The Labor Advocate

Death in Dust.

Deadly dust is one of the latest things Germany is combating, to save the lives and conserve the usefulness of her artisans. In the classification and study of nearly 300 different kinds of dust Germany is leading this country.

For example, it was shown that each different kind of tropical hard wood produced a different sort of ailment on the workers who handled it. They were classified and a treatment suggested for each. When one stops to think that boxwood, for instance, may even stop the pulsations of the heart, one can more easily understand why certain woodworking trades have been characterized by so large a number of accidents. Furthermore, it is plain that no protective measures can be complete unless they remove the first cause, which is the dust from the wood. This can be very easily done by installing exhausting systems, so that the minute wood particles are carried away before they can enter the bodies of the workmen. The same may be said of most other trades in which workmen are exposed to dangerous dusts.

Furthermore Germany introduced in the schools instruction in the prevention of disease by fighting the dust. What Germany has done in this health and life saving department is a commentary on what America has left undone.