Morning journal and courier., 1885-07-13
POISONED Bx AcoN1rE.
. Teaspoonful of the Poisonous Dru,
 Taken bv NIfstake-What the Drug

Teaspoonful of the Poisonous Drug Taken by Mtstake-What the Drug gfst Says Who Sold the Poison.
 On Saturday afternoon Mrs. Joseph A. Rhodes, jr., who lives at No. 21 Sperry street, who had been i'll for some time, took a pow erful dose of tincture of aconite that came near costing her her. life While the direc- tions on the vial prescribed ten drops in a 1 wine glass of water, teaspoonful to be taken every hour, she made the almost fatal mis take of taking teaspoonful of the poisonous drug at single dose. Dr. Lewis, her at tending physician. and who wrote the pre- scription, was summoned, and on his arrival at once administered an emetic This did not take effect as anticipated and upon inquiry the doctor found that the woman had eaten nothing and the poison was in consequence being rapidly absorbed into her system and death must soon follow unless heroic remedies were at once applied. Dr. Leighton was sent for and istered powerful counteracting medicines and supplemented the treatment with shocks from galvanic battery. They continued their labors for nearly four hours, or until they considered the unfortunate wo- man out of danger. One of the Sunday morning papers is authority for the state- ment that Dr. Leighton, speaking in refer cine, said that "it was @ most careless thing in the man who put up the medicine not afixing some words of caution to the labe1.'' The doctor is farther represented saying, "I think there is some law that makes it a punishable offense for druggist to sell any poisonous medicine without properly labelling it."
 J. A. Hodgson of 196 Whalley avenue, the druggist who filled the prescription of Dr. Lewis which came so near causing the death of Mrs. Rhodes, has the follow ing to say upon the subject: When asked if it was his custom to put up such prescriptions without putting the cautionary word poison on the labels, he said it was, unless so directed by the physician the prescription, and he added, s'This is the GUS tom of all druggists so far as know" When asked about the law on the subject he said he knew of no law except the pharmacy act" amended January, 1882.
 Section 10 of this act reads as follows: "Every person who shall sell arsenic, strychnine, corrosive sublimate or prussic acid shall affx to the package sold by him a label plainly marked with his name, date of sale and the word poison, and shall enter in book kept by him for that purpose the name of the purchase, the date of sale and the quantity sold, 6c.
  ticles named in the schedule accompanying this section marked schedule except when prescribed by practising physician or sold at wholesale to licensed pharmacists, or for use in the manufactures or the arts, shall label the bottle, box or wrapper containing each article with label upon which shall be plainly written or printed the word poison, and any person violating the provisions of this section shall be fined one dollar"
 The articles named in schedule A are the following Acid carholic, ammoniated acid muriatic, chloroform, acid nitric, tine. aeonite, acid sulphuric, tinc belladonna, acid oxalic, tine. digitalis, creo- sote, tine. opium, extract belladonna, tine. veratum viride, sugar of lead, Paris green, croton oil, nux vomica, colbat. oil bitter almond, opium, oil tansy, coaculus Indicus, cyanide potassium, aqua ammonia, red oxide mercury.
 Mr. Hodgson said that he could not see that under the law he was compelled to write poison on the labels when the medicine was true in this case. The prescription copied in the druggists book reads as follows: CIT. aconite rad. Sig 10 drops in half wine glass of water. Take teaspoonful once an hour.
 B. c. LEWIS"
 In reply to question as to whether he or his clerk put up the medicine, he said that his clerk filled the prescription, but had he put it up himself it would not have been any so far as the label was concerned said MT. Hodgson, 8 physician when giving prescription of this or simi ar kind gives directions to write poison on the label and then we always do so.
 MT. Hodgson very naturally feels some what aggrieved that anyone should censure lim in any way in regard to the unfortunate l affair, as he considers that there was no | ground whatever for their doing so. He | thinks his reputation for care and painstak- 1 ng in the compromising of medicines is at 1 ,take and should not be assailed without l