Are Matches Poisonous?
A non-poisonous “strike anywhere” safety match, made from selected, clear, strong cork pine is now made in this country, and is the first satisfactory non-poisonous match. It is also the first match to be endorsed by the country’s recognized leaders and authorities in fire prevention and the conservation of human life and property.
The Hughes-Esch Anti-White Phosphorus Match Bill, which became a law during the administration of President Taft, was drafted by the attorneys of the American Association of Labor Legislation, and is the most drastic that our National Constitution will permit. It would be unconstitutional to absolutely prohibit the manufacture of white phosphorus matches, but the Hughes-Esch bill obtains the same result, viz.: absolute prohibition by means of excessive taxation. No match manufacturer in these days of keen competition can afford to pay a tax of ten cents on each box of white phosphorus matches made, and place his factory under government surveillance, for this tax of ten cents is over three times as much as his present selling price to the wholesale trade.
As soon as man learned to make fire and light, he began to appreciate how much more comfortable he could be if he could keep his lights burning and to have his light independent of his fire, because it was at times very uncomfortable to sit by a fire on a hot night simply because he wished to use the light which it made. The first schemes devised for lighting purposes merely were the camp-fire torch and the rushlight. With these as a basis, man was enabled to fashion more convenient forms of lighting. He invented the candle and the lamp, and grown “enlightened,” boxed his light in iron and in other metals.