ARTIFICIAL LIMB MAKING

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 22, 20 October 1917, Page 10

ARTIFICIAL LIMB MAKING

NEW STATE INDUSTRY

THE SMALL BEGINNINGS

1 In-a email, .well-lighted workshop two earnest men were elicing slices off pieces 'of timber that were firmly held in vices . on the. long bench. Along the wall were arrays of tools, such as are not usually used by "carpenters; hanging on nails were items such as the- average carpenter never could make.. Moreover, the wood on which the men were working did not • resemble, the wood which carpenters work; at as a rule.. It was willow wood, the finished items on the walls were artificial legs and hands, and the men who toiled with such vigour were returned soldiers, who had each' lost a leg in battle, and now were engaged in shaping wood to be made into artificial limbs for-soldiers who had suffered liko themselves. The officer in charge of this ■workshop, too, walked with the stiff-kneed stride which an artificial limb usually imparts. To the civilian whose limbs are whole and joints eupple, the impression ■was almost disconcerting in its vividness; not that any feelings of pity welled 'up; it was rather the reverse; one felt that the simple, easily-removable natural limb was an uninteresting object compared with these beautifully modelled strong and simple devices which were being made to act as substitutes. The visitor pointed to a damaged limb suspended from a hook. "What happened to that fellow?" he ' aeked.

One of the workmen laughed. .'.• "Oh. that is mine. I had a. misunderstanding with a tram. I came homo with my leg under my arm." The civilian laughed and apologised in the saine breath. "Forgive me," he said,, "but it sounds funny, the way you say it." "Yes, it does, but it wasn't quite as funny as it sounds/' was the cheerful reply. Small but Growing. The Government Artificial Limb Department is the smallest' Government Department .in iNewi .Zealand; but it will . grow; the war -will make it grow, for the- comparative immunity from apcident which New Zealanders enjoy, compared with America, for example, hae not offered much. inducement for private enterprise in this line, and unless the Government intends to have all its' artificial limb work supplied from England, this new department seems to be a'necessity. ' The difficulty of sending men to the other side of the world to have new limbs . fitted appears to emphnsise this necessity. .. ."' That willow wood is used for artificial legs, and that the limbs themselves are ■' W low ' having walls about half an inch thick, will be news to many; and these facts-are only two of many which must impress themselves upon any visitor to • this workshop. It follows that the wood must be very well seasoned; to assist in the seasoning and to,prevent it cracking during drying the big: knives periodically rip off a layer of wood from ihd logs, so that the drying goes on steadily. Close and cunning joints are used in limbfflakmg and the modelling is carefully done. Iβ some patterns there are pulleys and strong cords, which give a forward motion to the loot when it is placed, on the ground, home have a movable; foot, others are rigid-opinions and tastes differ as to which is the better. Here, for example, I* aD , artificial leg for a lady-made as an .exhibition exhibit, by a British firm. It is a beautiful piece of work; the fool not only moves to pressure on the foe, it also rocks from side to side, so thai its wearers movements would more close. limb* Se ° f a Pei ' SOn - with whple The two men at the benches received their special training for their work at the Queen Mary Hospital in Koehampton, England. Like hundreds of others who suffered the penalties of war thev were sent to that fine institution to be equipped with limbs and to learn a trade ere they were sent out again into the Civilian world. The trade they chose was that of artificial limb makers; in that capacity they came to New Zealand bringing with them some of the tools' of their trade, and now, like the young com™f » fm el } e k " what the J' waD t is orders. That the orders Will come, especially in. the matter of repairs, there is little doubt, though there will be no E lu lVn f % m - At the P«sent time about icO soldiers have, returned-to New Zealand minus legs and arms. Each of these men-was supplied with the neces- ?""? ar t; ficlal -limb,before leaving England. The new department will be able to attend to any repairs or hdjuetmente, and, when it is in full swing, to make spare ones for the crippled men. These men disliked,being seen on crutches; they were delighted when they were able to walk on a new leg, however awkward they felt at first, and the same diffidence tnakes them view with dislike the idea of having to revert to crutches even for a aay while their artificial legs are in the doctors hands. It may be asked why they feel .like this. It is, nothing to be ashamed ■ 0f... No .but the kind folk who Pity their less fortunate brothers and sistens do not realise-what it is like to be pitied. These men know, and they hate cratches or bandages, or .anything else which indicates that they are not as other men. . ■ ■ ■■_■■.

f^-S^r'H 1 ? factol 'y in tlle basement of a Public Works building behind the .earlTamentary, Library one lealises sometniijg of the immense work of liiunan rehabilitation which is going on in almost every country in the 'world. Thousands ofjaen have' lost limbs in the war. In 1/Hgland-the artificial limb makers have bnilt great and greater "works. Many of them came from America, for in that land of. hurry there, has always been enough accidents, on railway and other works, to keep the limb industry very much alive. Even in America, however, the factories are being enlarged in. anticipation. ' Two men,'a'couple of vice 3 and limited tools, and material, is New Zealand's beginning in a State limb factory. Quite possibly it may one day embrace civilians' as well as soldiers' requirements, and in that dual capacity it should be ..more than useful and altogether a necessity. The idea of having the factory in Wellington, as the centre of the Dominion, might very well be rarried further by selecting a building near the centre of the city, on the level ground and near a tramlino.so that it would be easy of access to soldier clients.