is needed. The scrap is kept
slightly damp so that there is no escape of dust when it is handled,
and it is added in small quantities at a time to the kettles. The
cement floor is perfectly clean, all skimmings of dross being dropped
into a metal receptacle. The blue buckles fall from the casting ma
chine directly into cars which are carried by traveling crane to the
stacks.
In contrast to this is the following: The casting room is a small
shed in the center of the stack house and therefore without any direct
ventilation. Great heaps of scrap lead, quite dry and dusty, lie over
the floor. One man was throwing them from a shovel to the side of
the room next the kettle and another man was shoveling them into
the kettle. The air was full of dust; the men walked to and fro over
this scrap lead and no effort was made to keep the floor clean or to
prevent dust. The kettle is, however, well hooded. Not far from
this .casting room, within the stack house, is a second kettle for experi
mental work. This also has heaps of dry scrap lying about and the
place Is tfedered still dustier by the close proximity of an experi
mental separating machine, which is imperfectly inclosed and allows
dust to escape.
STACK HOUSE OR YARD.

Either on a traveling crane or by wheeling in trucks or barrows
the blue buckles are carried to the stack house or corroding shed.
This is a large one-story building, divided into chambers or stacks,
which in the older factories are built of planks and in newer ones of
cement and planks. The chambers sometimes open directly into the
yard, but more often they open on a central corridor, roofed over,
forming a part of the stack house. 44Setting ” o r44building ” a stack,
which is done by the 44setting gang,” consists in placing the blue
buckles in porous earthenware jars which contain dilute acetic acid,
and in standing these jars side by side in rows on a layer of spent
tanbark from the tanneries. Each jar is furnished with a small nar
row compartment at the bottom, which contains the acid, and the lead
buckles are placed in the upper part so that only the vapor from the
acid reaches them. When the layer of pots is complete it is covered
with planks, tanbark is heaped on the planks, and another layer of

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

195

jars is placed on this tanbark, and so on, layer by layer, until the
stack has been built up to the desired height. There is always suffi
cient ventilation at the top of the stack. Here the buckles are left
to undergo corrosion for a period of about 90 days. If the stack
is set with fresh buckles only, the work is attended with very little
risk, for there is no dust; and the most ordinary cleanliness is sufficient
to protect a man against poisoning from the metallic lead which may
cling to his fingers. Unfortunately it is the almost universal custom
to mix in with the fresh buckles the larger pieces of scrap lead which
have escaped corrosion in a former stack. These are covered more
or less , thickly with white lead and can not be handled without
danger from dust unless they are first dampened. In some few
factories the scrap is handled damp, but as a usual thing it is dry.
Even when damp it is a source of risk unless the men wash carefully
the poisonous white lead from their hands before eating.
So far there has been nothing in the work necessarily and unavoid
ably dangerous, but the opening and emptying of the ripe stacks as
done at present in the United States is always and necessarily dan
gerous. This part of the work is known as “ stripping ” or “ draw
ing” or “ discharging ” a stack. After shoveling off the tanbark,
which contains scraps of white lead and which must be treated by
washing or burning to recover the lead, the pots of white buckles or
corrosions must be lifted and emptied into open wheelbarrows, cars,
or pails. No method has been devised for protecting the workmen
who do this from the dust which inevitably rises. In England and
in Germany stacks or chambers must be thoroughly sprinkled before
the corrosions are removed, but American methods make that im
possible because the corroded buckles must go dry into the separating
machine. In some factories the stacks are solidly built and the side
exposed when discharging is going on opens into the stack house. In
others the construction is not so solid and the exposed side opens into
the yard or even on the outside of the building. Such a stack is
much more open to the wind, and therefore more dusty.
In the very best factories where machinery is being carried to its
greatest development and every protective device against dust intro
duced, there still remains the stack house with its primitive hand
work. The picture is practically the same in all. In a partlyinclosed chamber four to eight men lift pots of white buckles, some
times slightly damp, but not enough so to prevent dust, and empty
them into a large receptacle which stands near, always knocking the
pot against the side of the latter to dislodge the last particles. With
each pot emptied comes a cloud of dust, and there are hundreds of
pots. Only in one or two details is any difference in methods seen.
For instance, there may be two acts of emptying, doubling the

196

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

amount of dust—that is, instead of dropping the whi{e buckles
directly into a car in which they are to be transported, the pots may
be first emptied into pails which are carried to the edge of the stack
and which are then emptied into a car standing outside. Here, of
course, there is more dust than where there is only one handling.
If work is in the top layers of the stack, there is an escape for the
dust, but in the bottom layers when the stacks open into a central
corridor the dust is not carried out. It is a question, however,
whether the more exposed stacks are not worse than the closed ones,
for the wind can enter, drying the corrosions and stirring up the
dust. Just as street sweeping is dustier on a windy than on a still
day, a windy stack is worse than one more shut in. One of the most
dangerous stack houses to work in is situated in the open country,
exposed to all the winds, and so built that the outer wall is the one
taken down in stripping.
Aside from the act of emptying the pots, stack discharging involves
several other processes less dangerous, but not altogether free from
peril. The tanbark which is left over after the pots have been
emptied is full of particles of white lead. This must be put into
receptacles and transported either to the oxide department, if there
is one, or more often to a trough or washing box, where the tanbark
is floated off and the carbonate falls to the bottom. The planks upon
which each layer of pots rested also have particles of white lead stick
ing to them, and the workmen habitually knock the planks against
the side of the stack to get them clean. Then the empty pots have
white lead clinging to them and in handling them the men become
smeared with it. Still worse is the method often employed of treat
ing buckles which for some reason have undergone imperfect corro
sion and are hard and “ off color.” These are usually picked out by
hand as the pots are emptied and thrown into a special receptacle.
The separation of this off-color lead from its inner core is done by
hand either inside the stack or more often out in the yard. This is
exceedingly dusty work.
THE DUMP.

It is the duty of the men employed in the stack house to convey
the white corroded buckles either by hand, in wheelbarrows or boxes,
or by traveling crane to the machine known as the separator. Here
the white carbonate is crushed to a powder and the particles of still
uncorroded "lead (scrap) are flattened out by means of rolls so that
they can be caught by a succession of screens and removed. These
uncorroded pieces, or returns, are known by various names. The
largest ones are sometimes called “old buckles,” or simply scrap; the
ones removed by the second screen are known as “ nickels ”; and those
from the third as “ fines,” or sometimes “ tailings.”

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTKY IN UNITED STATES.

197

The important features of the separator are: The place where the
white buckles are thrown in, the “ dump ”; the places where the
returns are thrown out; and the way in which the machine is inclosed.
The dump is usually out of doors, in the side of the mill building;
less often in the mill itself. White buckles are conveyed to it either
by hand in an open wheelbarrow—rarely in a two-handled box
carried by two men—or, in the more modern factories, by traveling
crane. Hand trucking is open to serious objections, for the dust from
the buckles blows back in the workman’s face.
In one or two new factories the whole process of conveying and
emptying the car of white buckles is mechanical, being controlled by
a man at a safe distance. Many factories, however, which have ma
chinery for carrying the cars, still require the presence of a man at
the dump to detach the car, tip it over, and reattach it, and therefore
the construction of the dump is a matter of great importance. In the
older factories, where the work in the yard is done by hand, the
dump may be one of the dangerous spots. A great many devices
are used to carry off the dust which escapes when the white buckles
are emptied into the separator, but none is absolutely satisfactory.
A well-constructed dump is provided with a hood and a strong ex
haust to suck in the dust. The opening is of the same shape as the
car and a little smaller, so that the inverted car fits over it, and in
addition there is a strong air exhaust into the separator. The whole
thing is then inclosed in a chamber or shed, so that the workman can
roll in the car, tip it over, and immediately step out, closing the door
behind him. Unfortunately, it is very rare to find all of these safe
guards in any one factory, and in some there is no protection at all
against dust.
The following is a description of a fairly good example of a handoperated dump in one of the older factories: The dump is outside the
mill building in a small wooden house; the traveling crane brings the
truck of white buckles to the door of this house; two men push it in,
tip it on one side at the opening, and then come out. The white
buckles work down very slowly through a large opening, which is
furnished with a wide pipe containing an air exhaust and situated
directly above the opening. Except for the cloud of dust which rises
when the truck is first tipped over, there is no dust, and the shed,
which is 2 years old, shows very little white lead on the walls.
As an instance of a very dangerous dump the following may be
given: In one of the rooms of the mill, which serves also for other
purposes, is the opening into the separator. A very large truckful
of white corrosions stands about 6 feet from this dump and two work
men stand between the truck and the dump lifting the white lead in
shovels, and stirring up dust as they do it, then throwing it into a
wide opening, where it slides down an inclined plane to the first

198

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

roller. The lead feeds slowly into this roller and it also sticks to
the slide, so the men must keep poking and pounding it with their
shovels to hasten its passage. Over this dump is a hood with a good
exhaust, but it is about 6 feet from the floor, so that only part of the
dust is caught by it, and as it does not extend over the car all the dust
raised by shoveling escapes into the room. The top of the hood, the
floor, the walls and ceiling are white with dust, as are the men’s
clothes. Other men are at work in this same room. This mill is now
in course of reconstruction and conditions are being greatly improved.
THE SEPARATING MACHINE.

An additional source of danger at the dump is the proximity of the
vents to the separating machine through which fall the different
sized fragments of uncorroded lead. Usually these vents are close
beside the dump. There is a great difference in the efficiency of dif
ferent separating machines, and one sees scrap lead which is almost
clean and scrap lead covered with white lead dust. In mills where
no precautions are taken the scrap is a source of much danger. The
best arrangement is to be seen in one factory where mechanical devices
are unusually well developed. The largest scrap drops into cars which
go automatically to discharge into the melting pot or into a storage
hopper. The “ nickels ” and “ fines ” run through pipes to closed
receptacles outside the building. More usual is some such device as
the following: Near the dump is a triple hopper which catches the
cores, nickels, and fines from the separator, each in a special com
partment. Each compartment has a door and the workman opens it,
rakes out the contents and shovels them into open cars, with clouds of
dust. The small returns are taken to the melting pot, the large to
the stacks for resetting, all being handled dry. The side of the mill
at this place is all white with dust.
While inside the separator the white lead does not need to be han
dled, nor is there any escape of dust if the separator is properly
inclosed, as it usually is. Only when the machinery gets clogged or
out of order must it be opened, and this is recognized as very dan
gerous work. In a few of the oldest factories the separators leak
somewhat, and if they are not in separate rooms they contaminate
the air of the mill. The machine should always be housed separately,
for otherwise when it must be repaired the dust spreads into the
rooms where the men are working.
THE WATER-MILL SYSTEM.

From the separator the ground white lead is discharged directly
into water and goes through many processes of washing, grinding,
straining, and settling to rid it of fragments of tanbark, of lead

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199

acetate, of uncorroded lead, and of the neutral carbonate or “ sandy
lead.” In all but the oldest mills the discharge from the separator
is so arranged that the powder falls into water with no escape of dust.
From here it passes to the water mills, then usually into tubs, where
it is agitated to keep the powder from settling while it is being
pumped to shaker screens or bolters, where the tan bark and the
coarsest particles are removed. The fine powder which has passed
the screens goes to the drag box and then to the rake tubs, or
mixing tubs, in all of which more of the coarse residue is removed,
and finally to settling tubs, where it remains till pumped to the dry
ing pans. The coarse particles removed during this process and
known as “ tailings ” are usually handled wet and are not a source of
danger. Their ultimate destination is an oxide factory.
All this time the lead is in water and this part of the mill can
be quite free from danger if the simplest precautions are used, for
unless tubs leak or spill and the overflow is allowed to dry on the
floor there is no possible source of dust. Accidents sometimes occur
when in agitating the suspension of white lead and water the mixture
suddenly foams up and spreads over the tanks and floor; ordinary
carefulness would require that this be removed before it has time to
dry, but this is not always done and then the work of cleaning up
is very bad.
Two contrasting descriptions of the water-mill system in typical
factories follow: The mill is scrupulously clean, even the walls,
which are made of rough brick, are free from white dust. The smooth^
cement floors are swept with wet sawdust. The separator is inclosed
in separate rooms. It is impossible to guess from the appearance of
the water-mill rooms what material is being handled there.
The second factory is quite different. No dry processes are carried
on in these rooms, yet they are as dusty as many drying rooms. The
floor is of old wood, worn rough, evidently swept dry, and very dusty.
The ceilings and walls are white with dust. The only explanation of
this condition given by the foreman was that the tubs leaked pretty
badly. Another source of dust is to be seen at the window, the sides
and sill of which are crusted with white lead. It is the custom of the
workmen to throw the tailings out of this window in such a way that
they splash over the edges and sill. On the ground outside lies a
heap of these tailings waiting transportation in freight cars to an
oxide factory. The side of the mill here is crusted with white lead
and the place must be a source of dust on a dry, windy day. This
last feature, however, has already been abolished in this factory, for
the manager recognized that it was both wasteful and dangerous.

200

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR*
THE DRY-PAN ROOM OR “ KILN.”

When pulp lead is made the lead and water mixture from the set
tling tubs is simply ground with oil without drying, the oil gradu
ally displacing the water. This is the ideal process considered from
the hygienic point of view, but unfortunately there is but one factory
producing nothing but pulp lead; the others all deal in dry white
lead as well and in lead ground dry in oil. In order to obtain this
dry lead the product of the settling tubs is pumped into great double
jacketed copper drying pans, placed on£ over the other in the drying
room. In some factories this room is kept very hot, with the windows
closed; in others it is abundantly ventilated, the amount of air de
pending upon the theories of evaporation held by different superin
tendents. This drying room or “ kiln ” is always the most dangerous
part of a white-lead factory and is so recognized. Some rooms are
worse than others, but essentially they are very similar and always
bad. When a pan is to be emptied the windows are opened and the
men enter and shovel the dry powder usually into open trucks, some
times into barrels, sometimes directly into openings in the floor.
In addition to the inevitable dangers, there are quite unnecessary
sources of dust in many factories. Thus, instead of giving the work
men long-handled shovels and instructing them to lay the powder
carefully in the car, they are given short shovels and are allowed to
pitch the powder to the car, standing a distance away. The floor
may be of rough material and swept dry, which process always raises
clouds of dust. The full trucks of dry white lead may be emptied into
unhooded dumps in the floor. The greater the number of tiers of
pans the greater the danger, because the man has a greater distance
to throw the dry lead; yet three or four tiers are the rule, a single tier
the exception. The work is so bad that in most places no precautions
are attempted except to expose the men as short a time as possible.
If the same men are employed continually, they are often given
shorter hours, but more often the men take turns at the work, empty
ing pans for a few days or a week or four weeks and then going back
to safer outdoor work, such as shoveling tanbark. Other factories
make it a rule not to use their regular help for this work, but hire
outsiders by the day whenever a pan is ready to be discharged. The
attitude of the employer is that the work is bad and there is no use
trying to make it safe.
How scrupulous care may diminish the danger is shown by the fol
lowing instance: The dry-pan room is the cleanest in the United
States. It is almost impossible to believe that the walls and ceiling
have not just been cleaned, for though the walls are of rough brick
and the ceiling of dark stained wood no white-lead dust is visible.
Yet pans have been emptied in this room for the past 18 years. The

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

201

floor is scrupulously clean. Care in handling the lead must be re
sponsible for the freedom from dust, because there are no new devices.
The pans are emptied by shovels, and there are three tiers of pans.
The foreman of the mill has worked here for 22 years, and states that
he always personally supervises the work in the pan room and does
not allow the men to raise dust, nor does he ever put entirely new men
to work at the pans, but employs mill hands.
An unusually deplorable state of affairs was seen in a factory much
newer than the above, but under careless management. The dry-pan
room is very bad. The floor is covered with white lead and is swept
without sprinkling. There are two connecting rooms, with three tiers
of pans. Six men were at work emptying pans, and one sweeping,
and as a strong wind blew through the open windows the air was
cloudy with dust. The trucks of dry white lead are emptied through
unprotected holes in the floor, which are then covered with badly
fitting trapdoors that allow the dust to escape through cracks. The
men are powdered with white lead, their hair, eyebrows, mustaches,
and nostrils all white.
The general recognition of the dangers inherent in dry-pan work
has led to many experiments to devise some substitute for this method
of drying white lead. So far no experiment has been successful, but
certain modifications in the mode of emptying the pans are apparently
proving useful and practical, and will result, if their use becomes
general, in decidedly diminishing the dangers in this part of the
factory. These devices are still trade secrets and can not yet be de
scribed in a public document.
The lead from the drying pan may now go through one of several
processes, according as it is to be ground in oil or sold dry.
GRINDING LEAD IN OIL.

In well-constructed factories the danger in this part of the work
is very slight. In poor factories it is often great, for primitive
methods of handling this dry lead are still rather common. In the
newest and best-equipped factories the white lead from the pans is
mechanically conveyed to a weighing hopper and then on to the oil
mixer, known as the “ chaser,” which is well covered, so that exposure
to dust is avoided. Once inside the chaser, the lead becomes incor
porated in oil and there is no more danger from dust.
Even in less modern factories, this part of the work may be very
well managed, as in the following instance: Open trucks of dry lead
from the kiln are carried by elevator directly to the chaser room,
where the powder is shoveled by hand into chasers, well inclosed in
cast iron, with an opening sufficiently large to admit the shovel only.
There is a good air exhaust within the chaser which draws the dust

202

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

in, and the room is fairly dust free. The two men working here had
pads of moist cheesecloth over the nose and mouth.
In contrast to this is the following chaser room: In the large grind
ing room moist and dusty processes are carried on. The water mills
are there, the chaser, the oil mixers, and a large putty machine.
There are three bins, or rather small wooden rooms, for the dry,
white lead, which are filled through holes in the ceiling from the
drying room above. In addition to the lead in these rooms there
are great heaps of it lying on the floor near the chaser and at the
door of one of the bins. There is no apparent necessity for this,
since at the time it was seen one of the bins was far from full. The
chaser stands beside two open windows; it is covered and has but one
opening. A man stood beside it filling it with white lead from the
pile beside the window. Quite near him was another man filling
small kegs with lead and oil, but exposed to the dust from the chaser
work almost as much as the chaser man himself.
PACKING DRY LEAD.

The lead from the drying pans which is not to be ground in oil is,
in a few instances, packed directly in barrels without pulverizing.
More often it is placed in a pulverizer and passes directly to a
mechanical barrel packer. If sold dry in small kegs, the kegs must
be packed by hand, an admittedly dangerous piece of work, which,
fortunately, is not common. When the mechanical packer is used
the work need not be dusty, but in practice it usually is, and the evil
is increased if the dusty pulverizer and packer are placed in the
same room with other parts of the machinery, such as the oil mills,
for then a larger number of men are exposed to the dust. The dusty
work, when it is dusty, consists in filling the pulverizer, managing
the mechanical barrel packer, rolling the barrel away when it is full,
and “ heading it up,” i. e., putting on the lid. All these processes
may be dustless or dusty, according to the care taken. The following
is a description of the work under careful management:
Dry lead from the pan room is carried mechanically along a
closed conveyor to the disintegrator or pulverizer, which connects
with the barrel packer on the floor below. The latter is inclosed on
three sides with wooden walls and the inclosure is ventilated by a
pipe with an electric fan which runs to the outer wall of the build
ing. The barrel stands on a low, wheeled truck on which it is easily
rolled away when full. The work was managed very carefully by
a man who wore a respirator. He wheeled away the full barrel,
evened off the top with a scoop, folded down the strong paper with
which the barrel was lined, placed another layer of paper on top, and
then closed the barrel with no visible escape of dust, and not till then
was the barrel rolled off the truck.

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An instance of careless management is the following: The barrel
packer stands uninclosed in the storage room. All around over the
floor lie heaps of white-lead dust. The pulverizer is filled through
an unprotected hole in the dry-pan room above. The barrels are not
lined. When the barrel is full it is standing on a level with the floor,
but as there is no device to facilitate its removal it must be grasped
by the workman, tipped a little, and rolled off. Each time he does
this he spills white lead on his clothes and on the floor. Heading-up
produces clouds of dust, and then the barrel is rolled over the dustcovered floor and out to the shipping room, leaving a track of white
behind it. Even the large, airy, shipping room is dusty because of
the presence of these smeared barrels.
DUST-COLLECTING SYSTEM.

Unless a factory is overcrowded and dusty work carried on in
close proximity to nondusty work there are no other danger spots
in a white-lead factory with the exception of the dust-collecting
system, which is peculiar to American and Belgian factories, and is
necessitated by the dry separation used in these countries. The dust
collectors are more or less extensive and elaborate, varying greatly
in this respect. The system is connected with the separator always,
and usually with the dump and vents from the separator, with the
pulverizer and barrel packer, with the chasers, and in a few instances
with the dump from the dry pans and with the dry pans themselves.
The system may be either wet or dry. In the former case the dust
is driven by fans along pipes to a chamber, which is usually on the
roof, where it is driven against sloping shelves over which run
streams of water. This is a very safe variety of dust collector, which
is unfortunately not usually seen and is being gradually replaced
altogether by the dry system. This last consists in collections of
strong canvas bags, long and narrow, suspended from the ceiling.
The dust is driven in at the top of the bags and settles in them. As
it clings to the sides it must be dislodged by shaking or beating the
bags. The bags terminate either free, with their ends knotted, or
more often in a bin or hopper into which the dust falls. Sometimes
bags hang in the open room, sometimes in a closed compartment.
Shaking and beating is of course productive of a good deal of dust,
except in the rare instances where the bags are inclosed and a longhandled stick is used, enabling the workman to stand outside the
inclosure while he does this. The bags break and tear from time to
time and must be repaired, and the danger of this work is greater
the more closely the bags are packed together. The best arrange
ment is to hang the bags in rows not more than three deep, which
makes access to them easy.
99823°—No. 95—11---- 14

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,
204
The following is the description of an excellent dust-collecting sys
tem: The dust room is a carefully sealed wooden chamber, the ceiling
of which is perforated with numerous holes and to each hole is
fastened the upper end of a large muslin bag 30 feet long and 6
inches in diameter. These bags, 56 in number, end in a hopper
which has a pipe running down into a water tank so that the dust
is collected under water. There is a strong air exhaust inside the
dust house and therefore it seldom needs cleaning. The bags are
shaken once a month by a man who enters the room for that purpose.
As a contrast this description will serve: Beside the pulverizer and
barrel packer is an old tubular dust collector with the bags hanging
free, their ends merely knotted, In order to empty them, a work
man rolls a car underneath, unties the ends of the bags and shakes
each bag to make the dust fall down. The floor is several inches
deep in dust and the walls, ceiling, and machinery are all covered
with it,
SUMMARY.

To recapitulate briefly the special features of white-lead manu
facture in the United States by the old Dutch process:
The methods of manufacture in the United States are of such a
character as to make the work necessarily more dangerous than in
England and Germany, for it is impossible to control the dust as
completely when dry separation is used as when the separation is
effected under water. Dry separation involves emptying the stacks
without sprinkling; it involves the discharge of dry returns from
the separator and the installing of an elaborate dust-collecting sys
tem, none of which features are present in English and German
factories. Moreover, the American method of drying the ground
white lead in great open pans which must be emptied by hand is
more productive of dust than the English and German methods of
drying. Consequently, in the very best and most carefully man
aged American factories there are always at least two danger spots—
the white beds and the dry pans. The indications are that the ex
perimental work now being carried on in some of the first-class fac
tories will result in eliminating, or at least greatly improving, these
two dangerous processes, but in the average American factory there
remain a good many dusty places. In fact, all of the following
processes are usually attended with danger:
Handling scrap.
Discharging stacks.
Dumping white buckles into the separator.
Repairing and cleaning separator.
Emptying dry pans.
Filling chasers.

WHITE-L*EAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

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Filling and heading up barrels.
Emptying and cleaning the dust collectors.
In a carelessly managed and crowded factory there may not be
one room free from dust and really safe to work in, and in the ab
sence of legislative control it is hardly to be hoped that all the evils
described above will be done away with. As can readily be seen
from the instances of bad management that were given, it is not a
matter so much of raising the standard of factory construction by
legislation as of raising the standard of factory control*
Before leaving the old Dutch process factories it is necessary to
state that a certain modification in method has been introduced and
is now in an experimental stage. This consists in eliminating the
wet grinding and substituting dry grinding in a cyclone mill, where
the heavier particles fall to the bottom and the light powder is driven
on by fans into proper receptacles. The lead is corroded in the
usual way and passed through the usual form of separator, but the
dry-pan room with its dangers is eliminated. On the other hand the
fact that the white lead is dry throughout opens the door for many
possible risks. In the two factories where this process was seen in
use it was evident that the machinery was still in the experimental
stage, involving much repairing and alteration and therefore quanti
ties of dust, but that is of course a temporary evil. Such a factory
will, however, always need an extensive dust-collecting system, which
is a disadvantage, but with satisfactory machinery and care it should
be possible to control the dust, and the method has the advantage of
requiring a smaller working force.
CARTER PROCESS.

The description just given of the white-lead industry in the United
States applies to the 19 factories east of the Pacific coast that use
the old Dutch process. In order to make it complete, a description
must be given of the three factories using a rapid modification of the
old Dutch process, known as the Carter process, the one using the
so-called Matheson process, and the one which uses a nonacid or Mild
process.
The Carter process is a rapid way of producing the basic carbonate
from pig lead by the action of acetic acid, water vapor, and carbon
dioxide. That is, it is essentially the same as the old Dutch process
but it is so modified as to do away with the use of tanbark and reduce
the corroding time from 90 days to 12 or 15 days. Corrosion is also
said to be more complete than by the old Dutch process.
The process begins in the blowing room. Pig lead is melted in a
large kettle, from which it flows in a little stream to a receptacle
where it is met by a blast of superheated steam that atomizes it to a

206

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

fine powder and drives it on into receptacles so arranged as to throw
the powdered lead to the bottom. It is this fine, more or less fluffy
powder that takes the place of the blue buckles in the old Dutch
process and, therefore, there is at the outset a new element of danger
in the Carter process. This powder was, at the time the inspection
of these three factories was made, shoveled out from the receptacle
or allowed to fall from it to the floor where it lay in a great heap
from which open trucks were filled. These trucks were then wheeled
by hand for some distance, in one instance-across the yard, and emp
tied. The atomized lead is light and blows about easily, and it was
admitted by the foremen that the men who did this work, “ blue
truckers ” they are called, suffered as much from lead poisoning as
the men in the white-lead departments. It is only fair to say that
after the unnecessary dangers inherent in this work were brought to
the attention of the manager of the best of these factories, he suc
ceeded in eliminating much of the danger by allowing the blue lead
to fall directly into a truck instead of on the floor. As there is a
strong air exhaust in the vent of the atomizer the powder which rises
is partly drawn back into it. The full truck is also well sprinkled
with water so as to keep the dust from blowing back into the
trucker’s face. A second factory using the Carter process has prom
ised to introduce this last precaution.
The atomized lead is then wheeled into the corroding room and
emptied into a cylinder or reel. This room is filled with cylinders,
which are large barrels placed on the side and revolving very slowly
so that the blue powder is turned over and over. Streams of carbon
dioxide are driven into the cylinder and a spray of acetic acid is
introduced from time to time through the opening in the front of the
cylinder by a man known as the “ sprinkler.” The lead tends to
cake on the sides of the cylinder, and must be removed by pounding
with wooden hammers on the outer surface, either by hand or me
chanically. The first corroding period lasts five or six days, and the
lead is then in little balls of carbonate with uncorroded particles in
the center. This must now be ground and corroded again. The
cylinder is stopped and the lead allowed to run through a hole in the
bottom into a truck and then taken off to the “ thresher” or
“ thrasher.”
The room containing the cylinders or reels is not necessarily dusty,
and in the best of the three Carter process factories it is fairly clean.
It all depends upon the care taken in handling the lead as it goes into
and comes out of the cylinders. In all three factories the blue lead is
poured into the cylinders through a canvas bag which extends from
the vent in the bottom of the truck to the dump in the top of the
cylinder, and which is designed to prevent the escape of dust. There
is, however, no such device in two of the factories to prevent the

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207

escape of dust when the half-corroded and the fully corroded
lead is taken out of the cylinders, and these two factories have a
great deal of dust in their corroding rooms. It would not be possible
to wet down the first corrosions, for the thresher would get clogged
with the wet lead, but the fully corroded lead is to be ground in
water and there is no reason why it should not be removed from the
cylinders already wet and thus one source of dust be avoided. This
is already the practice in the best Carter process factory.
The greatest danger in the corroding room comes from the necessity
of scraping off the lead which sticks to the inside of the cylinders
when they are being emptied. For this purpose a man must climb
in through the manhole in the front of the cylinder and stand inside
while he scrapes the sides clean. This is looked upon as about the
most dangerous piece of work in the factory, and in two of the three
these cylinder cleaners enjoy special protection and are given short
hours of work. In the third no special care is taken of them.
The thresher rooms in all these factories are dusty and are bad
places to work in, though the evil is in large part avoidable. The
work consists in emptying half-corroded dry lead into the thresher,
where it is ground to a fine powder, and then conveying it back to
the cylinders. The danger is at the dump into the thresher, at the
vent from the thresher, and in wheeling open trucks of dry powder
back to the cylinders and discharging it into the latter. There is
also a more or less elaborate dust-collecting system connected with
the thresher, which must be emptied from time to time.
The following is a description of the method used in the best of
these factories: Under the corroding room is a cement-floored base
ment, very clean. From the ceiling are suspended small hoppers with
pipes which lead, each one, to a cylinder on the floor above. When a
cylinder is in course of being emptied a truck with a strong canvas
bag attached to the edges is brought under the pipe, an opening in
the bag is fastened to the end of the pipe, and thus the lead falls
down without any escape of dust. Another pipe beside this one runs
up to the dust collector and carries off the air which is displaced by
the falling white lead. The threshing machine runs through four
stories, all with wooden floors which are clean. Covered trucks from
the corroding room with half-corroded lead are pushed into a closed
iron compartment which has an exhaust connected with the dust col
lector, the door of the compartment is drawn down to within a couple
of feet of the floor, and by means of a handle the valve in the bottom
of the truck is opened and the lead discharged into the thresher. In
the first floor of the thresher building is the opening of the hopper
where the pulverized, semicorroded lead is caught and from which
it is discharged through a canvas bag into trucks and taken back to
the corroding room.

208

BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOR.

A contrast to this is the method in use in another factory: At the
end of the first corroding period the semicorroded lead is discharged
dry into trucks which are run under the cylinder. There is no canvas
bag used here, consequently there must be some escape of dust. The
trucks with the semicorroded lead go to a building which is old
and extremely dusty. Accumulations of old white-lead dust lie
everywhere. The trucks go on an elevator to the top of the thresher
and are dumped into an opening in the floor which has absolutely no
protection. In this thresher the lead is ground to a fine powder for
its second corrosion. The fine dry powder is discharged in a small,
frightfully dusty room. There is an air exhaust in this room, but
in spite of this fine dust flies everywhere. A man rolls a truck into
this room, waits until it has been filled from the thresher, then rolls
it out again.
The fully corroded lead is discharged dry or wet, as the case may
be, into trucks and taken to the water mills. From here on, the lead
which is undergoing grinding and drying is handled in essentially
the same way as in an old Dutch process factory, and no further
description is needed.
This process is more dangerous for the workmen than the old Dutch
process because it is dustier. This fact has been recognized in two of
these factories, where greater care is taken of the men than in any
other white-lead factories in the United States. The result is that the
men in these two factories do not shift as much as in most old Dutch
process factories, partly because they are better taken care of, partly
because the work requires more skill and the pay is higher. A com
parison of the records kept by physicians in charge of two of the
Carter process factories with those kept by physicians in charge of
two old Dutch process factories shows that while the Carter process
factories have a higher percentage of lead poisoning the length of
exposure of the lead-poisoned men is much greater in the former than
in the latter.1
Recently these two Carter process factories have adopted the Eng
lish and German system of care for fheir workmen, including com
pulsory use of washing facilities, lunch room, and overalls. They
have also made a great effort to instruct their men, and the following
is a copy of the rules displayed in these factories in the languages
used by the 13 different nationalities of workmen:
FACTORY RULES.

1. Respirators must always be worn where there is dust. Keep
them clean. Shave frequently so that respirator fits snugly.
2. Washing: Before eating and before leaving factory at night,
employees must thoroughly scrub their hands, clean their finger nails
and brush their teeth.i

i See p. 225.

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209

3. Clothes: Employees must make a complete change of clothing,
including hat and shoes, upon coming to work and again at the close
of the day’s work. Working clothes must not be worn outside the
factory grounds.
4. Baths shall be taken daily (on the company’s time) before
changing into street clothes.
5. Complaints: The company furnishes, free of charge, respirators,
sponges, tooth and nail brushes, soap, towels, and individual lockers,
and has equipped the plant with bathing facilities and sanitary de
vices. Any failure to furnish the above supplies, and any defect in
the operation or sanitary condition of the machinery or equipment
of the factory observed by any employee shall be called at once to the
attention of the foreman in charge, and if not remedied in 24 hours
complaint shall be made directly to the superintendent.
6. Company’s doctor: Employees shall report to the company’s
doctor every ailment, no matter how slight, as soon as discovered, and
shall be present at the weekly examination. The company’s doctor
will attend to employees for all ailments without charge.
7. It is forbidden to eat in any part of the factory except the lunch
room; to bring beer or alcoholic liquors on the premises; to smoke in
or about any factory building.
8. Recommendations: Eat a hearty breakfast before coming to
work.
Milk, eggs and onions are the best food for workers in lead.
Whisky, gin, wine, beer and other alcoholic drinks are especially
harmful to workers in lead.
Do not get lead in your mouth from dirty hands or dusty clothes.
Never carry chewing tobacco in your working clothes, or touch it
with dirty or dusty hands.
Keep clean.
By obeying the above rules, and keeping lead, which is a poison,
from entering the mouth and nose, employees can keep well and lessen
the risk of lead poisoning, which they assume in entering the employ
of this company.
The third Carter process factory, one of the dustiest factories seen,
has not as yet adopted any precautions in the care of its men beyond
offering them milk free during the noon hour and paying 5 cents to
each man who takes a bath. There is no medical inspection, although
17 hospital cases of lead poisoning were found occurring since Jan
uary, 1910. The manager believes in hiring the men for short periods
only, hoping to be able to discharge them before they have been in
jured by the work. Suggestions for improving conditions were re
quested by the manager and were submitted, but the company is
apparently not yet impressed with the importance of the reforms.
MATHESON PROCESS.

What is known as the Matheson process is used on a large scale in
only one factory, though a process very similar to it may be seen on
a small scale in an oxide factory where the white lead needed for the
production of orange mineral is corroded in practically this way. It
is a rapid precipitation process, depending upon the action of acetic

210

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

acid, air, and coal gas on lead in a state of division. Melted lead is
taken up from the kettle in large ladles and thrown into a tank of
water, which scatters it so that it falls to the bottom in the form of
feathers.” This feathered lead is subjected to the action of water,
acetic acid, and streams of air, which change it to a mixture of oxide
and carbonate. In a second series of tanks, streams of coal gas are
passed through. The basic carbonate settles and is pumped to filter
presses, where the acid solution is squeezed out. The paste is then
dropped again into water, washed and neutralized. After this the
procedure is the same as that in the old Dutch process factory—pulp
grinding, or drying, pulverizing and packing, or grinding in oil and
packing. The Matheson process is far safer than the old Dutch
process, avoiding as it does stack stripping and all the processes
connected with dry separation.
MILD PROCESS.

The Mild process is also a wet and therefore a safe process. No
acetic acid is used in this process. The atomized lead passes directly
from the blower into water without ever being handled and from
there passes on to a series of tanks or cylinders where by the action
of water, air, and coal gas it is changed first to the oxide and finally
to the basic carbonate. The whole process is moist, up to the final
drying and packing, and the dustjrwork in the factory consists simply
in emptying the dry pans into barrels and heading up the barrels.
The single factory that uses this process does not pulverize the dry
lead nor grind it in oil.
CARE OF THE WORKMEN.

In the care of their workmen American white-lead factories differ
enormously, as might be expected, for this is a matter determined
solely by the character of the individual in charge. Of late the Na
tional Lead Co. has established a standard for the factories under its
control, and it is stated that conditions in all these factories will
shortly be made to conform to this standard. Several independent
plants also have provided admirably for the care of their men, but
in others there is a surprising indifference displayed. The matter
does not depend upon the newness of the factory, nor upon the excel
lence of its construction, and it is impossible to guess from the general
aspect of the place whether it is provided with a clean, comfortable
wash room or one mean and squalid.
The essentials for the care of the men in a white-lead factory, aside
from the control of the conditions of work, are: First, washing facili
ties, which means ample provision of hot and cold water, soap and
towels for ordinary washing, with an adequate number of shower or
tub baths for the men engaged in the dustier work, and enough time
to use them. Second, a separate lunch room, clean and attractive and

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211

preferably provided with a stove that can be used to heat food.
Third, a clean place for the men’s street clothes. Fourth, overalls,
completely covering the men’s underwear, a cap to cover the hair,
and some form of respirator. Fifth, regular examination of all the
men at frequent intervals by a good physician.
The following is a description of the provision made in one of the
new, expensively constructed factories: A separate building for the
men’s wash room, locker room, and lunch room is so placed that the
men must pass through it in entering and leaving the factory. It is
very well built, pleasant and attractive. There is a large beautiful
lavatory with a cement floor and individual porcelain-lined wash
basins with hot and cold water. Soap is provided, but no towels. The
shower baths have hot and cold water. They are not separated by
partitions and no towels are provided. The lockers for the men’s
clothes are double, so that street and working clothes hang separate.
The company does not provide overalls. The lunch room is large and
pleasant, provided with tables and chairs.
Luxurious and expensive as this equipment is, it does nob answer
the purpose as well as some that are far simpler and less expensive
but more carefully planned, such as the following: This is an old
factory, employing colored and white help. The rooms used for
washing, dressing, and eating have had to be taken from the mill and
adapted as well as possible to their new use. It is of course necessary
to have separate places for negroes and white men. The washing
facilities and lunch room for the negroes employed in the yard are
not luxurious, bub are entirely sufficient. The lunch room is rather
dark, but very clean, with a well-scrubbed table and benches and a
stove which is used for heating food. There are well-ventilated
lockers for the men’s clothes. The wash room has nine shower baths,
hot and cold water, towels, and soap. For ordinary washing, there is
a long porcelain-lined sink, without stoppers, with hot and cold
water, soap, and towels. In the mill, where white men are employed,
there is a large room with linoleum covering the old floor, which is
used as lunch room and wash room both. For washing, there are
long porcelain-lined sinks, with wire frames, on which stand small
white-enameled wash basins so arranged that they can be tipped over
easily. Nail brushes are chained to the sink and soap and towels pro
vided. There are 24 shower baths, with-canvas curtains. The hot water
and cold water here are already mixed, so there is no chance of scald
ing. The manager states that he has no trouble in persuading the
men to use the baths or the lunch room. There is a very small kitchen
attached to the lunch room, where coffee is made and sold to the men
at a cent and a half a cup, including milk and sugar. The company
furnishes overalls and canvas caps to the men employed in the white
lead department. They have installed their own laundry, for they
find that the overalls last very well when they .are properly laundered.

212

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

There is far more thought and understanding shown in the second
of these factories than in the first. It is not necessary to have ex
pensive plumbing and lockers, but it is essential to provide towels,
nail brushes, and clean overalls. A lunch room need not be ex
pensively furnished, but it should be attractive, and it is a great
advantage to have a cook stove, and still better to provide hot coffee
and milk, or milk alone.
Unfortunately in some factories little if any thought has been
given to the care of the workmen, as the following instances will
show: This is a new, admirably constructed factory, which has been
in operation only a few months. There is a good lavatory inside the
mill and a lunch room as well, but the men in the yard, 20 to 30 of
them, have no place to wash except a bare cold room with cold
water, which is of no use in washing away white lead. No soap or
towels. The factory is 5 or 10 minutes’ walk from the nearest of
the workmen’s houses; and as they have only 30 minutes at noon,
they do not go home for lunch, but eat in the stack house, seldom
even making an attempt to wash their hands in the cold water.
Many of them wear no overalls at all.
An older factory has the following conditions: There is practically
no way in which the men can get clean. In the mill there is one dirty
sink on the first floor, with one faucet of cold water, no soap or towels.
The men in the yard, if they wash at all, must get pails of water for
themselves, or go into the boiler house, where there is another sink
with cold Water. Sixty-five men are employed here. There is no
lunch room. The noon hour came while the inspection was being
made, and the men in the yard were seen to leave work and begin
eating their lunch without washing their hands. Of 16 men who were
closely observed, only 3 were wearing overalls.
The question of respirators is one which gives a good deal of
thought and trouble to the conscientious manager of a white-lead
factory. There are two factories in the country where the managers
and foremen have actually succeeded in inducing or forcing all their
men to wear rubber and sponge respirators all the time that they are
at work. There are several factories where the use of some form of
respirator is fairly general. In such places the men are often given
their choice between the more bulky and uncomfortable, but also
more efficient, rubber and sponge respirator and the simple cloth or
cloth and sponge respirator. Many of them can be induced to wear
one of the latter when it would be very difficult to make them con
sent to the heavier. In the majority of American factories the man
agement contents itself with the announcement that respirators will
be furnished on application, and sometimes this statement is true,
sometimes it is not. In three factories the workmen who were asked

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213

why they were not wearing respirators said that there were not
enough to go round. In England they lay very little stress upon
respirators, because they insist that the best are only partially pro
tective, and that the thing to do is to abolish dust, but in America
we are so far from being able to abolish dust as yet that it is highly
important to protect our workmen as well as possible against it. It
is impossible to say as yet what is the best kind of respirator, but
certainly a fairly good one worn continuously is better than a very
good one which is worn only now and then.
DISCIPLINE IN THE FACTORY.

It is not enough to provide washing facilities, lockers, overalls,
respirators, and lunch room for the workfnen. With the very best
equipment a factory may have a great deal of lead poisoning among
the workmen, more indeed than a place in which the equipment is
more primitive but in which there is good shop discipline and a
continual conscientious effort to train the men in the care of them
selves. For instance, during two months of the past year there were
seven men sent to public hospitals with lead poisoning and three
treated by a physician, from the yard gang of a large new factory
which has an excellent wash room and lunch room. The men stated
that they had never been told to wash nor shown where they could
do so, that they knew nothing about a lunch room, and had always
eaten their lunch in the stack house. They were non-English-speak
ing Poles, and it was evident that the yard foreman, who did not
speak Polish, had not troubled to give them any instructions or
warnings.
In discussing the discipline in an American factory, it must not
be forgotten that the American foreman has a much harder problem
than the German or English. During the spring and summer
always, and often during fall and winter as well, there is a scarcity
of unskilled labor, and the foreman finds it very hard to hire all the
help he needs. Naturally under these circumstances his threat to
discharge a man for disobedience does not carry so much weight as
it does in countries where other work is hard to find, nor is he as
willing to make such a threat as he would be if he felt sure of filling
the insubordinate workman’s place. In fact, it may happen, es
pecially in the Middle West, that foremen feel obliged to make con
cessions to their men, such as granting a 15 minutes’ pause in the
middle of the forenoon and afternoon and shutting their eyes to the
fact that the time is used to buy beer. Two physicians employed in
white-lead factories said that they had tried to have all the alcoholic
workmen discharged, but they could not because the foreman said
that it was impossible to fill the empty places. Nevertheless the ex

214

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

perience of a few managers who have resolutely and persistently en
forced rules of cleanliness and careful work shows that it is possible
to train the men to take care of themselves and avoid endangering
their fellow workmen. One old, only fairly well-equipped factory,
which has had for several years an intelligent and conscientious
manager, had but 11 ascertainable cases of lead poisoning among its
men during a period of 16 months, while another old factory, in
which there is absolutely no care for the men, had 25 cases, 6 of them
fatal, during the same time. There was about the same working force
in the two factories.
MEDICAL INSPECTION.

In England and Germany medical inspection of the employees of
a white-lead factory is prescribed by law. The physician may be
chosen by the employer and is paid by him, but must be approved
by the Government. The law decides how often he must visit fhe
factory and in what form he must make out his records, which
records are either the property of the Government or are open to in
spection.
In the United States the medical care of the men in a white-lead
factory has been left entirely to the discretion of the employer, until
very recently, and even now the only legislation on the subject is in
Illinois. The first regular weekly medical inspection of all employees
in any white-lead factory was established in January, 1910, although
in one or two of the factories medical treatment was available to those
who were sick before that date. Other factories have introduced
weekly inspection more recently, some, in the fall of 1910, some in
January, 1911, and some within the last few months. At the present
time the majority of American white-lead manufacturers employ
physicians to give more or less regular care to their employees. The
method varies somewhat. In most of the factories of the National
Lead Co. and in some of the independent plants the system is the same
as that required abroad; that is, a regular weekly—rarely fortnightly-^inspection of all the men and a record of the condition of all who
are not in perfect health. There are still factories in which no med
ical care at all is provided and others that employ a physician only
for the men who complain of being sick or whom the foreman sus
pects of being in need of medical care. This kind of medical super
vision is, of course, much better than none, but it is open to several
objections. It leaves the diagnosis of lead poisoning to the foreman,
and he is not likely to discover early cases which with proper care
might not result in a severe attack. Then, too, in times when work is
scarce the workman will try to conceal the fact that he is sick, because
he is afraid of being laid off, 'and, on the other hand, when labor is
scarce, the foreman can hardly be expected to look carefully for signs
of sickness in his men.

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

215

When the first inspection was made by the writer the 23 factories
stood in the following classification in regard to the medical care of
their men:
First class.—Regular medical inspection of all the men, six fac
tories.
Second class.—A physician paid by the company to take care of
accident and lead poisoning cases, eight factories. In three of these
the care afforded was perfunctory and the company doctor saw only
a minority of the cases.
Third class.—No medical care, nine factories.
At the time of the first inspection the managers who had not as
yet installed physicians in their factories or whose system of medical
control was inadequate were urged to have weekly inspections of their
men by competent physicians, and since that time a great improve
ment has taken place in this respect. The first class now contains
13 factories, 4 of those that were formerly in the third class and
3 from the second having passed up into the first. The second class
now contains 5 factories and the third 5, at least one of which
will probably soon join the first class. The last factory has a sys
tem that works admirably, though it does not employ a physician to
see all the men each week or fortnight. The men are all entitled
to a sick benefit if they suffer from accident or occupational disease,
and they are therefore very prompt to consult the company doctor
as soon as they feel any symptoms from the lead.
CHARACTER OF WORKMEN.

The men employed in white-lead work are for the most part un
skilled laborers. In St. Louis, East St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Phila
delphia many Negroes are employed, and also many Slavs. In
Omaha, Chicago^ Pittsburgh, Perth Amboy, and Camden Slavs pre
dominate. Italians are found in almost all white-lead factories, but
not in large numbers except in West Pullman, Philadelphia, Brook
lyn, Long Island City, and Staten Island. A few Greeks are found
in St. Louis, West Pullman, Chicago, Omaha, and Pittsburgh. Very
few American-born workmen, aside from Negroes, and not many im
migrants from the north of Europe are found in the factories of the
Middle West. Indeed, there are some factories in this part of the
country that have hardly any English-speaking workmen. On the
Atlantic seaboard more American-born and English-speaking work
men are found in the white-lead factories, but in many cases these
men say that they have taken up the work only as an emergency
job during a temporary lack of other employment. It is not work
that attracts experienced or intelligent men, except for a few skilled
jobs in the mill.

216

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

In a certain factory employing 50 men only 12 were even expe
rienced, workmen, the others all unskilled. In another, employing
70 men, 7 were skilled workmen, 9 more had some skill or at least
experience; the others were hired afresh all the time.
The following is a fairly typical working force in an average fac
tory; that is, in one of the older factories where much of the work is
still done by hand.
1. Casting room: Three men, one skilled, the 2 others only truckers.
2. Yard gang: About 50 men, including the setting gang, discharg
ing gang, and a few skilled men.
(a) Setting gang: Three gangs of 8 men each, setting or building
stacks. These men are often employed by the day as they are needed
and laid off or discharged in the intervals of setting stacks, but a
few are usually retained and kept at other work, for stack building
requires some experience, and it is better to have a few men familiar
with the work beside the foreman. The two men trucking blue
buckles from the casting room may belong to the setting gang.
(&) Discharging gang: Two gangs of 8 men each, discharging or
stripping stacks. This is absolutely simple, unskilled work, requir
ing very little instruction, and as it is also highly dangerous work
the discharging gang is made up usually of a shifting class of work
men. In many factories the statement is made that the stack strip
pers average only from 10 days’ to 2 weeks’ employment in any
one factory, and it is very exceptional to find a foreman who makes
an effort to keep these men as steady employees. It is here and in
the dry-pan room that the danger is acknowledged to be great, and
most foremen feel that they are only acting humanely if they let
their men go after a short time and engage new ones. It is here also
unfortunately that the greatest neglect of hygienic care is most often
found, even in factories which are otherwise excellent. The skilled
men who complete the yard gang are foremen, carpenters, and a
weighmaster,
3. Mill hands: About 15 to 20 men.
(a) Unskilled workmen: Two to three men in the dry-pan room or
“ kiln.” These are unskilled and are often hired by the day only. In
some factories the men in the yard take turns emptying the pans, work
ing from a few days to several weeks at a stretch and then going back
to outdoor work. In others the mill hands take turns at this work,
but the more common way is to employ new men as they are needed
and pay them by the piece. The work is rightly regarded as the
worst in the factory, and though the pay is not higher the hours are
often shorter, i. e., a man may earn the usual wage in 4 to 6 hours.
It is seldom that one finds any evidence of special care for the drypan men except in giving them shorter hours and not encouraging
them to stay. Their washing facilities are often very poor.

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

2X7

(b) The other work in the mill requires more or less skill, or at
least some experience. This is as follows:
Chaser men: One or two men who shovel dry lead into the oil-mix
ing machine. . This work is sometimes as dusty as any work in the
factory.
Water mill: One or two on the water mills.
Packers: One or two packing barrels with dry white lead. There
is often an old experienced workman on the barrel packer, and if
skillfully managed this may be fairly dustless work. One man pack
ing dry lead by hand in small kegs. This is irregular work; it is not
done in all factories, and it never takes all of one man’s time.
Keg men: Three filling kegs with lead in oil. Three or four
young men or boys labeling and handling full kegs.
Pulp-machine man: One on the pulp machine.
Repairers: Two men. These are highly skilled, and their work is
usually dusty and dangerous.
Mill dresser: This man is not usually in the regular employ of the
company but comes in when needed. He is a highly skilled work
man. In dressing the millstones he is exposed to white-lead dust.
There is in addition a mill foreman with, it may be, an assistant
foreman.
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR.

The wages paid run from $1.15 to $2 a day for all but the skilled
work, the last figure being very exceptional; $9 to $11 a week is usual,
but it may fall somewhat below this figure or rise above it, according
to the state of the labor market. In the Middle West wages usually
keep pace with those paid in railroad construction or ordinary ex
cavation work, for the Slavs, Greeks, and Italians tend to drop out
of the factory to outdoor work and return again to the factory after a
few months. During the spring and summer, when unskilled labor
is in great demand not only in railroad work but on the seaboard and
along the Mississippi River, wages often undergo a temporary rise.
On the whole the pay is lower in Philadelphia and about New York
than in the Middle West.
The workday is 10 hours, with 30 minutes at noon, but it is seldom
that objection is made to the men taking a little time off in the middle
of the morning or afternoon. Discipline is not very strict in a whitelead factory, and the men do not seem to be hurried much nor even
kept very steadily at a task unless this is absolutely necessary. In
most places the men are allowed, in some really encouraged, to leave
work now and then and go to the lavatory for a thorough wash. Sel
dom is objection made to a man quitting work 5 minutes or more be
fore the noon hour or closing time in order to clean up. A few fac
tories regularly allow from 5 to 10 minutes for this purpose. The

218

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

custom of granting 15 minutes’ recess morning and afternoon is
frankly a concession to the foreign workmen, and is mostly utilized by
them for beer drinking. As stated above, pieceworkers, such as the
dry-pan men, and in some places the setting and discharging gangs,
may work only from 4 to 7 hours a day. There are, however, factories
in which even the dry-pan men work the full 10 hours.
SHIFTING CHARACTER OF LABOR.

It has already been said that the white-lead workers are a very
shifting class of labor. Of the 23 factories which form the subject
of this report, only three state that their working force is even fairly
steady. Usually the foreman says that about 20 per cent new men
have to be hired each week. The following are quotations from the
statements made by different managers:
“ The regular pay roll is 58, but there were 250 men on the books
in the last six months.”
“ Fifty men are needed for the regular force. In the last two weeks
(spring) 108 men were employed.”
“ The pay roll is only 65, but the stripping gang and dry-pan men
shift all the time, and probably nearly 400 men are employed in the
course of a year, though some of these may be former employees
returning after a longer or shorter absence.”
“ We employ 125 men, but must take from 18 to 20 new ones each
week, and a still larger number in the spring when street and railroad
construction 'begin.”
“ Fifty-five men are employed; 10 to 16 new men are hired each
week.”
“ We do not keep more than 6 men regularly employed, hiring the
other 14 to 28 mere by the day as they are needed.”
“ We make no effort to keep a steady force of laborers, encouraging
the unskilled men to leave after a few weeks because we think it pre
vents them from becoming poisoned.”
The last two statements express the feeling which is very general
among foremen, if not among managers, and is strongly defended by
them. It is contended that, as most men develop lead poisoning only
after an exposure of several months, the kindest and most humane
method is to employ men in the more dangerous work for short
periods only, then let them go and hire new ones. There are several
arguments against this position.
In the first place, English and German statistics show that lead
poisoning in a factory is in direct proportion to the number of casual
workmen employed. The new employee knows little or nothing of
the risks of the work and practically nothing of the means of pro
tection. As he is to stay so short a time it is argued that there is no
use in attempting to teach him anything. It would be too much to
expect of a foreman that he should spend much time instructing a
gang of non-English-speaking foreigners whom he expects to lose in
a month’s time or even at the end of a week. The consequence is

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTKY IN UNITED STATES.

219

that the more unsteady the men the less effort is made to protect
them. If, indeed, it were possible to know just how long a man may
be exposed to white-lead dust without risk and to discharge him
before the expiration of this period, there might be much to be said
for this method, but such knowledge is impossible. Men may become
poisoned after two or three days’ exposure, as shown by the statistics
as to length of exposure given further on.
A certain proportion of all men (Hirt puts it at between 15 and
20 per cent) are unduly susceptible to lead, and will become poisoned
very soon after exposure. Now, if the working force in a factory
is continually changing, these oversusceptible men will be continu
ally entering and falling sick, while if the force is steady, they can
be eliminated at the outset. It is also obvious that only with a steady
force of men can any sort of shop discipline and real control be at
tained. Fortunately, many managers are beginning to recognize this
fact, anti are striving to so change conditions that their workmen
will remain with them.
The mere fact that the great majority of white-lead workers in
the United States are foreigners who understand little or no English
increases very much the amount of lead poisoning in an American
factory. Even if the workmen are warned by cards of instruction
printed in their own language, telling them of the dangers of the
work and what measures of protection to take, the difference of lan
guage is still a great handicap. Many of them can not read, and,
what is still more important, printed instructions can never cover
every detail of the work. In going over a factory the investigators
frequently saw the foreman or even the superintendent go to a
foreign workman who was raising clouds of dust as he worked and
show him how to do the same work without dust. But, in the absence
of explanation, it was quite evident that the man did not understand
what he was being criticized for or how the foreman’s method dif
fered from his own.
LEAD POISONING IN THE WHITE-LEAD AND LEAD-OXIDE INDUSTRY.

This part of the study has been attended with enormous difficulties.
When one considers that there is no compulsory registration of cases
of lead poisoning in the United States, that the victims of this
disease are largely foreigners with no fixed abode, that there are no
union sick-benefit records to consult, and that the insurance com
panies can give no help, one can readily see that it is impossible to
gain any accurate knowledge of the full extent of lead poisoning in
this industry throughout the country. The better-managed factories,
those that have competent physicians in regular charge of their em
ployees, can give information very nearly complete, but never quite
99823°— No. 95—11---- 15

220

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

complete, for a careful search always reveals a few cases that have
escaped observation. There are always some suspicious foreigners
or Negroes who have an unreasoning distrust of the company doctor.
Even at the best, regular medical inspection, including records of
all the men examined, is of very recent date. Only one factory
instituted this system as long ago as January, 1910, when it came
under the control of a man who had had experience in white-lead
work under the English law. The other factories have come into
line more recently, some in the autumn months of 1910, some in
January, 1911, and some only within the last few months. But in
sufficient as these records are, it is in those factories which furnish
only emergency medical care, or none at all, that the greatest difficulty
is encountered, and these are often, as might be expected, the factories
in which there is most opportunity for lead poisoning.
It sounds paradoxical to say that the largest number of cases of
lead poisoning are found in the best-managed factories, but this is
true, except in the case of three unusually bad ones. Of course, this
does not mean that the greatest number of cases occur in wellmanaged factories, but only that the cases occurring are more easily
found. A careful manager knows the cases of lead poisoning among
his men and is perfectly willing to present for inspection the full
records made by the company doctor, while a factory managed with
out attention to the health of the men has no information to give that
is of the least value. The men in such a plant do not receive any
attention until they are really sick and consult a physician of their
own accord or go to a hospital. This means, of course, that the
milder cases of poisoning are never detected as they are in a place
where all the men pass regularly under the doctor’s eyes. The only
way to discover the cases of lead poisoning in these neglected fac
tories is to search for cases in hospitals, dispensaries, doctors’ records,
and by interviews with workmen, and the data gained in this way
are never complete. Hospital history sheets and dispensary records
give the diagnosis and the fact that the man was a “ lead worker,”
but they seldom give the real nature of his employment, and still less
often the place where he worked. Then, when an effort is made to
track down each case and fill in the necessary information, it is often
found that the man has left the city, or that the name given was not
his real name, or was unintelligible to the clerk, or that he gave a
false address. These difficulties were very great when the attempt
was made to trace Italians, Poles, or Hungarians. For instance, 25
cases, mostly Poles and Italians, were collected from the hospital and
dispensary records of a town in which there is one white and red
lead factory. Thirteen of these were traced to this factory; the other
12 could not be found at all. In all probability they, too, worked in

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTKY IN UNITED STATES.

221

this plant, but they are useless as far as our factory records go. Out
of 106 probable white-lead cases found in hospital records in Phila
delphia, only 67 could be traced, and out of 101 in St. Louis, only 44.
Information given by physicians is usually only general in charac
ter. They know if a factory has much lead poisoning, and they can
give an estimate of the number of cases they see in a month or a
year, but they can hardly ever give the names of individuals, so that,
although their evidence is valuable as confirming the impression
gained by the investigator, it does not usually help in making statis
tics. For instance, a certain Polish doctor said that he saw from
three to five new cases of lead poisoning every month from among
the Slavic workmen in a certain white-lead factory, but he could
not remember any names except of the last three. That meant that
only three cases, instead of some fifty-odd, could be added to the
records.
It seems certainly safe to say, in view of the foregoing, that the
statements made in this report as to the amount of plumbism in the
white-lead industry in the United States fall much below the actual
truth. The figures given throughout the report always mean indi
vidual cases which have had a physician’s diagnosis of lead poisoning.
The facts most important to ascertain were the number of men
suffering from plumbism and their relation to the number of men
employed, the severity of the disease, the length of time the men in
question had been employed, how long an exposure was necessary
before the first symptoms appeared, and the particular work in which
the men were engaged. The last point, however, had to be aban
doned, for the doctors who took the histories of these cases were so
unfamiliar with industrial employments that the descriptions they
gave were usually unintelligible. All the information that was gained
on the questions given above is very far from complete, and it is
offered only as a tentative beginning of a statistical study on lead
poisoning in one industry.
Among the workmen in white and red lead factories a total of 388
cases of lead poisoning were found, all having occurred after Janu
ary 1, 1910, and before May 1, 1911, a period of 16 months. The
records for the first four months of 1911 are not complete, for sev
eral hospitals could not give information about cases occurring later
than January 1,1911, as they do not systematize their histories more
than once a year. As will be shown later,1 at least 30 of the 388
men were working in oxides, not in white lead. The number of men
needed to fill the pay rolls of the 23 white-lead factories east of the
Pacific coast is about 1,600, but it is plain from what was said above
that this does not nearly represent the number of men employed
throughout the year. If the statements of foremen can be taken,

1 See pp. 258 and 259.

222

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OE LABOR.

about 15 to 20 per cent new men are taken on each week, which
would mean that between 10,000 and 15,000 men enter the white-lead
industry every year. But this is probably far too large a number.
Some of the new men are old employees returning to work and some
are men from other white-lead factories, for it is not at all unusual
to find a man who has worked in two or three different white-lead
plants. The truth is that no exact and complete statement can be
made in regard to the relation of the number of cases of lead poison
ing to the number of men employed. All that can be said is that in
a period of 16 months 388 cases of lead poisoning are known to have
occurred in white and red lead factories, and that these 388 cases do
not represent by any means all the cases of lead poisoning from these
factories.
A somewhat clearer picture of the amount of plumbism in this trade
can be gained by studying the doctors’ records in those factories
where complete records are kept, but this source is also only partly
satisfactory, owing to the fact that different doctors have different
standards, and what is a suspicious case to one doctor is a case of
plumbism to another. The following instances are given for what
they are worth. They throw some light upon the question, even if
they do not clear it up.
No. 12. An old, crowded factory, employing between 60 and 70 men
and taking on about 20 per cent new ones each week. The doctor’s
records for one month ending October 15, 1910, covered 128 men, 16
of whom were found suffering from plumbism, and 3 more were
considered suspicious. This did not mean that all 16 men had had
lead colic during that month, but that they showed the effects of
the lead sufficiently to require medical care.
This would meaii 12.5 per cent, not counting the 3 suspicious
cases, who were recorded as suffering from constipation, indigestion,
or ansemia.
No. 15. An old, not at all carefully managed factory, but rather
cleaner than No. 12. The doctor’s records for the month of Novem
ber, 1910, gave 8 cases of plumbism and 1 suspicious case out of 73
men examined, or 11 per cent.
No. 6. An old, crowded, but well-managed factory, where very
careful supervision is given the men, and the help is unusually steady.
The doctor’s records for three months, January 1 to March 31, 1911,
cover 112 men, of whom only 1 had suffered from lead poisoning
during that time, or less than 1 per cent. Seven more were, however,
regarded as suspicious cases, showing the “ lead line,” ansemia, consti
pation, or digestive disturbances, and were receiving medical treat
ment. If these 7 were counted it would bring the percentage up to

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

223

7.1 per cent, but if we adhere strictly to the doctor’s diagnosis this
factory should be credited with only 1 per cent.
The three above are all factories that use the old Dutch process.
The two following use the Carter process, and though the work is
more dangerous, the men in these factories receive unusually good
care, and average a longer period of employment than do the men in
the old Dutch factories.
No. 21. In this factory 170 men came under the doctor’s observation
between January 1, 1910, and December 31, 1910. Of these 170, 60
had had lead poisoning, or 35.3 per cent, but not all had suffered from
acute symptoms during that time. They were, however, all receiving
medical care for some trouble due to the absorption of lead.
No. 20. This factory is newer and less dusty than No. 21. The rec
ords covering the six months preceding April 1, 1911, showed 37 men
who had never suffered from plumbism and 14 who had, or 27.5 per
cent. Among them was the foreman, who had had two attacks during
the 32 years of his work in white lead, but who insisted at the time
that he was entirely well.
The one factory using the Mild process has very full records, and,
owing to the fact that they pay sick benefits to their workmen who
suffer from any occupational disease, they discover the cases in a
very early stage, for the workmen have every incentive to report
themselves to the doctor instead of concealing the fact that they are
sick from fear of losing their places. This system of insurance has
been in force since January 1, 1904. The records for 1910 cover 150
men, 17 of whom were treated for lead poisoning, or 11.3 per cent. In
the first four months of 1911 there were 7 cases.
To sum up these results: The three old Dutch factories had, respec
tively, 12.5 per cent in one month’s time, 11 per cent in one month’s
time, and 1 per cent (or 7.1 per cent) in three months’ time. The two
Carter process factories had 35.3 per cent in one year and 27.5 per cent
in six months. The one Mild process factory had 11.3 per cent in one
year. It is probable that this last figure is of all the one most nearly
accurate, as the Mild process is much less dusty than any other ex
cept the Matheson, and the fact that 11.3 per cent of the men here
employed suffered from plumbism makes it probable that a much
higher percentage suffer in the old Dutch process factories and often
escape detection because they purposely do not complain to the doctor.
It is not easy to detect the early stages of plumbism if the patient
denies that he feels ill in any way.

224

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,
LENGTH OF EMPLOYMENT.

The length of employment could be ascertained in 228 of the cases
of lead poisoning. Of these, only 108 had been employed for as long
a time as one year.
LENGTH OF EMPLOYMENT OF W HITE-LEAD W ORKERS PREVIOUS TO LEAD
POISONING.
Length of employment.
Less than 1 week........................................
1 and under 2 weeks...................................
2 and under 3 weeks...................................
3 and under 4 weeks...................................
1 and under 2 months................................
2 and und^r 3 months................................
3 and under 4 months................................
4 and under 5 months................................
5 and under 6 months...............................
6 and under 7 months...............................
7 and under 8 months...............................
8 and v?ndftr 8 months
...........
9 and under 10 months..............................
10 and und^T tl nmnths
Under 3 months .........................................
Between 3 months and 1 year.................
Total, less than 1 year....................

Cases of
lead
poisoning.

Length of employment.

1
1
11
8
23
19
10
4
4
6
83

1 and under 2 years...................................
2 and under 3 years...................................
3 and under 4 years...................................
4 and under 5 years...................................
5 and under 6 years...................................
Gand under 7 years...................................
7 and under 8 years...................................
8 and under 9 years...................................
9 and under 10 years.................................
Over 10 years...............................................
Over 1 year, but exact time not specified.
Total, 1 year and over....................
1
3
Grand total.......................................
18
120

Cases of
lead
poisoning.
15
105
7
8
4
1
1
5
H
41
108
228

LENGTH OF EXPOSURE BEFORE POISONING.

It would have been still more interesting to know how long was
the period of exposure to the lead in each case before the first symp
toms developed, but this could be learned in only 120 instances. Of
this number 31 had been exposed for a year or more and 89 for less
than a year, as follows:
LENGTH OF EXPOSURE OF W HITE-LEAD WORKERS PREVIOUS TO LEAD
POISONING.
Length of exposure.
Less than 1 week........................................
1 and under 2 weeks...................................
2 and under 3 weeks...................................
3 and under 4 weeks...................................
1 and under 2 months................................
2 and under 3 months................................
3 and under 4 months................................
4 and under 5 months................................
5 and under 6 months................................
6 and under 7 months................................
7 and nndpr R.mnnt.Tis
8 and under 9 months................................
9 anrl under 1ft months If
Total, less than 1 year....................

Cases of
lead
poisoning.
1
7
16
12
25
7
6
5
3
4
1
2
89

Length of exposure.
1 and under 2 years..................................
2 and under 3 years.................................
3 and under 4 years.................................
4 and under 5 years.................................
5 and under 6 years.................................
6 and under 7 years..................................
7 and under 8 years..................................
8 and under 9 years..................................
9 and under 10 years................................
. Over 10 years.............................................
Total, 1 year and over...................
Grand total

Cases of
lead
poisoning.
13
6
3
2
2
2
1
2
31
120

Probably these statements were not absolutely accurate. The fact
that only two men gave the period of exposure as over 8 months and
under 12 months would seem to mean that when it was beyond 8
months it was given as “ about a year.” It will be noticed that the

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

225

exposure is often of very short duration and that 61 of all these cases
were poisoned after an exposure of 2 months or less.
Care of the men not only diminishes the amount of lead poisoning
but seems also to stave off an acute attack. Thus we find that the
length of employment and the period of exposure before poisoning
occurs are longer in a factory with good hygienic regulations than
in one with bad. A few examples will serve to illustrate this. In a
well-managed old Dutch process factory, in which there were records
of 14 cases of lead poisoning, 10 of the men poisoned had been em
ployed for long periods, averaging 11 years, and only 4 had been
employed for shorter periods, averaging 2^ months. One of them
had sickened at the end of 2 weeks’ exposure, another at the end of
3 weeks’ exposure; probably both were unusually susceptible men.
In contrast to this may be quoted the hospital records of severe
cases of lead poisoning that developed in an old, excessively dusty
factory with no medical control. The hospital records in 15 cases
gave the length of employment, and in only 2 was it as long as 1
year. These two had worked, respectively, 1 year and 18 months.
The other 13 averaged 5 months’ employment, the longest period
being 10 months and the shortest 3 days. The period of exposure to
the lead before the first symptoms were felt was stated in 8 of these
15 cases. It was 4 months in 1 case, 2 months in 3 cases, 3 weeks in
2 cases, and in the other 2 it was 6 and 3 days, respectively.
A similar contrast can be drawn between the hospital records of
cases from a very dusty and neglected old Dutch process factory
and the doctor’s records of a Carter process factory that employs a
physician and is careful with its men. In the old Dutch process
factory 60 per cent of the cases of plumbism were those of persons
who had been employed less than 3 months. In the Carter process
factory only 7 per cent had been employed less than 3 months.
STUDY OF INDIVIDUAL CASES OF LEAD POISONING.

In order to illustrate the effects of lead poisoning, some cases have
been selected. The selection has been made, not because these cases
were unusually severe, but because the histories were given with more
than usual fullness. It will be noticed that the greater number of
these men are Irish or Scotch or American, but this simply means that
they could give the fullest information.
No. 1. Y. O., Italian, speaking no English. He worked for 36 days
in the stripping gang of a new, very well-built factory. Nobody
gave him any instructions nor explained to him the dangers of the
work and the precautions he must take. He never saw a respirator
and did not know there were such things or that he had a right to
ask for one. The stack men had only cold water to wash with, no

226

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

soap or towels, and as the lunch period is only 30 minutes, they did
not trouble to wash. He used to eat his lunch sitting on the tan
bark in the stack house. He wore his usual clothes to work in.
There was a great deal of dust in the stack, especially on windy days.
One. day an agonizing colic came upon him suddenly and he fell to
the ground. He had not known that there was such a sickness as
lead poisoning till an Italian doctor told him that he had it and sent
him to the public hospital, where he remained for 2 weeks. After
he returned home he had a relapse and was obliged to go back to the
hospital. When seen 3 months later, he was not yet strong enough
to work.
No. 2. C. W., a Negro, 39 years old. He worked for 2 months in
the dry-pan room of an old dirty factory where dry sweeping is done
and the dumps in the dry-pan room are very bad. After 3 or 4
weeks’ work he began to feel sick. He had nothing to wash in ex
cept a pail of cold water. He did, however, wear a respirator. At
the end of 2 months he went to the public hospital with nausea,
vomiting, obstinate constipation, and pains in his back and limbs.
No. 3. C. H., worked in the same factory as No. 2, trucking lead
from the drying pans to the dump. He was always careful to wash
his hands before eating, and ate at a restaurant, but nevertheless he
fell sick at the end of 2 weeks. He complained to the company
doctor, who gave him medicine but allowed him to keep on at the
same work. At the end of 5 weeks he was obliged to give up and go
to the hospital.
No. 4. E. M., Negro, 27 years old. Worked in the dry-pan room
of this same factory. He described the room as very hot and full
of lead dust. The men worked for half an hour at a time, then were
obliged to stop and go to the windows to get the air and cool off.
There were buckets standing around with lead-encrusted cold water
for the men to wash in. If a man wanted warm water he must go
from the third floor to the boiler room on the first floor and get a
bucket of warm water. The lunch room was practically the same as
the work room, being a dusty little room opening directly out of the
dry-pan room. After working 4 weeks, E. M. lost all appetite for
food and after 2 weeks more he went to the city hospital with a
typical attack of lead colic.
No. 5. J. K., Polish. Worked in the drying room of a large new
factory, one of the best equipped in the country. After 3 weeks he
had lead colic. He returned to the factory and was sent to shovel
the tailings of white lead that lay in the yard and wheel them to the
oxide department. After about a month more he became violently
sick and went to the public hospital. He was not strong enough to
work for 2 months after this.

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTBY IN UNITED STATES.

227

No. 6. D. K., Polish. Worked for 6 weeks stripping stacks in the
same factory as No. 5. He had no respirator, no overalls, and only
one suit of clothes. The only place to wash his hands was a hydrant
in the stack house, and as it was bitter winter weather, he ate his
lunch with unwashed hands in the stack house. The factory em
ployed a physician at that time, but D. K. had never been told this,
and when he was taken with lead colic he appealed to a policeman,
who called the ambulance and sent him to the public hospital.
No. 7. S. D., Slovak. Worked for the same factory stripping stacks.
He gave the same description of conditions as did No. 6. He first felt
sick at the end of 3 weeks’ work, but he worked on for another week,
then became violently sick and went to the public hospital. He was
able to go to work for an express company 4 weeks later.
No. 8. D. L., Italian. Worked in an old but clean Dutch-process
factory in the dry-pan room for 2 months. He had no respi
rator, but he was given instructions by the foreman to be careful
not to raise dust and to wash before eating. Soap and towels were
furnished and he ate out of doors, nevertheless he began to feel sick
at the end of the first month, and at the end of 2 months he was
sent to the city hospital with lead poisoning.
No. 9. M. M., Italian. Worked in the same factory as No. 8 and
at the same work, but also out in the yard shoveling tan bark. He
did not fall sick till after 2J years of work. Then he left and
returned again. This happened repeatedly until finally he was put to
work separating by hand the off-color lead and pounding it free from
the uncorroded cores.. This was after he had worked for 6 years*
and he became so ill that he was obliged to go to the city hospital.
No. 10. V. M., Polish, 51 years old. He was employed in emptying
drying pans and in yard work for 10 years in the same factory as No.
9. After 6 years’ work he began to feel badly and for 4 years more
he was sick a good deal of the time, having frequent attacks of ab
dominal pain. He had been well instructed as to the care he should
take of himself, and was given opportunity to wash with soap and
water, but he had to provide his own towels. He ate his lunch usually
in the factory or yard. One day while at work he fell unconscious
and was sent home and then to the hospital. After he recovered he
again applied for work at the same place, but they refused to take
him back.
No. 11. M. McF., Scotch, 69 years. Worked on and off for 4 years
in a very dusty factory. He was never very well, and had one
attack of colic soon after going to work. He was in the hospital
with this for 10 weeks. After this he was continually troubled with
constipation, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes diarrhea. Another
attack came on after 2 years employment and again he went to the

228

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

hospital and then twice again during the following year. The hos
pital diagnosis made at his last entry, July to November, 1910, is as
follows: “ Lead anaemia and myocarditis, red coloring matter of the
blood only 35 per cent, red corpuscles reduced to less than one-half.
Loss of appetite, nausea, colic, diarrhea, weakness, emaciation, head
ache, and pains in the joints.”
No. 12. H. D., Irish, 30 years. He was a strong man who had
never been sick in his life before as far as he could remember. He
worked for 1 year in the same factory as case 11. After 3 weeks he
began to lose his health and during the year of his employment he
had four attacks of colic, in the last of which he went to the hospital.
The description on his history sheet is as follows: “ Lead colic, con
stipation, suppression of urine, muscular pains, anaemia, red coloring
matter 58 per cent.”
No. 13. W. L., Irish, 45 years. From the same factory as the
former two cases. Worked there only 10 weeks; is described by his
friends as being a strong, healthy man before he went there. When
he was sent to the hospital with lead poisoning he was described by
the physician who took his history as an aged-looking man, emaciated,
anaemic, with a foul, inflamed mouth, with colic, constipation, and
acute nephritis.
No. 14. J. McC., Scotch, 32 years. Worked for 2 months in the
worst part of this same factory, shoveling1dry white lead in a room
the air of which was white with dust. He was a strong, healthy
man, but he drank alcohol to excess. At the end of 5 weeks he began
*to have pains in his abdomen and legs, a sweetish, disagreeable taste
in his mouth, and a looseness of the bowels. After 3 weeks more he
became partly paralyzed and went to the hospital. He is now de
scribed as a palsied wreck.
No. 15. J. L., Irish, 41 years. Worked in one of the dusty rooms
in this same factory off and on for 2 years. It was only a few weeks
before he began to feel sick, and during the time of his employment
he had three or four attacks of lead poisoning. The foreman, he
said, was very good to him, gave him instructions, gave him a respira
tor, which he always wore, and when he fell sick would give him
salts, but always when he returned after a severe attack of sickness
would take him on again. When he went to the city hospital he was
said to have chronic lead poisoning with double wrist-drop, colic, and
muscular pains.
No. 16. A. H., Polish, 44 years. Worked 4 years in this same fac
tory. After 6 months he began to feel sick, but he worked on until
severe pains in his shoulders and arms and weakness in the legs
drove him to the hospital. Paralysis of the left arm soon came on,
and later of the right arm. The weakness in the legs increased so

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

229

that he could walk with difficulty. When seen almost a year later
his hands were still partly paralyzed, but not enough to prevent his
doing laborer’s work, as the paralysis is confined to a few fingers.
He was still working occasionally in this same factory, although he
suffered from attacks of colic every now and then.
No. 17. J. M., Irish, 54 years. Worked in the red-lead department
of the same factory for 7 or 8 years off and on. He was a strong man,
and even now in the intervals of his attacks he recovers his strength
fairly well. He has had frequent attacks of lead poisoning, for one
of which he was treated in the Philadelphia Hospital, April, 1910.
During the later attacks his hands become stiff and painful, he has
colic and is constipated, and his mind becomes slightly affected. His
daughters believe that his mind is never quite clear, even in the
intervals.
No. 18. H. McC., Irish, 50 years. Worked for only 4 weeks in a
neglected, dusty factory, and then became troubled with obstinate
constipation, and then with pains in the ankle joints and shoulders.
After that he began to suffer pain after eating and lost 35 pounds in
6 weeks’ time. Insomnia came on and weakness and numbness of the
legs. He then went to the city hospital.
No. 19. J. K., Irish-American, 45 years. Went to work in this
same factory in March, 1910. He would work in a very dusty room
for 3 or 4 days and then at less dusty, work for the same period. The
first thing he noticed was that everything began to have a sickeningly
sweet taste, so that he loathed his food and began to drink a great deal
of beer, partly because it was the only thing that tasted right, partly
because the other men told him it would carry off the lead. He
worked only 3 weeks in June and 2 weeks in July. The first* of
August, while he was carrying some heavy lumber, he suddenly lost
power in his legs and fell to the ground, the lumber injuring his
shoulder. When he was taken to the city hospital he developed a
typical attack of lead colic, with headache and pains in the joints.
No. 20. W. D., Irish, about 50 years. This man works in the
red-lead department of this same factory, and has been there for the
last 7 or 8 years, during which time he has had several attacks of
lead poisoning and has been in three different hospitals. His wife
stated that her husband now drinks a good deal because his throat
and mouth are dry and he has an unpleasant, sweetish taste that only
beer or whisky seems to relieve. The foreman and the manager do all
they can to prevent the men drinking on the premises, but her hus
band has lost his appetite for food and often brings home his lunch
untouched, so that he craves beer all the time. He has at present an
ugly sore on his shin, which will not heal, and he often suffers from
cramps and constipation.

230

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

No. 21. L. M., Austrian. This was a large, healthy young fellow
of 18, who went to work in the white-lead department of this factory
and at the end of 8 weeks became very ill with agonizing pain. He
was taken to the hospital, but the record in the hospital gives no
details..
No. 22. J. H., American. Worked in the red-lead department of
this factory for 1 year. Began to feel sick at the end of 5 months
and in spite of the fact that he wore a respirator and was careful to
keep clean, he was obliged to leave work at the end of a year. He
returned, but fell sick almost immediately and left to find out
door work.
No. 23. E. O’B., Scotch, 45 years. Went to work in a Carter
process factory in very dusty work. After 5 weeks he began to lose
his appetite. He could not eat his breakfast or if he forced himself
to do so, he would vomit. He kept on for 3 weeks more with gradu
ally increasing weakness in his legs and arms and pain in the hip
joint. Later he was obliged to go to the hospital with dizziness,
headache, colic, and constipation.
No. 24. D. S., German, 34 years. This man was a carpenter and
repairer in this same factory. He had never been ill in his life
before. After about 2 months’ work he began to feel sick. He wore
a handkerchief over his mouth when the work was unusually dusty,
and he washed thoroughly. When he told the foreman he was sick,
the latter gave him some salts and told him to go home and rest. He
returned to work and remained there 6 months in all, having two
more attacks of cramps and weakness, the second of which was very
severe. He has not yet recovered strength, but is doing outdoor
work, having taken this job in the factory only because it was mid
winter and he could find no other work and had a wife and 7 children
to support.
No. 25. T. I., Spanish half-breed, 32 years. Worked in the same
Carter process factory for 6 months. He fell sick almost imme
diately, after about 3 days’ exposure. After working off and on for
6 months he became severely poisoned and was sent to the hospital.
No. 26. L. D., West India Negro, 23 years. He was employed in
very dusty work in this same factory for 8 weeks. At the end of
about 7 weeks he began to have pain in his chest and abdomen, vomit
ing, and weakness of the legs. When sent to the city hospital at the
end of the week with lead colic he was found to be very anaemic, the
red corpuscles reduced to almost one-half of normal. He had a
second attack of colic while in the hospital.
No. 27. A. P., Negro, 22 years. Worked in this same factory from
6 to 8 months. After a few weeks he fell sick and was obliged to go
home. The foreman gave him some salts and told him to come back

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

231

when he was better. He did this several times, but became gradually
weaker, and finally stopped because he said the work was killing him.
He went to a private hospital with acute lead poisoning.
No. 28. H. W., American. Worked in this same factory, in almost
all the departments, for 18 months. He did not suffer from lead colie
nor any of the usual symptoms, except pains in the joints, but he lost
28 pounds and had a loathing for his food, so he left the factory for
fear of serious illness.
No. 29. L. P., American, 27 years. Worked in the corroding de
partment of this factory for 8 months. At the end of 6 weeks he had
an attack of lead colic for which the foreman gave him salts and sent
him home. During his 8 months’ employment he had three attacks,
for one of which he was sent to the hospital. He was then very
anaemic, the red coloring matter 60 per cent. After he left the hos
pital he did not return to the factory and is now quite well.
No. 30. F. L., Spanish half-breed. Worked as trucker in this same
factory for about a year. He wore a handkerchief over his mouth;
he was careful to wash and even to take baths, but at the end of 4
months he began to feel sick. He worked on till the end of the year.
When seen by the investigator a. year later, May, 1911, he was pale
and thin and still under the doctor’s care. His landlady said that
when he came to her a year ago he was a big, strong man.
No. 31. G. B., Russian, 28 years. He was employed in the yard
of this factory for 7 months and did not consciously suffer from the
work. Then he wa9 put indoors in very dusty work for 9J hours
a day. After 1 week of this work he had lead colic and went to the
hospital.
No. 32. Negro, 50 years. He worked for 6 or 7 months in this
same factory. He had always been strong up to this time, and dur
ing the first part of his employment he worked outside. But after
about 2 months he was sent to work in a very dusty room, where the
men frequently become poisoned in a few days’ time. He worked
there for 3 days, then became violently poisoned, and was sent to a
private hospital. After he came out he went to work again, but he
was ill and became morose and slightly deranged. He was then sent
to the public hospital, the record of which shows that he was brought
there in convulsions, and was later confined for a time in the insane
wards. He is now said to be quite sane again and is working as a
sailor.
No. 33. Russian, 25 years. Worked in this same factory doing out
side work for 4 months. Up to this time he had never been sick in
his life. He was then put to work inside in the dust, and after 2
months he was sent to the city hospital with colic, which was de
scribed as very agonizing.

232

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

No. 34. A. H., American, 25 years. He lias worked for 7 years off
and on in the red-lead department of a white and red lead factory
which is rather unusually dusty. During that time he has had
several attacks of colic, two of them severe enough to send him to the
hospital. He is a drinking man, he wears no respirator, but he is
cleanly in his habits. He looks almost double his age.
No. 35. E. K., German. Worked for 2 years in a fairly clean fac
tory where barrel packing is done in a very dusty place. He had
charge of this part of the work, and though he kept himself as clean
as possible he could not help breathing the dust raised by his own
work and by some Poles who were working near him and who could
not understand directions. As he turned the barrels to roll them
from under the packer some of the lead would always spill and get
on the floor and on his clothes. After 2 years’ work he became
poisoned. When he returned to the factory the foreman was good
to him and gave him a job as night watchman, since which time he
has been all right.
No. 36. G. G., American, about 50 years. He has been a foreman
in the red-lead department of this same factory for several years and
has worked there altogether 16 years. He has always been careful as
to cleanliness, but not as to dust, and would not wear a respirator.
His first attack of lead poisoning came in the form of colic after 5
or 6 years’ employment. Since then he has had 3 severe attacks of
arthritis. He was in the hospital with arthritis of the hips and
knees nt the time the investigation was made, April, 1911. The com
pany paid his hospital expenses.
No. 37. M. M., Polish, 30 years. Worked in this same factory in
the white-lead department 3 months. When he came to the hos
pital he had already been suffering for 2 weeks from constipation,
loss of appetite, headache, weakness, and colic, and he stated that
he had had a similar attack 2 months before, after only 4 weeks’
employment. He was already anaemic; red coloring matter, 65 per
cent.
No. 38. F. M., Polish, 32 years. This man went to the hospital
with lead colic, emaciation, and anaemia; red coloring matter, 63 per
cent, after only 3 weeks’ employment in this same factory. He said
that up to that time he had always been well.
No. 39. J..F., Negro, 40 years. Worked in an old, dusty, neglected
factory for several years, during which time he had an attack of
lead colic, but returned to work after it. He was sent to the hos
pital with colic, obstinate vomiting, headache, dizziness, and delirium.
Later on he developed hallucinations and delusions and was trans
ferred from the hospital to the insane asylum.
No. 40. A. W., American, 34 years. He worked in the red-lead
department of a dusty factory, packing the dry red lead. There

WHITE-DEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

233

was no water for washing purposes, but he used to go over to the
white-lead mill and get a pail of warm water. This he was always
careful to do. He felt the effects of the lead after 3 or 4 weeks, but
he worked 16 months before he became too ill to keep on. After
recovering from this first attack he went back, but could work only
7 or 8 weeks. Then he was obliged to go to the hospital. The diag
nosis on the hospital history sheet was as follows: “ Lead neuritis,
vomiting, constipation alternating with diarrhea. No lead colic.
Weakness of muscles of arms and legs, especially extensors. Con
gestion of fundus of both eyes. Attention poor, memory poor, espe
cially for recent events. Speech slow and hesitating.”
There were nine cases of encephalopathy. Another whieh was re
ported as such was more probably a case of apoplexy. This was a
man who had been employed 27 years in white lead, had had colic
three times, and died 2 hours after falling to the ground unconscious.
The 9 cases include 5 white men, 3 Negroes, and one whose color was
not stated. The following tabulation gives the main facts in these
9 eases:
Case No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Length, of employment.
7 m onths..................................
14months.................................
7 to 8 years...............................
10 yearn.....................................
10 years....................................
Several years............................
Not stated................................
........do.........................................

History.
Colic once.
Sadden onset, no previous illness, fatal.
Frequent attacks of colic.
Frequent attacks of colic.
Sudden onset, no previous illness.
Colic twice, fatal.
Colie once.
Not stated.
Not stated.

In 43 histories the statement was made that the men had had more
than one attack of lead poisoning. Eight of these gave no specific
number, using the expression “ many attacks,” or “ frequent ” or
“ repeated.” The others gave the following figures: 21 men had 2
attacks; 7 men had 3 attacks; 4 men had 4 attacks; 1 man had 5
attacks; 1 man had 6 attacks; 1 man had 16 attacks.
FATAL CASES OF LEAD POISONING.

Owing to its incompleteness the following report on fatal cases of
poisoning in the white and red lead industry is offered with some
hesitation. A rather large number of fatal cases were reported by
workmen and by doctors in the course of this investigation, but there
were only 16 concerning whom it could be absolutely proven through
hospital records or death certificates that lead poisoning had caused
death or had contributed to the cause of death. How far below the
truth this number falls the writer does not know. In interviews

234

BULLETIN OF THE BUKEAU OF LABOR.

with physicians it was sometimes stated that lead poisoning was not
generally given as the cause of death in making out a certificate, and
that it is more usual to give one of its results instead. In Illinois it
was said that a certificate bearing the diagnosis “ acute lead poison
ing” would bring the case under the jurisdiction of the coroner and
therefore physicians avoid this expression and instead write “ acute
gastro-enteritis ” or “ acute nephritis,” etc.
The details that could be gathered with regard to these cases are
given below:
No. 1. W. B., American. Employed 10 years off and on in whitelead work in a dusty factory. He suffered repeatedly from arthritis
and died April, 1911, in the city hospital, aged 44 years, of plumbism,
Bright’s disease, and apoplexy.
No. 2. J. S., Irish. Employed for about 15 years in a very dusty
factory, unhygienic in almost every respect. He seems to have gone
to a hospital first in the fourteenth year of his employment. When
he returned to the factory he was given outdoor work as a driver, but
he continued to grow worse and was finally sent to the city hospital
with lead poisoning and heart disease. Both hands were paralyzed,
both ankles partly paralyzed. He was very much wasted and had
almost continual abdominal pain. He remained in the hospital and
almshouse for 3 years and then died in August, 1910, aged 48 years.
* No. 3. J. G., Irish. Employed about 5 or 6 months in the same fac
tory as J. S. He felt the effects of the work almost at once. He died
in the city hospital October, 1910, of acute lead poisoning.
No. 4. A. J., English. Employed for 2 years in this same factory.
He had three attacks of acute lead poisoning and finally died, Janu
ary, 1911, at the city hospital of plumbism and alcoholism.
No. 5. J. C., Irish. Employed in this same factory off and on for 10
years. He was treated for acute lead poisoning once in the city hos
pital and once in a private hospital. When he went the second time
to the city hospital the description on his history sheet was as follows:
“ Chronic lead poisoning, colic, constipation, vomiting, severe mus
cular pains, loss of power in the arms, stiffness of the wrists, weakness
in the legs, hardening of the arteries, anaemia, red coloring matter 43
per cent. He has lost 25 pounds.” He was in the hospital from
January 8 to April 5,1910, when he died, aged 43 years.
No. 6. B. McB., Irish. Employed as barrel packer in this same
factory off and on for 6 or 7 months. Barrel packing in this place
is very dusty, and the man was said to be a hard drinker. He began
to feel ill after about 4 months’ work and had at least one attack of
lead poisoning before he was taken to the city hospital, in March,
1910, where he died the day after admission, aged 52 years. The
diagnosis was lobar pneumonia, heart disease, and lead poisoning.

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTBY IN UNITED STATES.

235

No. 7. J. J., Negro. Employed off and on 7 years in an old dusty
factory, where the medical care is perfunctory. He had had two
attacks of lead poisoning, and then suddenly he was taken uncon
scious and died at the city hospital of lead encephalopathy and
valvular heart disease, aged 54 years. This was in March, 1911.
No. 8. J. S., American. Worked for 9 years in this same factory.
He had repeated attacks of lead poisoning and finally developed heart
disease and nephritis, for which he was obliged to go to the city
hospital. He died in July, 1910, after 2 days in the hospital. The
report of the autopsy was as follows: “ CEdema of the lungs, oedema
of the brain, chronic nephritis, chronic myocarditis, congestion of
the liver, chronic gastritis, chronic plumbism.”
No. 9. W. McC., Irish, a skilled workman. Employed as engineer
and repairer for 2 years in a factory which is reported to be very
dusty. He had several attacks of lead poisoning. He is said to
have been always temperate, but he did not take many precautions
against dust, and his work was necessarily often very dusty. He
died of chronic lead poisoning February, 1910.
No. 10. C. O., Swede. Employed as furnace man in the red-lead
department of the same factory as case No. 9 for not quite 3 years.
He felt the effects of the lead after a short time, and he seems to have
tried to take care of himself, being scrupulous about personal clean
liness, but the place he worked in was very dusty. He went to a
private hospital with paralysis and died February, 1911, aged 34
years.
No. 11. W. B., American. No details could be learned about this
case except that the man worked in the same factory as the preceding
two cases; that he had been in a private hospital once before with lead
poisoning, and that he died in this hospital from the effects of lead
poisoning, July, 1910.
No. 12. J. M., German-American. No details could be learned of
this man’s history except that he had been in lead work for 27
years and at the time of his death was employed in a dusty old
factory, where there was no medical care for the men. He had lead
colic three times, and he died in a private hospital, probably from
apoplexy, for he fell to the ground unconscious and died in 2 hours’
time.
No. 13. F. B., Austrian. Employed one year and a half as barrel
packer and in other work in a Carter-process factory. He had a very
severe attack of acute lead poisoning, which proved fatal in 3 days’
time. This occurred in May, 1910.
In addition to the foregoing 13 fatal cases from hospital and physi
cians’ records, the 3 following were found, the cause of death in each
case being traced clearly to employment in white-lead factories.
99823°—No. 95—11----- 16

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

No. 14. J. S., American, 54 years. He had worked for short pe
riods of 7 months, 4 months, and 3 months, but it can not be ascer
tained whether he stopped work in the intervals because of sickness.
One morning he started to work feeling well, but while at work he
had a sudden severe headache, as if a nail had been driven into his
head. Then he fell unconscious; he was taken to the hospital in con
vulsions, and the examination of his blood showed a profound
anaemia, the red coloring matter being 50 per cent, the red corpuscles
less than half the normal number. He left the hospital in his right
mind, but very weak, and died a few days after. Later on it was
recollected that 3 weeks before this attack he had had headache and
dizziness, but had paid no attention to it.
No. 15. M. F., Scotch. Worked in the mill of this same fac
tory off and on for 2 years. He seems to have been an unusually
susceptible man, for, though he was apparently strong and hearty
when he went to work, he began to feel sick after 2 weeks’ exposure.
It was, however, a period of hard times and he could not find any
other work, so he stayed on, taking what precautions he could, wear
ing a respirator and washing carefully. He had repeated attacks
of lead poisoning and became a pale, tremulous shadow of himself.
Finally the foreman told him that if he would undertake an un
usually dangerous job, tamping down the dry lead as it was packed
in the barrels, he would be given $10 a week instead of the $7.50 he
was then earning. He did so, but for a very short time; then he was
taken very sick and died. This history was not obtained from a
hospital record, but from the man’s widow.
No. 16. E. C., Irish, 36 years. Worked chiefly as barrel packer
for about 12 years in this same factory. His landlady said that he
was a strong man and very temperate. He suffered repeatedly from
lead poisoning, for which he used to dose himself with laudanum.
Gradually he grew thin and pale and was told by one physician that
he had tuberculosis, by another that it was lead poisoning. He died
without going to a hospital. This history was obtained from work
men and his landlady.
One factory was responsible for 8 of the 16 cases, a factory which
was at that time probably the dustiest in the country, where washing
facilties were very poor, and there was no medical care. Another
factory was responsible for 3 cases, and this factory is reported
to be very dusty, to provide only cold water, and to have no medical
care. The actual facts regarding conditions in this factory are not
known, because inspection was refused. A third old and dusty fac
tory, with poor washing facilities and perfunctory medical supervi
sion, was responsible for 2 of the 16 cases. The remaining 3 were
scattered.

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

237

DESCRIPTION OF INDIVIDUAL WHITE-LEAD FACTORIES.

No. 1. This factory was still in course of construction at the time
(April, 1911) the inspection was made by the writer, but work was
being carried on in a more or less makeshift way. As a consequence,
certain undesirable conditions existed. The stack house was in bad
condition, with heaps of old lead and faulty and ripe corrosions scat
tered about uncovered. The basement was dusty, owing to leakage
from a separator. There was no lunch room, and men ate their
lunches in the stack house, sitting on heaps of tanbark or corrosions.
No hot water, soap, or towels were furnished.
These conditions were regarded as only temporary, until the new
building should be completed. This is.to be of concrete throughout,
both stacks and mill. Stack stripping will be done by hand, but the
corrosions will be carried by traveling crane and the dump will be
automatically controlled. Large scrap is to be automatically dis
charged into the melting pot, and that portion which is used to reset
will be always handled damp. The mill is large, and wet and dusty
processes are separated. The floors are concrete and no dry sweep
ing is allowed. Mechanical devices for doing away with much of
the handwork, including that in the dry-pan room, have been in
stalled, and apparently the only dusty work in this factory will be
stack stripping and lifting the dry lead from the pans. A lavatory
and lunch room are being erected, and a physician is to be employed
to examine the men weekly. The factory employs 50 men.
The recommendations made in this case by the investigator were
that during the progress of the work special care should be taken of
the men, because until the structure is completed, there must necessa
rily be a good deal of dust in both yard and mill. It was also recom
mended that overalls be provided and laundered by the company and
that the wearing of some form of respirator be made compulsory.
The management expressed its intention to comply with these recom
mendations.
No. 2. This factory was not quite completed at the time the first
inspection was made by the writer, although stacks were being set.
It is a beautiful new building, so clean that one would hardly know
what material was being handled there. The yard is of concrete and
handwork is replaced by machinery wherever possible. Corrosions
are conveyed and discharged automatically into the dump. The
cores must, however, be shoveled into trucks. The mill is new and
of concrete throughout, with the unfortunate exception of the drypan room that is left over from the old mill and has a wooden floor,
but the management is experimenting with mechanical devices to
lessen the danger of emptying pans. The rest of the work in the mill
is done largely by machinery; conveying, weighing, and discharging

238

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

are automatic. The barrel packer is no improvement over the usual
kind nor is it managed as carefully as in some places, and the
smallest kegs are still packed by hand. The dust-collecting system
is excellent. A large building containing the lunch room, wash
room, and locker room for the men is so placed that the men must
pass through it to check in and out. There are double lockers for
street and work clothes; the wash room has a cement floor, shower
baths with hot and cold water, and separate porcelain-lined basins
with hot and cold water. At this time there was no medical inspec
tion.
Some six months after this visit a second visit was paid to the fac
tory in order to discover how it had happened that 10 cases of lead
poisoning had occurred during October and November, 1910, in this
factory. Seven of these men had gone to the public hospital and
three had been treated by a Polish physician. Medical inspection
had been introduced in November, 1910.
Those men who were interviewed said that they had been employed
in the dry-pan room or in stack stripping, that they had had only
cold water to wash with, had never heard of a lunch room, and did
not know that there was a company doctor. It was evident that this
was a case of trusting too much to the equipment of the factory and
neglecting the care of the men.
The investigator recommended that the foreign laborers employed
in the dry-pan room and in the stacks should be given careful instruc
tions in their own language; should be taught to use the facilities
provided for them; that the doctor’s inspection should include all
the men; and that the company should provide overalls and respira
tors and make the men use them.
The following is the last report received from the general superin
tendent of this factory: “ The physicians come to the plant twice a
week and inspect the men in all departments. The regular visit of
the physicians began in its present thorough manner in January of
this year [1911], after the completion of the comfort room. Their
services are at the disposal of all of the men for any illness whatever,
whether contracted on the premises or not. The company furnishes
towels, soap, and nail brushes, which the men use freely, as they do
also the shower room. The majority of the men use the lunch room,
and those who do not go outside the factory for lunch. Overalls
are furnished to the men at half cost; they are compelled to wear them
during the day and leave them in the lockers before going home at
night. The company launders the overalls. Instructions in eight
languages are posted throughout the plant cautioning the men against
the possible dangers in the handling of lead, and the foremen of all
departments are instructed to look after the welfare of their men.
Two kinds of respirators are ill use, the Hurd or Covers, a rubber

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239

muzzle with a sponge, and the Philadelphia respirator, a frame that
holds a cloth. The men are required to use the respirators when
working in dusty places. The men emptying drying pans change
their clothes and take baths daily.” The factory employs about
125 men.
No. 3. This is a new factory, employing 45 men, situated on the
edge of the town. It is of concrete construction with ample light
and air, and is kept scrupulously clean. The casting room is not
above criticism, for scrap lead is handled dry and there is an escape
of fumes from the kettle. There is a traveling crane in the yard
and, although the dump is not automatically controlled, it is very well
built and almost free from dust. The mill is very clean, the floors
being swept with wet sawdust. There is no overcrowding, the sepa
rator is well inclosed, and the dry-pan room is by far the safest of any
seen. We are not permitted to describe the construction of this room,
but the result is that a very dangerous piece of work has been made
fairly safe. The handling of “ off-color ” lead, of tanbark and lead,
and of scrap lead from the separators is not ideal and could be made
much better. Barrel packing is very well done, and could hardly be
improved upon. The dust-collecting system is also good. On each
floor of the mill there is a very good lavatory with porcelain basins,
shower baths, washing soda, and hot water, but no towels. In addi
tion there is a large wash room for the yard men, with ventilated
lockers, a large sink, and washing soda, but only cold water and no
towels. A lunch room is provided. The company furnishes overalls
for all the mill hands, but not for the yard hands. One of the work
men is given 25 cents extra a day to distribute white unbleached
muslin cloths to the men and to see that they wear them over the nose
and mouth. The use of these cloths is very general.
There is no regular medical inspection for the men, but a physician
is employed to treat, without charge, any man who is referred to
him by the manager. This physician had 20 men sent to him in this
way in the past year, but he stated that he was sure he did not see all
the cases of lead poisoning, and interviews with local physicians con
firmed his statement. There is evidently a desire in this factory to
take care of the men and to prevent lead poisoning. The men are
shifted as much as possible from dusty work to clean work if the
manager suspects that they are beginning to suffer from the effects
of the lead. There is no attempt made to keep the men who are em
ployed as stack strippers; indeed they are advised to quit if they
show any sign of ill health.
The recommendations made in this case were, that the physician
be employed to make weekly inspection; that soap, towels, hot water,
and overalls be provided for all the men, yard hands as well as mill
hands; that the scrap be sprinkled before it is handled; and that the

240

BULLETIN" OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

escape of fume from the kettles be prevented. These recommenda
tions are still under consideration.
No. 4. A large factory, new, roomy, clean, and abundantly venti
lated. There is an excellent casting room. The stack house is a fine
large building with traveling crane and the dump is fairly good,
though it must be operated by hand. The vents from the separator
are well hooded and fairly dust proof, but the returns must be shov
eled into trucks, and are handled dry. The separator is tightly in
closed and the rooms containing it are perfectly clean. The dry room
is no improvement over the ordinary one; it has a worn uneven
wooden floor, covered with white lead, and, though the men are sup
posed to sprinkle before they sweep, this is practically of no use, for
the heat dries the water immediately. Chasers are filled by hand,
but through a small opening with a good exhaust, and the work is
fairly dustless. The rest of the factory is very clean; the dust
collecting system is good.
Negroes and white men are employed here, numbering 132 at the
time of the writer’s visit. The former have a separate small building
as a lunch room and lavatory. The washing facilities are insuf
ficient and the room is dirty. There are no shower baths for the
Negroes. The white men’s lavatory is centrally situated and is very
good; soap and towels are provided. They have also a lunch room,
but they do not use it. The discipline in this factory is unusually
good; the men are required to wear pads of moist cheesecloth over
their faces while doing dusty work and it was evident that this rule
was obeyed. The company employs a physician to take care of the
men on their request, or on that of the foreman. Twenty-five cases
came to him during a year’s time, only four or five of whom were
sick enough to be sent to a hospital. The company paid their hos
pital expenses. Interviews with local physicians showed that-some
of the men who had suffered from lead poisoning, especially the
Negroes, had preferred to go to their own doctors instead of consult
ing the company doctor. Four such cases were found. One fatal
case of encephalopathy during the last year was reported by a
physician.
The recommendations made in this factory were that the doctor
should see all of the men every week, so that he could detect incipient
cases of plumbism. It was also recommended that the lavatory for
the Negroes be improved, that they be furnished shower baths, and
that a more abundant supply of towels and soap be provided; that the
dry-pan room be rendered, as far as possible, free from-dust; that the
men be encouraged to use the lunch room; and that the scrap lead be
sprinkled before it is handled.
The last report from a member of the management of this factory
is as follows: “ The supply of towels and soap for the Negroes is un

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

241

limited, but requisitions are infrequent. The room is no doubt
squalid, as would be any room in which some 25 or 30 Negroes change
their clothes and eat their meals for a day, but it is in better order
than when first inspected. There are two shower baths in this room
for the Negroes, and practically all of them use the baths every day.
There is another shower bath in the mill for the use of the Negroes in
the pan room and chaser room. All these men bathe daily. The pan
men are required to use a face*cloth and to sprinkle the floor before
sweeping. The scrap is still handled dry. The men, especially those
in any dusty department, always wash before eating and always leave
the dusty rooms to eat their lunch. The physician is now [July,
1911] under contract to inspect all the men every Saturday.”
No. 5. This factory was not quite finished at the time the first in
spection was made. It is a beautiful new building of concrete con
struction. The corroding house is unusually open, which may be a
disadvantage, as the place is very windy and unprotected. Setting
and stripping are done by hand, of course; for stripping the outer
wall is taken down and this allows the wind to enter the stack while
it is being stripped. All conveying is done automatically. The kettle
is apparently well hooded, but the scrap lead that is to be melted is
handled dry. The dump is not well constructed. Trucks must be
emptied by hand, and there is no hood. The separators are well in
closed, and there is a good arrangement for the reception and removal
of scrap and tailings. The large cores are reset, the small melted.
There is a very good dust-collecting system which ends in a pipe that
discharges the dust under water. The drying room is no improve
ment on the old factories, except for the concrete floor, but the chasers
are filled automatically and well inclosed. There is no reason why
there should be dust in any other part of the factory except at the
barrel packer and in packing small kegs by hand. The factory em
ploys from 60 to 70 men.
It was stated that a lavatory was to be built in the corroding house
with a large sink, shower baths, and lockers; that soap, towels, and
overalls would be provided, the overalls laundered; and that respi
rators or some form of protection would be insisted upon in the case
of the men employed in the dusty’processes. There would also be a
lavatory for the men in the mill. No medical inspection was pro
vided for, but the men who were sick were to be sent to a doctor paid
by the company.
The criticisms made of this factory were the open construction of
the stacks, which certainly must admit too much wind, considering
that the factory is in the open country, the lack of proper protection
over the dump, the handling of dry scrap, the lack of a lunch room,
and the lack of regular medical inspection.

242

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

Seven months later a second visit was made to the factory, which
was now in full running order. During this time 13 cases of lead
poisoning among the men employed here had been treated either in
hospitals or by an Italian physician, and the visit was made in order
to discover, if possible, how such things could happen in so new
and well-constructed a factory. It was found that not only was the
discipline of the men very lax, but the place was already extremely
dusty—far dustier, in fact, than several old factories. Apparently
only dry sweeping was employed, though the concrete floors could
easily be swept clean with wet -sawdust. The dump was found in
a bad condition; the corrosions were evidently dropped on the floor
by tipping over the truck and then shoveled into the unhooded
opening. This room was white with dust. The method of emptying
scrap from the separator was also productive of dust, and there
was no protection over the dumps leading from the dry-pan room to'
the chasers.
Shortly after this a change in management was made, and the
following recommendations were sent to the new manager: “ Hot
water, soap, and towels should be provided for the men in the stack
house, who now have only cold water; cards of instruction in various
languages should be posted in the factory, for the Italian workmen
who were poisoned had never had any idea of the dangers of the
work they were engaged in. Kespirators and overalls should be
provided and laundered for the men handling the white lead. There
should be rules compelling the men to wash and bathe as often as
necessary. They should not be allowed to eat in their workrooms.
A doctor should be employed to see all of the men regularly each
week or two.”
The following is the latest report (July, 1911) from the superin
tendent of this factory: “ Medical inspection is weekly; every individ
ual is thoroughly examined and a careful record kept. If the medical
inspector finds the least trace of any failing health, the employee is
changed to some other position, or such action taken as will place him
entirely free from any possible harm. Hot water, soap, and towels are
furnished for all the men; cards of instruction for the prevention of
lead poisoning are placed conspicuously about the factory, printed
in the languages of the men employed; respirators and overalls are
provided for the men handling white lead and are laundered by the
company; washing and bathing are compulsory, and none of the
men are allowed to eat their lunch in the mill or yard. Every effort
is made to keep the place free from dust.”
No. 6. This is an old factory, more or less overcrowded, with wooden
floors and without much modern equipment, but it is under unusually
intelligent management and the shop discipline is apparently better
than in any other factory visited. The casting room is cleafti, the

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

243

kettles well hooded, and whatever scrap is melted is always handled
wet. All the work in the yard is done by hand, and the dump lead
ing into the separator is far from being dust free. The mill is a
fairly clean building with wooden floors in good condition, and there
are no unnecessary accumulations of white lead lying about. The
separator is well inclosed, and there is careful separation of dusty
processes from wet processes. The dust-collecting system is also good,
except for the fact that the hoppers full of dust must be emptied
by shoveling. The dry-pan room is unusually clean; no dry sweep
ing is allowed anywhere in the factory. There are, however, two
very dusty rooms, one adjoining the dry-pan room with openings
through which the dry white lead is shot down to the chaser room,
and the other containing the pulverizer and barrel packer. In the
yard there is a very good wash room for the men, with a cement floor
and a porcelain-lined sink, and soap, but there are no towels, and in
order to heat the water the sink must be filled and a current of steam
sent into it, which probably means that several men wash in the same
water. In the mill there is also a very good dressing room for the
men, with a cement floor, but with the same equipment as that in the
yard. One good feature of this factory is the granting of 10 minutes
to the men before noon and before 6 p. m. so that they may wash.
They are not allowed to leave the premises till the second whistle
blows. Many of the men wear respirators, which are usually light
wire frames covered with rubber and holding a cloth or a cloth and
sponge. The company does not provide overalls, and the clothes
worn by the men are often very dirty. A medical inspector was
appointed in January, 1911, and now there is regular weekly medical
inspection of all the men employed in the white-lead department.
The workmen testify to the fact that every effort is made here to
prevent dust, and that the men are all taught to watch each other and
to interfere or complain as soon as a man is seen to be doing his work
in such a way as to endanger his fellow workmen. The result of this
careful supervision is seen in the fact that the help here employed
is unusually steady and that there is little lead poisoning in the
factory. The doctor’s records for three months showed less than
1 per cent of lead poisoning, but the men who had a history of lead
poisoning since January, 1910, numbered 13 in a total force of 75 in
the white-lead department.
No. 7. This factory is not new and the floors are mostly of wood,
but it is unusually clean and free from dust, although the rough
brick walls and dark wood ceiling are admirably adapted to show
dust if there were any. The casting room has two hooded kettles, and
though the scrap is handled dry, it is all melted at night so that the
dust and fumes do not endanger the other men. The setting and
discharging men work alternately for half a day, so that no man is

244

BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

discharging all day long. There is, however, more dust than usual
in discharging because the pots are first emptied into pails, then the
pails are carried to the edge of the stack and emptied into a truck.
The corrosions are carried by traveling crane to the dump, which is
well constructed and allows but little dust to escape. The removal of
scrap from the separator is rather dusty, but separation is very com
plete and the returns are unusually clean. The mill is very clean.
The casing for the separator does not allow of any leakage, and the
dry-pan room is the cleanest of any inspected. It must be that the
care used in handling the lead is responsible for this cleanliness, for
the construction of the pans and dumps is the same as in most fac
tories. All the floors are dampened before cleaning. Dust is, how
ever, f ound at the barrel packer and in the storage room, where it has
apparently come from leaking barrels.
This same factory has also a dry grinding department which is
expected to be dust free when fully completed and to require the
employment of less help. At the time the inspection was made
it was still in the experimental stage, and was very dusty. Two
forms of dust collection are used in this factory—one tightly
inclosed and requiring to be emptied only once a year, the other
consisting of tubular dust collectors which are not inclosed and
which must be shaken and emptied once a day. The lavatory for
the yardmen is clean, and has two long sinks with cold water,
but at noon and at night hot water, towels, and soap are pro
vided. The men have 15 minutes recess at 10 o’clock, at 3 o’clock,
and before quitting at 6. In the mill there is a sink on each floor
with hot and cold water, towels, and soap. No overalls are pro
vided. The men may have respirators if they ask for them, but as
a matter of fact they do not wear them. There are signs displayed
in four languages explaining the dangers of lead poisoning and giv
ing directions as to its avoidance. The physician employed by the
company since November, 1910, examines the men once a week, and
if a man needs hospital care the company tears his hospital expenses.
The doctor’s records for 5 months show 9 cases of lead poisoning in
a force of 125 men; but the help in the yard shifts a great deal, and
not all the cases are seen by the doctor. Five additional cases were
found who had gone to their own physicians or who had been treated
in a hospital. Other physicians reported frequent cases.
The recommendations made by the writer in regard to this factory
were: The improvement of conditions in stack stripping, in barrel
packing, and in the storage room. It was also recommended that the
company provide overalls and that effort be made to get steadier help
for the yard work. It was stated that these recommendations would
be followed.

WHITE-iLEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

245

No. 8. This is a fairly old factory, which at th© time of inspection
was undergoing partial reconstruction. The stack house and casting
room were being completely rebuilt in concrete. As work was going
on at the same time, there was a good deal of accumulation in the
way of off-color lead and dry scrap of all kinds, but this was a
purely temporary condition. As a rule all the scrap is thoroughly
drenched before it is handled. Traveling cranes carry the corro
sions, and the dump, which is to be automatically operated, is even
now very well constructed, being entirely inclosed so that the man
has only to tip over the car and step out, shutting the door behind
him. The mill has old wooden floors, but they are fairly clean, and
the overcrowding which exists at present will be done away with
when the building is completed. The separator machine is well
inclosed and is said to require very little repairing. There are dusty
places in this factory now from the leaking of tubs, from the escape
of dust at the sluice box arid at storage bins which receive the lead
from the drying room, but these places are all to be remodeled.
The chasers are open. The drying room has an extremely dusty
old wooden floor, and the openings in the floor for the pulverizer and
drying bin are unprotected. There is very little dust collection so
far, and what dust there is is taken to a small, wet, dust collector.
There is practically no provision for the men to wash and n q
place for them to lunch, but the investigator was shown blue prints
of a very well equipped comfort house which it was said will be built
as soon as possible.
The management does not insist upon any precautions except that
the men in the drying room, the man at the sluice box, and the man
at the dump must wear rubber respirators; other men may wear
these if they choose, but as a matter of fact they do not. The work
is carefully planned, so as to allow of the men being shifted from
dusty to clean work. The men are fairly steady, only five new men
having been taken on in three months’ time. Sixty-five men are
employed. There is no regular medical inspection, but a physician
is paid by the company to take care of the men who are sick. This
doctor saw 11 men in three months’ time, and according to the evi
dence gained from other physicians and from hospitals'the men all
go to this doctor. Only one other case could be discovered and he
was a former employee suffering from lead palsy.
In this factory it was recommended by the investigator that the
physician see all the men regularly whether or not they complain of
sickness. It is stated that this change has already been made, and that
the further recommendations as to the provision of towels, overalls,
and respirators are to be carried out when the new comfort house is
finished.

246

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

No. 9. This is a very large factory, unusually free from dust ex
cept in a few places. The casting room has a hooded kettle, and
though the ventilation is poor the room is free from dust, for no scrap
is used in casting here: and dross skimmings are dropped at once into
a box and sent to the oxide works. The dump is badly constructed
and very dusty, and the same is true of the vents for. scrap lead.
Dry white lead was caked on 'the edges of the water mills, bolters,
and shakers, and dry powder could be seen all over the room. Two
of the upper rooms also showed neglected accumulations of dust.
With the exception of these places the factory is almost free from
dust and is probably one of the safest of the old Dutch process
factories. At the time of inspection only cold water was provided
for washing, ’without either soap or towels. There was no lunch
room and the men ate where they pleased. Plans were shown, how
ever, for a new comfort house which is to be complete in every
way, having both lavatory and lunch room. The use of strips of
unbleached muslin as respirators is quite general, but the men’s
overalls are far from satisfactory. Signs are displayed about the
factory in four languages warning the men of the dangers of the
work and prescribing precautions. For the last five months (Decem
ber, 1910, to March, 1911,) a physician has made weekly inspections
of the men. His report showed that eight cases of lead poisoning
had developed during that time out of a regular force of 110 men,
about 15 per cent of whom change each week.
The dump and the storage hoppers of the separator are to be
remodeled in the near future, it is said.
No. 10. This is a new factory, with a clean, well-ventilated stack
house. The casting room is excellent, with concrete floor and hooded
kettle. Conveying is done by traveling crane. The dump is inside
the mill and is well protected by a low-hanging hood. Trucks are
emptied by shoveling, but there is little escape of dust. The mill is
of concrete construction, the separator well inclosed, and the scrap
is discharged directly into trucks. The dry room is fairly clean,
with a smooth wooden floor and only two tiers of pans. Dry lead is
conveyed mechanically. The mill is not kept as clean as it could be.
There is dust on the floor and a good deal of white lead and scrap is
stored in the open rooms. The chaser room and the barrel packer
are especially dusty, but the oil-grinding room is very clean. There
is a good wash room in a separate building for the use of all the
men. It contains ventilated lockers and is clean, but the washing
facilities are insufficient; there is no hot water in summer, and there
are no towels or soap. A few men wear handkerchiefs over their
mouths, but no respirators were seen, and the overalls were dirty
and only partly protected the men’s clothes. There is a rule against

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247

dry sweeping, but it is evidently sometimes done. Scrap is handled
wet and the dust-collecting system is#wet. No medical inspection.
The following recommendations were made by the investigator:
The washing facilities for the men should be increased and should
include hot water, towels, and soap. Overalls and respirators should
be provided and their use made compulsory. A physician should be
employed to make regular weekly inspection of the men. All unneces
sary dust should be abolished. No dry sweeping should be allowed.
The method of filling chasers and packing barrels .should be changed
so as to do away with the dust.
In response to these recommendations the owner states that he is
having plans made for a new washhouse with concrete floor, shower
baths with hot and cold water, long sinks with hot and cold water,
and a sufficient number of faucets, so that the men need not wait for
each other at the lunch hour. Towels and soap are to be provided
and also overalls. A physician is to be engaged for regular work.
He also states that his manager believes it to be possible to do away
with the dust in chaser filling and barrel packing and to maintain a
higher degree of cleanliness throughout the factory.
No. 11. This is a large factory with an excellent casting room, the
best in the country, a large clean stack house, but a very dusty mill.
Conveying is done by traveling crane and the dump is outside the mill
building in a small wooden house, which is closed to prevent escape
of dust while the truck is emptying itself. Separation is unusually
good and the scrap comes back very free from dust. The mill is not
nearly so well constructed, the floors are of wood, rough, and some
times very dusty. There is dust on the walls and machinery, around
the windows outside and on the passageways leading from building
to building, as well as on all elevators, stairways, and halls. Barrels
of tailings and sweepings stand unprotected by open windows, and
there is not complete separation of wet from dusty processes. The
dry-pan room is very bad; only dry sweeping is done here. The
dumps in the floor are closed with imperfectly fitting trap doors
which allow the dust to come up long after they have been closed.
The dry lead falls into wooden rooms from which it must be removed
in trucks for the chasers and pulverizer. Barrel packing and head
ing up of the barrels are unusually well done. The washing facili
ties for the men in the yard are only fair, and for the men in the mill
very inadequate indeed. In the yard there is a large dirty room,
furnished with wooden benches and a stove which can not be used
for heating food. The lockers are in this room and are very good.
Next to it is a poorly kept, unattractive wash room, which has two
sinks with hot water in winter only. Soap is provided, but no towels.
There are three shower baths without partitions. These are said to

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

be used very little. The workmen say this is because the room is cold
in winter and there is no warm water in summer. For the men in
the mill no hot water at all is provided, but in winter the men some
times run steam into a pail of cold water to heat it, otherwise the
men in the pan room and all over the mill have nothing to wash with
but cold water, soap, and no towels. There is no lunch room for the
mill hands and there is no rule against eating lunch in any part of
the building. The company does not provide overalls and the men
in the dry-pan room wore only the overalls with straps over the
shoulders. Respirators are not seen anywhere, and only occasionally
was a man seen with a handkerchief over his face. There is a com
pany doctor whose office is on the other side of the city, who treats
the men referred to him by the company. Apparently very little
thought has been given to the care of the men, and yet there is an
unusually good class of workmen here and they are fairly steady.
Many of them do piecework and often leave as early as 2 or 3 o’clock
in the afternoon. The men in the dry-pan room work there only
one week out of six.
Nothing could be learned in the factory as to lead poisoning among
the men. The physician had seen only four cases of lead poisoning
during the four preceding months, all of these being mild. From
interviews with other physicians and with workmen it was gathered
that the majority of the men who become sick consult the city physi
cian, who had seen 12 cases during the year, or private physicians.
Many of them come from the country and go home again as soon as
they are sick. Only 9 individual cases of lead poisoning besides the
4 reported by the doctor, could be traced to this factory, all of
these being Americans, while the factory is said to employ twice as
many foreigners as Americans.
The following recommendations were made to the manager of this
factory: Improvement of conditions in the dry-pan and chaser
rooms, improvement of cleanliness throughout the factory, the pro
vision of better washing facilities for the men in both yard and
mill, the provision of a lunch room for the mill hands, of overalls
and respirators for all the men, and the appointment of a physician
to make weekly inspections. The manager reports that the follow
ing changes have been made or will be made: The open chasers have
been displaced by inclosed chasers filled directly from the dry-pan
room and with the opening in the dry-pan room well protected
with a hood and air exhaust. Experiment is being made with a new
mechanical device to remove the dust raised in emptying pans. Con
ditions in the wash room will be improved, and the unnecessary
accumulations of dust in the mill, and the barrels of cullings and
sweepings have already been done away with.

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No. 12. This is an old factory, crowded, dilapidated, dark, and
poorly ventilated. At the time of the first inspection of this factory
by the writer dusty processes were carried on in the same room with
clean processes, thus exposing a needlessly large number of mem
The dry product in all stages was wheeled in barrows from building
to building, across the street, and from room to room. These open
barrows stood about everywhere. There was apparently very little
concern for the health of the men, and it seemed to be taken for
granted that the majority would quit work after a few months. As
the writer reached the plant a Negro was seen with a wheelbarrow of
white buckles, which he was pushing across the street. He stated
that he had worked there one year and had had lead colic five times,
and that this was no unusual record. A friend of his had died the
week before of lead poisoning, after one year and nine months’ work.
The casting room was very bad, being a small inclosure in the center
of a big stack house and therefore with no outside ventilation.
Heaps of dry scrap were lying all over the floor, and were thrown
from one side of the room to the other and then into the melting
pot by two men working with shovels. All work in the stack house
was done by hand, and open trucks of dry corrosion and of dusty
scrap were wheeled for a long distance. The dump was very bad,
with no hood at all, and the vent for the scrap was right beside
it, also unhooded. The separator was well inclosed and shut off from
the rest of the mill. The mill had wooden floors, rough and dusty.
Even the room with water mills, drag box, bolters, etc., was dusty.
Dry processes were carried on in the same room with wet. The
chasers were inclosed, but with large openings. The drying room
was very dusty and the barrel packer had an accumulation of old
white lead. Many of the men wore no overalls, and only 2 wore
respirators, which were, however, provided by, the company on
request. In the yard was a dark and filthy washhouse for the
Negroes, with 3 unscreened shower baths and a sink; no lockers.
For the mill hands who are white, there were 2 very decent wash
rooms, with 6 shower baths. No soap or towels were provided. The
men were said to be very shifting. No medical care of any kind
was provided.
It was recommended in this case that a physician be employed to
examine all the men once a week; that all scrap be, thoroughly
sprinkled; that the trucks of corrosions and scrap be either covered
or sprinkled before they are conveyed from place to place; that an
efficient hood be placed over the dump and vents of the separator,
and that the factory be rendered as free from dust as possible. It
was also recommended that better washing facilities be provided in
the yard; that the men be given towels, respirators, and overalls; and

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

that a strong attempt be made to teach them to take care of them
selves.
On the occasion of the second visit of the writer, some six months
later, a great improvement was noted. The casting room was very
clean and all the scrap was well sprinkled. All trucks of corrosions
were covered with canvas cloths, and all scrap was kept wet. The
stack house was very tidy. A traveling crane is to be installed to do
away with dry trucking. The dump to the separator and the vent
from the separator were, however, unchanged. The mill was very
clean; even the dry-pan room was far cleaner than is usual, for all
the floors were mopped three or four times a day. In emptying the
dry pans a long-handled shovel was used and the powder was laid in
the trucks instead of being thrown there. The washing facilities and
lunch room for the Negroes in the yard had been greatly improved.
The lunch room was very clean, with well-scrubbed table and chairs
and a stove which could be used for heating food. There were good
ventilated lockers for the men’s clothes. The wash room had nine
shower baths, hot and cold water, soap, and towels. In the mill there
was an attractive lunch room with a stove for heating food. There
were porcelain-lined sinks, hot and cold water, soap, towels, and nail
brushes, and 24 shower baths provided with canvas curtains. The
company was selling coffee with sugar and milk to the men at cost.
Overalls and canvas skflll caps were provided and laundered by the
company. The men were obliged to wear some form of respirator
and were given their choice between several varieties. Since Sep
tember, 1910, a physician has been employed to examine the men at
least once a week and to treat them for all complaints. His report
for the first month showed that 1 man in 8 was suffering from
lead poisoning. The last report from this factory is that the com
pany is substituting ipilk for coffee, with very good results.
: No. 13. This factory is rather old, crowded, and dark, and only
fairly ventilated, with the exception of the casting room, which is
large, clean, and airy and has a concrete floor. The kettle is well
hooded, but the scrap that is remelted is all handled dry. Convey
ing is done by hand. The yard is clean and there are no unnecessary
accumulations of scrap or off-color lead. The dump is poorly con
structed, without any hood, and the emptying of a truck lets clouds
of dust escape. Beside it are the vents from the separator, hoppers
from which the scrap falls to the ground, whence it must be shoveled
into trucks. The mill has wooden floors throughout. The separator
is housed in the general rooms. All the floors are rough and dusty;
damp and dry processes go on in the same room. The dry-pan room
is very dusty, and the dumps leading down into wooden chambers
in the floor below are closed with imperfectly fitting trapdoors,
which allow the escape of dust. The dust-collecting system is poor.

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251

Chasers are filled by hand from the wooden chambers containing
dry white lead; the chasers are closed. The barrel packer is fairly
good. No room in the mill is really clean. The lavatory arrange
ments are primitive and insufficient; the yard men have only a sink
out in the open air with cold water and soap, no towels. The work
men say that in winter they can not wash at all unless they go to the
boiler house and get a pail of warm water. In the mill there is a
very filthy little room opening into the dry-pan room with a coldwater sink and soap, no towels; here the men from the dry-pan room
are supposed to hang their clothes, wash, and eat their lunch. If
they wish warm water they must go down two flights and get a pail
full from the boiler house. Only on one floor in the mill is there a sink
with hot and cold water, and the Negroes in the dry-pan room are
not allowed to use it. There is no lunch room, no overalls are pro
vided, and practically the only respirators used are dirty handker
chiefs. Only 2 men out of the 65 employed wore respirators.
Since November, 1910, the company has employed a physician to
look over all the men once a week. This man stands at the desk on
pay day and observes the men as they come for their money. The
inspection seems to be rather perfunctory; the records cover only 16
men, though the factory employs 65. Ten men had been found by
this physician to be suffering from lead poisoning during a period
of six months.
Fifteen additional cases, two of them fatal, have been discovered
by the investigator among the men in this factory which have oc
curred since January 1, 1910. Ten of these were treated in the
public hospital; one was a case of fatal encephalopathy. Recom
mendations for a more thorough medical examination and for a
reform in the conditions within the mill and yard, including aboli
tion of dust and provisions for cleanliness, were made to the com
pany, but have not yet been acted upon.
No. 14. This is a very old factory. At the time of the writer’s
inspection it was one of the most dangerous factories in the country,
for there was practically no effort to control the dust. The casting
room is well ventilated. It has a stone and brick floor. There is
no hood over the kettle, but as no scrap is melted there is no danger
from white-lead dust. Conveying is done partly by traveling crane,
partly by pushing trucks along runways. The dump is inside the
mill. This building is of rather recent construction and the wooden
floors are still in good condition, but there is apparently no effort
made to control the dust. Piles of corrosions, of scrap, and of ground
white lead are allowed to lie about exposed to drafts of air, and
tramped over by the workmen. The dump is very bad, necessitating
more handwork than any other inspected. The two men who work
here shoveling and raking are in a cloud of dust all the time. The
99823°—No. 95—11-----17

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

vents from the separator open into small wooden chambers, closed
with leaking doors, which allow puffs of dust to escape all the time.
The dry-pan rooms have one very good feature, namely, a single
tier of pans. In one the pan lies on the floor and fills the room so
that the men must stand inside the pan when emptying. In the
other the floor is fairly clean, and it is said that dry sweeping is not
allowed here. The dump to the pulverizer is unprotected; the dry
lead for the chasers is carried out in trucks and thrown on the floor
beside the chaser. The barrel packer is in a small wooden room in
the center of the dry-pan room, a bad arrangement necessitating work
which should not be dusty in a room that must always be dusty.
Inside the packer room are piles of dust, yet the mechanism for
packing and removing the barrels seems good, and, as the barrels
are lined with paper, heading up should not be dusty. In some cases
tamping is done in this room. No place in this factory is really free
from dust, except the room with the water mills that has a clean
asphalt floor. There is only a small dust collector, which is emptied
twice a year. The provision for cleanliness on the part of the men is
very insufficient, consisting of sinks with cold water, but with no
soap or towels. In the basement there is a steam pipe, which can be
used for heating the wash water. There is a comfortable lunch
room, but no provision for washing. Milk is given free to the men
who ask for it. The company supplies rubber respirators on request,
but only three were seen in use. The men are said to be very un
steady, necessitating the employment of 20 to 30 per cent of new men
each week. There is no medical care for the men. Twenty-five cases
of lead poisoning, all but four of them severe enough to be treated in
hospitals and six of them fatal, were found to have occurred in this
factory since January, 1910.
It was recommended by the investigator that a new method of
dumping the corrosions into the separator be adopted, that changes
be made in the method of filling the chasers and of packing barrels,
and that the factory be thoroughly cleaned and then kept as free from
dust as possible. It was also recommended that a physician be em
ployed to make regular examinations of the men, that a strong effort
be made to instruct them in the dangers of dusty work, that the
company provide overalls and various kinds of respirators, that the
lavatory facilities be increased, and that the men be obliged to wash
thoroughly and to eat nowhere but in the lunch room.
The last report from one of the owners of this factory is as fol
lows: “A physician has been appointed who makes weekly visits to
the factory and examines all the men. Conditions at the dump, at
the vents from the separator, and at the barrel packer have been so
altered as to do away with much of the dust. Every effort is being
made to keep the mill as free from dust as possible. Blue prints for

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253

a new washhouse have been submitted, and this washhouse will be so
placed that the men must pass through it in order to get to the lunch
room. It will have a cement floor, shower baths, washstands with
hot and cold water, towels, and soap. The company will provide
overalls and respirators.”
No. 15. This is an old, overcrowded, and dusty factory, soon to be
abandoned. At the time of inspection the casting room was good;
the kettle was hooded and all scrap was sprinkled before being
handled. All the work about the stack, stripping, conveying, etc.,
was done by hand. Piles of white lead in various stages lay about
the yard exposed to the wind. The mill had old wooden floors, but
in spite of this the separator and grinding rooms were very clean.
r The chaser room was dusty, and the weighing, which was done by
hand, was a very dusty job. The dry-pan room was bad; only dry
sweeping was done here and the air was cloudy with powder. The
packer room showed very little dust. All through the mill, trucks,
barrels, or heaps of white lead were left uncovered until they should
be conveyed elsewhere.
There was no lunch room and the men ate where they pleased,
s Washing facilities were inadequate, but soap, hot water, and paper
towels were provided. No overalls were supplied, but respirators
were furnished on request; only two were seen in use, but some men
protected themselves with handkerchiefs. Weekly medical inspection
was introduced into the factory in November, 1910. The physician’s
records showed 14 cases of plumbism occurring between November,
1910, and April, 1911, among the 65 men employed in the white-lead
department at the time of this inspection. Altogether a total of 30
cases were found which occurred among the employees of the whitelead department of this factory between January 1, 1910, and April
30, 1911. One of these cases was fatal.
The owners of this factory were putting up a new concrete building
with all modern mechanical appliances. They expected that this
would be finished and the business be transferred to it from the old
building by September, 1911.
No. 16. This is a large factory building containing both stacks and
mill. The floors are of concrete, but there is a great deal of dust.
Casting is done from a hooded kettle in a well-built room with
concrete floor. The stacks are inside the building, and, though the
ceiling is high, they are more inclosed than any other yet visited.
Corrosions are emptied first into pails and then into trucks. The
dump is bad; it is so constructed that the truck must be emptied by
shoveling and quantities of white lead are spilled around. Scrap
is handled dry, the larger scrap remelted, the smaller sent to the
oxide department. Dry grinding is done here, and the room in which
it takes place is very dusty. The dust-collecting system is well in

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

closed, and the room need be emptied only twice a year. The room in
which tailings are discharged from the mill is very bad, for they lie
in heaps on the floor and must be shoveled into pails and carried to
the oxide department. The finished product passes into a hopper
and is discharged into a wooden box; a man scoops it up, weighs it,
and fills it into a closed chaser. There is very little provision for
washing, one dirty sink with cold water being all that is provided.
There is no provision for lunching. It is stated that soap and towels
are furnished the men on request. No attempt is made to keep a
steady force of workmen, with the exception of five or six men. The
others are hired by the day and no record is kept of them, nor is
there any medical care.
It was not possible to gain any information about the employees in
this factory beyond the fact that they were Poles and that they came
and went all the time. The factory was not working at the time the
inspection was made, and so the men could not be interviewed.
No. 17. This is an old factory, dark and overcrowded, soon to be
abandoned. At the time of inspection, all the work about the stack
was by hand, but the yard was unusually clean, and the conveying
was done in rather small boxes which did not involve exposing the
lead as much as in the ordinary trucks. The dump was poorly con
structed and very dusty—nickles, tailings, etc., were handled without
being sprinkled. Inside the mill the floors were old and dusty, and
there seemed little effort to control dust. Dry and moist processes
were carried on together. In the mixer room, floor, walls, and tanks
were caked with white lead. Open tins of dry white lead stood near
the chaser and in addition there was a large pile on the floor. All
conveying of the white lead was done by shoveling and carrying in
boxes. The chaser was covered.
There was no lunch room and the men ate where they chose.
Washing facilities were very inadequate and neither soap nor towels
were provided. No overalls were provided. There was no medical
inspection, but a company doctor treated, free of charge, any man
referred to him by the company.
A new factory was under process of construction at the time, and
it was the intention, as this should be completed, to abandon the old
building altogether.
No. 18. This is an old factory with a dark and crowded stack
house and with very poor washing facilities for the yardmen. The
mill building is old, but is under such careful management that it is
without exception the cleanest factory visited, and this in spit of the
fact that it has few modern devices in operation. There is no medical
inspection. It is unnecessary to describe this factory in detail, for it
is being abandoned and will shortly be closed down.
No. 19. The following description was given by workmen of the
factory where admission was refused to the investigators. The old

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255

Dutch process is used and there is a large oxide department as well.
The dump is in a shed built on the outer wall of the mill, protected
by a hood and not very dusty. The dry pans are in two tiers.
Barrels are packed by hand in the dry-pan room. The work here is
very dusty. There is a sink for washing, with cold water, steam
connection, soap, but no towels. Rubber respirators are furnished on
request, but few of the men use them. No medical care is provided.
The men employed are chiefly Poles and Italians, and they are
very unsteady. The investigator had a great deal of difficulty in
tracing them, for they were suspicious and apt to deny having been
sick in a hospital. Thirteen cases, 3 of them fatal, were identi
fied, but 12 others, who had been treated in the same hospital, could
not be found or when found denied having had lead poisoning. The
13 had all contracted lead poisoning in this factory. The druggists
and the hospital authorities knew of no other place in the city where
lead poisoning was at all frequent and were inclined to believe that
all 25 cases came from this factory.
LEAD-OXIDE INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES.

The study of the lead-oxide industry is not complete. It com
prises 1 factory where oxides alone are made and 8 in which an
oxide department is carried on in connection with the white-lead de
partment. A thorough inspection could not be made of all these 9
factories for 3 were temporarily closed down and only 6 could be
seen in operation. Since the inspection was made, a large oxide
factory with modern mechanical equipment has been opened and an
other is in course of construction. There are also 2 older oxide
factories east of the Pacific coast that were not visited and 1 where
admission was refused. The 9 factories that form the subject of this
report employ something over 200 men, ranging from a force of 80
in the largest to 2 in the smallest. The range in equipment is almost
as great, from highly developed machinery to almost nothing but
handwork.
The description of the work in an oxide factory can not be given
as fully in detail as in the case of a white-lead factory, for there are
more trade secrets in connection with this industry; it will suffice to
give an outline of the process and describe the parts that are danger
ous to the men.
To produce the oxides known as litharge and red lead, pig lead
(for the better grades) or scrap lead of all kinds (for the cheaper
grades) is roasted in furnaces at a temperature of about 1,200° F.
The furnace room is usually well ventilated and clean, but there are
several sources of danger in this department, where the majority of
the men are employed. In the ordinary furnace, the charge, or
“ batch as the men call it, is introduced by hand through one of the

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

doors. When this charge is scrap lead the work of handling it may
be very dusty, and one often sees piles of dry scrap, dross, and tail
ings lying on the floor of the furnace room. The danger here is per
fectly avoidable for there is no reason at all why all scrap should
not be kept wet, yet this is rarely done. In the ordinary furnace also
the raking is all done by hand, the furnace man standing at the open
door and working with a long-handled hoe. As a usual thing he
stands at a distance of some 8 feet, but every now and then he
steps close to the door to see how matters are going on, and when the
furnace is to be emptied he always stands close to the door, raking out
the charge into an open truck. If there is a good hood at the fur
nace door, large enough and low enough and with a sufficiently
strong air exhaust, the fumes from the heated lead will not escape
and poison the furnace man, but there are a good many unhooded
furnaces in use and many more with inadequate hoods.
When the charge has been removed from the furnace, it has passed
through the first stage of oxidation, and is now litharge or, if it is
destined to be converted into red lead, it is known as “ first burning.”
This first stage takes about 86 hours. Sometimes the first burning
goes without further treatment back into the furnaces for the second
burning, but usually it is first ground and then burned. Grinding is
either wet or dry. In either case the dump into the mill is almost
always dusty and a bad place to work. The oxides are very light
and fluffy, and an oxide department is usually dustier than most parts
of the white-lead department under the same management. Wet
grinding is not productive of dust, but has the disadvantage of neces
sitating the use of drying pans, like those described under white lead,
the emptying of which is always dusty and dangerous. A bad ar
rangement consists in utilizing the top of the furnace as a drying pan,
for, as the top is usually close to the ceiling, there is practically no
escape for the dust raised by shoveling the dry powder. This powder
is usually emptied into bins and then later on passed through a
crusher or pulverizer and through screens.
Dry grinding is done in some of the larger factories, and may be
fairly dustless if the machinery is well inclosed and there are a wellhooded dump leading into the mill and a proper dust-free receptacle
for the ground powder. From the dry mills and from the crush
ing machine, if wet grinding is used, the powdered oxides are usually
sent through bolting screens for the removal of large particles. Un
fortunately, this is not always done continuously. In many cases
the dry red lead and litharge are at various stages dumped into bins
and stored there for a while before being taken through the next
stage, a system which means another handling and more. dust. The
opening to the bolting screens is another danger point. Only in 1 of
the 9 factories visited was this part of the process carried on auto

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257

matically, so that the red lead and litharge did not need to be handled
during their progress through mills and screens. Probably the worst
part of a good oxide factory, and one of the worst parts of a dusty
factory, is the packing department. Barrels and kegs are still packed
by hand in most cases, and the work is much dustier than the packing
of white lead. Even where mechanical barrel packers are used the
work is dusty, and small kegs are universally packed by hand.
Dust-collecting in an oxide factory is done by the same methods as
in white-lead factories and does not need a separate description.
The following may serve as a brief description of the 9 factories
visited:
No. 1. A large factory, well built and clean, equipped with mechan
ical devices, with an almost ideal mill and screen room and dust
collecting system, but with unhooded furnaces, dusty dumps, and very
dusty packing. A poorly equipped lunch room and wash room are
provided; no overalls nor respirators.
No. 2. A new, very clean, and carefully managed factory with fairly
well-hooded furnaces, good dumps, well-inclosed mill, and screens.
Barrel packing is done by hand, but mechanical devices are being
experimented with. There is a good lavatory with towels and soap.
There are no overalls, but every man wears a respirator. The dust
collecting system is good.
No. 3. A fairly clean, fairly well-equipped factory, with wellhooded furnaces, good dumps, well-inclosed dry mills, and screens.
There is, however, wet grinding also, and dry pans on top of the
furnaces. The mechanical barrel packers are dusty. The lavatory
is poor; there are no overalls, no respirators.
No. 4. An old and very dusty factory. Furnaces unhooded; charg
ing and withdrawing done by hand, but raking is mechanical.
Weighing and packing are done in the furnace room, where open
trucks of powder stand around, and the whole place is scarlet or
orange colored. Wet grinding is done in this factory, and the dry
ing room is very dusty. Pans are emptied by hand. Washing
facilities are good, and the management provides respirators. This
factory is soon to be abandoned and the work transferred to a new
and modern building.
No. 5. A small oxide department designed to take care of the scrap
lead from the white-lead department. It has an unhooded furnace,
and all the work is done by hand. There is no lavatory or lunch
room, no overalls or respirators.
No. 6. A large factory, which was not in operation at the time the
inspection was made. As far as the evidence of walls, floor, and
ceiling goes, the work is very dusty. There is no lavatory, the men
being obliged to bring pails of water from the white-lead mill; no
lunch room, no overalls.

258

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

No. 7. One of the oldest and dustiest of the oxide factories. The
furnaces are unhooded, and the top of the furnace serves as a drying
pan. The litharge is kept in bins and shoveled into open crushers^
then back into other bins. The screen room is very dusty. All pack
ing is done by hand, and the packing room is very dusty. There is
no lavatory, no overalls or respirators. According to the manager,
this oxide department is soon to be given up.
No. 8. This is an old but reconstructed factory, with mechanical
improvements and a high standard of cleanliness. The furnaces are
hooded and all charges handled wet, there being a water supply at
each furnace. Mills and bolters are well inclosed; the dust-collect
ing system is unusually ample and good. Wet and dry grinding are
both carried on, the product from the former being dried in the
furnaces. Dumps are fairly dust free. There is a good lavatory and
lunch room, and some of the men wear respirators; no overalls are
provided.
No. 9. This is a small branch of a large white-lead factory. It is
housed in a low basement, poorly ventilated. The furnaces are not
hooded, and grinding, bolting, and hand packing are all done in the
furnace room with a good deal of dust. The scrap lead is, however,
handled wet, grinding is wet, and the paste is dried in the furnaces.
There is cold water only. No soap or towels, no respirators or
overalls.
It is impossible to say how much lead poisoning there is in leadoxide work, for one can not disentangle the oxide men from the
white-lead men, and as the white-lead department is always the
larger it overshadows the oxide department and gets credit for all
the cases in the factory. Out of the 388 cases of lead poisoning there
are only 30 which are stated to have been contracted in red-lead
work, and these came from 7 factories, employing a total of about
200 persons.
The following details can be given as to the length of employment
in 25 of these cases:
Length of employment.
3 weeks........................................
5 to 6 weeks.........................
7 weeks and under 6 months .
6 months............................. 7 months.....................................
8 months.....................................
1 and under 2 years.................
2 and under 3 years.................
3 and under 4 years.................
4 and under 5 years.................
5 and under 6 years.................
6 and under 7 years.................
7 and under 8 years.................
16 years.......................................
37 years.......................................
Total.................................

Cases of
lead
poisoning.
1
2
2
1
1
1
6
2
2
1
,2
2
1
1
25

History.

One of them fatal; one had two attacks.
One fatal; one had four attacks.
One had four attacks; one “ several.”
Several attacks.
One of them had six attacks, the other three.
One of them had four attacks, the other “ several.”
Four attacks.

WHITE-LEAD INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES.

259

The period of exposure, stated in only six instances, was 2 weeks,
3 and 4 weeks, 6 months, less than a year, and 3 years.
The workers in an oxide factory are for the most part skilled men
employed at the furnaces. The wages paid are higher than in white
lead and the class of men is decidedly superior, though there are
always a few unskilled men doing laborer’s work, such as trucking
and packing, and receiving lower wages. These men are usually
foreigners and not steady.
Both physicians and foremen in factories believe that there is more
lead poisoning in the red-lead department than in white lead in
proportion to the number of men employed, and the foremen usually
explain this as being due to the longer period of employment in redlead work. We have not much data on this subject, but the fol
lowing figures from two plants in which the medical records of the
white-lead men and the oxide men are kept separate, show that the
rate of poisoning in these factories is actually higher in the oxide
department, but that the average period of employment is rather
shorter. In one of these factories there were 14 cases of lead poison
ing among 65 men employed in the white-lead department, or 21.5 per
cent, and 7 cases of lead poisoning in the oxide department among
12 men, or 58.3 per cent. The average period of employment was 4
years for the white-lead workers and only 1 year for the red-lead
workers. In the other factory there were 4 cases of lead poison
ing among 75 white-lead men, or 5.3 per cent, and 5 cases among
the 37 men in the oxide department, or 13.5 per cent. The average
period of employment of the white-lead men was 12^ years, of the
red-lead men 11 years.
It is probably the excessive dustiness of the work of shoveling,
dumping, sweeping, and packing the light oxides that makes work in
this department specially dangerous and not, as is so often stated,
the long period of exposure. The steadier employees, the men at the
furnaces, are not so apt to become poisoned as are the more shifting
truckers and packers.

DEATHS FROM INDUSTRIAL LEAD POISONING (ACTUALLY RE
PORTED) IN NEW YORK STATE IN 1909 AND 1910.
BY JOHN B. ANDREWS, PH. D.
INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY.

During the two years 1909 and 1910, in the State of New York,
60 certificates of death were written and signed by attending physi
cians, who thus formally reported that occupational lead poisoning
was the immediate or the contributory cause of death. This does not
mean that there were not more than 60 workmen in New York State
during those two years who died as a result of industrial lead poison
ing. It offers, moreover, only a very slight indication of the probable
seriousness of this occupational disease. For every death actually
recorded as due to this peculiar occupational hazard there are un
doubtedly a very large number of cases of chronic lead poisoning,1
and hundreds of cases where the poisonous dusts and fumes of lead
temporarily weaken the resistance of the worker and invite other
forms of disease. Finally, it is apparent to all who have made
any serious study of the subject that the records of death, even
in New York, where they are “ comparatively good,” are still far
from satisfactory as indicating the effects of industry upon health.
In spite of the efforts in recent years to- secure in each case a more
specific description of the occupation, the information as yet avail
able from official sources is far from complete. It is a matter of
some significance, therefore, that within two years 60 deaths were
actually recorded in one State as due to the use of this one poison
in industry.
These 60 fatal cases, as officially recorded, were distributed among
the following occupations:
Thirty-seven were painters, 8 were laborers, 4 were printers, 2
were merchants, and there was 1 each from the machinists, molders,
smelters, tinsmiths, salesmen, brush drawers, glaziers, porters, and
coopers.
The 1 glazier, however, was also a painter; the 1 salesman was in
reality a paint mixer; the machinist packed parts of machinery that
were still wet with paint; of the 2 merchants 1 was a painter and
mixer of paints and the other sifted white lead in a factory; of the
8 laborers, 1 was a house painter, a second was a painter who had
1 A New York hospital which has had only 3 deaths from lead poisoning during the past
seven and one-half years has on record for the same period 59 serious eases of lead
poisoning.

260

DEATHS FROM LEAD POISONING IN NEW YORK STATE.

261

also worked in a white-lead works, a third was a packer of machine
parts still wet with paint, a fourth worked in a rubber-toy factory,
2 worked in a lead smelter, and 2 in an electric accumulator or
storage-battery works; the brush drawer worked with pads coated
with paint; the porter operated a press in a lead-pipe factory; of
the tinsmith little can be learned, but the cooper was a stack hand
and filler of barrels in a white-lead works. Of the 4 printers, one was
a hand compositor on bookwork, one was a job printer doing all
parts of the work of a printer, a third was a stereotyper, and the
fourth a linotype operator on newspaper work.
Briefly, then, 45, or 75 per cent, of the 60 worked with wet paint,
3 worked in a lead smelter, 4 in printing establishments, 3 had
worked in white-lead factories,1 2 in a storage-battery plant, 1 in a
tin shop, 1 in a rubber factory, and 1 in a lead-pipe factory.
LEAD PAINTING.

Of the 45 who were poisoned as a result of working with lead
paint at least 2 were car painters, but the majority were house
painters. Many of these were interior decorators, working in con
fined spaces, where, according to European authority and experience,
zinc white might well be substituted for the white lead* Several
were ordinary painters who smeared paint on the exteriors of build
ings and in many cases were reported to be careless as to the matter
of cleanliness. It should be remembered in this connection that we
are woefully behind other countries in instructing workmen concern
ing the dangers of eating with lead on their hands, and equally remiss
in failing to require employers to provide suitable wash places for
the removal of the poison.
Several so-called painters were practically unskilled laborers who
simply dipped manufactured articles into paint baths or handled
the parts so immersed before they were dry. A striking example of
this kind of occupational lead poisoning is case No. 13. This man
was for 32 years a painter and tool-box packer. In the beginning
he painted mowing machines with a hand brush. But in later years,
when the machine parts received their coat of paint by being im
mersed in what is known as the dip tub, his daily task was to get in
between the drying racks on which these machine parts hung and
pack them in boxes for shipment. The still-wet paint dripped upon
him from the racks and soaked through his clothing. He was con
tinually smeared with the poison. He suffered terribly for five years,
and for three years of that time was unable to do a day’s work.
Another instance of a similar nature is case No. 43, where the worker
stood all day smearing himself to the elbows while dipping parts of
treadmills into a .paint bath.
1 One of these three w as also classed as a painter.

262

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR*
WHITE-LEAD MANUFACTURE.

Three of the 60 who died with lead-poisoning symptoms had
worked in white-lead factories. One of these (case No. 11) had also
been engaged in two other occupations where there was possible
danger of lead poisoning. The second (case No. 57) had worked 25
years in a white-lead factory, in two of the most dangerous processes.
As a stack hand he removed the corroded lead which had been trans
formed from thin metallic plates into white lead by the action of
acetic acid in the fermenting tanbark stacks. Later, as a cooper,
he filled and headed up the barrels of white lead. The third man
sifted white lead in a factory and breathed the dust, which killed
him at the age of 26.
SMELTING AND REFINING.

Three of the 60 deaths were in the smelting and refining industry.
Under the occupational description of the death certificates two of
these were recorded merely as laborers and only one as a smelter.
Investigation traced all three to one smelting and refining establish
ment in New York City. The first of these (case No. 20) was a
kettle man, attending the smelting pot. The second (case No. 26)
was a furnace helper, carrying molten lead from the furnace to the
molds. The third (case No. 39) was a furnace man, who “ charged ”
the furnace and poured the molten metal into the molds.
This smelting and refining company has occupied its present quar
ters since 1900. Lead, tin, and zinc dross is here melted in three
large furnaces and cast into “ pigs ” before the combination of metals
is “ sweated out” at a lower temperature in the refining furnace.
The slabs of metal are afterwards combined according to the desired
formulae in several small “ kettle furnaces and again cast into
smaller slabs of a weight and shape to suit commercial demands.
The building extends the length of one city block and is completely
shut in on two sides by walls which do not permit windows for
light or ventilation. Skylights, however, furnish sufficient light for
the work except in winter and on cloudy days, when gas is used for
illumination. The open skylights also furnish good currents of air5
but over the kettles and molds they are kept closed to avoid ex
plosions that might otherwise occur as the result of accumulation of
moisture in the molds. Each kettle is hooded to carry away the
fumes from the melting pot, but the front section of the hood is
constantly open to give access to the molten metal, which is ladled out
without the use of machinery and poured into the molds.
All of the workmen are here exposed to the fumes and dust of lead
from the molds, kettles, and furnaces. Dust flies from the dross
when it is shoveled into the furnaces and skimmed from the kettles.

DEATHS FROM LEAD POISONING IN NEW YORK STATE.

263

It is blown from the piles and barrels of junk and waste which are
scattered about the room. It accumulates upon the floor. Aside
from the simple means of ventilation described above no special
precautions are taken by the management to protect the workmen
against the dangers of lead poisoning, except to advise them to find
other work when they have become “ leaded ” and to discharge them
if they refuse or fail to do so.
METALLIC LEAD.

The porter of the death-certificate classification (case No. 50) was
traced to a factory where for 18 years he had operated a lead-pipe
machine and at intervals had polished shot with black lead. Melted
lead here flowed from a kettle overhead and was conducted through
an open cylinder to the pipe machine or press through which the
lead was forced under great pressure in the making of ordinary lead
pipe. The man in operating the press stood directly over the molten
lead and also breathed the dust which arose as the dross, when
skimmed from the surface of the melted lead in the high kettle, was
thrown into a barrel on the floor. The polishing of shot was par
ticularly dusty on account of the use of graphite, small particles of
which are so light that they rise and float through the air upon the
slightest disturbance.
STORAGE BATTERIES.

Two of the fatal cases under the classification of laborers were
workers in an electrical accumulator or storage-battery plant. Each
was only 80 years of age. One had been in this country four years
and had worked less than a year with the lead; the other had been
in the United States seven years and had worked with lead less than
four months. They were both day laborers engaged in the sawing
and the handling of lead plates which are used in the manufacture of
storage batteries.
A physician who has practiced near this plant during the past
eight years stated that he met with cases of both acute and chronic
lead poisoning almost every week. All of the cases were from the
one establishment. According to this physician, the men who handle
the lead used in manufacturing these storage batteries, as a rule,
have symptoms of lead poisoning within 80 days after they begin
working in the plant. “ When a man here has lead colic he is usually
incapacitated for two or three weeks,” stated the physician. “ If
he takes proper care of himself, and if he takes the right kind of
medicine, he soon regains his health, providing he takes up some
other occupation.” The cost of each attack in these earlier stages
is usually about $15 to $25 for medical attendance and about $45
loss in wages.

264

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

This industry furnishes a striking illustration of what can be
accomplished for the workers in some occupations by proper sanitary
precautions. The establishment mentioned above burned down sev
eral months ago, and a new building with modem equipment/ and
sanitary safeguards has taken its place. “ Since the advent of the
new building I have had no cases of lead colic,” now states the
same physician.
TYPESETTING AND STEREOTYPING.

Four of the 60 deaths actually reported were in the printing trade.
One (case No. 27) was a job printer doing all of the different parts
of the usual work of a job office, including the setting of type by
hand; the second (case No. 7) was a printer who had charge of melt
ing the metal and molding the type plates for the presses of one of
the great metropolitan dailies; a third (case No. 35) worked for 12
years as a hand compositor and for 18 years as a linotype operator on
another big newspaper; and a fourth (case No. 56) was a hand com
positor in a book-publishing plant.
RUBBER-TOY MANUFACTURE.

One fatal case of lead poisoning among those classed as laborers
was reported from a factory which manufactures rubber toys and
rubber balls for children. This man (case No. 41) had been em
ployed for about 18 years in various branches of the work. The
manufacturer reports that the form of lead used in their compound
is “ sublimed white lead, basic lead sulphate.”
TINSMITHING.

One of the deaths reported as due to lead poisoning (case No. 29)
was that of a tinsmith only 18 years of age. The poisoning was
reported by the physician as of 10 weeks’ duration, and the young
man was under medical attendance during the final 6 weeks.
CONJUGAL CONDITION, SEX, AGE, AND NATIVITY OF WORKERS.

Of these 60 people who lost their lives as a direct or indirect result
of working with lead, 48 were married, 9 were single, and 3 were
widowers. Only one (case No. 33) was a woman. The average age
was 44J years. ^ The youngest of the 60 sufferers from lead poisoning
was 18 years of age. Thirty-four were born in the United States,
and 18 of these in New York; 6 were born in Germany, 4 in Ireland,
4 in Russia, 3 in Sweden, 2 in England, 2 in Norway, 2 in Austria,
1 in Scotland, 1 in Italy, and 1 in Switzerland. In some of the most
dangerous processes, particularly where the work is unskilled, as in the
storage battery plant, the men are often immigrants and ignorant

DEATHS FROM LEAD POISONING IN NEW YORK STATE.

265

of the peculiar dangers involved. Moreover, in these instances the
workers are often reluctant, on account of prejudices, to consult a
physician until they become thoroughly leaded and obliged to give up
work.
RATIO OF DEATHS TO TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES OF LEAD POISONING.

Thirty-seven of the 60 deaths actually reported occurred in New
York City. Twenty-four of the 37 were hospital cases. Four hos
pitals had 2 cases each and 18 hospitals had only 1 fatal case each
during the two years 1909 and 1910. One of these hospitals, which
had only 3 fatal cases during a period of seven and one-half years,
from January, 1904, to June, 1911, recorded during that period 59
serious cases of industrial lead poisoning. Twenty-eight of these
were painters, 13 were either lead workers or employees in white-lead
factories, 7 worked in paint factories, 2 were plumbers, 3 were effectu
ally disguised under the title of “ laborer,” and there was one repre
sentative of each of the following occupations: Boiler maker, en
graver, farmer, glazier, machinist, and wall-paper maker.
CASES OF LEAD POISONING RECORDED AT ONE NEW YORK HOSPITAL, JANUARY,
1904, TO JUNE, 1911.
Occupation.
Painters (compris
ing house painters,
carriage and sign
painters).
White-lead workers
a n d lead-factory
workers.
Paint-factory work
ers.
Plumbers....................
Miscellaneous (inc lu d in g 1 each
of boiler makers,
engravers, farm
ers, glaziers, ma
chinists, wall-pa
per factory hands,
and 3 laborers).
Total.................

Number of cases for the year—

To- Length of time exposed to Aver
age
tal.
lead (when reported). age.
1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911
3

1
2
1

28 2& weeks; 2 months; 8
years; 2 weeks; 2 months;
20 years; 26 years; 7
years; 22 years; 8 months;
1 year; 22 years; 40 years.
13 1 month; 4 years; several
m o n th s; 6 y e a r s ; 3
months; 4 years; 8 years;
5 months.
7 8 weeks; 3 weeks; 1J years;
6 weeks.
2
9 10 years; 20 years; 10
months; 6 years.

35
32
28
40
35

Without systematic reports from physicians it is impossible to de
termine even roughly the ratio between the number of deaths and
the total number of cases of industrial lead poisoning. The Work
men’s Sick and Death Benefit Fund of the United States, a small
organization founded in 1884 by German refugees and still with
less than 40,000 male members of all occupations, has paid in sick
benefits on account of lead poisoning an average of $661.33 per year
during the past 12 years, with an average of about 26 cases a year.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

266

The records do not indicate the total number of workers with lead
in the organization, but the average number admitted per year of
“ painters, paper hangers, and varnishers ” during the last 4 years
is only 87.
CONCLUSION.

The need of special precautions for the protection of those who
work with lead in our industries is apparent. Workmen should be
informed concerning the peculiar risks they run, and they should
be taught how to avoid unnecessary dangers. Employers should be
informed of the most practicable devices for minimizing the dangers
of industrial lead poisoning. Although it is not yet practicable in
many kinds of work where lead is now used to prohibit absolutely its
use, no effort should be spared to discover and use less harmful sub
stitutes. Here again European experience points the way. American
industries now using deadly poisons should be made at least as safe
as are the same industries in any other country. It is not sufficient
to inquire why workingmen do not leave such dangerous employ
ments. The inertia which drags upon one in a position just sufficient
to support a family, and the dread of being without a job under
such circumstances, must be reckoned with. “ I know the poison is
in my system,” said one young man. “ I am holding this job at $15
a week that killed my brother at the age of 39. I wouldn’t stay
here a week if I had anything else in sight. But what can a work
ingman do? I have a family to take care of, and a laboring man
nowadays can’t throw up his position and go and take some one else
by the arm and say 41 want a new job.’ ”
STATISTICAL SUMMARY.

The following table presents in chronological order the recorded
deaths from occupational lead poisoning in the State of New York
during the years 1909 and 1910, together with the birthplace, con
jugal condition, age, occupation, and recorded cause of death:
DEATHS FROM OCCUPATIONAL LEAD POISONING REPORTED IN NEW YORK
STATE, 1909 AND 1910.
[Data drawn from official certificates of death.]
Case
No.

Residence.

Birthplace.

Con
ju
gal Date of
con death. Age. Occupation.
di
tion.

1909
1 New York City.. Russia............. M. Jan. 26
2 ___d o .................... New Y o r k .... M. Feb. 10
3 Brooklyn............. Russia.............. M. Mar. 6

Cause of death.

46 Painter........ Acute g a str o e n te r itis ;
chronic lead poisoning. .
39 ........do........... Chronic interstitial nephri
tis; chronic lead poisoning;
uraemia.
42 ........do........... Chronic plumbism; chronic
alcoholism; chronic bron
chitis and inanition; pul
monary tuberculosis.

FROM LEAD POISONING IN NEW YORK STATE.

267

CCUPATIONAL LEAD POISONING REPORTED IN NEW YORK
STATE, 1909 AND 1910^-Continued.
Con
i'1:
gal Date of Age. Occupation.
Birthplace. con
death.
di
tion.
1909
New York... . M. Apr. 19
.do.

. M. May 1

Norway.......... M. May 11

Pennsylvania . M. May 12

Austria.
Russia..
Delaware..

S.
M.
M.
M.
M.
M.

May
May
May
May
June
June

13
20
24
25
10
14

9
10
11
12
13

.
.
.
.
New York___ .

14
15

England......... M. July 10
New York___ . M. July 12

16
17
18
18

Germany....... .
Italy...............
United States. .
Michigan....... .
Ireland............

M.
M.
M.
M.
w.

...d o ....
July 17
July 19
Aug. 25
Aug. 26

United States. . s.

Sept. 4

22
23
24
25
26
27

Germany........
New York___ .
..d o ..............
. .do..............
Ireland............
New York___

Sept. 18
Oct. 17
Nov. 11
Nov. 12
Nov. 13
Nov. 14

M.
M.
M.
W.
M.
M.

..d o .............. M. Nov. 20

29
30
31

..d o .............. S. Nov. 23
United States. S. Nov. 29
New York___ M. Dec. 9

..d o.............. M. Dec. 10

95—11------18

Cause of death.

40 Painter. . . . . Acute gastritis, alcoholism,
and plumbism (weeps) (11
days).
34 Merchant... Convulsions; acute exacer
bation of chronic plumb
ism.
26 Painter........ Respiratory paralysis and
cardiac failure, due to lead
poisoning.
49 Printer......... Occupational lead poisoning
(cerebral type); patient
also had pulmonary tuber
culosis; this, however, did
not cause death.
30 Laborer........ Lead colic (about 30 days).
30 ........do........... Consumption; chronic lead
poisoning.
48 Painter........ Lead palsy (10 months);
uraemic convulsions.
45 Laborer........ Saturnine toxaemia; cardiac
asthenia; heart failure.
59 Molder.......... Chronic gastritis; chronic
lead poisoning.
53 Laborer........ Cardiac valvular disease and
Bright’s (2 years 11
months); lead poisoning
from his occupation.
60 Painter........ H e a r t disease; painter’s
cramps.
49 Laborer........ Heart failure, caused by
nervous exhaustion; lead
poisoning from paint.
45 Painter........ Lead intoxication; Bright’s
disease.
38 ........do........... Chronic myocarditis, caused
by chronic lead poisoning.
42 Salesman__ Chronic plumbism and
chronic alcoholism.
22 Painter........ Chronic lead poisoning.
42 Laborer........ Acute nephritis, secondary
to plumbism, the imme
diate cause of death being
oedema of lungs.
34 Painter........ Chronic lead poisoning; gen
eral, neuritis; paralysis of
heart.
58 ........do........... Chronic lead poisoning.
58 ........do........... Lead anaemia; nephritis;
lead poisoning.
43 P o r t r a i t Chronic lead poisoning (11
painter.
years).
50 Painter........ Myocarditis; chronic lead
poisoning.
40 Smelter........ Chronic lead poisoning; lead
colic.
28 Printer......... Chronic endocarditis (120
days); secondary anaemia
due to plumbism (onethird year).
54 Painter........ Asthenia; hemiplegia; cerebritis hemorrhagica; arte
riosclerosis; chronic lead
poisoning.
18 Tinsmith ... Chronic lead poisoning (10
weeks).
44 Painter........ Chronic lead poisoning.
44 ........do........... Cerebral hemorrhage; pa
ralysis from lead poison
ing.
Uraemia
(5 days); acute ex
54 ........do...........
acerbation of chronic lead
poisoning and chronic nep h r itis ; arteriosclerosis
(100 days).

OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,
NATIONAL LEAD TOISONING REPORTED IN NEW YORK
STATE, 1909 AND 1910— Concluded.

J S U jZ

ase

STo.

Birthplace.

Con
i'3: Date of
gal
con death. Age. Occupation.
di
tion.

1909
New Y ork___ M. Dec. 17

United States. M. Dec. 22

191 0
........d o ............. M. Jan. 21

36
37
38
39

Ohio.................
Switzerland...
United States.
Ireland............

40
41
42

Scotland . ___ S. ...d o .. ..
New Y ork.... M. Mar. 27
Sweden........... M. Apr. 2

43
44
46

New York----Russia.............
Germany.........
New Y o r k ....

Austria........ . M. July 1

48
49
50

Norway........... M. July 8
Sweden............ M. July 11
Ireland............. M. July 18

51
52
53

Germany......... W. July 19
England.......... S. Aug. 7
Germany......... S. Sept. 22

54
55
56
57
58

United States.
Germany.........
United States.
........do..............
New Y o r k ....

United States.

Sweden............ M. Dec. 5

M.
M.
M.
M.

Jan.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.

Apr.
Apr.
Apr.
May

29
2
11
19

6
21
26
2

'Sept. 26
Oct. 5
Oct. 10
Oct. 22
Nov. 23

Nov. 28

M.
M.
M.
M.

Cause of death.

39 Brush drawer Chronic poisoning from lead
and tobacco (about 8
months); valvular heart
disease (12 years).
67 Painter......... Gastric carcinoma; cardiac
asthenia, following chronic
plumbism.
49 Compositor. C e r e b r a l hemorrhage
(chronic lead poisoning);
albuminuria.
48 Machinist... Chronic lead poisoning; pa
ralysis.
,
68 Painter........ Chronic lead poisoning;
chronic nephritis; ursemia.
36 ........do........... Nephritis, complicating a
lead colic.
45 Laborer........ Chronic interstitial nephri
tis; chronic lead poisoning;
congestion of the liver.
30 Painter........ Painter’s colic (1$ days).
44 Laborer........ (Edema, due to chronic
lead poisoning.
45 Painter........ Myocarditis; acute endocar
ditis; chronic lead poison
ing.
59 ........do........... Apoplexy; chronic lead poi
soning.
34 ........do........... Chronic lead poisoning; my
ocarditis.
44 ........do........... Chronic lead palsy; nephri
tis; acute bronchitis.
62 Painter and Lead colic (died in 15 min
paper hang utes); anaemia.
er.
43 Painter........ Chronic lead poisoning;
arteriosclerosis and valvu
lar heart disease.
65 ........do........... Chronic diffuse myelitis;
chronic plumbism.
61 Painter and Ulcerative gastroenteritis;
decorator. paint poisoning.
39 Porter.......... Paralysis of respiration, due
to chronic lead poisoning,
with cerebral disturb
ances.
55 Painter......... Acute diffuse nephritis, fol
lowing plumbism.
22 ........do........... Chronic plumbism; acute
endocarditis.
55 Glazier.......... Acute uraemia; chronic lead
poisoning; chronic nephri38 Painter........ Cardiac failure, from lead
poisoning.
41 ........do........... Lead poisoning; chronic ne
phritis.
64 Compositor. Cardiac asthma; chronic lead
poisoning.
51 Cooper.......... Intestinal hemorrhage, fol
lowing lead poisoning.
26 M erchant... Lead poison; sifted white
lead in a factory; dust of
lead poisoned him.
42 Painter......... Painter’s colic; lead poison
ing; acute, fibrinous pleu
risy, et acute pericarditis.
40 ........do........... Cirrhosis of the liver; chronic
lead poisoning.

DEATHS FROM LEAD POISONING IN NEW YORK STATE.

269

STUDY OF INDIVIDUAL CASES OF DEATH FROM LEAD POISONING.

In the following pages a more detailed account is given of each
of these cases of lead poisoning. The facts were secured by means of
careful inquiries from the family and friends and at the former
place of work of the deceased. By such inquiries many additional
.particulars were secured which were important as throwing light on
the relation between occupation and cause of death.
Case No . 1.—J --------D--------- K---------died at the age of 46 on
January 26, 1909, of 44acute gastroenteritis and chronic lead poison
ing.” He was a house painter by trade, doing inside work. Accord
ing to the history given by the physician who attended him, he had
cramps in his stomach during several months, an ashy color in his
face, and the characteristic blue line about the gums. He worked
at this trade only 11 months. Then he suffered an acute attack of
gastroenteritis, which terminated fatally at the end of the second
day. In spite of physical suffering he lost only 2 days from his
work, at which he earned from $15 to $18 per week.
Case No. 2.—A-------- W--------- died at the age of 39 on February
10, 1909, of 44chronic interstitial nephritis, chronic lead poisoning,
and uraemia.” As a painter his special work was that of a letterer
and striper, and he had worked at this trade in various car shops
since he was 11 years old. He was a tall vigorous man weighing
186 pounds. His wage was $2.60 per day, and he worked steadily
until he entered the hospital 8 days before his death. The widow,
with her three children, is now janitress of an apartment house, and
says with some pride that they have never been any expense to the
State.
The medical history of this case is unusually complete. The
patient, according to the hospital records, lived in New , York City
all his life under fair hygienic conditions. He had always worked
as a painter, and worked all day long in a shop. His appetite was
good, he slept well, and until shortly before his death he had never
had lead colic. He was temperate in his habits but now and then
drank a little beer. Two weeks before entering the hospital he began
to be very constipated. He noticed that the 10 minutes’ walk which
he took to work each morning made him 44all in,” and he felt 44short
of breath when he arrived at the 4L ’ stairs.” He then began to
have a feeling of tightness and drawing in the abdomen, which lasted
for about 2 days. No real colic but continual44drawing pain.” He
then drank a bottle of olive oil with marked results. Pain in the
abdomen ceased. He went to the dispensary for treatment. During
the last 2 weeks he felt that his left eye was somewhat weaker than
the right. He felt better under dispensary treatment, but was ad

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.
270
vised to go into the hospital for a week. He then had no weakness
of wrists or ankles and no abdominal pains or headache.
Physical-examination record on February 2 indicated a fairly wellnourished man, though distinctly anaemic and with the appearance
of one chronically ill. The teeth were in very poor condition, with
gums slightly bluish at teeth margins. On February 4 urine exami
nation was negative, but blood showed marked anaemia. During*
the next few days, which were his last, he was delirious a good deal
of the time. An autopsy was granted and the anatomical diagnosis
was as follows: “ Chronic interstitial nephritis, hypertrophy of left
heart, dilation of right heart, broncho-pneumonia, arteriosclerosis,
lead poisoning (clinical), and oedema of lungs.”
Case No. 3.—A--------S--------- died at the age of 42 on March 6,
1909, of “ chronic plumbism, chronic alcoholism, chronic bronchitis,
inanition, and pulmonary tuberculosis.” He was for many years a
house painter by trade, and, according to the physician, in later years
he opened a paint store. “ His habits as to drinking were itiore than
moderate, but chronic plumbism was the first and most important
cause of his illness and death.”
CaseNo. 4.—A------- C---------R--------died at the age of 40 on April
19, 1909, of “ acute gastritis, alcoholism, and plumbism.” The acute
gastritis was of 11 days’ duration, while the alcoholism and plumbism
was a matter of many weeks. At his trade he painted both houses
and carriages, and was also a calciminer and paper hanger. He
mixed his own paints wherever he worked and part of the time slept
in his workshop, where the points were mixed. He was, according
to' the physician, very careless in his habits, uncleanly, and addicted
to the use of liquors. “At various times during the last 5 years he
suffered from colic. When .these attacks came on he would use a
sulphuric-acid lemonade, and the attacks would subside.” He never
was treated regularly, but for some time before his death the charac
teristic blue lines were present on his gums. There were also signs
of neuritis, tremors, wrist drop, marked insomnia, and inability to
remain quiet. One week before his death he became delirious and
paralysis progressed rapidly. “ In this case,” says the physician, “ it
is somewhat difficult to separate the alcoholic symptoms from the lead
symptoms, but I do not believe the gastritis and alcoholism alone
would have caused his death.”
Case No. 5.—F--------T-------- R---------died at the age of 54 on May
1,1909, of “ convulsions and acute exacerbation of chronic plumbism,”
From the time he was 21 years old he worked as a house painter,
doing both outside and inside work. In later years he went into busi
ness as a contractor and as a retailer of paints, which he mixed him
self. He was careless in washing his hands, and as a patient was

DEATHS FROM LEAD POISONING IN NEW YORK STATE.

271

difficult to control, according to the physician who treated him at
intervals during the last 10 years of his life. He suffered with con
stipation and insomnia and had the blue line on his gums. Against
orders, he drank beer secretly while ill. During the last three months
he had occasional abdominal cramps, with extreme weakness and
constipation. His complexion was sallow and he had frequent hal
lucinations. During the final 2 months he had several convulsions,
the last of which proved fatal.
Case No. 6.—J --------O--------- died at the age of 26 on May 11,
1909, of “ respiratory paralysis and cardiac failure, due to lead poison
ing.” He was a house painter by trade and he had worked with paint
only 2 years.
Case No. 7.—J --------H---------B---------died at the age of 49 on
May 12, 1909, of “ occupation lead poisoning (cerebral type).” He
was a printer by trade. He worked in a newspaper composing room
and had charge of melting the metal and molding the type plates used
on the presses. “ He had,” says the physician, “ chronic lead poison
ing with the blue line on the gums and severe pain in the abdomen.
He finally developed acute mania, living only a few days from the
beginning of cerebral symptoms.”
Case No. 8.—J--------R---------died at the age of 30 on May 13,
1909, of “ lead colic; duration about 30 days.” He was a Polish day
laborer in a storage-battery works, where he had been employed about
1 year. The physician reports that he had all of the characteristic
symptoms of lead poisoning, such as anaemia, vomiting, constipation,
blue line on the gums, etc. He was a very hard drinker, taking con
siderable cheap whisky each day. His urine showed albumen, due
to the action of lead on his kidneys. His general condition was very
bad, due both to the lead and the cheap whisky which his system had
absorbed. There was cloudy swelling and fatty degeneration of the
kidneys, liver, and heart, due to the poisoning by lead. He did not
realize his condition until he was in a very bad state. He was under
a doctor’s care only 2 weeks.
Case No. 9.—A--------K---------died at the age of 30 on May 20,
1909, of “ consumption and chronic lead poisoning.” He was a
Polish day laborer in a storage-battery works, where he had been
dnployed about 4 months. He had been feeling poorly for 2 months,
investigation showed that he was suffering from chronic lead poi
soning. The urine, according to the physician’s records, showed
albumen, due to fatty degeneration, and cloudy swelling in the kid
neys as a result of the lead he was absorbing. He had had trouble
with his stomach for almost 2 months. He vomited considerably
and at times suffered with constipation and again with diarrhea. He
was very anaemic, due to the action of lead on his blood corpuscles

BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOR.
272
and on his general system. He began to cough and to have fever
and developed tuberculosis, from which he died. He was under the
physician’s care during only 10 days.
Case No. 10.—W--------H---------D---------died at the age of 48 on
May 24, 1909, of “ lead palsy (10 months) and uraemic convulsions.”
He was a carriage painter by trade. Fifteen years before he died he
was first afflicted by the lead. He suffered most when sandpapering
white work on wagons. “ He went through all the stages of lead
poisoning,” declares the physician, “ lead colic, wrist-drop, atrophy
of the deltoid and extensors, chronic nephritis, and uraemia.”
Case No. 11.—F--------L---------died at the age of 45 on May 25,
1909, of “ saturnine toxaemia, cardiac asthenia, and heart failure.”
In his younger years he had worked in a white-lead factory and
later as a painter. Then for 8 years he was a barkeeper. The last
2 years he worked at window cleaning. He drank pretty heavily
of whisky and beer in earlier years. “ Since he worked in three
occupations very prone to lead poisoning,” says the physician, “ we
can not tell which is to be blamed most for his condition. Barkeep
ers often take beer or ale early in the morning which has been in the
pipe all night. The lead pipe sometimes loses its tin lining, the car
bonic acid dissolving the lead.”
During the last few years he had wrist-drop and his head would
also drop forward. In late years he no longer suffered with colic but
was anaemic.
Case No. 12.—D--------W---------B---------died at the age of 59 on
June 10, 1909, of “ chronic gastritis and chronic lead poisoning.”
According to the physician who treated him during the last 4
months he suffered the usual colicky pains and had a pronounced
blue line on the gums. He was a bench molder.
Case No. 13.—W----;— A--------M---------died at the age of 53 on
June 14, 1909, of “ cardiac valvular and Bright’s disease (2 years
and 11 months) and lead poisoning from his occupation.” The phy
sician who attended him during the last 3 years of his life reports
that he worked for 10 years as a packer of machine parts, and that
the parts of machinery were usually wet with lead paint.
Case No. H .—J --------H---------F---------died at the age of 60 on
July 10, 1909, of “ heart disease and painter’s cramps.” He hacl
lived in the United States 25 years and was a painter by trade, mak
ing a specialty of interior decoration.
Case No. 15.—A--------W---------died at the age of 49 on July 12,
1909, of “ heart faifure, caused by nervous exhaustion, and lead poi
soning from paint.” He had been engaged in painting some build
ings shortly before his death and had kept at the work for days after
he was completely exhausted, by “ whipping up his strength with
light stimulants.”

DEATHS FROM LEAD POISONING IN NEW YORK STATE.

273

Case No. 16.—R--------B---------died at the age of 45 on July 12,
1909, of “ lead intoxication and Bright’s disease.” He was a painter
by trade and for 20 years painted freight cars in a building con
structed for that purpose by the railroad company. His wage was
$2.50 per day. “ He suffered 10 months and he suffered awful hard,”
says the widow. The physician who attended him during the last
four months has lost his records, but remembers the case as one of
arteriosclerosis due to lead poisoning.
Case No. 17.—D--------R---------died at the age of 38 on July 17,
1909, of “ chronic myocarditis caused by chronic lead poisoning.”
He was a painter by trade, living in a tenement on the lower East
Side since coming to this country from Italy three years before his
death.
Case No. 18.—W--------N---------died at the age of 42 on July 19,
1909, of “ chronic plumbism and chronic alcoholism.” He was a
paint mixer by trade. During the last 10 years he had been a heavy
drinker of whisky and beer and he smoked or chewed tobacco con
stantly. He suffered much with lead colic, and beginning about one
year before his admission to the hospital he had muscular tremors of
the extremities. During the 2 months before his death he lost con
trol of his limbs. During the last 3 weeks he appeared to be awake
continuously whereas previously he had continuously slept.
Case No. 19.—R--------C---------died at the age of 22 on August 25,
1909, of “ chronic lead poisoning.” He had worked as a house painter
since he was 13 years old, doing fine frescoing and interior work on
houses and churches in addition to exterior painting. He had also
painted signs on glass windows. He usually mixed his own paints,
and was doing exterior work on houses immediately before his last
illness. He was admitted to the hospital on August 2, 23 days be
fore his death, with colicky pains in the abdomen, and constipation.
His family history so far as his sickness was concerned was negative.
His personal history showed that he had never been sick before, apart
from similar attacks less severe in nature covering a period of sev
eral years. His habits were moderate regarding the use of drink and
tobacco. He entered the hospital with the diagnosis of intestinal
obstruction, but under treatment for lead poisoning improved and
was discharged. He returned in a few days suffering from a recur
rence of the trouble. Examination showed the presence of wrist drop,
blue lines around the gums, and some rigidity of abdominal muscles.
His condition became gradually worse.
Case No. W.—M--------W--------- died at the age of 42 on August
26, 1909, of “ acute nephritis secondary to plumbism, the immediate
cause of death being oedema of the lungs.” The death certificate
reports him as a laborer* On the hospital records his occupation
is given as metal worker, and investigation discloses the fact that he

274

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

attended the smelting pot in a lead smelting and refining plant. The
records of the manufacturing company show that he worked at the
smelter from February, 1900, to August, 1903, and from May, 1904,
to July, 1909, at an average wage of $16 a week. Nothing more
definite can now be obtained. He entered the hospital August 24.
Case No. 21.—J -----—C---------died at the age of 34 on September
4, 1909, of 44chronic lead poisoning, general neuritis, and paralysis
of the heart.” He had been a house painter by trade for 15 years,
doing both exterior and interior work. He was careless in habits of
cleanliness and a moderate drinker but a steady worker. He was
under treatment for lead poisoning during the last 9 months of his
life and was unable to work during the last 3.
Case No. 22.—A--------O---------died at the age of 58 on Septem
ber 18, 1909, of 64chronic lead poisoning.” He was a house painter
by trade. He arrived at the hospital in a semicomatose condition
and died 4 days later. He was a member of the painters’ union, and
through the Arbeiter Kranken und Sterbe Kasse funeral benefits
were paid to the amount of $250.
Case No. 23.—D--------R---------M-------- died at the age of 58 on
October 17, 1909, of 44lead anaemia, nephritis, and lead poisoning.”
He was a house painter by trade, working on exteriors. He had
worked at painting nearly all of his life, but was incapacitated by
lead poisoning during the last 15 months, during which time only
one person, a daughter, was able to earn a meager support for the
family.
Case No. 24.—E--------E--------- S---------died at the age of 43 on
November 11, 1909, of 44chronic lead poisoning (11 years’ duration).”
He attended school until 17 years old and was then 44brought up to
the business of drilling and operating oil wells, interspersed with
intervals of portrait painting.” In 1898 he established a studio in
large, well-ventilated rooms and confined himself very closely to the
work of portrait painting. He used lead in various forms in his
painting, and in considerable quantities. He could not be induced
to take much exercise. After a few years he appeared unable to do
his work satisfactorily or to be certain in regard to its correctness.
Then he suffered from dizziness, and during one year (1901) walked
like a drunken man. 44He could not walk between the rails on the
railroad track without staggering out from between them.” During
the following year he improved and worked for a time on a fruit
farm* but a chronic diarrhea, which nothing relieved for any length
of time, combined with the effects of lead poisoning to lower his
vitality.
The physician who attended, him during the last 3 years states
that he complained of being easily fatigued and that he was unable
to concentrate his mind on anything. His gums, especially the

DEATHS FROM LEAD POISONING IN NEW YORK STATE.

275

lower, were slightly darkened. He developed both wrist-drop and
ankle-drop. At times he was mentally deranged. “ He was an ex
ceptionally well-informed, cleanly, gentlemanly man of Puritan
descent, with no vices. It was,” adds the physician, “ a plain case
of chronic lead poisoning.”
Case No. 25.—J --------L-------- died at the age of 50 on November
12, 1909, of “ myocarditis and chronic lead poisoning.” He was a
painter by trade and had been under medical treatment for 5 years.
Case No. 26.—R-------- H-------- died at the age of 40 on No
vember 13, 1909, of “ chronic lead poisoning and lead colic.” He
worked from April 18,1906, until November 12,1909, the time of his
death, in a lead smelting and refining works. As a furnace helper
he carried molten lead from the furnace to the molds. His average
wage, according to the statement of his employers, was $14 a week.
“ He lost no time on account of sickness,” states the superintendent.
“ He went quick.”
Case No. 27.—F--------V---------B---------died at the age of 28 on
November 14, 1909, of “ chronic endocarditis (120 days) and sec
ondary anaemia due to plumbism (one-third year).” He was a job
printer by trade, doing all of the different kinds of work usually done
in a job office, such as setting type, imposing, etc. The attending
physician reports that there was a gradual onset of illness during 1
year previous to his death. The symptoms were progressive weak
ness, emaciation, and abdominal pain, and the medical attendant
ascribes as the direct cause “ eating luncheon without washing the
hands carefully.”
Case No. 28.—H--------F--------- E---------died at the age of 54 on
November 20,1909, of “ asthenia, hemiplegia, cerebritis hemorrhagica,
arteriosclerosis, and chronic lead poisoning.” He was an interior
decorator and house painter by trade. He was not an excessive
drinker of alcoholic liquors. He had been ailing for about 6 weeks
previous to his death, but he had suffered attacks of lead colic some
years earlier. He had worked spasmodically during the last 2 years,
the irregularity being due to lack of work sometimes, but often to
physical inability.
Case No. 29.—W-------- R-------- died at the age of 18 on No
vember 23, 1909, of “ chronic lead poisoning (10 weeks’ duration).”
He was a tinsmith by trade and was under medical care during the
six weeks immediately before his death. He graduated from the
public schools, a big, strong boy, weighing 165 pounds, and went to
work in a factory making tin cans, pails, etc. The ventilation was
poor, and the room was kept very warm in order that the solder might
be kept as thin as possible. He worked 6 months with no notice
able ill effects. Then he grew pale and lost weight and showed symp
toms of lead poisoning. At the end of the second half year he was

BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOR.
276
obliged to stop work and lived only 5 months more. Although he
had other symptoms of lead poisoning he did not suffer with cramps
until shortly before his death.
Case No. 30.—J --------H---------D---------died at the age of 44 on
November 29,1909, of “ chronic lead poisoning.” He worked both as
an outside painter and as an interior decorator up to within a few
weeks of his death. He was under special medical care during the
last 4 weeks. The history of lead poisoning, however, extends over
a period of 3 years. According to his physician the symptoms were
multiple neuritis, the blue line on the gums, progressive loss of
strength and weight, and general arteriosclerosis, the kidneys sharing
in the last-named change. 64The occupation,” says the physician,
44was directly causative, and the loss of earning capacity complete for
the whole period. A fellow workman generously cared for him.”
Case No. 31.—C--------H---------C---------died at the age of 44 on
December 9, 1909, of 44cerebral hemorrhage and paralysis from lead
poisoning.” He was a painter by trade, and was attended by a phy
sician during the last 6 weeks of his life.
Case No. 32.—F-------- K---------died at the age of 54 on December
10, 1909, of 44uraemia (duration 5 days) and acute exacerbation of
chronic nephritis, arteriosclerosis, and chronic lead poisoning (dura
tion 100 days).” He was a house painter by trade, doing mostly
outside work. He was well up to 7 years before his death when he
had an attack of painter’s colic. He drank beer, sometimes to excess,
though not often. On October 9, 1909, he reported to the physician
that his feet had been swollen during the day for the past 2 weeks,
but that he kept at his work. He then had severe cramps in his
abdomen. Diagnosis, painter’s colic. Toward the end of the month
the patient suffered severe pains in his shoulders, knees, and ankles.
He lost flesh, became weaker, and on December 5 he developed uraemic
symptoms and died 5 days later.
Case No. 33.—L--------A---------S--------- died at the age of 39 on
December 17, 1909, of 44chronic poisoning from lead and tobacco
(duration about 8 months) and valvular heart disease (duration 12
years).” She worked 8 years as a brush drawer. 44After working
about one year and a half,” according to her physician,44she began to
show symptoms of lead poisoning.” In making the brushes, pads
were usually painted with a white enamel (white lead) coating and
then 44drawn ” with white bristles.
Case No. 34.—C-------- G—-------died at the age of 67 on December
22, 1909, of 44gastric carcinoma and cardiac asthenia, following
chronic plumbism.” He was a painter by trade and had always en
joyed good health until about 9 months before his death. He then
showed the usual symptoms of chronic lead poisoning, and com
plained of continual pain in his legs and arms. According to the

277
physician the principal cause of death was the gastric carcinoma pre
ceded by pernicious anaemia and general breakdown due to lead poi
soning.
Case No. 35.—J--------J ---------G---------died at the age of 49 on
January 21, 1910, of 44cerebral hemorrhage, chronic lead poisoning,
and albuminuria.” For the past 30 years he had been employed as
a printer, working as a compositor on one of the New York City
papers. Eleven years ago he was compelled to give up his work for
a short time on account of lead colic. Three and five years later
he had similar attacks and with the last he had a slight paralysis of
his left arm. In October, 1901, he lost 3 days from his work as well
as 2 weeks in December, and all of the months of January and Febru
ary, and 3 weeks in March, 1902. He earned, when at work, as
shown by the assessment books of the typographical union, $24 a week.
His father, mother, and brothers were always healthy, and, except
for the ordinary diseases of childhood, he had spent a remarkably
healthy life until the time when his trade began to show its effects
upon his health. He smoked moderately and drank only occasion
ally. In recent years he became subject, at irregular intervals, to
attacks of dizziness and headaches, and was advised by his physician
to get other employment.
On January 19,1910, according to the hospital records, he was sud
denly taken with an apoplectic seizure and hurried to the hospital
in deep coma. Examination showed paralysis, very high blood pres
sure, hardened arteries, Bright’s disease, and granular degeneration
of his red blood corpuscles (a condition typical of lead poisoning).
He lived only 2 days.
Case No. 36.—B--------F---------S---------died at the age of 48 on
January 29,1910, of “ chronic lead poisoning and paralysis.”
Case No. 37.—F--------S---------died at the age of 68 on March 2,
1910, of “ chronic lead poisoning, chronic’nephritis, and uraemia.”
He was a house painter by trade, working principally on interior
work from the time he was 14 years of age until just before he died.
He mixed his own paints. During the last 4 months, according to the
statement of his family, he finished bathrooms and closets in white
enamel at one of the large apartment houses. He felt dizzy after
working in such confined spaces. He suffered with constipation and
had trouble also with his ankles. 44Like most patients of his class,”
says the physician, “ he did not attribute his trouble to his occupation,
but I did. He had also suffered from time to time with severe intesti
nal pains (lead colic).”
Case No. 38.—J --------F---------died at the age of 36 on March 11,
1910, of 44nephritis, complicating a lead colic.” He was a painter by
trade.
DEATHS FROM LEAD POISONING IN NEW YORK STATE.

278

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

Case No. 39.—T--------S---------died at the age of 45 on March 19,
1910, of “ chronic interstitial nephritis, chronic lead poisoning, and
congestion of the liver.” He was recorded on the death certificate as
a laborer. For 12 years he worked in a lead smelting and refining
works. From April, 1902, until November 7, 1903, he received an
average wage of $14 a week. Six years before his death he was obliged
to give up all work. He had lead poisoning 15 years before his death,
according to the hospital records, and suffered partial paralysis of
one wrist. The hospital diagnosis was as follows: “ Chronic lead
poisoning, aortic stenosis, and hypertrophy of liver.” He was a mod
erate drinker and smoker.
Case No. Jfi.—K--------C--------- died at the age of 30 on March 19,
1910, of “ painter’s colic (1J days’ duration).” He wandered into the
village looking for work as a painter only 2 days before his death at
the local hospital. As he was partly unconscious no satisfactory his
tory could be secured, but he was suffering with severe symptoms of
lead poisoning.
Case No. 41.—F--------C---------died at the age of 44 on March 27,
1910, of “ oedema, due to chronic lead poisoning.” The coroner’s rec
ords are no more explicit in this case, but the vice president of the
rubber company for which he worked states that C--------when 26
years old began work there at 75 cents a day as a packer of rubber
balls. Later he received from $1.75 to $2.50 per day of 9 or 10 hours
when he worked on a drill which bores holes in the balls, and finally
in the heater room where rubber balls and toys are cured. “ He never
worked on the grinders where the compounds are made, and never in
any department where there was danger,” declared the company offi
cial, who immediately added, “ He didn’t take good care of himself
anyway.”
Case No. 1$.—J --------W---------died at the age of 45 on April 2,
1910, of “ myocarditis, acute endocarditis, and chronic lead poisoning.”
He had always worked as a painter. He used alcohol and tobacco
sparingly and admitted that he was not very careful about cleanliness
of finger nails at meals or about care of teeth and mouth. Five years
previous to his final illness he had a similar attack, which lasted for
4 months. His last illness began, about 3 months before his death,
with pain in his right knee and ankle, which at times compelled him
to remain at home. Six weeks later the pain in right knee became
so bad that he was obliged to spend a week in bed, and after another
month he entered the hospital. Upon examination he was found to
be pale and sallow looking, markedly anaemic, and with the blue lead
line present along the edge of the gums.
Case No. 43.—J--------B--------- died at the age of 59 on April 6,
1910, of “ apoplexy and chronic lead poisoning.” At times he had
painted houses and worked as a paper hanger, but he had worked for

DEATHS FROM HEAD POISONING IN NEW YORK STATE.

279

13 years as a painter for a company which manufactures treadmills.
“ In this painting,” says the physician, “ he would dip his arms up
to the elbows in the paint solution all day long. He used to get
dizzy and faint and drop over wherever he was. It took four men
to hold him when he got these spells, and he would yell at the top
of his voice. At such times he would vomit very hard. He had
pronounced wrist-drop. He worked part of the time during the last
year, but paralysis affected his right side so that he could not use
his right arm and could only drag his right foot along.”
Case No. 44-—S-------- C---------died at the age of 34 on April 21,
1910, of “ chronic lead poisoning and myocarditis.” He was a painter
by trade and had had several previous attacks of lead colic. Suddenly
he was seized with colicky pain in the abdomen while at work and
died within 1 day after admission to the hospital.
Case No. 45.—J --------M---------died at the age of 44 on April 26,
1910, of “ chronic lead palsy, nephritis, and acute bronchitis.” For 15
years he was a painter and careless in his habits. He was a patient
in one hospital from December 31,1909, until April 2,1910, suffering
with lead colic and neuritis, due to lead poisoning. Two months
earlier he was in another hospital suffering with lead colic for 10
days. Shortly after his discharge from this institution he developed
both “ wrist-drop ” and “ foot-drop.” He finally died with all of
the symptoms of lead poisoning, including lead palsy, nervous irri
tability, and the blue line on the gums, according to the physician
who treated him during the final 6 months.
Case No. 45.—W--------J---------K---------died at the age of 62 on
May 2, 1910, of “ lead colic (died in 15 minutes) and anaemia.” For
30 years he had been a house painter and paper hanger. During the
last *15 years he had been afflicted with chronic lead poisoning to
such an extent that he was obliged to give up his work from time to
time. According to the physician, “ He suffered with anaemia and
periodical attacks of colic, dying in such an attack before I could
reach his bedside.”
Case No. 4?-—B--------A---------died at the age of 43 on July 1,
1910, of “ chronic lead poisoning, arteriosclerosis, and valvular heart
disease.” He was a contract house painter by trade, doing both in
side and outside work for 28 years. He did not use alcohol and
smoked moderately. He was in early life a strong, healthy man.
His father is living and well at 85 years. His mother died in child
birth at 44 years of age. He began to complain about 1 year before
his death of colicky pains and constipation, and he had severe anae
mia and the blue line on the gums. He suffered with intense head
aches and pain in the joints and had wrist-drop and arteriosclerosis.
His earnings were from $20 to $35 per week. He left a family
almost destitute.

280

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

Case No. 48.—O--------L---------died at the age of 65 on July 8,
1910, of “ chronic diffuse myelitis and chronic plumbism.” He was
a house painter by trade. Eight years before his death he noticed
that he could not hold his paintbrush, but secured treatment and
kept up his work after a fashion for 5 years. Pain then appeared
in his lower limbs, and when it ceased he became so weak he could
not walk. Palsy of the right limb developed, and he complained of
bowel trouble. He was naturally a strong, robust man and drank
no whisky, but he drank beer in moderation and smoked a pipe.
Case No. 49.—C--------S--------- N---------died at the age of 61 on
July 11, 1910, of “ ulcerative gastroenteritis and paint poisoning.”
He was a painter and decorator by trade.
Case No. 50.—L--------M---------died at the age of 39 on July 18,
1910, of “ paralysis of respiration due to chronic lead poisoning,
with cerebral disturbances.” He worked in a lead-pipe and shot
factory during the 18 years preceding his death. He carried lead
in bars and also molten lead from vats to forms and operated a leadpipe machine. He was exposed during this time to the fumes and
dusts of lead, but was never until the last year incapacitated for
work except from severe gastric attacks of cramps and vomiting, last
ing from 12 to 24 hours. In December, 1909, however, he called in
a physician in connection with an attack which lasted 1 week. The
physician then warned him and told liim to get other work. He re
sumed his old work, however, and in June* 1910, suffered an attack
which continued with great severity during the month before his
death. He was a temperate man in both smoking and drinking and
was physically strong throughout his life.
Case No. 51.—F--------H---------died at the age of 55 on July 19,
1910, of “ acute diffuse nephritis, following plumbism.” He was a
painter by trade.
Case No. 52.—S-------- K---------died at the age of 22 on August 7,
1910, of “ chronic plumbism and acute endocarditis.” He had been
a painter for 8 years. Three weeks before his death he experienced
trouble in buttoning his shoes. One week later he entered the
hospital with symptoms of lead poisoning and died there after 18
days.
Case No. 58.—J --------S---------died at the age of 55 on September
22,1910, of “ acute uraemia, chronic lead poisoning, and chronic nephri
tis.” He had worked for two small employers for 9 years as a house
painter and glazier, and previous to that had been an itinerant glazier.
He was careless in the handling of white lead which he mixed with
oil, zinc, and putty. Seven weeks before his death, according to
the records of the hospital Where he died, he developed severe symp
toms of lead poisoning and .was unable to walk thereafter.

DEATHS FROM LEAD POISONING IN NEW YORK STATE.

281

Case No. 5b-—T-------- L-------- died at the age of 38 on September
26, 1910, of “ cardiac failure, from lead poisoning.” Until the last
4 years of his life he was a clerk. Then he began work as a painter,
handling much lead. Until this time he had never been sick, but
almost immediately he was seized with abdominal cramps which
lasted several days at a time. At each succeeding attack the cramps
became more severe. Two weeks before his death he experienced
an unusually severe attack, and a few days later, when admitted to
the hospital, he carried well-marked evidences of lead poisoning,
including wrist-drop and the blue line on the gums.
Case No. 55.—T--------S---------died at the age of 41 on October
5,1910, of “ lead poisoning and chronic nephritis.” He was a painter
by trade and according to the physician was very careless about
eating with paint on his hands. On April 26, 1909, he entered a
hospital and received treatment during 1 week. The most marked
trouble at the time was loose teeth, an abscess and sloughing gums.
He neither drank nor smoked and had no venereal disease, according
to the medical history. He returned to work and about May 30,
1910, was attacked with lead colic and pain and weakness in his
legs. The blue line on the gums appeared. The symptoms continued
with increasing severity until his death.
Case No. 56.—C-------- McW-------- died at the age of 64 on
October 10, 1910, of “ cardiac asthma and chronic lead poisoning.”
For about 30 years he worked as a hand compositor on bookwork for
a large printing establishment, according to ’the records in the coro
ner’s office. After the type is set up by hand in the printing office,
and before the wax impression is made for the stereotypers’ mold,
black lead is dusted on the surface of the wax. Some of this black
lead adheres to the type as it is distributed in the case. The hand
compositor frequently shakes his case in order to bring the remaining
type into the middle of the respective compartments, and the dust
which arises, containing some lead, is breathed by the worker. The
compositor in this instance was obliged to stop work from time to
time after the seventh year before his death. In 1906 he drew $21
in out-of-work relief, but on September 14, 1907, according to the
records of the typographical union, he was placed on the local old-age
pension list. He drew $4 a week pension from the local fund from
that time until August, 1908, when he was transferred to the Inter
national Typographical Union pension roll and then received $4 a
week from the international fund until his death in October, 1910.
The regular $150 death benefit was paid from the same sources.
Case No. 57.—D-------- D---------died at the age of 51 on October
22, 1910, of “ internal hemorrhage, following lead poisoning.” For
25 years he had worked for a white-lead factory, and according to
his family received $2 a day. He suffered for a year preceding his

282

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

death, but took medicine which enabled him to continue his work.
He lost only 3 days, but suffered intense pain.
The manufacturers of white lead who employed him state that he
filled several positions in this factory during the 25 years, including
stack hand, fireman, and cooper, and that for a time he ran a pulp
mixer. As a cooper he packed the white lead in barrels and “ headed
up ” the barrels. At this factory the lead company uses the Dutch
process of corrosion, and as a stack hand he emptied the fermenting
tanbark stacks (where the change from metallic lead to the white
carbonate takes place) of their accumulations of dusty white lead.
He therefore worked at two of the most dangerous tasks in a whitelead factory.
Case No. 58.—W--------A-------- H---------died at the age of 26 on
November 23, 1910, of “ lead poison. Sifted white lead in a factory.
Dust of lead poisoned him.”
Case No. 59.—W--------G---------died at the age of 42 on November
28, 1910, of “ painter’s colic, lead poisoning, acute, fibrinous pleurisy,
et acute pericarditis.” He worked steadily as a painter during the
last 6 years and previous to that “ off and on ” for many years. He
had lead colic 2 years before his death, and several later attacks.
The last attack was very severe and of 3 weeks’ duration. He had
the blue line on the gums, but no wrist-drop, according to the hospital
records.
Case No. 60.—C--------L---------died at the age of 40 on December
5, 1910, of “ cirrhosis of the liver and chronic lead poisoning.” He
had always worked as a painter and his illness according to the medi
cal history dates back about 15 years, beginning with abdominal pain,
soreness of gums, headache, and constipation. These symptoms per
sisted with periods of improvement under medical treatment and
subsequent relapse when he returned to work. The final attack was
of 6 weeks’ duration.

LAWS ENACTED DURING 1911 REQUIRING THE REPORT OF
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES.

During the legislative sessions of the present year, largely through
the efforts of the American Association for Labor Legislation, bills
requiring reports by physicians of all cases of occupational diseases
occurring in their practice were introduced in the legislatures of eight
States: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New
York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In six of these States—Cali
fornia, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin—
the bills were passed and became laws. In Illinois the requirement in
regard to occupational disease reports is part of a general occupa
tional disease bill. The whole of the bill is, however, reproduced in
the following pages as being specially germane to the articles on lead
poisoning which occupy the early part of this Bulletin.
The text of the laws above referred to concerning reports of occupa
tional diseases is given in the following pages:
CALIFORNIA.

ACTS OF 1911.

Chapter 485.— R ep o rts o f occupational d iseases .
Section 1. Every medical practitioner attending on or called in to visit a
patient whom he believes to be suffering from lead, phosphorus, arsenic or mer
cury or their compounds, or from anthrax, or from compressed-air illness, con
tracted as a result of the nature of the patient's employment/shall send to the
State board of health a notice stating the name and full postal address and
place of employment of the patient and the disease from which, in the opinion
of the medical practitioner, the patient is suffering, and shall be entitled in
respect of every bona fide notice sent in pursuance of this section to a fee of
fifty cents, to be paid as part of the expense incurred by the State board of
health in the execution of this act.
Sec. 2. If any medical practitioner, when required by this act to send a notice,
willfully fails forthwith to send the same, as provided by this act, he shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction of the same shall be fined not more
than ten dollars.
Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the State board of health to enforce the provi
sions of this act, and it may call upon local boards of health and health officers
for assistance and it shall be the duty of all boards and officers so called upon
for such assistance to render the same. It shall furthermore be the duty of said
State board of health to transmit such data to the commissioner of the bureau
of labor statistics.
CONNECTICUT.

ACTS OF 1911.

Chapter 159.— R ep o rts of occupational diseases .
Section 1. Every physician shall report, in writing, to the commissioner of
the bureau of labor statistics, every case, occurring in his practice, of poisoning
from lead, phosphorus, arsenic, or mercury, or their compounds, or of anthrax,
99823°—No. 95—11------19
283

284

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

or of compressed air illness, contracted, in the opinion of the physician, as the
result of the nature of the patient’s employment. Such report shall be made by
such physician within one week after his recognition of the disease, and shall
state the name, post-office address, and place of employment of the patient, and
the disease from which, in the opinion of the physician, the patient is suffering.
For each such report the physician making the same shall receive a fee of fifty
cents, to be paid by the commissioner of the bureau of labor statistics as a part
of the expenses of his office.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect September 1, 1911.
ILLINOIS.

ACTS OF 1911.
C
250.— O ccupational diseases.
Section 1. Every employer of labor in this State, engaged in carrying on any
work or process which may produce any illness or disease peculiar to the work
or process carried on, or which subjects the employees to the danger of illness
or disease incident to such work or process, to which employees are not ordi
narily exposed in other lines of employment, shall, for the protection of all
employees engaged in such work or process, adopt and provide reasonable and
approved devices, means or methods for the prevention of such industrial or
occupational diseases as are incident to such work or process.
Sec. 2. Every employer in this State engaged in the carrying on of any process
of manufacture or labor in which sugar of lead, white lead, lead chromate,
litharge, red lead, arsenate of lead, or paris green are employed, used or handled,
or the manufacture of brass or the smelting of lead or zinc, which processes
and employments, are hereby declared to be especially dangerous to the health
of the employees engaged in any process of manufacture or labor in which
poisonous chemicals, minerals or other substances are used or handled by the
employees therein in harmful quantities or under harmful conditions, shall pro
vide for and place at the disposal of the employees engaged in any such process
or manufacture and shall maintain in good condition and without cost to the
employees, proper working clothing to be kept and used exclusively for such
employees while at work, and all employees therein shall be required at all
times while they are at work to use and wear such clothing ;■ and in all processes
of manufacture or labor referred to in this section which are unnecessarily
productive of noxious or poisonous dusts, adequate and approved respirators
shall be furnished and maintained by the employer in good condition and with
out cost to the employees, and such employees shall use such respirators at all
times while engaged in any work necessarily productive of noxious or pois
onous dusts.
Sec. 3. Every employer engaged in carrying on any process or manufacture
referred to in section 2 of this act, shall, as often as once every calendar month,
cause all employees who come into direct contact with the poisonous agencies or
injurious processes referred to in section 2 of this act, to be examined by a com
petent licensed physician for the purpose of ascertaining if there exists in any
employee any industrial or occupational disease or illness, or any disease or ill
ness due or incident to the character of the work in which the employee is
engaged.
Sec. 4. It is hereby made the duty of any licensed physician who shall make
the physical examination of employees under the provisions of section 3 of this
act, to make an immediate report thereof to the State board of health of the
State of Illinois upon blanks to be furnished by said board upon request, and
if no such disease or illness is found, the physician shall so report, and if any
such disease is found, the report shall state the name, address, sex and age of
such employee and the name of such employer, and the nature of the disease
or illness with which the employee is afflicted, and the probable extent and
duration*thereof, and the last place of employment: P ro vid ed , That the failure
of any such physician to receive the blanks of the State board of health for the
making of such report, shall not excuse such physician from making the. report
as herein provided.
Sec. 5. The secretary of the State board of health shall, immediately upon
receipt of any report from any physician in accordance with the provisions of
section 4 of this act, transmit a copy thereof to the Illinios department of
factory inspection.

h apter

LAWS REQUIRING REPORT OF OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES.

285

Sec. 6. Every employer engaged in carrying on any process of manufacture
referred to in section 2 of this act, shall provide, separate and apart from the
Workshop in which such employees are engaged, a dressing room and lavatory
for the use of such employees who are exposed to poisonous or injurious dusts,
fumes and gases, and such lavatory shall be kept and maintained in a clean
and wholesome manner and provided with a sufficient number of basins or
spigots, with adequate washing facilities, including hot and cold water, clean
towels and soap and shower bath, and the dressing rooms shall be furnished
with clothes presses or compartments, so that the ordinary street clothes of
such employees shall be kept separate and apart from their working clothes.
Sec. 7. No employees shall take or be allowed to take any food or drink of any
kind into any room or apartment in which any process or manufacture referred
to in section 2 of this act is carried on, or in which poisonous substances or in
jurious or noxious fumes, dusts or gases are present as the result of such work
or process being carried on in such room or apartment, and the employees shall
not remain in any such room or apartment during the time allowed for meals,
and suitable provision shall be made and maintained by the employer for
enabling the employees to take their meals elsewhere in such place of employ
ment, and a sufficient number of sanitary closed receptacles containing whole
some drinking water shall be provided and maintained for the use of the em
ployees within reasonable access and without cost to then.
Sec. 8. All employers engaged in carrying on any process or manufacture
referred to in section 2 of this act, shall provide and maintain adequate devices
for carrying off all poisonous or injurious fumes from any furnaces which may
be employed in any such process or manufacture, and shall also provide and
maintain adequate facilities for carrying off all injurious dust, and the floors in
any room or apartment where such work or process is carried on shall, so far as
practicable, be kept and maintained in a smooth and hard condition, and no
sweeping shall be permitted during working hours except where the floors in
such workshop are dampened so as to prevent the raising of dust; and all ore,
slag, dross and fume shall be kept in some room or apartment separate from the
working rooms occupied by the employees, and where practicable, all mixing and
weighing of such ore, slag, dross or fume shall be done in such separate room
or apartment, and all such material shall, so far as practicable, be dampened
before being handled or transported by employees.
Sec. 9. When any flues are used in any such process or manufacture referred
to in section 2 of this act, and such flues are being cleaned out or emptied, the
employer shall in every case provide and maintain a sufficient and- adequate
means or device, such as canvas bags or other practical device, or by dampening
the dust, or some other sufficient method for catching and collecting the dust and
preventing it from unreasonably fouling or polluting the air in which the em
ployees are obliged to work, and, wherever practicable, the dust occasioned in
any process or manufacture referred to in section 2 of this act, and any polish
ing or finishing therein, shall be dampened or wet down, and every reasonable
precaution shall be adopted by the employer to prevent the unnecessary creation
or raising of dust, and all floors shall be washed or scrubbed at least once every
working day; and such parts of the work or process as are especially dangerous
to the employees, on account of poisonous fumes, dusts and gases, shall, where
practicable, be carried on in separate rooms and under cover of some suitable
and sufficient device to remove the danger to the health of such employee, as far
as may be reasonably consistent with the manufacturing process, and the fixtures
and tools employed in any such process of manufacture, shall be thoroughly
washed and cleaned at reasonable intervals.
Sec. 10. All hoppers or chutes or similar devices used in the course of any
process or manufacture referred to in section 2 of this act shall, where prac
ticable, be provided with a hood or covering, and an adequate and sufficient
apparatus or other proper device for the purpose of drawing away from the em
ployees noxious, poisonous or injurious dusts, and preventing the employees
from coming into unnecessary contact therewith; and all conveyances or recep
tacles used for the transportation about or the storage in any place where any
such process or manufacture referred to in section 2 of this act is carried on,
shall be properly covered or dampened in such way as to protect the health of
the employees, and no refuse of a dangerous character incident to the work or
process carried on in any such place shall be allowed to unnecessarily accumulate
on the floors thereof.
Sec. 11. It shall be the duty of the State department of factory inspection to
enforce the provisions of this act and to prosecute all violations of the same

286

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

before any magistrate or any court of competent jurisdiction in this State, and
for that purpose such department and its inspectors are empowered to visit
and inspect at all reasonable times all places of employment covered by the
provisions of this act. In the enforcement of the provisions hereof the depart
ment of factory inspection shall give proper notice in regard to any violation of
this act to any employer of labor violating it, and directing the installment
of any approved device, means or method reasonably necessary, in his judgment,
to protect the health of the employees therein, and such notice shall be written
or printed and shall be signed officially by the chief State factory inspector or
the assistant chief State factory inspector, and said notice may be served by
delivering the same to the person upon whom service is to be had, or by leaving
at his usual place of abode or business an exact copy thereof, or by sending a
copy thereof to such person by registered mail, and upon receipt of such notice
calling the attention of the employer to such violation, he shall immediately
comply with all the provisions of this act.
Sec. 12. If any occupational or industrial disease or illness or any disease or
illness peculiar to the work or process carried on shall be found in any place
of employment in this State by the inspectors of the State department of factory
inspection, or called to their attention by the State board of health, which
disease or illness shall be caused in whole or in part, in the opinion of the
inspector, by a disregard by the employer of the provisions of this act, or a
failure on the part of the employer to adopt reasonable appliances, devices,
means or methods which are known to be reasonably adequate and sufficient
to prevent the contraction or continuation of any such disease or illness, it
shall be the duty of the department of factory inspection to immediately notify
the employer in such place of employment, in the manner provided in section 12
o f this act, to install adequate and approved appliances, devices, means or
methods to prevent the contracting and continuance of any such disease or
illness and to comply with all the provisions of this act.
Sec. 13. For the purpose of disseminating a general knowledge of the pro
visions of this act and of the dangers to the health of employees in any work
or process covered by the provisions of this act, the employer shall post in a
conspicuous place in every room or apartment in which any such work or
process is carried on, appropriate notices of the known dangers to the health of
any such employees arising from such work or process, and simple instructions
as to any x^nown means of avoiding, so far as possible, the injurious conse
quences thereof, and the chief State factory inspector shall, upon request, have
prepared a notice covering the salient features of this act, and furnish a
reasonable number of copies thereof to employers in this State, covered by the
provisions of this act, which notice shall be posted by every such employer in a
conspicuous place in every room or apartment in such place of employment.
The notices required by this section shall be printed on cardboard of suitable
character and the type used shall be such as to make them easily legible, and
in addition to English they shall be printed in such other language or languages
as may be necessary to make them intelligible to the employees.
Sec. 14. Any person, firm or corporation who shall, personally or through
any agent, violate any of the provisions of this act, or who omits or fails to
comply with any of its requirements, or who obstructs or interferes with any
examination or investigation being made by the State department of factory
inspection in accordance with the provisions of this act, or any employee who
shall violate any of the provisions of this act shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished for the first offense
by a fine of not less than ten dollars ($10) or more than one hundred dollars
($100), and upon conviction of the second or subsequent offenses, shall be fined
not less than fifty dollars ($50) or more than two. hundred dollars ($200), and
in each case shall stand committed until such fine and costs are paid, unless
otherwise discharged by due process of law.
Sec. 15. For any injury to the health of any employee proximately caused by
any willful violation of this act or willful failure to comply with any of its
provisions, a right of action shall accrue to the party whose health has been so
injured, for any direct damages sustained thereby; and in case of the loss of
life by reason of such willful violation or willful failure as aforesaid, a right
of action shall accrue to the widow of such deceased person, his lineal heirs or
adopted children, or to any other person or persons who were, before such loss
of life, dependent for support upon such deceased person, for a like recovery of
damages for the injury sustained by reason of such loss of life, not to exceed

LAWS REQUIRING REPORT OE OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES.

287

the sum of ten thousand dollars: P ro vid ed , That every such action for damages
in case of death shall be commenced within one year after the death of such
employee.
Sec. 16. The invalidity of any portion of this act shall not affect the validity
of any other portion thereof which can be given effect without such invalid part.
Approved May 26, 1911.
MICHIGAN.

ACTS OF 1911.
Chapter 119.—R ep o rts o f occupational diseases .
Section 1. Every physician attending or called upon to treat a patient whom
he believes to be suffering from poisoning from lead, phosphorus, arsenic or mer
cury, or their compounds, or from anthrax, or from compressed air illness, con
tracted as a result of the nature of the patient’s employment, shall send to the
State board of health, who shall transmit to the commissioner of labor a notice
stating the name, post-office address and place of employment of the patient, the
length of time of such employment, and the disease from which in the opinion of
the physician, the patient is suffering.
Sec. 2. Any physician who shall fail to make any report required by the pre
ceding section, or who shall willfully make any false statement in such report,
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be
punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars.
Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of labor and of the prosecut
ing attorney of the county where anyone violating the provisions of this act may
reside, to prosecute all violations of the provisions of this act which shall come
to the knowledge of them or either of them.
Approved April 25, 1911.
NEW YORK.

ACTS OF 1911.
Chapter 258.—R ep o rts o f occupational d isea ses .
Section 1. Article four of the labor law, entitled “An act relating to labor,
constituting chapter thirty-one of the consolidated laws,” is amended by the
addition of a new section numbered fifty-eight, to read as follows:
Section 58. Industrial poisonings to be reported. 1. Every medical practi
tioner attending on or called in to visit a patient whom he believes to be suffer
ing from poisoning from lead, phosphorus, arsenic or mercury or their com
pounds, or from anthrax, or from compressed air illness, contracted as the
result of the nature of the patient’s employment, shall send to the commissioner
of labor a notice stating the name and full postal address and place of employ
ment of the patient and the disease from which, in the opinion of the medical
practitioner, the patient is suffering, with such other and further information
as may be required by the said commissioner.
2. If any medical practitioner, when required by this section to send a notice,
fails forthwith to send the same, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten
dollars.
3. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of labor to enforce the provisions
of this section, and he may call upon the State and local boards of health for
assistance.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect September first, nineteen hundred and eleven.
Approved June 6,1911.
WISCONSIN.

ACTS OF 1911.
Chapter 252.—R ep o rts o f occupational d iseases .
Section 1. There is added to the statutes a new section to read:
Section 1022-53m. 1. Every medical practitioner in this State attending on
or called in to visit a patient whom he believes to be suffering from poisoning

288

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

from lead, phosphorus, arsenic or mercury or their compounds, or from com
pressed-air illness, contracted as a result of the nature of the patient’s employ
ment, shall send to the secretary of the State board of health and bureau of
vital statistics a notice, stating the name and full postal address and place of
employment of the patient and the disease from which, in the opinion of the
medical practitioner, the patient is suffering.
2. If any medical practitioner fails to comply with the provisions of this
section, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten dollars.
3. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of labor and industrial statistics
to enforce the provisions of this section, and he may call upon the State and
local boards of health for assistance.
S ec. 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage
and publication.

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
[Except in cases of special interest, the decisions here presented are re
stricted to those rendered by the Federal courts and the higher courts of the
States and Territories. Only material portions of such decisions are repro
duced, introductory and explanatory matter being given in the words of the
editor.]
DECISIONS UNDER STATUTE LAW.

A lien C ontract L abor— V iolatton of S tatute by C orporation —
I n ten t — R esponsibility tor A cts of its E mployees — Grant Broth

ers Construction Co. v. United States, Supreme Court of Arizona.
114 Pacific Reporter, page 955.—This was a proceeding by the United
States to recover a penalty for the violation of the alien contractlabor law (34 Stat. 900) by the company named. In the district
court for the first district of the Territory judgment had been
awarded against the company on 45 counts, with a penalty of $1,000
on each count, from which the defendant company appealed. The
appeal resulted in the judgment of the court below being affirmed.
Judge Kent, speaking for the court, said:
It is to be noted that the act is broad and comprehensive in its
terms. By section 4 it is made a misdemeanor for any person or
corporation in any manner whatsoever to prepay the transportation,
or m any way to assist or encourage the importation or migration, of
any contract laborer into the United States, unless such laborer be of
the class exempt, and that by section 5 provision is made for the
bringing of an action to recover a penalty against any person violat
ing the provisions of section 4 by knowingly assisting, encouraging,
or soliciting the migration or importation of any such contract
laborer into the United States. In order to warrant a recovery in the
action, the violation of the act must have been knowingly done by the
person sought to be held responsible. Under the act it is not suffi
cient that the defendant sought to be charged assisted, encouraged, or
solicited the importation of a contract laborer into the United States,
unless such was done knowingly; but a corporation, as well as an
individual, is capable of forming a guilty intent and capable of hav
ing the knowledge necessary, provided the officers of the corporation
capable of voicing the will ox the corporation have such knowledge
or intent. This act, a statute of the United States, being penal in its
consequences, must be strictly construed, and as knowledge is the
principal and indispensable ingredient in the offense, the Govern
ment, the plaintiff in the case, must be held to proof of such knowl
edge or to proof of circumstances from which it might be fairly in
ferred. Unless the evidence, therefore, affords proof of knowledge
by the construction company, or proof of circumstances from which

289

290

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

such knowledge may be fairly inferred, of the acts of Carney and his
associates, the construction company can not be held liable for such
illegal acts of Carney, for the master or principal is not liable crimi
nally for the unlawful acts of his agent or servant, though such
unlawful act be committed in the master’s business, unless such unlaw
ful act was directed by him or knowingly assented to or acquiesced in.
Following this there was a discussion of the degree of knowledge
necessary to fix liability, and a review of the very extensive testimony
offered in the case. It appears that one Cashion, a foreman of the
construction company, had entered into an oral agreement with one
Carney at Nogales, Ariz., to furnish the construction company
laborers for its camps in Arizona, agreeing to pay a dollar each for
such laborers and to meet the expense of their meals while traveling
from Nogales to the camps. Some 450 workmen were procured
under this agreement, a large number of them being Mexicans, about
80 of whom were from Hermosillo, Mexico, where they had been
openly employed to work for Grant Bros. Construction Co., through
the solicitations of one Ruppelius, with whom Carney had agreed to
divide fees if he would assist in procuring workmen. Cashion testi
fied that when he made the contract with Carney he told him that
he should, under no circumstances, secure laborers by solicitation or
talk on the Mexican side, and “ not to go into Mexico for him or do
anything in any way that would complicate us in this matter.”
Various other matters were considered, following which, Judge Kent
said:
On this state of this long record, which we have but partially
summarized, the defendants claim that, in view of the uncontradicted
facts of the instructions by the Cashions to Carney not to violate the
law, the evidence on the part of the plaintiff tending to show knowl
edge of such violation on the part of the construction company is so
inadequate and meager that the verdict and judgment based thereon
can not be allowed to stand. The contention of the United States,
the appellee, is that the contract between the construction company
and Carney was entered into by a vice principal of the appellant
under such circumstances that the very conversation which resulted
in and constituted the contract charged him with notice that violation
of the law, as charged in the complaint, would necessarily or very
probably be committed by Carney, or agents, acting by virtue of
such contract; that the proof is ample to show the acquiescence of
the construction company in these unlawful actions, and that it
received the benefits of such unlawful actions under such circum
stances that the construction company’s knowledge thereof could
properly be inferred, and that there is in the record such proof of
the ratification of these unlawful acts; that the acquiescence in them
for such a length of time and under such condition of circumstances,
with the reception by the appellant of the benefits of these unlawful
acts, constituted a ratification thereof.
We think that, though the fact of the instructions given by Cashion
to Carney not to solicit men on the Mexican side is Unquestioned,

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

291

such instructions are important only if made in good faith and if
they be not merely colorable, and that the question of the good faith
of such instructions so given was one for the jury, provided the evi
dence on the part of the United States as to the surrounding circum
stances and conditions and the knowledge of such conditions by the
two Cashions was such that they either knew of the intended and
actual violation of the law, or was such that they willfully and in
tentionally ignored facts and circumstances known to them, which
would have led to such knowledge. The evidence of the plaintiff,
standing by itself, without the denials on the part of the officers of
the construction company, seems to us sufficient to warrant the trial
court in the submission of the case to the jury upon the question
whether or not the construction company had such knowledge of the
facts and circumstances as to warrant a verdict that they were guilty
of encouraging or assisting the migration or importation of contract
laborers. Upon the denials of the construction company’s officials
of any such knowledge or any intention to violate the law, it became
a question of fact for the jury to determine both the truth of such
denials and also whether or not such instructions were given in good
faith.
Various other matters of objection were considered, none of which,
however, was found by the court to invalidate the conclusions of the
court below, which were therefore affirmed.
A ssignm ents of W ages— F uture
tion — C ompliance —

E arnings — S tatutory R egula

Hall v. Boston Plate & Window Glass Co., Su
preme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, 98 Northeastern Reporter,
page 6Ifi.—Harry D. Hall and another sued the company named as
employers of one Does, who had given the plaintiffs an assignment of
his wages on August 17,1908*, to secure a debt due from him to them.
Chapter 390, Acts of 1906 of the Massachusetts Legislature, requires
certain formalities to be complied with in the assignment of unearned
wages, among which are notice to the employer and a recording of
the assignment. The plaintiffs gave no notice to the employer of the
assignment by Does until June 25, 1909, and the assignment was not
recorded until August 2, 1909. In the meantime Does, who was still
employed by the defendant, made another assignment of his wages on
January 9,1909, to one Hills to secure a loan from him. Hills had no
notice of the prior assignment and was informed by Does that there
was none. The employers also stated that they had no notice of any
assignment, and an examination of the records disclosed none on
record. Assignee Hills therefore accepted the assignment, gave
prompt notice of the same, and caused it to be recorded in the town
clerk’s office, all in the month of January, 1909. Subsequently the
prior assignees, Hall and another, sued the employing company in an
attempt to recover a balance due them under the earlier assignment,
and from a judgment in favor of the defendant employer carried

292

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

their appeal to the supreme court, where the judgment of the lower
court was affirmed.
Having stated the facts, Judge Morton said:
Statutes of 1906, chapter 390, is entitled “ An act relative to the
assignment of wages,” and by section 6, “ all acts and parts of acts
inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.” Section 1 provides that
no assignment of future wages shall be valid for a period exceeding
two years from the date thereof, nor unless certain specified require
ments are complied with. Section 2 provides that no such assignment
shall be valid unless a copy is delivered to the assignor by the as
signee at the time of the execution of the assignment, and that it shall
not be binding on the employer of the assignor until a copy of it and
an account conforming to the requirements thereinafter stated shall
have been delivered to the employer. The plain implication of what
is required to be done in order to make the assignment binding on the
employer is that if that is done the assignment shall be binding on the
employer according to its terms. This is borne out by the provisions
in section 5 that “ An assignment of wages made in accordance with
the provisions of this act shall bind all wages earned by the assignor
within the period named in such assignment.” The effect of the stat
ute is, therefore, to render invalid as against a subsequent assignment
where the requirements of the statute have been observed, a prior
assignment where the requirements of the statute have not been ob
served. The matter being one of statutory regulation, cases like
Thayer v. Daniels, 113 Mass. 129, on which the plaintiffs rely, which
deal with conflicting assignments at common law, do not apply. It
follows from the construction which we have given to the statute that
the defendant was justified in paying over the wages to Hillsafter it
received notice from the plaintiffs of their assignment. Upon its
execution in accordance with the requirements of the statute the
assignment to Hills operated to transfer to him the wages earned by
Does, while in the employ of the defendant, during the time covered
by the instrument. And so long as it continued in force the rights
and obligations of the parties could not be affected by an invalid as
signment previously made. Nor could validity be given to such in
valid assignment as against one subsequently properly made, by
attempting to comply later with the requirements of the statute. The
rights of the parties were fixed once for all, so far as these proceedings
are concerned, by the execution of a valid assignment to Hills. The
defendant was not bound to see to the appropriation of the wages paid
to Hills by them. The only question is whether they were justified in
paying tliem to Hills, and, as we have already said, we think that
they were. Whether the plaintiffs have any remedy by means of a
trustee process summoning Hills as trustee or otherwise to compel an
accounting as between Hills and Does, it is not necessary now to
consider.
Judgment affirmed.
C oercion of E mployees — P rotection as
ality of S tatute —

T raders— C onstitution

State v. Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis
Railway Co., Supreme Court of Tennessee, 135 Southwestern Re
porter, page 773.—A statute of Tennessee, Acts of 1887, chapter 208,

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

293

prohibited “any joint-stock company, association, or corporation,”
either domestic or foreign, from discharging or threatening to dis
charge any of its employees or workmen for trading or dealing or
not trading or dealing with any particular merchant, person, or class
of persons. The company above named was indicted for the viola
tion of this statute and offered the defense that it was unconstitu
tional. This view was adopted by the circuit court of Maury County,
and the State brought the case to the supreme court, where the
judgment of the court below was affirmed. Judge Shields, speaking
for the court, said in part:
In the view we have taken of this statute, it is only necessary to
consider the contention that the statute is arbitrary and vicious class
legislation, and a denial of the equal protection of the laws.
It is obvious from a reading of the statute, chapter 208, Acts 1887*
that it only includes and applies to corporations created and organ
ized under the laws of Tennessee and foreign corporations doing
business in this State under its laws, and the officers and agents of
such corporations. The terms “ joint-stock company55 and “ associa-tion ” are used as synonymous with the word “ corporation,” and are
surplusage. There are no such corporate bodies as a “ joint-stock
company ” Qr “ association ” known to the laws of this State, and it
is clear from the whole act that it was the intention of the legislature
to include corporations only, whether domestic or foreign. This is
shown by the punishment provided for a corporation violating the
act and that for an officer or agent violating it. Joint-stock com
panies, associations, and corporations are only punished by fine, be^
cause they can not be imprisoned, while the officer or agent is pum
ished by both fine and imprisonment. If unincorporated bodies were
meant by “ joint-stock company ” and “ association,” there would not
have been this discrimination; but the individuals composing a joints
stock company or association would also have been punished as indi
viduals who are merely officers or agents. Certainly a more severe
punishment would not have been denounced against the agent than
the principal.
There is no mention in the statute of firms and partnerships, which
are composed of individuals associated together for business pur
poses, or of individuals, and in no view of the statute can it be made
to apply to natural persons doing business as partners or individuals*
We therefore have a statute which prohibits corporations and their
agents from doing certain things under severe penalties which does
not apply to firms or individuals doing the same thing.
The general assembly undoubtedly has the power, and is not
prohibited by the constitutional provisions referred to, from enact*
mg laws containing reasonable and proper classification of the ob
jects of the legislation, but the classification must not be mere arbb
trary selection. It must have some basis which bears a natural and
reasonable relation to the object sought to be accomplished, and,there
must be some good and valid reason why the particular individual
or class upon whom the benefit is conferred, or who are subject to
the burden imposed, not given to or imposed upon others, should be
so preferred or discriminated against.

294

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

The statute in question applies to all corporations, regardless of
the business which they were incorporated and authorized to conduct,
whether they be quasi public, as in case of public-service corporations,
or private corporations, such as those created to conduct a mercantile,
manufacturing, or other business, located at one point or extending
over many counties, with large or small capital, or having in their
service thousands or only a few employees.
It does not apply to natural persons, either as individuals or
members of a partnership or firm, engaged in conducting the same
business, at the same place, in the same manner, and with similar
employees. New burdens and restrictions are placed upon corpora
tions, the property of which belongs to individual shareholders,
which are not placed upon natural persons engaged in the same
business, conducted in the same way, and at the same place. We can
see no good reason or natural and reasonable basis for this discrimina
tion. None has been suggested or can be suggested, for they do not
exist. The application of the statute is made to depend solely upon
whether the employer is a natural or artificial person, between which,
within the protection of the constitutional provisions invoked, there
is no distinction. The distinction made is in the character of the em
ployer, and not in that of the employment or business conducted.
We are of opinion that for this discrimination this act is arbi
trary and vicious class legislation; that it denies all corporations
doing business in Tennessee the equal protection of the laws, and is
in contravention of the constitution of this State and of that of the
United States, and void. We do not hold that there may not be a
classification of corporations, or of employers, for that question is
not here involved. Where such classification is natural and reason
able, and based upon some distinctive difference in the business of
the several classes, a difference peculiar to and inhering in its very
nature, it is valid, and will be sustained.
We express no opinion upon the other objections made to the
statute, as those we have considered are conclusive of the case.
It results there is no error in the judgment of the trial court, and
the same is aflirmed.
E ight -H our L aw — C onstruction of F ederal S tatute — W ork
m en on J etties —Breakwater Co. v. United States, United States

Circuit Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 183 Federal Reporter, page
112.—The company named above was convicted of violating a Federal
statute, act of August 1,1892 (27 Stat. 340), prohibiting employment
by any contractor for Government work of any laborer or mechanic
for more than eight hours in any calendar day except in cases of
extraordinary emergency. The judgment was, on appeal to the court
of appeals, reversed on the ground that the workmen employed did
not come within the terms of the law. The facts appear in the
opinion, which was delivered by Judge Buffington, which is as
follows:
The Breakwater Co. contracted with the United States Government
for the erection of two jetties near Cape May Harbor, in the State

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

295

of New Jersey. The jetties were parallel, and extended from shore
to a depth of 26 feet at low water, with tops 10 feet above mean low
water. All work done on them was offshore, and the men, whose
work [for] more than eight hours was the offense for which the
Breakwater Co. was convicted, were employed on a barge which, with
its cargo of stone, was towed across Delaware Bay to the jetty. The
stones were used in the construction of the jetties, and were thrown
from the barge into the water to build them up. The men named in
the indictment were either engineers, boatmen, or hookers on such
barges. The latter, after being towed across the bay, were anchored,
and, as needed, were towed by some of these men, using a gasoline
launch, to the jetty. Here all .aboard helped in discharging cargo.
As occasion required the men also warped the barges along the jetty,
by warping lines run by the barge engine. The barge had no other
crew than these men, who worked in various capacities in discharging
cargo, except a watchman, who also attended the fires. The men
were selected for their seafaring experience, were hired by the month,
and lived ashore. Some of the barges had four engineers, whose
sole duty was to run the engines while discharging cargo and warping
the vessel. The boatmen handled yawl and gasoline boats and
assisted in discharging cargo. The hookmen handled the lines in
discharging the cargo and aided in warping. The work done and
the time required to do it depended on tide, wind, and weather on an
open, exposed seacoast.
It is clear, therefore, that no exact hours could be fixed when the
work of these men should and could cease. Under ordinary circum
stances the elements of tide, wind, and weather necessitated variable
hours of service on the part of those employed on the barge. In
view of this, was it the intent of Congress, by the act in question, to
describe these men by the terms “ laborers and mechanics,” and thus
make it illegal to employ them more than eight hours, even though in
the ordinary performance of their duty an exact eight-hour day was
impossible in handling a barge and cargo on an open coast? Is it
not much more reasonable to say that these men, who were doing a
maritime service, and who by virtue thereof had at law rights, privi
leges, and obligations peculiar to themselves, were more aptly de
scribed as seamen? The barge was a maritime vessel. She was
engaged in a maritime duty. The men were entitled to a maritime
lien on her for their wages, for their work was of a maritime char
acter. Their labor contributed to the work in which the barge was
engaged, and they were clothed with the rights of seamen. We are
therefore of opinion that these men were in the eyes of the law sea
men, and, being such, the Supreme Court, in Ellis v. United States,
206 U. S. 258, 27 Sup. Ct. 600 [Bulletin No. 71, p. 361], held seamen
were not laborers or mechanics, within the meaning of the act here
in question.
E mployers ’ L iability — C ompensation of E mployees for
juries — A brogation of D efenses — S tate I nsurance —

In re House
Document No. 215^ Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Senate
Document No. 615, 1911.—The Senate of the State of Massachusetts
had before it for consideration a bill from the lower house of the

296

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

assembly providing for the enactment of a law abrogating certain
defenses in case of suits against employers for damages on account
of injuries to their employees, and establishing a voluntary system
of insurance to provide compensation for injuries resulting from
industrial accidents. The insurance was proposed to be adminis
tered through the agency of a corporation to be known as the Massa
chusetts Employees’ Insurance Association, but the senate adopted
an amendment permitting any liability insurance company doing
business in the State to insure the liability to pay the compensation
provided for by the proposed law on condition that both the in
sured employer and the insurance company shall be subject to the
regulations and obligations imposed upon the association.
On account of the novelty of the doctrines involved in the pro
posed legislation, and because a law enacted by the Legislature of
New York to effect a similar purpose had been declared unconsti
tutional by the court of appeals of that State, the senate by resolu
tion required the opinion of the justices of the supreme judicial
court as to the following questions:
First. Is the said bill, House Document No. 2154, in conformity
with the provisions of the constitution of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts which requires that property shall not be taken from
a citizen without due process of law ?
Second. Is the bill in conformity with the fourteenth amendment
to the Federal Constitution?
In reply thereto the following opinion was furnished, sustaining
without dissent the constitutionality of the proposed law:
We have received the questions, of which a copy with the act re
ferred to therein and the amendment adopted by the senate, is hereto
annexed, and after giving to them such consideration as we have
been able to give in the time at our disposal, we respectfully answer
them as follows:
The questions submitted to us are important, and the proposed
act involves a radical departure in the manner of dealing with actions
or claims for damages for personal injuries received by employees
in the course of their employment from that which has heretotore
prevailed in this Commonwealth; but we think that nothing would
be gained by an extended discussion and we therefore content our
selves with stating briefly the conclusions to which we have come and
our reasons therefor.
The first section of the act (Part I, § 1) provides that “ In an
action to recover damages for personal injury sustained by an em
ployee in the course of his employment, or for death resulting from
personal injury so sustained, it shall not be a defense:
1. That the employee was negligent;
2. That the injury was caused by the negligence of a fellow em
ployee;
3. That the employee had assumed the risk of the injury.”
This section deals with actions at common law. We construe clauses
1 and 2 in their reference to negligence as meaning contributory neg

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

297

ligence or negligence on the part of a fellow servant which falls short
of the serious and willful misconduct which under Part II, § 2, will
deprive an employee of compensation. So construed we think that
the section is constitutional. We neither express nor intimate any
opinion whether it would be unconstitutional if otherwise construed.
The rules of law relating to contributory negligence and assumption
of the risk and the effect of negligence by a fellow servant were
established by the courts, not by the constitution, and the legislature
may change them or do away with them altogether as defenses (as it
has to some extent in the employer’s act) as in its wisdom in the
exercise of powers intrusted to it by the constitution it deems will be
best for the “ good and welfare of this Commonwealth.” (See Mis
souri Pacific Kailway v. Mackey, 127 U. S. 205; Minnesota Iron Co. v.
Kline, 199 U. S. 593.) The act expressly provides that it shall not
apply to injuries sustained before it takes effect. If, therefore, a
right of action which has accrued under existing laws for personal
injuries constitutes a vested right or interest, there is nothing in the
section which interferes with such rights or interests. The effect of
the section is not to authorize the taking of property without due pro
cess of law, as the Court of Appeals el New York held was the case
which the statute referred to in the preamble to the questions submit
ted to us, and which in consequence thereof was declared by that court
to be unconstitutional. (Ives v. South Buffalo Railway, 201 N. Y.
271, [94 N. E. 431, Bulletin No. 92, p. 251].) Construing the section
as we do and as we think that it should be construed, it seems to us
that there is nothing in it which violates any rights secured by the
State or Federal Constitutions. We see nothing unconstitutional
in providing, as is done in Part 1, § 2, that the provisions of § 1 shall
not apply to domestic servants and farm laborers; nor in providing, as
is done in Part 1, § 52 that the employee shall be deemed to have
waived his right of action at common law if he shall not have given
notice to his employer as therein provided. The effect of the pro
visions referred to is to leave it at the employee’s option whether he
will or will not waive his right of action at common law. (See Foster
v. Morse, 132 Mass. 354.)
The rest of the act deals mainly with a scheme for providing,
through the instrumentality of a corporation established for that
purpose entitled the Massachusetts Employees’ Insurance Association,
and the subscription of employers thereto, for compensation to em
ployees for personal injuries received by them in the course of their
employment, and not due to serious and willful misconduct on their
part. There is nothing in the act which compels an employer to be
come a subscriber to the association, or which compels an employee
to waive his right of action at common law and accept the compensa
tion provided for in the act. In this respect the act differs wholly so
far as the employer is concerned from the New York statute above
referred to. By subscribing to the association an employee volun
tarily agrees to be bound by the provisions of the act. The same is
true of an employee who does not choose to stand upon his common
law rights. An employer who does not subscribe to the association
will no longer have the right in an action by his employee against
him at common law to set up the defense of contributory negligence
or assumption of the risk, or to show that the injury was caused by

298

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

the negligence of a fellow servant. In the case of an employee who
does not accept the compensation provided for by the act and whose
employer had become a subscriber to the association, an action no
longer can be maintained for death under the employer’s liability act.
But these considerations do not constitute legal compulsion or a de
privation of fundamental rights. We do not deem it necessary to
take up and consider in detail the numerous provisions by which the
right to compensation and the amount thereof and the persons en
titled thereto and the course of procedure to be followed and matters
relating thereto are to be settled and determined. We assume, how
ever, that the meaning of §§ 4 and 7 of Part III of the proposed act
is that the approved agreement or decision therein mentioned is to be
enforced by proper proceedings in court, and not by process to be
issued by the Industrial Accident Board itself. Taking into account
th9 noncompulsory character of the proposed act? we see nothing in
any of these provisions which is not “ in conformity with ” the four
teenth amendment to the Federal Constitution, or which infringes
upon any provision of our own constitution in regard to the taking
of property “ without due process of law.” It is within the power
of the legislature to provide that no agreement by an employee to
waive his rights to compensation under the act shall be valid. (See
Missouri Pacific Railway v. Mackey, 127 U. S. 205; Minnesota Iron
Co. v. Kline, 199 U. S. 593.)
In regard to the amendment it is to be observed that no liability
insurance company is obliged to insure, and that if it chooses to do
so there is nothing unconstitutional in requiring that it and the policy
holder shall be governed by the provisions of the act so far as
applicable.
It should be noted perhaps in the interest of accuracy that there is
no phrase in our constitution which in terms requires that “ property
shall not be taken from a citizen without due process of law.” The
quoted words, which we take from the first question submitted to us,
are a paraphrase of what is contained in the constitution, but are
not the language of the constitution itself.
We have confined ourselves to the questions submitted to us, and
we answer both of them in the affirmative.
E mployers ’ L iability — E m ploym ent of C hildren — O peration
D angerous M ach inery — A ge L im it — C ertificates — Casperson
v. Michaels, Court of Appeals of Kentucky, ISj\ Southwestern Re-

porter, page WO.—Margaret Michaels was employed by Louis C.
Casperson in his laundry to assist in the operation of a mangle. The
injury was received while she was warming her hands on the mangle,
touching her fingers to the cylinder, when her attention was mo
mentarily diverted so that her hand was caught in the mangle and
severely injured, and she brought suit to recover damages therefor.
At the time of her injury Margaret Michaels was 14 years and 5
months of age. A law of the State of Kentucky prohibits the em
ployment of any child under the age of 16 years to “ operate or

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

299

assist in operating laundry machinery.” The employment of chil
dren in factories under the age of 14 years is prohibited by the same
statute, while another section of the law permits children between
14 and 16 years of age to be employed on condition that an age cer
tificate is furnished. A verdict in the amount of $1,500 was awarded
the plaintiff, and from the judgment following the employer ap
pealed. The appeal resulted in the affirmation of the judgment of
the lower court. One contention of the appellant was that while
the law prohibited employment without a permit, the fact that the
child had a certificate of employment would operate as a defense in
this case. As to this Judge Clay, who spoke for the court, said:
A direful reading of the section of the statutes, however, convinces
us that the certificate of employment referred to in the other sub
sections of section 331a has no application to cases arising under sub
section 11 [prohibiting employment at dangerous machinery, etc.].
It is evident that the legislature regarded the employments referred
to in this subsection as being so dangerous that it was best to pro
hibit entirely children under 16 years of age from being employed
at such occupations. To that end it was provided that no child under
the age of 16 years should be employed in any capacity enumerated
in that subsection. That being true, the court did not err in refusing
to permit the certificate of employment to be read to the jury.
The next contention was that the injury was not due to the em
ployment even if in violation of the statute, inasmuch as the child
was warming her hands on a part of the mangle at which she was
not supposed to work. As to this Judge Clay said:
In this connection it is argued that appellant had the right to em
ploy appellee in the laundry, just so she was not put to work at any
of the machinery therein used; that as she was injured at a part of the
machinery where she was not employed to work, and at a time when
she was not actually engaged in work, the case is just the same as if
she had been employed to mark towels, an employment attended by
no danger, and had gone into the machinery room and been injured
in the same manner; that if that be true, her right to recover does not
depend upon the statute, and her case should be considered from a
standpoint entirely independent of the statute; and when so consid
ered, her own evidence shows that the danger of placing her hand on
or near the drum was so obvious and apparent that even a child of
much tenderer years ought to have known and appreciated the dan
ger. While we appreciate fully the force of appellant’s contention,
we think the difference between the supposed case and that at bar
consists in this: In the supposed case there would be no violation of
the statute, and, therefore, no right of action could be predicated on
the statute; in the case at bar, however, appellee was employed and
put to work at the mangle in violation of the statute. She was
actually injured by the mangle at which she had been put to work.
It is immaterial that she was injured by that part of the mangle at
which she was not expected to work, or that she was injured while
not being actually engaged in her customary duties. The purpose of
99823°—No. 95—11-----20

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BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOR.

the statute was to protect children not only from the dangers neces
sarily incident to their employment in and around machinery of cer
tain kinds, but from injuries which might result from their own
thoughtlessness and childish acts. In other words, the purpose of
the statute was to prevent their being exposed to danger. Here
appellee was on hand, waiting to be summoned to work. She was
near the mangle at which she was employed to work. Yielding to
her childish instincts, she followed the example of a boy who had put
his hand near the cylinder for the purpose of warming it, and
attempted to do the same thing. It is evident that the statute was
designed to protect her under just such circumstances. Knowing
that a child under 16 years of age might be injured while actually
employed at work on dangerous machinery, or that he might, in a
spirit of play or because of heedlessness that is characteristic of
children, touch or come in contact with the machinery in some way,
the legislature made it unlawful to employ children under 16 years
of age to work at such machinery. As appellee was, by virtue of her
employment, exposed to the danger which resulted in the injuries
complained of, we conclude that the proximate cause of her injuries
was her employment at the mangle in violation of the statute. That
being true, the court did not err in refusing to instruct the jury as if
the case were one where no violation of the statute had taken place.
E mployers ’ L iability — R ailroad C ompanies — F ederal S tatute —
A pplication of L aw — Pedersen v. Delaware, Lackaivanna & West

ern Railroad, United States Circuit Court, Eastern District of Penn
sylvania, 18k Federal Reporter, page 787.—Martin Pedersen was
injured while in the employment of the company named, engaged in
work on a bridge in the State of New Jersey. The company was
engaged in both interstate and intrastate business, and the bridge on
which Pedersen was employed was intended for use both in local
business and in commerce between the States. The train which
caused the injury was a purely local train running between two
points in the State of New Jersey. The action was brought under
the Federal employers’ liability act of April 22, 1908 (35 Stat. 65),
and the question before the court was whether or not the statute was
applicable to the case in hand. A negative view of this question
was held by Judge McPherson, and judgment was rendered for the
defendant company, notwithstanding a verdict for the plaintiff. In
the discussion of the construction of the law Judge McPherson
referred to the decision of the Supreme Court in declaring the lia
bility act of 1906 unconstitutional (207 U. S. 463, 28 Sup. Ct. 141;
Bulletin No. 74, p. 216), after which he spoke in part as follows:
This authoritative interpretation must have been influential in
determining the scope of the act of 1908; and, indeed, it is well
known that the act was passed for the express purpose of meeting

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

301

the foregoing decision. The first section bears evident signs of this
purpose:
“ That every common carrier by railroad, while engaging in com
merce between any of the several States or Territories, etc., * * *
shall be liable in damages to any person suffering injury while he is
employed by such carrier in such commerce or in case of the death of
such employee, etc., * * * for such injury or death resulting in
whole or in part from the negligence of any of the officers, agents, or
employees ox such carrier, or by reason of any defect or insufficiency
due to its negligence in its cars, engines, etc. * * *.”
Under this section the new remedy—which, being in derogation of
the common law, is to be confined to its plain meaning—is only to be
available when two facts appear: First, the offending carrier must
at the time of the injury be “ engaging in commerce between any of
the several States, etc.”; and, second, the injury must be suffered by
the employee “ while he is employed by such carrier in such com
merce.” Both these facts must be present or the act does not apply—
the carrier must be actually engaging in interstate commerce, and the
employee must also be taking part therein. If, therefore, the business
being done by the carrier is purely intrastate, and in the course of
such business it injures an employee, the act does not apply. Neither
does it apply, although the business being done by the carrier is com
merce between the States, if the injured employee is engaged in work
that does not properly belong to such commerce. But the act appar
ently does not require that the carrier and the injured employee
should both be engaged in the same act of interstate business. Com
merce between the States has many divisions and subdivisions, and
if the carrier while engaged in doing one kind of interstate work
should injure an employee who is engaged in doing another kind of
such work, the remedy provided by the act appears to be available.
Difficult questions will no doubt arise in the effort to determine
whether the work being done by the employee can properly be re
garded as interstate commerce, and also in the effort to determine
whether the carrier is also engaged in such commerce; but these ques
tions must be met as they arise and be decided on the circumstances
presented from time to time. This much at least seems clear: The
tests to be applied in determining whether a given case falls within
the statute have been laid down by Congress in language that is not
ambiguous, and this language declares that a right of action does not
arise unless the employee be actually engaged in interstate commerce
at the time of his injury, and unless also the injury be inflicted while
the carrier is conducting the same kind of commerce. Applying
these tests, I am of opinion that the pfesent action can not be main
tained. Without deciding the question whether the plaintiff was
engaged in interstate commerce at the time of his injury, it seems to
me beyond successful dispute that the defendant did not inflict the
injury in the course of such commerce. The train was a purely local
train carrying passengers between two points in the State of New
Jersey, and the business was wholly intrastate.
In Colasurdo v. Railway Co. (C. C.), 180 Fed. 832 [Bulletin No.
92, p. 281], it appeared that the plaintiff was engaged in repairing a
switch in the defendant’s yards at Jersey City. While thus engaged
he was injured by the negligence of other employees on a train that

302

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

had come from Somerville, N. J., to Jersey City, and was afterwards
being shifted about on the defendant’s tracks. The repair of the
switch was held to be interstate business, because the switch was
used indifferently in both kinds of commerce. Upon the remaining
question whether the railway company was engaging in interstate
commerce while doing the injurious act, the court held that it was
a matter of no consequence whether or not the train that struck the
plaintiff was so engaged, giving as a reason:
“ It is true that the act is applicable to carriers only ‘ while en-*
gaged ’ in interstate commerce, but that includes their activity when
they are engaging in such commerce by their own employees. In
short, if the employee was engaged in such commerce, so was the road,
for the road was the master and the servant’s act its act. The
statute does not say that the injury must arise from an act itself done
in interstate commerce, nor can I see any reason for such an implied
construction.”
With much respect I am unable to agree with this construction.
As it seems to me, the statute does say that the injury shall arise
from an act itself done in interstate commerce; for in the light of the
legislative history I am unable to find a broader meaning in the
words “ while engaging in commerce between any of the several
States, etc.” A carrier is not engaging in commerce between the
States while it is doing intrastate business, and I think that Congress
is not attempting in the act of 1908 to regulate intrastate business by
charging such business with important liabilities. For the purposes
of the commerce clause, the two kinds of business are as distinct as if
they were undertaken by different corporations. One corporation,
I by Congress, and therefore
The other corporation, the
intrastate carrier, would not be subject to Federal control, and
Congress would have no power to affix legal consequences to its acts.
This would be clear enough, I think, if the two kinds of business
were actually separated, and were actually performed by two corpo
rations respectively. The fact that only one corporation actually
performs them both makes it more difficult to separate the acts and
to assign the proper consequences to each, but in my opinion can not
change the rules that must be applied. It is easy to depict certain
anomalies and hardships that may arise. Both are probably inevi
table under the dual control exercised by the State and the Federal
Governments over the complicated business of carriers; but this dual
control is a fundamental fact in the division of legislative power
between these two Governments, and the distinction must be observed.
In the last analysis it appears to be a question of power. Can Con
gress regulate the intrastate business of a common carrier? If not,
I do not see how it can declare that a purely intrastate act shall sub
ject the carrier to liability solely because such act has injured a per
son who at the time is engaged in commerce between the States.
Clearly Congress could not so declare if the injured person had
suffered while he was engaged in business intrastate in character,
and I can not escape the conclusion that the carrier’s liability must
be determined by considering what kind of an act did the harm, and
not exclusively by the occupation of the injured person. It is the
doing, or the omitting to do, some act that gives rise to a cause of

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

303

action, and it would certainly be an exceptional exercise of Federal
power to attempt to give a right of action for a particular wrong
unless Congress was also able to forbid the wrong itself. There
fore—and in this region of controversy I express my own 'opinion
with great deference for what may well be the better opinion of
others—since Congress can neither directly forbid nor regulate the
purely intrastate acts of a common carrier, believe that it can not
reach the same result indirectly by declaring that important and
burdensome consequences shall follow such acts.
Without prolonging the discussion, I conclude that the plaintiff
is not entitled to recover, because he was injured by an act of the
defendant done in the performance of purely intrastate business, and
for this reason I direct that judgment be entered in favor of the de
fendant notwithstanding the verdict.
E mployers’ Liability—Railroad Companies—F ellow-Service
L aws—State and F ederal S tatutes—;J urisdiction—Thompson v.

Wabash Railroad Co., United States Circuit Court, Eastern* District
of Missouri, Northern Division, 184 Federal Reporter, page 554*—
Ethel Thompson, a citizen of Missouri, sued in the circuit court of
Randolph County, Mo., to recover damages from the railroad company
named on account of the death of her husband, an employee of that
company. The action was brought under a statute of the State of
Missouri, and in its answer the company presented the contention
that the case was one involving the application and construction of
the Federal statute of April 22,1908, contending that as the accident
occurred in the course of interstate commerce that law exclusively
controlled, and sought the removal of the case to a Federal court.
The county court denied the petition for removal, whereupon the
company made a transcript of the case and filed it in the United
States court above set forth. Mrs. Thompson then filed a motion
to remand the case to the circuit court of Randolph County on the
ground that the Federal court had no jurisdiction of the case, and it
was on this motion to remand that, the present hearing was had.
Having stated the facts in the case, Judge Dyer said:
Under the statutes of Missouri the plaintiff has a cause of action
against the defendant to recover damages for the death of her hus
band. The law of Missouri gives this right to the wife, and in th.e
event that she does not exercise it within six months, then the right
of action is in the children, if any, of the deceased. This suit was
instituted within six months after the death of the husband, and
under and in pursuance of the laws of the State of Missouri, where
the plaintiff resided, and where defendant resides, and where the
husband was killed. The statutes of Missouri also provide that if
the husband loses his life through the negligence of a fellow servant
the plaintiff may recover. Congress, by an act entitled “An act
relating to the liability of common carriers by railroad to their

304

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

employees in certain cases,” approved April 22, 1908 (act April 22,
1908, c. 149, 35 Stat. 65 [U. 8. Comp. St. Supp. 1909, p. 1171]),
provides;
44That every common carrier by railroad while engaging in com
merce between any of the several States or Territories, or between
any of the States and Territories, or between the District of Columbia
and any of the States or Territories, or between the District of
Columbia and any of the States or Territories and any foreign nation
or nations, shall be liable in damages to any person suffering injury
while he is employed by such carrier in such commerce, or, in case
of the death of such employee, to his or her personal representative,
for the benefit of the surviving widow or husband and children of
such employee; and if none, then of such employee’s parents; and if
none, then of the next of kin dependent upon such employee, for
such injury or death resulting in whole or m part from the negliof any of the officers, agents, or employees of such carrier, or
fence
y reason of any defect or insufficiency, due to its negligence in its
cars, engines, appliances, machinery, track, roadbed, works, boats,
wharves, or other equipment.”
Under this act it is perfectly apparent that the plaintiff, the widow
of the deceased, can not maintain the action. It must be done, if at
all, by the personal representatives of the deceased; that is to say, his
executors or administrators. The question here is as to whether this
act of Congress does away with the State statute authorizing the
widow to sue for and recover damages against the railroad company,
through the negligence of whose officers or agents her husband lost
his life, or is it an act giving employees an additional forum in
which under certain circumstances they may go for the redress of
wrongs? If the court refuses to remand this case, what then?
This plaintiff has no right of action under the Federal statute and
the case must necessarily be dismissed.
My opinion is that the circuit court of Randolph County has com
plete jurisdiction to try and determine the case. The laws of the
State give the right to the wife to recover for the death of her hus
band, and this right is in no wise interfered with by the act of Con
gress to which reference is made. In this I may be wrong, but if I
am some court of higher authority will correct it.
The motion to remand will be sustained.
E mployers’ L iability I nsurance—Liability of T hird P ersons—
B asis of Right of Recovery—Subrogation of I nsurance Com

pany—Travelers* Insurance

Co. v. Great Lakes Engineering Works
Co., United States Circuit Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 18\\
Federal Reporter, page —The Herancourt Brewing Co. was hav
ing installed an engine purchased from the engineering company
named, and during such installation and the accompanying test one
of its workmen, Leinhart by name, was killed, and another, Wund,
injured on account of the negligence of the engineering company.
The brewing company carried a policy of employers’ liability in
surance under which it was to be indemnified against loss by reason

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

305

of the liability imposed upon it by law for damages resulting from
injuries or death of its employees. The policy provided that the
insurance company should be subrogated to any rights of recovery
that the employing company might have against persons responsible
for the injuries for which it might pay any compensation. The
insurance company settled with the administratrix of the estate of
the employee whose death was caused by the accident and also made
a settlement with the injured workman. It then! sued the engineer
ing company to recover the amount of its expenditures in this behalf
in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern District of
Ohio. The petition of the insurance company was demurred to on
the ground that it failed to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause
of action in reference to the claim in behalf of the deceased employee,
and further that if this claim were stricken out the payment on ac
count of the injured workman was too small to permit the case to come
to a Federal court. The court below held that the brewing company
could have no right of action against the engineering company for
damages which the former had to pay on account of the death of the
workman for the reason that only his administratrix could have
recovered against either the employer or the engineering company;
and as the insurance company could recover against the engineering
company only on the basis of such rights as the brewing company
might have the action could not be sustained. From this ruling of
the court the insurance company appealed, the appeal resulting in
the reversal of the judgment of the court below. Judge Knappen,
having stated the facts in the case and disposed of some preliminary
matters, said in part:
We are thus brought to the question whether the insurer, by reason
of a contract of indemnity against employers’ liability, such as exists
here, can maintain an action against a third party whose negligence
has caused liability to the insured employer for injuries resulting
in the death of its employee.
The rule is well settled, in fire insurance as well as in marine insur
ance, that the insurer, upon paying to the assured the amount of a
loss on the property insured, is subrogated in a corresponding amount
to the assured’s right of action against any other person responsible
for the loss; this right of the insurer against such other person not
resting upon any relation of contract or of privity between them,
but arising out of the nature of the contract of insurance as a con
tract of indemnity derived from the assured alone, and enforceable
in his right only. [Cases cited.]
But it is insisted by defendant that the brewing company could
have no right of action against the engineering company for causing
the death of Leinhart, for the reason that there is no common law
right of action for causing the death of a human being, the right
of action being purely statutory—in Ohio the action being required
to be brought in the name of the personal representative of the
deceased, and for the exclusive benefit of the wife, husband, children,

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BULLETIN OF THE BUEEAU OF LABOR.

parents, or next of kin of the deceased (Rev. St. Ohio 1908, secs.
6134, 6135), and that the injury to the insurance company from the
death of Leinhart is thus too indirect and remote to give a right of
action to the insurance company.
It is a general rule of law that a principal or employer is civilly
responsible for wrongs committed by his agent or servant while
acting within the scope of the employment of the agent or servant.
(1 Thompson on Negligence, secs. 518, 520, 526.) The rule of law
is likewise general that where a principal or employer is not in
fault, but has nevertheless been compelled^ to pay damages to a third
person for the negligence of his agent or employee, he may main
tain an action over against such servant or employee to recover what
he has been compelled to pay. (Story on Agency (9th ed.), sec. 217;
4 Thompson on Negligence," sec. 3870.) The brewing company thus
had, by virtue of its alleged relations with the engineering company,
a right of action over against the latter for negligence on its part
which caused legal damage to the brewing company. The injury
to the brewing company resulting from that negligence was direct
and immediate.
With respect to injuries not causing death, as in the case of Wund,
we apprehend this proposition would not be questioned. With respect
to. the damage resulting from Leinhart’s death, the fact that Leinhart
had no right of action is immaterial. There is no attempt to recover
here in any right of his. The ground of the recovery sought is that
the engineering company failed in its primary and positive duty
toward the brewing company, whereby the latter company sustained a
loss. It can make no difference, with its right of action over, that the
original recovery against it belonged to one person rather than an
other—to .the widow and children rather than to the representative of
Leinhart’s estate. Under the allegations of the petition the negli
gence of the engineering company was the direct and sole cause of
Leinhart’s death, and thus of the damages suffered by. the brewing
company; The injury to the insurance company was thus not indirect
or remote, but was direct and immediate, because it stands in the shoes
of the brewing company. We know of no reason, either upon prin
ciple or authority, why the doctrine of subrogation, which has been
expressly held applicable to indemnity by way of fire and marine
insurance, and by at least necessary implication in the case of cas
ualty insurance, should not be held to extend to employers’ liability
indemnity.
But it is contended that this right of subrogation, if it exists, can
in a court of law be enforced only in the name of the insured.
Turning to the statutes of Ohio (Rev. St. 1908, sec. 4993), we find
that “ an action must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in
interest,” with certain exceptions not applicable here. In several
cases statutes similar to that in Ohio have been expressly held to give
the right of action at law in the name of the assured, although the
rule would be different when the insurer had paid a part only of the
loss, for in such case the principle forbidding the splitting of an
action would forbid a suit by the insurer for a part only of the loss
claimed.
It is further urged against plaintiff’s right of recovery that the

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

307

without judgment. We see no merit in this contention. Assuming
that no recovery could be had in advance of actual payment of the
liability, the only effect of a judgment would be by way of evidence
establishing liability. If the insurance company saw fit to pay the
claimed liability without judgment and without warning in [to] the
engineering company, so as to bind it by that judgment, the burden
rests upon it of establishing in this suit, by proof, not only that Leinhart’s death occurred through the negligence of the engineering com
pany, but also the extent of tl\e damages recoverable by his relatives
on account of that death.
It follows, from the views we have expressed, that the court below
erred in sustaining the demurrer.
The judgment is accordingly reversed, with directions to take such
further proceedings in the case as are not inconsistent with this
opinion.
E mployment of Children—A ge Limit—V iolation of Statute—
Liability of E mployer for I njuries—Defenses—Misrepresenta
tion of A ge—Norman v . Virginia-Pocahontas Coal Co., Supreme

Court of Appeals of West Virginia, 69 Southeastern Reporter, page
857.—This case involved the construction of the West Virginia min
ing law of 1907, chapter 78, Acts of 1907, in its limitation of the em
ployment of children in coal mines. The question was one of the
liability of the employer for injury, and the case turned largely on
the effect of the unlawful employment of a child under the prohibited
age. The plaintiff had recovered a judgment of damages in the
circuit court of McDowell County, which judgment was on appeal
affirmed. The essential facts are indicated in the opinion of the
court, which was delivered by Judge Eobinson, of which the important
parts are as follows:
By the statute law of this State it is provided: “ No boy under 14
years of age * * * shall be permitted to work in any coal mine,
and in all cases of doubt the parents or guardians of such boys shall
furnish affidavits of their ages.” (Code Supp. 1909, c. 15H, sec. 17.)
Following this inhibition, punishment by fine or imprisonment is
prescribed to be imposed upon any operator, agent, or mine foreman
who shall be convicted of knowingly violating the mandate. This
statute is enforceable as a criminal or penal one. Its terms prescribe
no other liability for its violation than fine or imprisonment. The
case which we are now to consider involves the applicability of this
statute to a suit for damages arising from an injury alleged to have
been caused by its violation.
Though the statute provides only for a fine or imprisonment, still
an action lies for damages caused by its nonobservance. The plain
tiff, if his allegations are true, is one of a class for the benefit of
which the statute was enacted. Any boy under the age of 14 years
who is injured by reason of his unlawful employment in a coal mine
may maintain a civil action for damages in the premises against the
mine operator, agent, or foreman who has failed to observe the law

308

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

and thereby caused the boy’s injury. “ One who disobeys the law
subjects himself to any proceeding, civil or criminal, which the same
law has ordained for the particular case. In the absence of which
ordaining, or in the presence of it when not interpreted as excluding
other methods, he is liable to those steps which the common law has
provided for cases of the like class; as, to an indictment, or to a civil
action, or to both, according to the nature of the offending. The
civil action is maintainable when, and only when, the person com
plaining is of a class entitled to take advantage of the law, is a
sufferer from the disobedience, is not himself a partaker in the wrong
of which he complains, or is not otherwise precluded by the prin
ciples of the common law from his proper standing in court.”
(Bishop on Noncontract Law, sec. 141.)
Many and varied are the views that have been expressed as to the
consideration of evidence in regard to violation of a statute in cases
like the one at hand. It is not our purpose to cite and review the
decisions on the subject. The point is one of first instance with us.
We adopt the view that seems consonant with reason. Briefly stated
it is this: The violation of the statute is actionable negligence when
ever that violation is the natural and proximate cause of an injury.
The true question to be determined in an action based upon a failure
to obey a statute like the one under consideration is: Did the unlaw
ful employment cause the injury? The trial of the case must be
guided by this question. If the injury complained of is a natural
and probable consequence of a violation of the statute, then that vio
lation is correctly taken as the proximate cause of the injury. If
the very injury has happened which was intended to be prevented
by the statute law, that injury must be considered as directly caused
by the nonobservance of the law. But if the injury is one that hap
pened by causes independent of the violation of the statute, it is not
actionable on the basis of that violation. If an intervening event
against which the statute evidently did not intend to provide, and
the appearance of which was not anticipated by the spirit and pur
pose of the act, has in fact caused the injury, that event is plainly
the proximate cause.
The statute does not provide that an employer shall respond in
damages for all injuries sustained by a boy under 14 years through
employment in a coal mine. It merely provides that the employer
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished therefor. While the
boy may have a civil remedy for injury sustained in the unlawful
employment and resort to the violation of this statute for evidence
of the negligence which caused the injury, still the statute does not
say, or even imply, that the employer shall respond in damages other
than those given by the common law. The statute does not put an
absolute liability on him for civil damages. It puts no liability on
him in that regard. But it may be shown that he is liable for dam
ages at the common law for an injury sustained by reason of its
violation. So as a matter of law it can not be said that the employer
is chargeable in damages with all injuries that result. The evidence
must prove that he is chargeable—that the injury indeed proceeded
from the unlawful employment.
But the doctrines in relation to assumption of risk and of fellow
servancy do not apply, if the evidence establishes that the statute

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

309

against employment of boys in mines has been violated. If the em
ployment of a boy in a mine is unlawful, he can not be held to have
assumed the risks incident to the employment, among which are those
proceeding from the acts of fellow servants. Assumption of risk
must stand upon the contract of employment, whether the risks as
sumed are viewed as proceeding from fellow servancv or other con
ditions connected with the employment. The employer can not take
advantage of the unlawful contract so as to say that the boy assumed
the risks arising from the occupation or from fellow servants. As
Judge Taft has stated it, the servant can not 64contract the master
out” of the statute. (Narramore v. C., C., C. & St. L. Ey. Co., 96
Fed. 298,37 C. C. A. 499,48 L. E. A. 68).
The doctrine of contributory negligence, however, is not based
upon contract of employment, and is open as a defense in cases like
this one. How far that defense may apply in view of the conse
quences to be anticipated from a violation of the statute and in con
sideration of the proximate cause of the injury is a question to be
particularly discriminated in any trial in which the defense is raised
in such case as the one before us. That contributing negligence from
incapacity to appreciate danger and from childish inclinations is anatural result of the violation of the statute, and the employer is
bound to anticipate it. Therefore if he disobeys the law, he is
chargeable with the results, which he should have anticipated, one
of which is the boy’s own negligence because of his years. He is
chargeable with any injury which the immaturity of tne boy brings
on himself, because he is bound to know that the law requires that
he protect the boy against harm from his lack of capacity by not
employing him. But if a boy, though under 14 years, is not so im
mature as is merely presumed from his age, and actually has knowl
edge and capacity to appreciate the dangers because of careful in
struction unusual experience, or precocious intellect, shall we say
that he is entitled to civil damages because of the violation of a
statute not made for his benefit ? Shall we give one having capacity
to avoid danger the benefit of inferences from a law that has been
made in the interest of those not having that capacity ? There is
not a word in the statute itself which says civil liability shall exist
because of failure to observe the mere age fixed. The statute indi
cates that protection from a generally presumed want of capacity in
those under the age is the end it seeks. Therefore it is not violated
in a sense to bring civil damages unless the employer has actually
taken into his service one that he must reasonably know may be in
jured by reason of his own boyish inclinations. Though a boy may
be a few days under 14 years, it may be shown that he has been so
well instructed and experienced as to have even more appreciation
of danger than one over that age.
The common law allows the defense of contributory negligence if
facts are shown whereby it appears that under the law such negli
gence is attributable to the boy. If he has the sense to avoid dan
gers, the unlawful employment can not hurt him in this regard, if he
uses that sense. So we say that if the contributory negligence is not
of that order against which the statute itself provides, is not of that
kind which must be anticipated as a probable consequence of a viola
tion of the statute, but comes from one who is shown to have the

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capacity to refrain from contributing to his own injury, it is an
available defense. The employer is entitled to this defense if he can
show that the boy contributing to the injury had extraordinary wis
dom and full appreciation of the dangers.
Some of the decisions hold that under no circumstances can con
tributory negligence avail in a case like the one at hand. But the
weight of authority is the other way, and to our minds consistent
with legal principles. The statute does not in words abrogate the
defense. A civil action does not get its force from that statute. It
only looks to the violation of the statute for evidence to support the
action. Why shall not common-law principles apply?
Though the boy may have misrepresented his age, still he may
recover if he makes a case. He is not precluded from the action
because he has been a party to the unlawful employment. The inhi
bition is upon the employer. Again, we say, if his failure to observe
the law causes injury, he may be made to respond in damages.
(Braasch v. Michigan Stove Co., 153 Mich. 652,118 N. W. 366.)
The employer must ascertain the age of the boy. He must not be
negligent in this particular. Unless he actually knows the age, so
that he may safely rely on the fact before a jury, he must do what
the statute directs—he must secure the affidavit of the parent or
guardian. The statute requires him to get this affidavit “ in all cases
of doubt.” If there is not certainty, there must be doubt. If he
does not actually know the age, so that he may safely rely on the
knowledge he has obtained in that regard, he is only uncertainly in
formed, and it is a case of doubt. We think the statute virtually
says that the employer must clear up all uncertainty that exists by
securing the affidavit. Only that affidavit or absolute proof that the
boy is over 14 years will protect him. He “ knowingly ” violates the
statute when he does not settle all doubt in advance of the employ
ment. Bepresentations, appearances, and good faith can not take
the place of the affidavit or unfailing proof which the statute re
quires. The purpose of the act and the very spirit which it discloses
through its words sanction this construction.
Now, when we view the case in the light of the principles an
nounced, we observe the verdict and judgment to be fully justified.
The pleadings and evidence warrant the recovery of damages for an
injury caused by the act of the defendant in unlawfully employing
plaintiff in a coal mine. That injury was the loss of a leg, for which
the jury awarded $1,500. There is evidence supporting a finding
that the plaintiff was under the age of 14 years and that the injury
was a natural and probable consequence of his unlawful employment.
The happening by which the injury came to plaintiff was one which
the employer must have reasonably anticipated would follow the
employment of a person so immature. The evidence does not take
the boy out of the class for the benefit of which the statute was en
acted. It does not raise his capacity over that generally presumed.
No affidavit of the boy’s age was sought or furnished. It is plainly
shown that the defendant’s agent even doubted the boy’s statement as
to his age. Defendant can not, as it undertakes to do, rely on evi
dence of the boy’s misstatements and of what its agent believed from
his appearance. There is no error in the giving and refusing of
instructions to the jury. Those given presented the case as favorably

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

311

for defendant as could properly have been done. Those refused were
not warranted in a proper view of the case. The judgment in plain
tiff’s behalf is founded upon no error. It will be affirmed.
H ours of Labor of E mployees on Railroads—Telegraph Opera
tors—F ederal S tatute—P eriods of S ervice and Rest—Construc
tion of Statute— United States v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe

Railway Co., Supreme Court of the United States, 31 Supreme Court
Reporter, page 362.—This case was before the Supreme Court on an
appeal from the circuit court of appeals in an action to recover pen
alties for a violation of the act of March 4, 1907 (34 Stat. 1415,
1416). This act provides that no telegraph operator or person in
like employment shall be permitted to be on duty for a longer period
than 9 hours in any 24-hour period where such offices are operated
continuously, nor for longer than 13 hours in offices operated only
during daytime. The defendant company employed an operator at
Corwith, in the outer limits of the city of Chicago, the office being
closed between the hours of 12 and 3 by day and by night, but open
the rest of the time. The same operator was employed from half
past 6 in the morning until 12 and again from 3 p. m. to half past 6,
involving 9 hours of actual work within the 12-hour period. The
Government contended that the place was “ continuously operated
night and day,” and that when 9 hours had passed from the mo
ment of beginning work no more labor should be permitted by the
same operator until after the recurrence of the same time of begin
ning on the next day. This contention had been sustained by the
district court, but reversed in the court of appeals, and on this hear
ing in the Supreme Court the judgment of the circuit court of ap
peals was affirmed. Justice Holmes, who delivered the opinion of
the court, spoke in part as follows:
We are of opinion that the Government’s argument can not be sus
tained, even if it be conceded that Corwith was a place continuously
operated night and day, as there are strong reasons for admitting.
Tne antithesis is between places continuously operated night and day
and places operated only during the daytime. We think that the
Government is right in saying that the proviso is meant to deal with
all offices, and if so, we should go further than otherwise we might
in holding offices not operated only during the daytime as falling
under the other head. A trifling interruption would not be consid
ered, and it is possible that even three hours by night and three hours
by day would not exclude the office from all operation of the law, and
to that extent defeat what we believe was its intent.
But if we concede the Government’s first proposition, it is im
possible to extract the requirement of 15 hours’ continuous leisure
from the words of the statute by grammatical construction alone.
The proviso does not say 9 “ consecutive” hours, as was said in

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.
312
the earlier part of the section, and if it had said so, or even “ for a
longer period than a period of 9 consecutive hours,” still the
defendant’s conduct would not have contravened the literal meaning
of the words. A man employed for 6 hours and then, after an inter
val, for 3, in the same 24, is not employed for a longer period than 9
consecutive hours. Indeed, the word u consecutive ” was struck out
when the bill was under discussion, on the suggestion that otherwise
a man might be worked for a second 9 hours after an interval of half
an hour. In order to bring about the effect contended for it would
have been necessary to add, as the section does add in the earlier part,
a provision for the required number of consecutive hours off duty.
The presence of such a provision in the one part and its absence in
the other is an argument against reading it as implied. The Govern
ment suggests that if it is not implied, a man might be set to work
for 2 hours on and 2 hours off, alternately. This hardly is a practical
suggestion. We see no reason to suppose that Congress meant more
than it said. On the contrary, the reason for striking out the word
“ consecutive ” in the proviso given, as we have mentioned, Tjhen the
bill was under discussion, and the alternative reference in section 2
to “ 16 consecutive hours ” and “ 16 hours in the aggregate,” show
that the obvious possibility of two periods of service in the same 24
hours was before the mind of Congress, and that there was no over
sight in the choice of words.

Labor Organizations—I nterference with
junction—Construction of S t a t u t e — George

E mployment—I n

Jonas Glass Co. v .
Glass Bottle Blowers’ Association, Court of Errors and Appeals of
New Jersey, 79 Atlantic Reporter, page 202.—The company above
named had procured an injunction against the association following
a boycott of its business instituted in the year 1901 and a strike in
the following year and thereafter. (See Bulletin No. 72, p. 629.)
From the decree awarding this injunction the defendants appealed,
the appeal resulting in the decree being affirmed. The injunction
awarded restrained the defendants—
(1) From knowingly and intentionally causing or attempting to
cause, by threats, offers of money, payments of money, offering to
pay expenses, or by inducement of persuasion, any employee of the
complainant under contract to render service to it to break such con
tract by quitting such service.
(2) From personal molestation of persons willing to be employed
by complainant with intent to coerce such persons to refrain from
entering such employment.
(3) From addressing persons willing to be employed by com
plainant, against their will, and thereby causing them personal
annoyance, with a view to persuade them to refrain from such em
ployment.
(4) From loitering or picketing in the streets or on the highways
or public places near the premises of complainant with intent to
procure the personal molestation and annoyance of persons em

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

313

ployed or willing to be employed by complainant, and with a view
to cause persons so employed to refrain from such employment.
(5) From entering the premises of the complainant against its
will with intent to interfere with its business.
(6) From violence, threats of violence, insults, indecent talk, inde
cent abusive epithets, annoying language, acts, or conduct practiced
upon any person without their consent, with intent to coerce them to
refrain from entering the employment of complainant or to leave its
employment.
(7) From attempting to cause any persons employed by com
plainant to leave such employment by intimidating or annoying such
employees by annoying language, acts, or conduct.
(8) From causing persons willing to be employed by complainant
to refrain from so doing by annoying language, acts, or conduct.
(9) From inducing, persuading, or causing, or attempting to in
duce, persuade, or cause, the employees of complainant to break their
contracts of service with complainant or quit their employment.
(10) From threatening to injure the business of any corporation,
customer, or person dealing or transacting business and willing to
deal and transact business with the complainant by making threats
in writing or by words for the purpose of coercing such corporation,
customer, or person against his or its will so as not to deal with or
transact business with the complainant.
One member of the court of errors and appeals dissented from that
part of the opinion which upholds the injunction against “ inducing,
persuading, or causing, or attempting to induce, persuade, or cause
the employees of complainant to break their contracts of service with
complainants or quit their employment; ” while three other judges
dissented in so far as the decree appealed from directs that the de
fendants be enjoined from the peaceful persuasion of persons who
are not under any contract to serve the complainant. The opinion
of the majority of the court, as delivered by Judge Pitney, is as
follows:
Each portion of the injunctive relief thus granted is directed to
some manifestation of the strife that was carried on by the combined
defendants against the complainant. And in each respect the in
junction is justified by the evidence in the case.
The employees of complainant referred to in the decree are those
who either refused to join the strike or who entered complainant’s
employ after the strike. With respect to these, it will be observed
that the defendants are restrained from using coercion, inducements,
or persuasion to bring about a termination of the employment,
whether the employee be under contract of service or not. With
respect to other persons, not as yet employed, but willing to take
employment under the complainant, the defendants are restrained
from interfering to prevent this by coercion or personal molestation
and annoyance; but are not restrained from using mere persuasion in
such a case. There is a restraint against picketing designed to molest
and annoy persons employed or willing to be employed, and there is a
restraint against the continuance of the boycott. It is clear beyond
dispute that the complainant has suffered grievously in its property

314

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

and business through the acts of the defendants, whose continuance
is thus prohibited. That the injury to the complainant is irreparable
by action, at law is likewise clear. If, therefore, the acts themselves
are unlawful and violative of the property rights of the complainant,
the injunction is proper. The conduct of defendants in using coercion
in some cases and persuasion in others in order to bring about
breaches of the contracts of personal service existing between com
plainant and some of its employees—defendants having, of course,
full notice of the existing employment—was unlawful and actionable
upon well-settled principles. And the same is true of conduct whose
object and purpose were to bring about a termination of the relation
of master and servant between the complainant and its employees in
cases where there was no binding contract of service, but a mere
service at will. In Frank & Dugan v. Herold (63 N. J. Eq. 443, 450,
52 Atl. 152), Pitney, V. C., said that to create the relation of master
and servant it is not necessary that there should be a contract in writ
ing, or even verbal, between them to work for any particular length
of time, that the relation exists when the one person is willing from#
day to day to work for another, and that other person desires the
labor and makes his business arrangements accordingly. Whether an
action will lie for interference in the relations existing between em
ployer and employee where there is a mere service at will and where
the interference is the result of fair competition in the labor market
is a question mooted, but not necessary to be decided in the present
case. The defendants were not competitors in the labor market.
Their interference had for its immediate object the crippling of the
complainant’s business. The only semblance of excuse alleged is
that defendants desired to bring about “ improved labor conditions ”
in complainant’s works; but this object did not warrant the resort
to unlawful measures.
Eeliance is placed by the defendants upon the “ act relative to per
sons combining and encouraging other persons to combine.” (P. L.
1883, p. 36; Gen. Stats. 1895, p. 2344, pi. 23.) The enactment is:
“ That it shall not be unlawful for any two or more persons to unite,
combine, or bind themselves by oath, covenant, agreement, alliance, or
otherwise, to persuade, advise, or encourage, by peaceable means,
any person or persons to enter into any combination for or against
leaving or entering into the employment of any person, persons, or
corporation.” In Mayer v. Journeymen Stonecutters’ Association,
47 N. J. Eq. 519, 531, 20 Atl. 492, 496, Vice Chancellor Green appar
ently treated this act as legalizing private injuries. And in Cumber
land Glass Mfg. Co. v. Glass Bottle Blowers’ Ass’n, 59 N. J. Eq.
49, 53, 46 Atl. 208, Vice Chancellor Eeed construed it as permitting
the adoption of peaceable measures for inducing workmen to quit
or refuse to enter an employment. Whatever may have been the
purpose of its framer, there are, as we think, constitutional obstacles
in the way of giving the act so extensive a force. The rights of
enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and
protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happi
ness are declared by our constitution to be unalienable. (Const.
N. J., art. 1, pi. 1.) No act of the legislature is to be construed as
infringing upon these rights, unless its language plainly and clearly
requires such a construction. If its language so reads, it is to the

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

315

extent indicated unconstitutional and void. The act of 1883 is, as
we think, properly to be treated as merely rendering the combination
no longer indictable; in effect, as repealing the rule laid down by
the supreme court of this State in State v. Donaldson, 32 N. J. Law,
*151, 90 Am, Dec. 649. It does not legitimize an invasion of private
rights nor prevent the party injured from having full redress. Its
proper scope is indicated in the opinion of Pitney, Y. C., in Frank &
Dugan v. Herold, 63 N. J. Eq. 443, 447, 448, 52 Atl. 152.
So much of the decree as awards an injunction to restrain the de
fendants from using coercive measures to prevent the flow of labor
to complainant’s works is likewise proper. In Jersey City Printing
Co. v. Cassidy, 63 N. J. Eq. 759, 765, 53 Atl. 230, Stevenson, Y. C.,
recognized and enforced the right of an employer to an injunction
to prevent undue interference with those who wish to come to him
for employment. It is principally upon this ground that injunctions
against what is known as picketing have been sustained in this and
other jurisdictions.
So much of the decree as is directed against the continuance of the
boycott is plainly justified by the evidence, and accords with the
law. (Barr v. Essex Trades Council, 53 N. J. Eq. 101, 30 Atl. 881;
Martin v. McFall, 65 N. J. Eq. 91, 55 Atl. 465.)
The decree under review should be affirmed, with costs.
Mine Regulations—E xamination and Certification of Miners—
Construction of Statute—Cons t i t u t i o n a l i t y -^—People v. Evans,

Supreme Court of Illinois, 93 Northeastern Reporter, page 388.—
Harry Evans was convicted of violating a statute of the State of Illi
nois (Hurd’s Rev. Stats., 1909, ch. 93) which provides for the examina
tion of miners by an examining board, and prohibits the employment
of such miners as have not received a certificate from such board.
The board is to be appointed by the county judges of the State and
is to consist of persons who are practical, experienced, and skillful
miners of at least five years’ continuous experience and who arc at
the time actually engaged in mining coal in the county for which they
are appointed. Miners who were employed at the time the act took
effect and who had been employed as miners for at least two years in
coal mines were entitled to certificates without examination. Other
provisions relate to fees, penalties, times of holding examination, etc.
There was no question as to the fact that Evans had employed a
miner who did not have a certificate, and at the trial in the Saline
County court Evans was convicted and appealed. His appeal was
based on the alleged unconstitutionality of the law in a number of
its provisions. On each point, however, with a single exception, the
court sustained the law and affirmed the judgment of the court below.
The opinion of the court was delivered by Judge Hand, who first
took up the contention that the law was unconstitutional since it in
vested county judges with authority not contemplated in their origi99823°—No. 95—11---- 21

316

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

nal appointments, the contention being that the members of the ex
amining boards are State officers subject to appointment by the gov
ernor only. This view was rejected by the court and the validity of
the mode of appointment affirmed. Following this, Judge Hand
said:
It is next contended that the statute is unconstitutional by reason
of the fact that it discriminates against such miners as were not
actually employed in mining in this State on the date said statute
became effective, and discriminates in favor of such miners as were
actually employed in mining in this State on the date said statute be
came effective. The statute provides that no person shall receive a.
certificate permitting him to work in a coal mine in this State unless
he shall have had two years’ practical experience as a miner or with
a miner, and provides that the examination required by the statute
shall be taken by a miner unless the miner has been employed two
years in practical mining, and was actually employed in mining in
this State at the time the statute went into effect.
As we view the provision of the statute which exempts the miner
from an examination if he was employed in mining in this State at
the time the statute went into effect, as a prerequisite to issuing him
a certificate, it does not confer upon such miner any privilege, right,
or immunity, and does not discriminate in his favor as against the
miner who was not so employed at the time the statute became effec
tive. The most that can be said is that the statute leaves the miner
who has had two years’ experience in mining coal and was employed
in mining coal in this State at the time the statute went into effect, in
the precise situation that he was in before the statute was passed;
that is, it permits him to continue his employment upon his satisfying
the miners’ examining board that he had been for two years engaged
in mining coal, and was engaged in mining coal in this State at the
time the statute went into effect. Neither does it take from the
miner who resides in this State or resides out of this State, and who
has had two years’ experience in mining, any privilege, right, or
immunity, but leaves such miner where it found him when the
statute was passed; that is, without employment in a coal mine; and
if he desires to again engage in mining, then the statute provides
that he may do so by passing an examination and otherwise com
plying with the statute. In the one instance the law is just to the
miner who was employed when the law went into effect, as it permits
him to continue his employment, while it does not in any way work
an injustice to the miner who has for years, or even temporarily,
abandoned the mining of coal and again desires to be employed in
that calling. We are therefore constrained to hold that the statute
does not discriminate in favor of the class of miners who were em
ployed as miners when the act became effective, or discriminate
against the class of miners who were not so employed when the act
became effective.
Various other points were then considered, all of which were de
cided in favor of the constitutionality of the statute except the last,
as to which Judge Hand said:
It is finally- contended that that portion of the statute which
provides that money paid into the State treasury by the miners’

DECISIONS OE COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

317

examining board shall be paid out again upon warrants issued by
the several county judges of the State is invalid. That this provision
of the statute is unconstitutional is conceded by the defendant in
error, and it is too plain for argument that the portion of the
statute which authorizes a county judge to draw warrants against
money in the State treasury must be held to be unconstitutional.
The other provisions of the statute, however, are not dependent upon
this provision, and, eliminating from the statute the portion ad
mittedly unconstitutional, the remaining part of the statute is valid
and constitutional.
Railroads—F ull Crew L aw—Constitutionality of Statute—
Regulation of Commerce—Chicago, Bock Island & Pacific Rail

way Co. v. State of Arkansas, Supreme Court of the United States,
31 Supreme Court Reporter, page 875.—This case came before the
Supreme Court of the United States for a review of a judgment
of the Supreme Court of the State of Arkansas penalizing the com
pany named for operating a freight train with less than three brakemen, in violation of act No. 116 of the laws of 1907 of that State.
The law was restricted in its application to railroads over 50 miles in
length and operating trains consisting of 25 cars or more. The com
pany .contended that its trains were equipped with automatic couplers
and air brakes, and that two brakemen were sufficient in number to
operate the train safely, so that the requirement for a third brakeman
was a useless and unnecessary burden. On this ground it maintained
that the statute was unconstitutional as depriving it of its property
without due process of law. This contention the supreme court
denied, upholding the constitutionality of the statute, and affirming
the judgment of the court below. Justice Harlan, who delivered the
opinion of the court, discussed a number of laws of various States
prescribing the methods of operation and of equipment of railroads
in the States, which had been sustained as within the power of the
State legislatures to provide for the safe operation of the railroads
within their boundaries. In conclusion, Justice Harlan said:
Local statutes directed to such an end have their source in the
power of the State, never surrendered, of caring for the public safety
of all within its jurisdiction; and the validity under the Constitu
tion of the United States of such statutes is not to be questioned in a
Federal court unless they are clearly inconsistent with some power
granted to the General Government, or with some right secured by
that instrument, or unless they are purely arbitrary in their nature.
The statute here involved is not in any proper sense a regulation of
interstate commerce, nor does it deny the equal protection of the laws.
Upon its face, it must be taken as not directed against interstate
commerce, but as having been enacted in aid, not in obstruction, of
such commerce, and for the protection of those engaged in such com
merce. Under the evidence, there is admittedly some room for con
troversy as to whether the statute is or was necessary; but it can not

318

BULLETIN OE THE BUREAU OP LABOR.

be said that it is so unreasonable as to justify the court in adjudging
that it is merely an arbitrary exercise of power, and not germane to
the objects which evidently the State legislature had in view. It is a
means employed by the State to accomplish an object which it is en
titled to accomplish, and such means, even if deemed unwise, are not
to be condemned or disregarded by the courts, if they have a real
relation to that object. And the statute Being applicable alike to all
belonging to the same class, there is no basis for the contention that
there has been a denial of the equal protection of the laws. Undoubt
edly, Congress, in its discretion, may take entire charge of the whole
subject of the equipment of interstate cars, and establish such regu
lations as are necessary and proper for the protection of those
engaged in interstate commerce. But it has not done so in respect
to the number of employees to whom may be committed the actual
management of interstate trains of any kind. It has not established
any regulations on that subject, and until it does, the statutes of the
State, not in their nature arbitrary, and which really relate to the
rights and duties of all within the jurisdiction, must control. This
principle has been firmly established, and is a most wholesome one
under our systems of government, Federal and State.
Kailroads—Safety A ppliances—H eadlights on Locomotives—
Constitutionality of Statute—Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Co.

v. State, Supreme Court of Georgia, 69 Southeastern Reporter, page
725.—This case was before the supreme court on certified ques
tions from the court of appeals as to the validity of an act of the
Legislature of the State of Georgia, page 50, laws of 1908. The ques
tions involved are entirely points of law, and the somewhat lengthy
opinion was summarized by the court in a syllabus which presents,
the points of interest and is mainly as follows:
2. An act provided “ that all railroad companies are hereby re-4
quired to equip and maintain each and every locomotive used by
such company to run on its main line after dark with a good and
sufficient headlight, which shall consume not less than 300 watts atthe arc, with a reflector not less than 23 inches in diameter, and to
keep the same in good condition.” It also provided that “ any rail4
road company violating this act in any respect ” should be liable to.
indictment and a prescribed punishment, and that u this act shall
not apply to tram roads, mill roads, and roads engaged principally
in lumber or logging transportation in connection with. mills.”
(Laws, 1908, p. 50.) Held:
(a) The term “ railroad company” employed in the act includes
natural persons as well as corporations.
(b) The act is not void, as being violative of the “ equal-protec-,
tion ” clauses of the State and Federal Constitutions, because it ex
empts from its operation tram roads, mill roads, and roads engaged
principally in lumber or logging transportation in connection with
mills.

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

319

(c) Even if receivers of railroads are not within the operation of
the act, it would not for this reason be violative of the equal-protec
tion clauses referred to in the preceding note.
3. The act does not violate the “ due-process ” clauses of the State
and Federal Constitutions, because its enforcement will require a loss
of property to the defendant in doing away with the headlights on
locomotives now in use and cause the defendant to incur expense in
equipping its locomotives with the headlights required by the act.
(a) The act is not violative of the 44due-process ” clauses of the
State and Federal Constitutions, because it requires an arc electric
headlight, which shall consume “ not less than 300 watts at the arc
and with a reflector not less than 23 inches in diameter,” on the
ground that it deprives the defendant 44of its own right to make con
tracts and manage its own business.”
(b) The act was passed in the legitimate exercise of the police
power of the State, and is not void on the ground that its require
ments are unreasonable.
(c) Nor does the act violate the “ due-process ” clauses of the State
and Federal Constitutions, on the ground that it contains no emer
gency clause and absolutely and without exception makes the rail
road company guilty of a crime if it operated one of its engines on its
main line after dark without the required headlight.
4. The act does not violate the 44commerce clause ” of the Federal
Constitution, on the ground that it would require at the State line a
change of headlights on locomotives doing an interstate business, if
other States required headlights of a kind different from that pre
scribed by the act in question, although such change might involve
some loss of time and expense on the part of the railroad company.
DECISIONS UNDER COMMON LAW.

B oycott—Conspiracy—E xercise of Right—Motive— Union La
bor Hospital Association v. Vance Redwood Lumber Go., Supreme
Court of California, 112 Pacific Reporter, page 886.—The hospital
association named brought action against the lumber company and
six affiliated companies which had agreed among themselves on a
system of hospital relief which involved the deduction of $1 per
month from the wages of their workmen. In partial exchange there
for the workmen received hospital tickets. These tickets admitted
the workmen to treatment at any one of four designated hospitals,
of which the Union Labor Hospital was not one. A complaint was
made that the failure to designate the Union Labor Hospital as one
at which treatment might be received under the agreement of the
lumber companies formed a malicious and willful conspiracy, com
bination, and boycott, designed to vex and injure the plaintiff’s busi
ness, and coerce and intimidate its patrons and customers, and pre
vent the sale of its bonds by injuring its credit. There was no evi
dence of any coercion or other action directed toward the hospital,
nor of any suggestion to the workmen that they should not patron
ize it. The companies insisted merely that the workmen should

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

buy tickets in one of the designated hospitals, leaving them at lib
erty to also buy tickets in the plaintiff’s hospital if they should so
desire, though, as was remarked by the court, “ in the nature of
things an employee having purchased a ticket in another hospital
would not be likely to lay out any more money for such a purpose.”
Judgment had been given in the plaintiff’s favor in the superior
court of Humboldt County, which judgment was on appeal reversed
and the case remanded. The opinion of the court was delivered by
Judge Henshaw, and from it the following extracts are taken as
showing the grounds for its reversal:
There being no contractual relations between .plaintiff and defend
ants, the defendants, individually or in combination, were under a
duty only to refrain from inflicting a legal wrong upon plaintiff.
The finding of the court is that defendants in making their agree
ments with the Sequoia, St. Francis, Marine View, and Trinity
Hospitals were acting solely for the purpose and with the intent to
subserve their own interests. But if this were not so, and their pur
pose were to injure the business of plaintiff, nevertheless, unless they
adopted illegal means to that end, their conduct did not render them
amenable to the law, for an evil motive which may inspire the doing
of an act not unlawful will not of itself make the act unlawful.
(Parkinson v. Building Trades Council, 154 Cal. 581, 98 Pac. 1027.
Pierce v. Stablemen’s Union, 156 Cal. 70, 103 Pac. 324.) Unques
tionably there was nothing illegal in the measures employed to
accomplish this result. The suasion or intimidation or coercion was
purely moral, and went no further upon the part of the defendants
than a refusal to employ or to retain in their employ any one unwill
ing to comply with their hospital regulation. This was purely a
matter between employer and employee, and where no contract be
tween them stands in the way it is the unquestioned right of the
employee to leave the employment at his pleasure, and it is equally
the right of the employer to discharge at his pleasure, or to impose
conditions upon the retention of the employee m his employment.
Appellant contends this is an action in tort, based on the malicious
and wanton acts of the respondent, and seems to predicate his right
to recovery upon respondent’s wrongful motive. Judge Cooley, at
page 1505 (832) of volume 2 (third edition) of his work on Torts,
says: “ Bad motive, by itself, then, is no tort. Malicious motives
make a bad act worse, but they can not make that a wrong which in
its own essence is lawful. An act which does not amount to a legal
injury can not be actionable, because it is done with a bad intent.
Where one exercises a legal right only, the motive which actuates him
is immaterial. When in legal pleadings the defendant is charged
with having wrongfully and unlawfully done the act complained of,
the words are only words of vituperation, and amount to nothing
unless a cause of action is otherwise alleged.” In substance, the act
of respondent of which appellant complains is that it has maliciously
caused its employees to violate their contract with him; but the acts
herein alleged give the appellant no cause of action as against re
spondent. (Boyson v. Thorn, 98 Cal. 578, 33 Pac, 492.)

321
We are unable to perceive where any element of monopoly enters
into this consideration, as respondent contends. Defendants had
the undoubted right to deal with any hospital which they might
select. In fact they are dealing with four, and they are not even
prohibiting their men from engaging the services of plaintiff. We
repeat, that since the acts of defendants are within their legal rights,
the motive for those acts is not a subject of inquiry. “ To entitle a
plaintiff to recover, there must be a wrong done. ‘ No one is a wrong
doer but he who aoes what the law does not allow.’ He who does
what the law allows can not be a wrongdoer whatever his motive.
So no one is guilty of a fraud because he exerts his rights. The mo
tive which may induce such exertion is immaterial.” (Heywood v.
Tillson, 75 Me. 237, 46 Am. Eep. 373.)
The judgment is reversed and the cause remanded.
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

B oycott—Conspiracy—I njunctions—E ights S ubject to P ro
tection—D amages—Baldwin v. Escanaba Liquor Dealers* Associa

tion, Supreme Court of Michigan, ISO Northwestern Reporter, page
—This case involves the boycotting of a newspaper by an unincor
porated association of persons resident in the city and county in which
the newspaper was published. It is not a case involving the activi
ties of a labor union, but involves identical principles. Francis L.
Baldwin, proprietor of the Escanaba Journal, had brought suit in
the circuit court of Delta County to secure an injunction and dam
ages on account of activities of an association commonly known
as the Escanaba Liquor Dealers’ Association, together with other
defendants. Baldwin, as proprietor of the Journal, published arti
cles, editorials, and news items commenting on and criticising
alleged unlawful methods of conducting business followed by the
liquor dealers’ association of the city and criticising the laxity of
the enforcement of the law with reference thereto. It was in evi
dence that a committee of the association visited a number of patrons
of the journal who had published advertisements therein or had
job work done in its office, and that as a result of such interference
and threats of injury to business his interests were endangered and
his business damaged. Judgment was rendered in Baldwin’s favor
in the court below in an extended opinion delivered by Judge Stone.
On appeal to the supreme court this judgment was affirmed, the court
adopting the opinion of Judge Stone as the opinion of the supreme
court. This opinion reviewed the facts and reached the conclusion
from the evidence that there had been formed a conspiracy or com
bination at meetings of the association looking: to interfering with
the legitimate business of the complainant by way of boycott if he
did not desist from further publications relating to the liquor and
kindred business in the city of Escanaba. The acts of the committee

322

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

and the members of the committee and all other persons that came
to the meetings were regarded as carrying out the same end of in
ducing Baldwin’s customers to do no further business with him. The
following is quoted from the opinion:
In restraining boycotts the authorities proceed on the theory that
they are unlawful interferences with property rights. The constitu
tion of our State guarantees liberty to every citizen, and a certain
remedy in the laws for all injuries or wrongs which he may receive
in his person, property, or character; and the rights so guaranteed are
fundamental^ and can be taken away only by the law of the land, or
interfered with, or the enjoyment thereof modified only by lawful
regulations adopted as necessary for the general public welfare.
As remarked by Judge Bradley in the Slaughterhouse Cases, 16
Wall. (U. S.) 36-116, 21 L. Ed. 394: “ For the preservation, exercise,
and enjoyment of these rights the individual citizen, as a necessity,
must be left free to adopt such calling, profession, or trade as may
seem to him most conducive to that end. This right to choose one’s
calling is an essential part of the liberty which it is the object of
government to protect ; and a calling when chosen is a man’s prop
erty and right. Liberty and property are not protected where these
lights are arbitrarily assailed.”
A person’s occupation or calling by means of which he earns a
livelihood and endeavors to better his condition and to provide for
and support himself and those dependent upon him, is property
within the meaning of the‘law, and entitled to protection as such.
Persons may organize and persuade and induce others to join them,
but when they resort to unlawful means to cause injury to others
with whom they have no relations, contractual or otherwise, the limit
by the law is passed, and they may be restrained. (Gray v.
Permitted
► uilding Trades’ Council, 91 Minn. 171, 97 N. W. 663.)
But we need not go outside of our own decisions to find ample sup
port for the doctrine already stated. In Beck v. Railway Teamsters’
Protective Union (118 Mich. 497, 77 N. W. 13), it was held that in
junction would lie to restrain a combination of persons from attempt
ing to ruin complainant’s business, by bringing to bear upon his
customers and employees intimidating and coercive means, though the
acts were unaccompanied by actual violence or threats of violence.
Mr. Justice Grant, speaking for the court, said: “ The law abhors
subterfuges. It lays aside the covering and looks to the actual facts
beneath. In the language of Chief Justice Shaw: cThe law is not to
be hoodwinked by colorable pretenses; it looks at truth and reality,
through whatever disguise it may assume.’” (Com. v. Hunt, 4 Mete.
(Mass.) Ill, 129, 38 Am. Dec. 346.) “ Threats in language are not
the only threats recognized by the law. Covert and unspoken threats
may be just as effective as spoken threats.”
There would seem to be no doubt that the defendants constituting
the committee, by their language and conduct in their interview with
Salinsky and Wilkinson and other parties, as disclosed by the evi
dence, intended in an emphatic manner to convey to them, as cus
tomers of complainant, that they would be boycotted unless they
ceased to trade or do business with complainant. “ The law sanc
tions only peaceful means, which leave everyone to the exercise of

DECISIONS OF COUBTS AFFECTING LABOB.

323

his own free will. The boycott condemned by the law is not alone
that accompanied by violence and threats of violence, but that where
the means used are threatening in their nature, and intended and
naturally tend to overcome, by fear of loss of property, the will
of others, and compel them to do things which they would not other
wise do.” (See also Ideal Mfg. Co. v. Ludwig, 149 Mich. 133, 112
N. W. 723.)
Under the evidence there can be no doubt that the defendants,
constituting the committee, carried out and acted in accordance with
the instructions of the meeting of January, 1908. The conspiracy
was formed at the meeting. All of those who were present and act
ing in concert with the project of the meeting were equally guilty
with the committee. The evidence shows that all who were present
and acting in concert in the appointing of this committee, and acquies
cing therein, were equally guilty.
Upon the subject of damages it seems to be well settled in this
State that equity, having once acquired jurisdiction, will retain it,
to give such full relief as will finally dispose of the controversy. The
complainant was by his bill entitled to an injunction. The court had
jurisdiction. It should retain it to give relief by way of damages,
and thus avoid a multiplicity of suits. (See cases cited in Hall v.
Nester, 122 Mich. 146, 80 N. W. 982.)
I am unable to agree with complainant’s solicitor as to the amount
of damages sustained by the complainant by reason of the conspiracy,
as shown by the evidence. The withdrawal of business by a number
of the parties is not traceable to the conspiracy or the acts following
it. The loss occasioned by the withdrawal of the business of the
witness Salinsky is the most tangible and the largest in amount.
After a careful reading of the evidence upon this subject, and taking
into consideration that these damages which the plaintiff has suffered
have been continuing and may continue for an indefinite period, and
that the acts of the defendants which are complained of have been
willful and oppressive, I am constrained to fix the damages of the
complainant at the sum of $1,000.
B oycott—I njunction— Contempt—P unishment— Gompers v.
Bucks Stove & Range Co.y Supreme Court of the United States, 31
Supreme Court Reporter, page \92.—Samuel Gompers, John Mitchell,
and Frank Morrison had been judged guilty of contempt in violating
an injunction restraining them from continuing a boycott against
the company named, and were sentenced to terms in jail by the
Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. (See Bulletin No. 83,
p. 169.) This judgment was affirmed by the court of appeals of the
District of Columbia. (See Bulletin No. 86, p. 355.) Following
this the case was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Earlier proceedings in the same case are presented in Bulletins No.
74, page 246, and No. 80, page 124. There was also an appeal by
the company on the ground that the court of appeals had erroneously
modified the injunction issued by the Supreme Court of the District.

324

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

After stating the facts and discussing the nature of the various ques
tions that had been raised in the lower courts, Justice Lamar delivered
the opinion of the Supreme Court as follows:
The defendants, Samuel Gompers, John Mitchell, and Frank Mor
rison, were found guilty of contempt of court in making certain
publications prohibited by an injunction from the Supreme Court
of the District of Columbia. They were sentenced to imprisonment
for 12, 9, and 6 months, respectively, and this proceeding is prosecuted
to reverse that judgment.
The order alleged to have been violated was granted in the equity suit
of the Bucks Stove & Range Company v. The American Federation
of Labor and others, in which the court issued an injunction re
straining all the defendants from boycotting the complainant, or
from publishing or otherwise making any statement that the Bucks
Stove & Range Co. was, or had been, on the “ Unfair ” or “ We don’t
patronize ” lists. Some months later the complainant filed a petition
in the cause, alleging that the three defendants above named, parties
to the original cause, in contempt of court and in violation of its
order, had disobeyed the injunction by publishing statements which
either directly or indirectly called attention to the fact that the
Bucks Stove & Range Co. was on the “ Unfair ” list, and that they
had thereby continued the boycott which had been enjoined.
The defendants filed separate answers under oath, and each denied
(1) that they had been in contempt or disregard of the court’s orders;
(2) that the statements complained of constituted any violation of
the order; and, on the argument, (3) contended that if the publica
tion should be construed to amount to a violation of the injunction
they could not be punished therefor, because the court must not only
possess jurisdiction of the parties and the subject matter, but must
have authority to render the particular judgment. Insisting, there
fore, that the court could not abridge the liberty of speech or freedom
of the press, the defendants claim that the injunction as a whole was
a nullity, and that no contempt proceeding could be maintained for
any disobedience of any of its provisions, general or special.
If this last proposition were sound it would be unnecessary to go
further into an examination of the case or to determine whether the
defendants had in fact disobeyed the prohibitions contained in the
injunction. (Ex parte Rowland, 104 U. S. 612.) But we will not enter
upon a discussion of the constitutional question raised, for the gen
eral provisions of the injunction did not, in terms, restrain any form
of publication. The defendants’ attack on this part of the injunction
raises no question as to an abridgment of free speech, but involves
the power of a court of equity to enjoin the defendants from con
tinuing a boycott which, by words and signals, printed or spoken,
caused or threatened irreparable damage.
Courts differ as to what constitutes a boycott that may be enjoined.
All hold that there must be a conspiracy causing irreparable damage
to the business or property of the complainant. Some hold that a
boycott against the complainant, by a combination of persons not
immediately connected with him in business, can be restrained.
Others hold that the secondary boycott can be enjoined where the
conspiracy extends not only to injuring the complainant, but sec

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

325

ondarily coerces or attempts to coerce his customers to refrain from
dealing with him by threats that unless they do they themselves will
be boycotted. Others hold that no boycott can be enjoined unless
there are acts of physical violence or intimidation caused by threats
of physical violence.
But whatever the requirement of the particular jurisdiction as to
the conditions on which the injunction against a boycott may issue,
when these facts exist, the strong current of authority is that the
publication and use of letters, circulars, and printed matter may
constitute a means whereby a boycott is unlawfully continued, and
their use for such purpose may amount to a violation of the order
of injunction. (Reynolds v. Davis, 198 Mass. 300; Sperry v. Per
kins, 147 Mass. 212; Davis v. Reynolds, 203 Mass. 150; Brown v.
Jacobs, 115 Ga. 452, 431; Gray v. Council, 91 Minn. 133; Lohse Co. v.
Fuelle, 215 Mo. 421, 472; Thomas v. Railroad Co., 62 Fed. 803, 821;
Continental Co. v. Board of Underwriters, 67 Fed. R. 332; Beck v.
Teamsters’ Union, 118 Mich. 527; Pratt Food Co. v. Bird, 148 Mich.
632; Barr v. Essex, 53 N. J. Eq. 102. See also Ludwig v. Western
Union Telegraph Co., 216 U. S. 156; Bitterman v. L. & 5T. R. R.,
207 U. S. 206; Board of Trade v. Christie, 198 U. S. 236; Scully v.
Bird, 209 U. S. 489.)
While the bill in this case alleged that complainant’s interstate
business was restrained, no relief was asked under the provisions of
the Sherman antitrust act. But if the contention be sound that no
court under any circumstances can enjoin a boycott if spoken words
or printed matter Were used as one of the instrumentalities by which
it was made effective, then it could not do so, even if interstate com
merce was restrained by means of a blacklist, boycott, or printed de
vice to acQomplish its purpose. And this, too, notwithstanding sec
tion 4 (26 Stat. 209) of that act provides that where such commerce
is unlawfully restrained it shall be the duty of the Attorney General
to institute proceedings in equity to prevent and enjoin violations of
the statute.
In Loewe v. Lawler (208 U. S. 206) the statute was held to apply
to any unlawful combination resulting in restraint of interstate com
merce. In that case the damages sued for were occasioned by acts
which, among other things, did include the circulation of advertise
ments. But the principle announced by the court was general. It
covered any illegal means by which interstate commerce is restrained,
whether by unlawful combinations of capital or unlawful combina
tions of labor; and we think also whether the restraint be occasioned
by unlawful contracts, trusts, pooling arrangements, black lists, boy
cotts, coercion, threats, intimidation, and whether these be made
effective, in whole or in part, by acts, words, or printed matter.
The court’s protective and restraining powers extend to every de
vice whereby property is irreparably damaged or commerce is ille
gally restrained. To hold that the restraint of trade under the Sher
man Antitrust Act, or on general principles of law, could be enjoined
but that the means through which the restraint was accomplished
could not be enjoined would be to render the law impotent.
Society itself is an organization and does not object to organiza
tions for social, religious, business, and all legal purposes. The law,
therefore, recognizes the right of workingmen to unite and to invite

326

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

others to join their ranks, thereby making available the strength,
influence, and power that come from such association. By virtue of
/this right powerful labor unions have been organized.
But the very fact that it is lawful to form these bodies, with
multitudes of members, means that they have thereby acquired a vast
power, in the presence of which the individual may be helpless. This
power, when unlawfully used against one, can not be met except by
his purchasing peace at the cost of submitting to terms which involve
the sacrifice of rights protected by the Constitution, or by standing
on such rights and appealing to the preventive powers of a court of
equity. When such appeal is made it is the duty of Government to
protect the one against the many as well as the many against the one.
In the case of an unlawful conspiracy the agreement to act in con
cert when the signal is published gives the words “ Unfair,” “ We
don’t patronize,” or similar expressions a force not inhering in the
words themselves, and therefore exceeding any possible right of
speech which a single individual might have. Under such circum
stances they become what have been called “ verbal acts,” and as
much subject to injunction as the use of any other force whereby
property is unlawfully damaged. When the facts in such cases
warrant it a court having jurisdiction of the parties and subject
matter has power to grant an injunction.
Passing then to the consideration of the*question as to whether the
defendants disobeyed the injunction and were therefore guilty of
contempt, we are met with the objection that for want of a bill of
exceptions we must treat the decree as conclusive as to the fact of
disobedience, and can only examine the petition and the finding to
determine whether one charges and the other finds acts which con
stitute a contempt of court. This view was adopted by the majority
of the court of appeals, which treated this as a criminal proceeding,
refused to examine the testimony, and affirmed the judgment in
analogy to the rule that on a general verdict of guilty upon an indict
ment containing several counts, some of which were bad, the con
viction would not be reversed if there was one good count warranting
the judgment.
That rule originated in cases where the finding of guilt was by the
jury while the sentence was by the judge. In such cases the pre
sumption is that the judge ignored the finding of the jury on the bad
counts and sentenced only on those which were sufficient to sustain
the conviction.
But there is no room for such presumption here. The trial judge
made no general finding that the defendants were guilty. But in one
decree he adjudged that each defendant was respectively guilty of
the nine independent acts set out in separate paragraphs of the peti
tion. Having found that each was guilty of these separate acts he
consolidated the sentence without indicating how much of the punish
ment was imposed for the disobedience in any particular instance.
We can not suppose that he found the defendants guilty of an act
charged unless he considered that it amounted to a violation of the
injunction. Nor can we suppose that having found them guilty of
these nine specific acts he did not impose some punishment for each.
Instead, therefore, of affirming the judgment if there is one good
count, it should be reversed if it should appear that the defendants

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

327

have been sentenced on any count which, in law or in fact, did not
constitute a disobedience of the injunction.
But in making such investigation it is again insisted that this is
a proceeding at law for criminal contempt, where the findings of
fact by the trial judge must be treated as conclusive, and that our
investigation must be limited solely to the question whether, as a
matter of law, the acts of alleged disobedience set out in the finding
constitute contempt of court.
This contention on the part of the Bucks Stove & Bange Co. pre
vents a consideration of the case on its merits and makes it necessary
to enter into a discussion of questions more or less technical as to
whether this was a proceeding in equity or at law. Where results
so controlling depend upon proper classification it becomes necessary
carefully to consider whether this was a case at law for criminal
contempt, where the evidence could not be examined for want of a bill
of exceptions, or a case in equity for civil contempt, where the whole
record may be examined on appeal and a proper decree entered.
Contempts are neither wholly civil nor altogether criminal. And
“ it may not always be easy to classify a particular act as belonging
to either one of these two classes. It may partake of the charac
teristics of both.” (Bessette v. Conkey, 194 U. S. 329.) But in either
event, and whether the proceedings be civil or criminal, there must
be an allegation that in contempt of court the defendant has dis
obeyed the order, and a prayer that he be attached and punished
therefor. It is not the fact of punishment but rather its character
and purpose that often serve to distinguish between the two classes
of cases. If it is for civil contempt the punishment is remedial, and
for the benefit of the complainant. But if it is for criminal contempt
the sentence is punitive, to vindicate the authority of the court. It is
true that punishment by imprisonment may be remedial, as well as
punitive, and many civil contempt proceedings have resulted not only
in the imposition of a fine, payable to the complainant, but also in
committing the defendant to prison. But imprisonment for civil con
tempt is ordered where the defendant has refused to do an affirma
tive act required by the provisions of an order which, either in form
or substance, was mandatory in its character. Imprisonment in such
cases is not inflicted as a punishment, but is intended to be remedial
by coercing the defendant to do what he had refused to do. The
decree in such cases is that the defendant stand committed unless and
until he performs the affirmative act required by the court’s order.
For example: If a defendant should refuse to pay alimony, or to
surrender property ordered to be turned over to a receiver, or to make
a conveyance required by a decree for specific performance, he could
be committed until he complied with the order. Unless there were
special elements of contumacy, the refusal to pay or to comply with
the order is treated as being rather in resistance to the opposite party
than in contempt of the court. The order for imprisonment in this
class of cases, therefore, is not to vindicate the authority of the law,
but is remedial and is intended to coerce the defendant to do the
thing required by the order for the benefit of the complainant. If
imprisoned, as aptly said in In re Nevitt, 117 Fed. 451, “ he carries
the keys of his prison in his own pocket.” He can end the sentence
and discharge himself at any moment by doing what he had previ
ously refused to do.

328

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

On the other hand, if the defendant does that which he has been
commanded not to do, the disobedience is a thing accomplished. Im
prisonment can not undo or remedy what has been done nor afford
any compensation for the pecuniary injury caused by the disobedience.
If the sentence is limited to imprisonment for a definite period, the
defendant is furnished no key, and he can not shorten the term by
promising not to repeat the offense. Such imprisonment operates,
not as a remedy coercive in its nature, but solely as punishment for
the completed act of disobedience.
It is true that either form of imprisonment has also an incidental
effect. For if the case is civil and the punishment is purely remedial,
there is also a vindication of the court’s authority. On the other
hand, if the proceeding is for criminal contempt and the imprison
ment is solely punitive, to vindicate the authority of the law, the com
plainant may also derive some incidental benefit from the fact that
such punishment tends to prevent a repetition of the disobedience.
But such indirect consequences will not change imprisonment which is
merely coercive and remedial into that which is solely punitive in
character, or vice versa.
The fact that the purpose of the punishment could be examined
with a view to determining whether it was civil or criminal is recog
nized in Doyle v. London Guarantee Co., 204 U. S. 605, 607, where
it was said that “ While it is true that the fine imposed is not made
payable to the opposite party, compliance with the order relieves
from payment, and in that event there is no final judgment of either
fine or imprisonment. * * * The proceeding is against the party,
compliance with the order avoids the punishment, and there is noth
ing in the nature of a criminal suit or judgment imposed for public
upon a defendant in a criminal proceeding.” (Bessette v.
Surposes
onkey, 194 U. S. 328; In re Nevitt, 117 Fed. 448; Howard v. Durand,
36 Ga. 359; Phillips v. Welch, 11 Nev. 187.)
The distinction between refusing to do an act commanded, remedied
by imprisonment until the party performs the required act, and doing
an act forbidden, punished by imprisonment for a definite term, is
sound in principle, and generally, if not universally, affords a test
by which to determine the character of the punishment.
In this case the alleged contempt did not consist in the defendant’s
refusing to do any affirmative act required, but rather in doing that
which had been prohibited. The only possible remedial relief for
such disobedience would have been to impose a fine for the use of com
plainant, measured in some degree by the pecuniary injury caused by
the act of disobedience. (Rapalje on Contempt, secs. 131-134; Mills
v. Oregon Co., 19 Fed. 20; In re North Bloomfield Co., 27 Fed. 795;
Sabin v. Fogarty, 70 Fed. 483.)
But when the court found that the defendants had done what the
injunction prohibited, and thereupon sentenced them to jail for fixed
terms of 6, 9, and 12 months, no relief whatever was granted to the
complainant, and the Bucks Stove & Range Co. took nothing by that
decree.
If then, as the court of appeals correctly held, the sentence was
wholly punitive, it could have been properly imposed only in a pro
ceeding instituted and tried as for criminal contempt. The question
as to the character of such proceedings has generally been raised, in
the appellate court, to determine whether the case could be reviewed

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

329

by writ of error or on appeal. (Bessette v. Conkey, 194 U. S. 324.)’
But it may involve much more than mere matters of practice. For,
notwithstanding the many elements of similarity in procedure and
in punishment, there are some differences between the two classes of
proceedings which involve substantial rights and constitutional
privileges. Without deciding what may be the rule in civil contempt,
it is certain that in proceedings for criminal contempt the defendant
is presumed to be innocent, he must be proved to be guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt, and can not be compelled to testify against him
self. (Boyd v. United States, 116 U. S. 616; United States v. Jose,
63 Fed. 951; State v. Davis, 50 W. Va. 100; King v. Ohio By., 7
Biss. 529; Sabin v. Fogarty, 70 Fed. 482; Drakeford v. Adams,
98 Ga. 724.)
There is another important difference. Proceedings for civil con
tempt are between the original parties and are instituted and tried
as a part of the main cause. But on the other hand, proceedings
at law for criminal contempt are between the public and the de
fendant, and are not a part of the original cause. The court of
appeals recognizing this difference held that this was not a part of
the equity cause of the Bucks Stove & Bange Company v. The
American Federation of Labor et. al., and said that: “ The order
finding the defendants guilty of contempt was not an interlocutory
order in the injunction proceedings. It was in a separate action,
one personal to the defendants, with the defendants on one side and
the court vindicating its authority on the other.”
In this view we can not concur. We find nothing in the record
indicating that this was a proceeding with the court, or more prop
erly the Government, on one side and the defendants on the other.
On the contrary, the contempt proceedings were instituted, entitled,
tried, and up to the moment of sentence treated as a part of the
original cause in equity. The Bucks Stove & Bange Co. was not
only the nominal, but the actual party on the one side, with the de
fendants on the other. The Bucks Stove Co. aeted throughout as
complainant in charge of the litigation. As such and through its
counsel, acting in its name, it made consents, waivers, and stipulations,
only proper on the theory that it was proceeding in its own right in
an equity cause, and not as a representative of the United States
prosecuting a case of criminal contempt. It appears here also as
the sole party in opposition to the defendants; and its counsel, in
its name, have filed briefs and made arguments in this court in
favoring affirmance of the judgment of the court below.
But as the court of appeals distinctly held that this was not a
part of the equity cause, it will be proper to set out in some detail
the facts on this subject as they appear in the record.
In the first place, the petition was not entitled “ United States v.
Samuel Gompers et al.” or “ In re Samuel Gompers et al.,” as would
have been proper, and according to some decisions necessary, if the
proceedings had been at law for criminal contempt. This is not a
mere matter of form, for manifestly every citizen, however unlearned
in the law, by a mere inspection of the papers in contempt pro
ceedings ought to be able to see whether it was instituted for private
litigation or for public prosecution, whether it sought to benefit the
complainant or vindicate the court’s authority. He should not be

330

BULLETIN OF THE BUKEAU OF LABOR.

left in doubt as to whether relief or punishment was the object in
view. He is not only entitled to be informed of the nature of the
charge against him, but to know that it is a charge and not a suit.
(United States v. Cruickshank, 93 U. S. 542, 559.)
Inasmuch, therefore, as proceedings for civil contempt are a part
of the original cause, the weight of authority is to the effect that
they should be entitled therein. But the practice has hitherto been
so unsettled in this respect that we do not now treat it as controlling,
but only as a fact to be considered along with others, as was done
in Worden v. Searles (121 U. S. 25) in determining a similar ques
tion. Thus considering it, we find that the petition instituting the
contempt proceeding was entitled in the main cause “ Bucks Stove &
Range Company, plaintiff, v. The American Federation of Labor
et al., defendants, No. 27305, Equity,” and that the answers of the
defendants, every report by the examiner in chancery, every deposi
tion, motion, and stipulation, every order—including the final decree
and the amended decree, were all uniformly entitled in the equity
cause. Not only the pleadings in the original cause, but all the
testimony, oral and written, was, by reference in the petition, made
a part or the contempt proceedings. The trial judge quoted largely
from this oral testimony thus introduced in bulk, and the severity
and character of the sentence indicate that he was largely influenced
by this evidence which disclosed the great damage done to the com
plainant’s business by the boycott before the injunction issued.
It is argued the defendants’ answers concluded with a statement
that as questions of criminal and quasi criminal intent were involved,
a jury was better qualified to pass on the issues than a judge, and in
the event he should be of opinion that the charges had not been
sworn away, they moved that issues of fact should be framed and
submitted to a jury. Such a motion was not inconsistent with the
theory that this was a proceeding for civil contempt in equity, but
was in strict accord with the practice under which questions of fact
may be referred by the chancellor to a jury for determination.
In proceedings xor civil contempt the complainant, if successful, is
entitled to costs. (Rapalje on Contempts, sec. 132.) And evidently
on the theory that this was a civil proceeding and to be governed by
the rules applicable to an equity cause, the Bucks Stove & Range Co.
moved the court to amend the decree so as to award to it “ its costs.”
After argument by solicitors for both parties, the motion was granted,
and the court adjudged that the complainant do recover against the
defendants its costs in said contempt proceeding. This ruling was
no doubt correct, as this was a civil case, but could not have been
granted in a proceeding for criminal contempt, where costs are not
usually imposed in addition to the imprisonment. Where they are
awarded they go to the Government for the use of its officers, as held
by Justice Miller on circuit. (Durant v. Washington County, 4
Woolw. 297.)
In another most important particular the parties clearly indicated
that they regarded this as a civil proceeding. /The complainant made
each of the defendants a witness for the company, and, as such, each
was required to testify against himself—a thing that most likely
would not have been done, or suffered, if either party had regarded
this as

Full text of Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, Nos. 1 - 100 : July 1911 : Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, No. 95, Volume XXIII

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