They had a better idea. They had been making their matches with the extremely flammable but otherwise safe red phosphorous. But there was this other kind, white phosphorous, that was way cheaper. And there was absolutely no downside.
Oh, except it would literally eat your face off when you handled it.
The description of what happened to the employees may make you queasy. Read about all six horrific bosses at Cracked. Link
GQ: Sometimes people have no options but to stay in a really sucky job. Asking "Why wouldn't they just quit?" is like asking, "Why don't all those hookers just become brain surgeons?"