Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-08-31
TONIC WAS "LOADED."
Scheme to Get Revenge on ST.
Louis Manufacturers of
Proprietary Article.

st. Louis, Mo, Aug. 27-The local
branch Of a company which manufa ctuses
tonic known throughout the United
States is in dire distress
With the advent of summer business
opened briskly with the company, a%
many thousands of cases Of the drink were
shipped to customers. AS the summer
grew hotter business became better and
the prospects for handsome margin of
profit for the season were the best until
the company began to receive unusual let
terS from its customers.
These commenced pouring in a few
days ago. Something was wrong with
the goods. They fermented. And worse
they blew up.
The whole July brew was loaded, and
from the way the letters piled in at the
office 1t became evident that the erst-
while gentle and well-behaved bottle
drink Of the company was possessed of
some deylfish new energy and that the
bottles were blowing up like so many
dynamite mines in thousand drug stores
and popping and shooting to the terror of
timid people in 5000 corner groceries.
Some of the letters were of an ugly
tenor. Customers said they had pur-
chased stock of the stuff upon the rep
resentatiOn that it would stand in stock
forever and always be kept as good as
new; that had they known the stuff was
full of dynamite they would not have
bought it, and that the company would
surely have to pay for all the damage
which this frightful fluid had inflicted
upon glassware sitting near the scene of
the explosions.
Others said the people up at the factor
les must have slipped a cog somewhere
for they had handled the company's
wares TOR some time and never knew
them to misbehave SO uproari, usly. They
refused to pay the bills when they be-
came due, and the chaos which reigned
almost drove the men at the factory mad
They could not imagine what had hap
pened.
In their distress they wired for the
founder Of the business, who resides in
the East
He came to ST Louis as fast as trains
could transport him. He walked into the
once, and his stern features were dis
tOrted into one great and OminOus inter-
roSatlon point which necessitated upon
his part the articulation of never a word
Inc attaches of the office told him what
had happened. AS he stood listening a.
case Of good which had been set upon
the front walk for the express wagon be-
gan to go off. For half a minute the air
was fulI or nerve cure and sharp granu-
les OF glass, and after the fusilade the
case OF ware was a wreck, and the doc
tor from Lowell had torn out of the Of
ice with the exclamation that, "What
we need is a detective and a chemist"
The detective and chemist were en-
ployed. The chemist went to the factory
and asked to see the tanks. He was
taken to a 226-gallon tank and had the
contents taken out and examined the bot
tom.
When he had examined the incrusta-
ton which had formed upon the bottom
of the tank he informed the Eastern man
that someone had been placing yeast
cakes in the tanks. and that with these
the chemical equilibrium of the mixture
had been destroyed in such a way that
after standing something like three weeks
the fluid fomented and let 60
The detective is at work on the case
now. Officers of the company say the
trick was turned perhaps by some old en-
plOye who was in a revengeful mood.
Whoever did it learned the trick from a
chemist.
Meanwhile the company continues to re-
ceiye letters, and up to dat e its losses are
as much as 1000 cases of goods, worth
$40 per case. In addition to this the
company loses much of the stock of goods
in the factory, and the injury to reputa-
ton is something which may become, they
fear, the chief item of injury.