THE DISEASE OF THE MONEY COUNTERS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1637, 18 March 1884, Page 3

THE DISEASE OF THE MONEY COUNTERS.

ttßr" * 'TA Washington correspondent visiting the Treasury Department, noticed that mony of the women employed in the occupation of counting bank notes looked ill, and had sores upon their hands or heads. The superintendent gave him tho following account of the trouble:—"Very few," he said, " who spend any considerable time in counting money esca'po the sores, They generally appear-first oh the hands, but frequently they break out on their heads, and sometimes the eyes are effected. We can do nothing to [prevent this, All of the ladies take the greatest care of themselves in their work, but sooner or later they are afflicted with sores, The direct cause of the sores is the arsenic employed in the manufacture of tlie money, If the skin is in the least abraded, and the arsenic gets under the fle&h, a sore will appear next morning. The habit that everyone has of putting his hand to the head and face is the way the arsenic poisoning is carried to thpso portions of the body." "Seo hero," said, brie of, the officials,

stooping by the side of a young lady i and picking up a glass vessel contain-' ing a sponge, " this sponge is.wet, and is used to moisten, the lingers while counting the money. Yon see how black it is. That's arsenic.' Every morning a now piece is placed on the. desk of each employe, but before the; day is over it is as black as this, I have known half a dozen cases where-' ladies have been compelled to resign their positions, There are three ladies who were here six years before they were afflicted with sore 3. About three months ago they were so visited by them that they had to quit work, They have been away ever since, and the physician's certificate in every caso : is that their blood is poisoned with arsenic."—London Medical Record.