St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-12-12
POISONED THEIR FOOD.
Story OF an Attempt to Kill
or the Non-Union Men at
Homestead.
A Cook Who Doped the Wet
uals With a Colored
Powder.
Officers Of the Company First
Laid the Trouble to the
Water Used.
the LOeked-Out Men at Home
stead Pronounce the Yarn
Ridiculous.

PITTsBURG, Dec. ia Sunday pa
per publishes startling story today Of
conspiracy to poison by wholesale the
, non-union workmen at the Carnegie
steel plant in Homestead. The devel
opments would, it says, implicate mem
bers of the advisory committee, mem
bers Of the Amalgamated association
and officials of some of the labor organi-
cations sympathzing with the locked
out men at Homestead. AS a result Of
this conspiracy it is alleged that several
persons have lost their lives, while
scores of others have are still suffering
at their homes and in hospitals from
the effects of the poisonous drugs adj
ministered to them with criminal in
tent. Today nine or more persons more
or less identified with the strike are un-
der arrest, ostensibly Oh less serious
charges, but really for the purpose of
averting suspicion until all those who
are claimed to be in the
EkeIlish Conspiracy
have been secured. The only name
given of those charged with administer
ing poison is Robert Beatty, who was
arrested at Louisville last nighr. Sew
eral others, however, are under heavy
bail on other charges, and the new
charge will probably be made tomorrow,
as all are under surveillance and can be
taken at any moment The details of
The foul plot, as they have been slowly
but persistently and unremlttingly de-
velOped, are sufficient TO cause shud-
der to those who read or hear them,
especially when it is known that at
least two deaths, and perhaps num-
Der Of others, have already been traced
to the work of the willing tool selected
to carry the murderouS plan into eXecu-
ton. 1t will be remembered that shortly
after the arrival of the state militia
at Homestead aud the non-union men
had commenced work in the mills, com
plants became prevalent about the un-
wholesome water supplied to the men,
and especially those employed within
the fences surrounding the plant. Many
cases of sickness were reported, but
were all attributed to the
TmpuritY of the Water.
So firmly impressed were the phySi-
clans and the officials of the company
that the water was causing the sickness,
that a supply from other sources was
secured, and notices were posted con-
Spicuously about the mill warning the
employees to refrain from drinking the
water. Despite these precautionary
measures the sickness continued, and
soon it became current at Homestead
that an epidemic was prevailing among
the men within the enclosure. A num-
Der of the sick wore taken to the hos
pitfalls for treatment, and nearly all those
recovered, although many of them
are still ill. Rumors are becom-
ing current that typhoid and
other diseases were epidemic in
the mill, representative of the state
board of health made an official investi-
CATION. He found the sanitary arrange
mentS good and attributed the sickness
to the water The first intImation the
officers of the company had that the
diagnosis of the physicians was inc0r-
rect, and that the men were the victims
Of conspiracy to poison that was being
persistently and successfully executed,
was obtained more than
'EVVO Months Since.
1t came in such q manner, however,
that il was impossible to make arrests
Immediately, and it was not until yes
terday that the evidence was deemed TO
be sufficiently strong to warrant the ap-
prehenSion of at least one of those who
are alleged to have been impli-
Gated in the BOrgian conspiracy to get
rid Of the hated non-union men,
either by death or by creating such
panic among them that they would flee
from the fated place in a body. The
price to be paid when the mills were
closed down was $1,000. The terrible
plot, according to the information OBJ
tanned by the reporter. was disclosed by
one who was in the plot, and was sub
Stantially as follows: The information
said that one of the chief cooks at the
Homestead works, with whom he was
intimately acquainted, met him in the
city one day and asked him if he did not
want a job at Homestead. He said he
wanted at least two assistants, and said
the informant and his friend could
make big money if they would help him.
He told them he was not only employed
by the Carnegie company, but was also
in the pay of the labor associations and
members of the strikers committee, and
was just coming money. AS he grew
more confidential and, prompted by the
questions about the pay from the asSO-
Citations, he told them of
a Plan to Poison
the food of the men employed in the
mill, so as to make them sick and ren-
der them unable to work He detailed
the plan he had been pursuing, and
asserted that nearly if not all of the
sickness among the men, of which re-
ports had been current, was caused by
the poisons he had placed in the food.
He said he was to get $1,000 if he sue
ceeded in closing the mill. He urged
them to accept the places, told them it
would be an utter impossibility for
them to be detected, and finally left
them with the understanding that he
would meet them i'll the city next day,
give them some advance money and
take them to Homestead with him. Re
aliZing the Nervousness of the PROPOSE
ton, the two men called upon Chairman
Frick, of the Carnegie company, laid
the matter before him. Upon the advice
of the cOmpany's attorneys. the two
men were inSlrut ted to meet the cook
and proceed to Homestead with him.
That evening the men went to Home
stead and were duly installed in their
positions by the cook. The day after
their arrival a number of the men were
reported. sick. and the cook told them
how he had placed the poison,
"A COlOred Powder,
into the food, and told them to watch