Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-03-17
TWO BOYS POISONED.
Arsenic Mysteriously Placed in Their
LUNCH -InyestlYatIng the Affair.


CHESTER, Pa, March 13-The most
intense alarm prevails among tho boys
Of Crozer's mill, at Upland. Two of
their fellow spinners, Frank and Lewis
Moore, whose father lives on Concord
avenue, have died of poisoning, and 1t is
supposed that the lads ate the lunch of
some other boy that was dosed with
arsenic.
Lewis, the elder Of the two, died to-
day. Frank expired yesterday. The
doctors who attended them in their fatal
sickness say there is not the shadow of
a doubt as to what caused their death.
Coroner Jeffers has the matter in
hand. Minute analyses of the stomachs
of the decea ed will be made by expert
chemists. when this has been done all
the boys in the spinning room of the
mill will be subp1naed as witnesses in
the mysterious case.
THE TRAP MEANT DEATH.
The strictest inquiry will be made
among the mill hands in the spinning
room, where the Moore boys were en-
ployed. 1t Is known that Frank and
Lewis were both taken i'll Immediately
after eating dinner at the mill. Sus-
picion points to IL terrible method Of
discovering tho pilferers of the lunch
baskets. This method, it is thought,
was to dose cake or q piece Of pie with
arsenic.
To-day u post-mortem was made on
the body of Lewis, the 16-years-old lad
who died at 9 o'clock this morning. DIR.
FL. ii. Stever made the examination, as
sisted by DIR. Howard Il. Swayne, and
while il will take several days to COM
plete the analysis of the contents of the
stomach, the indications all point to
death by arsenic.
Frank died yesterday at noon. The
brothers had been delirious since Thurs
day and were unable to tell what they
had eaten at the fatal lunch.
LUNCHES pILFERED.
The elder brother of the boys made
no 'concealment Of the fact to-day that
it was a customary thing among the
| spinning room boys to steal each others
lunches. Foreman Benjamin Clark also
said that numerous complaints had been
made about this boyish habit, but that
1t was impossible to detect the pilferers.
At dinner time his son is left in charge
OF the spinning room. The Moore boys
ate their lunch at the lower end of the
| room.
| On Wednesday, when the poisoned
food is supposed to have been eaten, the
foreman in charge noticed nothing un.
usual, but soon after the mill started
Frank and Lewis complained of being
i'll and asked permission to go home.
They both grew violently i'll towards
evening and the physician who was
summoned treated them for biliousness
with fever. DIR. Swayne was called in
on Saturday after Lewis had had con.
yulsions, and at once pronounced it O
case Of poisoning and said nothing
could be done for the sufferers.
THIRTY BOYS sUBPGNAED.
There are some thirty odd boys EN-,
ployed in the spinning room of No.
mill and all will be subpnnaed to appear
before the coroner's inquest, which will
be held as soon as the analysis of the
stomach is completed.
The Moores live in plain farm house
on the Concord road about half way
between Upland and Chester. MIR
Moore is widower and has large
family.
The only lunch Lewis and Frank had
prepared for them on Wednesday was
bread and butter, coffee and each 6
piece of pie. Albert Cohen, whose
parents live on farm, said that hi
often shared his lunch with them, blu
never knew the boys to pilfer from thu
other boys lunch baskets