The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-03-30
POCATELLO POISON
The Town Excited Over Its Free
and Indiscriminate Sale.
THE JOHNSON COUNTY WAR ON
No Deaths Rave Resulted So Far-An Account
OF Deeming's Observation-Disclosures
and Iuhuman.

PocATELLo, Ida., March 29.-TSpecial
telegram to The HERALD. Excitement is
intense IN this city on account of the reve-
iations of the astonishing disregard of law
by the druggists of Pocatello, brought out
IN the testimony before the coroner's jury
sitting today on the case of the suicide Of
Andrew McDonough, mentioned by The
HERALD yesterday. "Scotty,n who pur-
chased the drug for McDonough, testified
that the deceased requested him to get it
Tor him, as he was going out in the hills
prospecting and he wanted it to kill coy
otes; that he purchased it at the drug
store OF Mrs. A. l.. Cook, after trying I'M
successfully to obtain it at two other
stores Zone on account of being out of it,
the other because the dispensing clerk was
not In the store). Mrs. Cook, owner of the
establishment where he succeeded in get
ting the poison, testified that be asked her
Tor 1t, but she turned him over to her phar-
macist, Morgan, who sold the desired
amount after the man telling him he want
ed 1t to kill coyotes. She did not keep
record of the sale.
j. A Morgan, her dispensing clerk, testi-
ned he sold the poison, kept no record of
poison sold and was ignorant of the exist
ing law regulating the sale of poison He
hao no poison register and to his knowl-
edge never before was one kept at the
store. Neither he nor Mrs. Cook knew the
man, but recognized "Scotty' at the ex-
ANIMATION SIS the man purchasing the
strychnlne. In answer to the question OF
Juror, ne recollected selling strychnine to
one other party the same day of the value
OF 10 cents TOR killing rats. He had no re-
cord except his memory. The vial sold
land exhibited to the jury bore only the
regular poison label placed there by the
manufacturer aud had no label of the store
at winch 1t was procured, as required by
law. The jury rendered verdict that the
death OF Andrew McDonough, aged about
% years, on March Is, was from taking
dose OF strychnlne with the object of COM
hitting suicide and ADDED as the poison
was sold contrary to law it recommended
an investigation into the manner drug
stores OF the city disposed of poisons.
IL was learned tonight that not one of
the pharmacies act il accordance with the
letter OF the law. One store takes a state
ment from The applicant for poisons An
other mas book printed in form for the
purpose and keeps a correct record. ex cept
that 1t does not provide space for the sig
nature of the applicant; ana another keeps
- AA-SAu0i ohuulu III DUOh, DuL incomplete
and without signatures. The other three
Keep no record whatever. and two of them
calm they never heard of the law govern
Ing their business. They are recommended
to study section l,295 CT the revise d stat
utes of Idaho. Even those who keen a
record claim in the case of q regular Gus
toner "a morphine tend) they only take
record OF the first application, but after
they learn to know customer, do not
trouble them any more for fear
the representative organization of
their patrons might be disturbed
and that they would go to other stores
where they could obtain the drug uunues-
toned. Only one store complies with the
law requiring label bearing the name and
address OF the store where the drug is pur-
chased be placed en- all poison SOLD, the
others Claiming it did not apply to poison
IN unoroken packages. The law, however,
says plainly all poisonS except those en-
ployed In physicians prescriptions.
SIX valuable dogs died to-day of strych-
nine poisoning, and others are sick. One
OF those that died, St. Bernard, owned
by the proprietor of the Biiou billiard
parlor, Ed Cathcart, was valued at $500.
He, among others, is anxious to find the
party guilty of such inexcusable cruelty.
and having failed in finding who pur-
chased the poison, by lack of a record at
the drug stores, is likely to turn on the
druggists and prosecute for misdemeanor.
DIR. Mitchell, the coroner. who viewed
the remains of McDonough TO-DAY. is a
member OF the board of pharmacy and will
Investigate rigidly, DR.. Bean, the resident
member OF the board. being away in Cali
lorna on account of ill-heallh.