Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-12
and Lanes story could not be corrobo.
rated
POISON WAS SUSPECTED,


sary Never Could Detect It-Cooks were
Watched Closely and Different Foods
Dropped.
One of the young men who worked in the
mill commssary and who had knowledge
of every article of food that was given the
non-union workers to eat was seen in
Homestead last evening. He said that so
many men were sick with diarrhpa, ac-
companied with severe cramps, and the
disease was so persistent that poisoning
was early suspected. The cooks and others
who handled the food were closely watched,
and whenever a man was spotted he was
promptly discharged. A number of cooks
were dropped during the siege, and the
greatest diligence on the part of those In
charge of the restaurants failed to reveal
even the slightest trace of poison. None
of the food was analyEed by chemists so far
rs he knew.
The diarrhea showed itself among the
non-union men about two weeks after work
was resumed. The disease was at its
height through August, and persisted until
the frost came, when it died out. Scarcely
a man in the big plant escaped an attack.
Some cases were severe, others were slight.
The clamor for Jamaica ginger and hot drinks
was constant, and the doctors were kept busy
administering these drugs. Still the men
could not obtain relief The diarrhea soon
soon became chronic, and resembled the
disease so common among soldiers OF the
late war.
The Cooks Were Often Changed.
The company had seven dining apart
ments, with three cooks for each, making
u employed at one time. The cooks were
changed often, and this would make it diff
cult for conspirators to keep their people at
work. 1t made no difference at what table
q man ate he was sure to catch the disease.
A few shrewd fellows noticed that every
time they devourei anything fried they
got the cramps. The meats were fried in
oleomargarine, and it was used for shorten
ing in the pies and cakes The latter also
produced the diarrhea- They dropped all
these articles of food and confined them
selves to boiled dishes like eggs and pota-
toes. Under this diet they thrived and
were not i'll. Bob Watson was one of the
men, and he thinks the oleonargarine
caused the trouble.
As the disease persisted the doctors tried
dropping the different kinds of food. First
the water was shut of, then coffee and tea,
next one vegetable after another; salt meat
was exiled from the tables, and still the
disease bobbed up serenely and -four
ished like a green bay tree. This
puzzled the physicians more than
ever. One of the leading doctors of the
the town suggested TO the company that
possibly the Chicago dressed beet was re-
sponsible. He discovered that solution
Of ammonia was poured over it.
Attributed the Disease to Ammonia.
In addition ammonia was used in manu-
featuring the ice, and the general result was
to make the meat alkaline Its effect
would be like the famous alkaline waters
of Colorado. However, the doctor changed
his mind later when he found the disease
had taken mold of a number of people in the
town who did not eat mouthful in the
mill, and could not have been within the
reach of the alleged poison. People like
Mr.. Burg, the draughtsman, John Whar.
ton, the open hearth man, Dovey, the
yardmaster, Mr.. Peterson, several of the |
Carnegie clerks and others, who did not |
eat in the mill, were afflicted with the |
diarrhea. 1t existed as long as they remained |
in the place, but after they had been at the |
Beashore for few DAYS the disease disap- |
peared. For this reason the physician in |
question thinks the trouble was caused by |
conditions. The sewerage of J
Homestead is very bad also. Evidence of |
this could be seen yesterday where green |
colored filth was frozen in the bottom of |
the deep cutters. The mystery to most |
people who visit the town is how anybody |
escapes being sick there in the summer.
When the frost came the disagreeable |
symptoms gradually disappeared. Now the
restaurants are located outside of the mill, |
and many of the men eat their dinners in |
them. They are fed the same kind of food, |
and very little sickness prevails The |
change for the better is attributed to the |
cold weather, and it is feared the disease
Will break out again In the spring.
Might Have Been Tartar Emetic.
Another prominent Homestead physician
was asked what poison would produce the
symptoms noted among the non-union men.
de replied that tartar emetic, a mixture of
and tartar, was the only one that
he could think of without the taste betray-
ing it. Some vegetable poisons could be
used, but their bitterness would reveal
their presence. Anthony has a
pearly color, is about neutral in
taste, and it could be sprinkled over
food without anybody noticing 1t. 1t is a
slow poison, and will kill if used long
enough. 1t acts as powerful irritant on
the stomach, causing vomiting, burning
pains in the organ and affecting the circula-
tion and pulse. The irritation soon passes
TO the abdomen and violent diarrhea fol-
lows In the case OF the non-uuion people
afflicted they were weakened rapidly, and
in a short time were reduced from strong
and hearty men to mere skeletons The
above symptoms were related to the young
man in the commissarv, and ne said most of
them were present, but he knows no more
about the poison story than the old gentle
man whose face beams SO kindly in the
moon.