New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-07-02
POISON IN THE ICE CREAM.
MANY VICTIMS EAT vERDIGRlS'
SERIOUS RESULT OF GROSS cARELESsNES' iN
CLEANING a CREAM FREEzER-Ihh
CLERK ARRESTED.

n.;.a ;oe crcam from D. Brinlmann's CANDY
10 ga Third-ave. sickened between
6t,y'.nd one hundred persons who partook oi
:, .. their homes on Sunday and Monday oeN-
.,aI of them were dangerously i'll, and they hau
-, recovered Yesterday hut no deaths had oeeh
.or,.d Some of the poisoned cream was eeho
e. tho Health Board for analysis. Henry Meyer
.rs ei0bteen who was employed by BrinKmann'
was arrested on suspicion. lie was scolueu ny
his cmplover few days ago and thou3n' III was
going 70 be discharged. In a moment OF anger
he is said TO have threatened to ruin Drli>iaiin
business by scrapng some VerdlgrS lioih .ie
treezer and putting il in the ice cream Ai'ef HIS
orrost howeyer. an investigation deveiopeo some
f,cts which indicated that the poisoning OF the
-. ,,..s ,be rcsult of carelcssness and not OF
v.lful intention by the youth. Brlnkmann de-
.,.d chat bc had any knowledge of a threat by
Never and the boy declared that he had put no
poison in the cream
Never made forty quarts of vanilla and lemon
ice cream Oh Saturday for the Sunday trade
He used an ordinary hand freezer, in which was
q conner cylinder for the cream. The cyllnoH
WAS lined with tin, but most of the tin had p' ZEN
worn off, Probably the cylinder was not cleaned
uroperv before the cream was put into It, and the
acids caused the formation Of verdigris. After
the cream was frozen it remained in the freezer
all night.
The heat on Sunday caused an unusual rush OF
ncrsous living in the neighborhood to Brinkmann's
store for cream They purchased pints and quarts
and carried them home Before niShtfall most Of
the cream in the freezer had been sold. and Meyer
was set 10 work to make more. The cylinder was
rar,lv filed with fresh cream, and then two or
three quarts that remained of the Saturday lot
were poured in al the top
While Meyer was freezing cream for Monday
one or two persons entered the candy store and
complained that the cream sold in the morning
,ras NOT fit for use Mrs. Brnkmann heard tie
COMPLAINT and declared that the cream was good
She resented any disparagement of the cream made
IN the store II did not occur to her then that an
investigation would be proper before any more
cream was sold. Meyer went on freezing another
cylinderful of poison, while the physicians IN the
neighborhood were kept busy answering calls.
The patients did not tell the doctors what had
caused their illness in most cases, but the symp-
toms were the same with all of them. Nausea
and vomiting were followed by violent pains In
the stomach, fainting and collapse Entire families
were prostrated. In most cases the suffering
began within four hours after the icc-crear' had
been eaten. The physicians recognized the symp-
toms OF metallic poisoning. and prescribed anti;
Jotes. In some cases heroic treatment was neeued
70 save the lives of the patients.
Among the persons who first felt the enectS oil
the poisoned cream were j. a. Joseph, reporter
his wife and servant living at No. ! 1888 LeAlng-
ton-ave DR.. Bradshaw, of East Seventy-fourth-
St, attended the family and the sufferers were
well again yesterday Joseph went e. the candy
store yesterday morning, interviewed Mrs. Drink-
mann. and later sworc out a warrant for the ar,
rest of young Meyer. lie also sent sample oi
the cream to the Health Board.
Other sufferers were Mrs. Friedenberg and her
son. of No. 20 East Seventy fourth st. B. Currle
and child, No 205 East SeVcnty-fonrth-st MI
and Mrs Faulkner and child, No. ls7 Fast, Sew
enty-thrd-st.; Emma, Fanny and Martin Hayes,
No l6s East evcnty-ffth-st. Mrs. Amelia Stern
and her daughters, Clara and Lena ~ No. 81
East Seventy-second-st. Mrs. James Powers and
eight other persons in the house No. 200 East
Seventy -fourth-st.: Mrs Stops. Of Park-ave and
Seventy-third-st.: four patients Of Dr. hoch-
heimer of No 22l East Seventy secOnd-st, who
would not tell their names six persons. names un-
known to the police, attended by DR. Morle, Of No;
lsl East ScVenfyfrst-st. seven patients attended
by Dr. Bradshaw Of No. 54 East SeventY-fo fourth
81 and three unknown persons in Seventy-iifth-
ST who consulted other physicians.
MANY of the persons who had been sickcned by
the poisoned cream were anxious not % let their
names he known 10 the reporters Yesterday, and
some of them went so far as 10 deny that thcy
had been sick at all. Brnkmann and his VIE
ate some of their own cream on Monday, ana bo'h
were made sick. but not seriously Ill
Never was taken 10 the NOrkvlllc Ponce onrt
after his arrest and rcmanded until Defec-
tives Campbell and Martin could gain more evil