The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-12-14
WAS IT POISON?
There Certainly Was a Mysterious
Sickness at Homestead.
LABOR LEADERS DECLARE THAT
THE CHARGES ARE ABSURD.

The Carnegie Company Determined to
Push the Case-A Physicians State
ment of the Nature of the Illness
in the NIills-The Poison Allege to
Have Been Boiled In the Meas
Coffse-Talks With Labor Leaders.
New YORK, Decsmber 13.-The Sun
today prints interviews gathered in
Pittsburg and Homestead in relation to
the alleged wholesale poisoning of nom
union mon in the Carnegie works.
Capt E. Y. Beck, the company's at
torney in charge of the case, said: II
leave for Louisville tonight so as to be
present there tomorrow when Beatty's
case will have hearing. The drug used
in the poisoning of the men was very
powerful. To give you an idea'' there
Capt. Beck folded a piece of paper to
the size Of one by two and one-half inch
esq, ga powder this size was used to
poison 80 gallons Of coffee or tea. The
men in the plot were fully instructed in
the use of the powders, and were not to
use them oftener than every two days.
So me Gays the company had as many as
$50 men affected in this way. We are
not going upon supposition in this
case; we are dealing with facts. AS to
what the powder is composed of we do
not care to state. 1t is not our purpose
to divulge any of our evidence until the
proper time. 1t was decidedly
Z 1f
and in it were also some Amalgamated
men of the local lodge. The poisoning
continued for two months. Sometimes
it would cease altogetheg, the parties
being afraid, but 1T was soon resumed.
As to the number of men implicated,
this will come out in due time. We
have all of them under strict surveillance
and none can get away. We were not
quite ready to make the matter public,
but Beatty's going away precipitated the
whole affair"
DIR. Weible, who is resident physic-
ian in the Homestead mill, said: ''The
epidemic within the mill was certainly
alarming the type of diarrhpa being of
the most obstinate kind-our medicines
rarely affecting it. We never had any
food examined for poison. The state
board of health thought they had struck
upon the cause when they visited us,
but even refraining from the use of the
river waters did not exempt person
from the disease. One feature which
seems to
Point Towards Poisoning
was the fact that sickness broke out in
one dining place at time. Number six
the last house to be visited by the cpl
demic, developed the most serious cases.
Men would be taken sick at their meals,
and rush away from the table. The Car
negie Company have a good case. If
they have affidavits of the cooks it will
be very plain sailing"
President Garland of the Amalgamated
Association was seen and said: Il
don't think there is an iota of truth in
the story. We know absolutely nothing
about it,
William II. Caches, treasurer of the
advisory board, came down from Home
stead today, and in an interview said:
"The charge that any member OF the ad-
visory board was party to any plot to
poison non-union men is as false as it is
ridiculous. No sane man will believe
that any member of the advisory COM
mittee, clothed in his right mind, would
enter into such plot
Hugh O'Donnell was seen in the coun-
ty Jail. He said that he did not believe
that any Homestead man was party to
such villainous conspiracy; that if any
non-unionists had been poisoned the
drug had not been administered by any
of the locked-out men. Mr.. O'Donnell
told Mr.. Caches, who called upon him
this morning, that it was the duty of
every union man to assist the Carnegie
officials to Investigate the matter thor
oughly.