Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1874-03-05
A Public Lesson.

The circumstances attending the Thomp-
son tragedy, in the town Of Lake, are so
familiar, on account of the intense inter-
est attached to the affair, that they REQUIRE
only brief recapitulation. The family
consisted OF mother, father and four
children, one of them an infant. The
father, David Thompson, was boarding
temporarily near his work. The mother
was i'll, and being taken care of by an
ignorant but well.meaning professional
nurse. On Thursday the family was Wis.
tied by kindly neighbor, who observed
nothing wrong. On Saturday two OF the
children were dead, q third was dying and
the mother and nurse were in q state Of
stupor. The infant, only few days old,
was apparently unipjured. The first sus-
picion was that of poison, and the guilt
seemed to attach to the nurse. The in
justice OF the accusation became apparent;
and patient examination established the
fact that the three children were killed
by noxious gas escaping from coal stove,
the house being shut tight, and the damper
in the pipe reversed. The escape of the
mother and nurse is attributed solely to
the forcible invasion of the house by two
neighbors, and their promptitude in ap.
plying proper restoratives. The physi-
clans who conducted the post norton ex-
plain the safety of the infant in this
scarcely satisfactory way: at has been
noticed that infants respire foul air fire.
quently without being as much affected
rs adults" 1t was observed that the poi
son had not killed two adults and had
killed three children; and if 1t be true
that the infant respired the air with safe
ty, simply because an infant can, il must
ttxy hap
quired before, that the explanations by
doctors are among the most mysterious
things on earth.
Unhappily, this Chicago tragedy is not
an isolated case. In Oakland, Pa, last
December, an entire school barely es-
capped destruction by the same cause.
The gas escaped from the stove into the
room. Soon several of the pupils swooned
upon the floor, others attempted to reach
the door, and fell insensble. The teach
er, terrified, surmised the cause, threw
open the doors and windows, and called
to passer-by for assistance. Before he
could answer, she, too, was insensible.
The stranger turned the uninjured portion
Of the school out, carried the rest into the
open air, summoned a doctor, and sue
| decided in saving every life. Five minutes
more and every human being in the
school room would have been corpse.
In New York city, few weeks ago,
lady whose room was heated by gas
stove went TO sleep leaving ii at full pres.
sure, the windows and doors being closed.
She was dead in the morning.
On the night of the ID of January
five men were killed by gas while asleep
on vessel at Wilmington. On the 18th
of January a father and son died
in Boston under similar circumstances.
A man named Wieland and his wife were
found dead in Philadelphia on February
9th, from an escape of gas into an air.
tight room, The murder of the three
Thompson children completes the cata-
logue up to date.
| The strongest constitution, the staunch-
est lungs, cannot escape the insidious
poison OF foul air. If permitted to con-
time It's assault long enough death must
school.directors and teachers throughout
| the country, no less than that Of heads of
families, Is earnestly directed to the fore
| going terrible facts. An insane determi-
nation in human nature attempts to make
room hot during cold weather, with
sublime Inconsistencies as TO the possible
peril In the process, or funerals as the re.
suits. II is principle whose enforce
ment should be universally insisted upon
that no room in which human life is en-
cased should so be closed as to prevent
the free entrance Of pure air. This pas
sage.way can be maintained, if building
be decently constructed, without subject
ing any one TO the danger Of neuralgia
draught.--Ohtcag0 Times