Evening journal., 1890-01-11
PNEUMONIA DID IT.
VERDICT OF THE JURY ON THE
ACID VICTIMS.

The coroner's jury in the case of
Joshua Williams and William Ross, col |
ored, and Julius Hummel, German, who /
died from the effects of breathing acid |
fumes, inhaled while cleaning out /
an acid chamber at the works of |
the Walton and Whann Company, met |
again last night Considerable evidence
and the result Of the post norton ex-
animation was heard, and verdict rem
dered that the men died from pneumo- /
MIA, aggravated by the acid fumes.
/ The evidence tended to show that the |
danger in cleaning out the acid chambers
was no greater than on other occasions. |
Certain of the jurymen suspected that |
fumes were stronger at this time than |
ever before, but this was not proved by |
the evidence The testimony of the |
physicians who attended the men, and |
who made the post norton examinations, |
was that they showed every symptom
Of pneumonia, and that the
disease was probably aggravated and hast
ened by the inhalation of the acid fumes
The doctors were of the opinion that the
men who died had been suffering from
colds or Ia Grippe" and that their
lungs were therefore in such a condition
that the noxious fumes superinduced the
fatal pneumonia.
DIR. David w. Maui was the first wit
ness. At F. w. Bucks request, he at
tended Julins Hummel on Wednesday
morning. He was then raising nucus
mixee with blood. He said he had been
in the acid chamber and was nearly SUI
| located when he came out. The suffoca
ton was caused by noxious vaposs in the
lungs and the inability of the
atmospheric air to enter them. The
lungs were congested and gorged with
blood If Hummel had been suffering
from LA Grippe, he would have been
| less able TO have stood the vapors. DR..
| Maui could not say whether the man
had LA Grippe" before he went into the
| chamber or not. He had not seen him.
| Neither could he say whether the gases
| of themselves would have caused death.
| William H. Collins. colored. had
| worked in the acid chambers a number of
| times in the last FIVE years He was not
in them on this occasion. At other times
he had stayed in twenty minutes. This
was when sulphur lbrimstone) was
burned in the furnaces. At one time he
was laid off from work a week
from working in them. Iron
pyrites had been burned for about three
years The fumes from the sediment left
by them was more dangerous than the
fumes from sulphur sediment. They had
worse effect on the men He was,
never threatened with discharge
for not going in the chambers and knew
, Of no men who had been. The gases were
worse this time than before in his know
ledge. He remembers the cleaning of the
chambers twice since the iron pyrites had
/ been used.
Captain George A. l. Maistre, superin-
tendent of the Walton and Whann Com
pany for the last fifteen years. There
, was never any trouble with the work be
fore The acid chambers were generally
! run about six months before being
d steamed. The burning Of pyrites wa
4 begun in July 1886 The chambers havi
a been cleaned out six times or more since
a that date The fumes from the burning
}. of pyrites are perhaps no more noxiou
d than those from the birthstone, bu
+ the precipitation is greater and the cham
it Der needs cleaning .oftener. The metho
r. of cleaning used is considered the best
a if there had ever been serious results be
fore, another method would have bee
adopted. Men who are ordered to wor
in the chamber are expected to go. Me
had been sick before, possibly for two 0
three days, but it was never considere
dangerous. Water was used for eleanin
ls out the chambers after the sediment ha
y been removed.
i DR.. Willard Springer testified to mah
q | ing 4 post-mortem examination on R0s
and Hummel. He found Ross's lung
Y much infamed He evidently died froI
L inflammation, which is the same as pner
= monia. The lungs were full of matter
Their condition was doubtless mad
y worse by the acid fumes Rosss kidney
y were also affected. One of Hummel
Y lungs were affected more than the othe
y he had evidently had a pleurisy in i
~ They were in about the same conditio
y as Rosss. The fumes no doubt aggri
4 waited the trouble and hastene
"a his death. No one could tell whether h
lungs were affected before he went I'M
" the acid chamber To medical men
20 seemed that the men who died must hay
~ had previous trouble with their lungs,
us none Of the other men who worked
" the chamber had been seriously affecte
y DR.. Springer had never made a pos
norton examination on person WI
had inhaled acid fumes before.
Dr. J.. T. " Blocksom attendt
wv Williams on Tuesday night He W
in dying then The symptoms were the la
ed stages Of pneumonia. His wife said tn
av he had been suffering with a cold.
ic. vas an old man. DR.. Blocksom had new
IS. attended a person sick from inhalil
nv poisonous fumes, but had from illun
no mating gas In the latter case there W
III. no inflammation Of the lungs, but asph
i'll xiation, DR.. Blocksom's opinion W
ne that the mems lungs we're in high sta
Jet of congestion and the fumed produc
set inflammation Other men who had been
.he work in the chamber had been sutferil
til from "Ls Grippe.
nto Henry Coleman, colored was in t
es- acid chamber ton Tuesday. He stay
viii about five minutes at time and was
four times. He went home at 2.30 oclo
and has not been to work since. Wa
was put in during the morning and ms
'ag the fumes worse. The sediment v
on nearly all out then.
The DR.. j. P. Pyle attended three Of
a men, one of whom named Ross, di
vas He was very sick with wellmarl
ord symptoms of pneumonia in its 1
lay stages 1t was hardly possible for
on pneumonia conditions to have Obtain
and from the time he breatl
re- the fumes. There were marks
The superation in the lungs that would Il
lere three days to develope. 1t was har
'wn possible for the fumes to have eau
ime death, could not say whether they age
waited any trouble Ross might have
or not. Thought he had prescribed
Ross about a week ago.