The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-05-20
THE POISONED FOOD.

DIR. Harris Theory Of the POis0ning-Io
Believes 1t To Have Been I'm Corncd
Beef-The Chemist's Statement-The
Case Not Kept Sccrct-Who Sold tho
Meat s-The Poisoned Servants Com
valescent. ~
There were no new developments In the poison.
ing OF the six servants in the Blatchford mansion
yesterday Whether the placing of the poison In
the food OF the servants was simply accident or
was done with intent is stnl unknown, and as no
suspicion attaches to any one in the household It
will probably remain so, as the place whence tho
food came has not been discovered. 4t-- =
STATEMENT or DR. HARRIS.
DIR. Harris, the family physician, states that he
made no secrecy about the antir rom the lrst but,
the contrary, told 1t to every one he knew. Nor
was there any attempt on the part OF the Batch
ford family to keep it secret. From the first not
only he himself but Judge Blatchford and the
family had all interested themselves to ind out
how the affair had happened. AL the drug stores
in tho city had been visited Thursday last find
out whether they had sold any arsenic. but mono
had been sold by any one Of them. No traces Of
any sucn sale could be found. 1t was the same
piece Of corned beef that was eaten on Sunday and
on Tuesday. The second time the influence was
most severe. When he visited the people on.
Wednesday he thought that some of them would
die, but on Thursday he had become satisfied that
all would go right by the influence OF the drugs he
administered. The COOK was still quite sick, but
the thew WHO had been IN the family thiryoar
day and would be al right very shortly. In fact,
all were convalescent, unless something very
said that he mad become De' convinced that
the poisoning was done BY the corned beei because
the swi man. Miller. had taken away the remain a
der OF the beef, but nothing else from the house,
and his family, all but the wife, who had not eaten
it, had been taken sick with violent purging and
Carriage with Mrs. BistcSiord 10 MIXERS house, az
Ninth avenue and SEVENTEEN street, and had
ing to it, OF the corned beef which he certain
had caused all the trouble. This had been given to
Be- seem IN few days All the other articles q
food analysed had failed to reveal the presence Of
any ARSENIC the family OF the Blatchlords nsd
case, and Mrs. Blatchford was sick In bed. The
family for week past had been eating at the
houses of friends and at restaurants. The Doctor
said that Mr.. BlatchlOrd was gentleman OF almost
eighty years OF age, and that his memory was very
poor. He had been on the day when the meat was
purchased to three grocery stores in the nelghbor
hood, and to Fulton and Washington Markets, but
He (the Doctor) had been in the morning to the
three stores, but found that the corned beef had
not been bought in any one Of them: on Wednes,
the house, and had told detective named Frank
Mcintyre to hold himself In readiness on the case,
but that he had become satisfied on Thursday that
his suspicious were wrong, and had not employed
the defective. He had not gone to the police about
IL DeCauSe they were IIiICh ucduS WIZ WOulu why
have mixed up the case lnextricably.
THE CHEMISTS STATEMENT.
Dr. Neergaard the chemist who does business
In Broadway and Twenty-eghth street, said that
Friday DR.. Harris had come to his store aud had
asked him to examine some tea. He 1.-THE chemist)
had said that he had no conveniences nor appars-
tus to do this but the Doctor insisted and one OF
his clerks had undertaken It. No arsenic had been
found In the tea. On Sunday DR.. Harris sent the
piece Of cOrncd beef He lMr. Neergaard) would
not undertake to anayZe the meat for the same
reason that he mad not touched the tea. He would,
however: go TO Dr. schangler Of Columbia College,
and would endeavOr to get him 20 examine IL
analytical 1t would take several days to make
the examination, aud then the result would prob
ably be made public by DR.. Schangler.
The clerk who analysed the tea said that It was
perfectly good In every way. gentleman familiar
with the facts OF the case said that he did not be-
lieve the corned beef had been poisoned at the
butchers Tor II It had the remainder Of the meat
In the tub would also have been infected with the
poison. II might possibly have come in contact
with poison in the express wagon In which IT went
home, but in that case the inside pieces would net
have Deen poisoned, so that even this last suppo-
sition was improbable