The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-11-21
SUSPECTED MILK.
A Baby's Death Ascribed
to Its Agency.
DIR. r. D. Johnson Attributes the
Fatality to the Presence OF
Ptomaine Poison.

A little baby. Emma Lind. daughter of
Mr.. and Mrs. John c. Lind of 6 Isis street,
died there yesterday at the age of months
and 20 days.
A certificate of death, signed by DR..
Robley d. johnson, stated death to have
resulted. to the best of his knowledge,
from "ptomaine poisoning from milk"
adding that be had attended the child on
the 18th and Goth inst. As the Board of
Health recently passed an ordinance deny
ing the right of death certifcaton to any
physician who had not attended the sub
Ject twenty-four hours. the case was re-
ferred 10 the Coroner.
When the certificate of death was pre-
sented to Coroner Hughes he promptly
refused to accept it. AS DR.. r. d. John
of my knowledge" that death resulted from
ptomaine poisoning from milk. the Coroner
thought it was case for Investigation.
The remains of Emma Lind will be
taken to the Morgue. and il there are any
indications of poisoning an analysis of the
stomach will be made.
1T may be some other poison than milk
ptomaines," remarked the Coroner, land
In any case the cause of death must be
ascertained. 1t would be very interesting
at the present time to follow up an inves-
tigation regarding milk poison, to find
what dairy supplied the milk and under
what conditions the food was treated"
DIR. johnson stated last night that in bis
Judgment all the circums tances pointed to
poisoning by ptomaines, small animalcul4
generated oy decOmposing milk. He had
seen the baby on Saturday, and although
1t was fretfui it had no fever and appeared
generally healthy. 1t was reported to be
troubled with vomiting and TO have
thrown up white curdied substance,
II looked at the milk in use and noticed
1t had blue, unhealthy look. Whether
that came from its standing too long in the
ki,chen or not do not know. L ordered
dlscontinuance of milk and that lou id
food be substituted. On Sunday I was
there again, and the child had not been
given milk and had not vomited since.
That evening at 10 o'clock some M ore of
the milk was given it with the result that
1t v0mIted and died.
Il could see no other causes to which TO
ascribe death except the quality of the
milk. The child was not in a poor coudi-
ton. Probably its strength should have
been sustained by stimulants, az it was
weakly. but the woman in charge did the
best she could"
The dead baby was a twin, and, accord
ing 20 its father, had been sickly from
birth. The fact that the twin now living
had been fed on the same milk, and ap-
peared perfectly healthy, was explained
by Dr. johnson on the theory OF the diff
ference oil the resistance offered to p0lSOns
under different conditions of health. The
mother Of the child was absent at a hos
pital at the time of its death.
II do not believe there was anything
wrong with the milB." said Mr.. Lind, the
father. II have been in the milk business
myself. and have seen hundreds of cans
consigned to the company, where we deal,
delivered on the wharf. and i never knew
the company TO pnt anything into the milk
except good Spring Valley water"
Coroner Hughes will interrogate DR..
johnson to-day, and. il necessary, the con-
tents OF the child's stomach will be au-
alyZed. The presence Of ptomaines may
be readily detected by feeding some of the
suspected matter to a rabbit or dog, and
noting the result.