The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-07-09
ANOTHER POISON CASE
CANDIED CHERRIES MIXED WITH
ARSENIC AND SENT To A WOMAN.
Jealous Wife OF q Newspaper Man
Under Suspicion, Though She De-
MES Sending the Sweetmeats.

SAN FRANCISCO. July a-The woman
who received box of candied cherries. con-
tanning arsenic. on Friday. at 610 Ellis
street, IS Miss Florence Campbell. She and
her friend Mrs. Elsie Scheib. at whose
house the basket was delivered, ate some Of
the CONNECTIONS and were made I'll. but have
since recovered. 1t il now known that the
address on the basket was In the hand
writing OF Mrs. John Rathom. wife Of a
newspaper man, but there Is no evidence
that Mrs. Rathom sent the basket or knew
anything about IL. The address to Miss
Campbell had been pasted on the wrapper
OF the box and was cut from old en-
velope which Mrs. Rathom had addressed to
Miss Campbell in the course OF a correspon-
dence now terminated
On account OF Miss Campbell, Rathom's
wife had left him. He maintains that
neither Miss Campbell nor Mrs. Rathom
had anything to DO with sending the pois-
oned cherries. That they were poisoned is
made positive by the analysis performed at
the laboratory Of Thomas Price. About one
fourth Of the cherries contained a large
quantity Of arsenic. more than enough to
kill q human being. The rest were HARM
less Rathom, his wife and Miss Campbell
made full statements yesterday to Chief
Lees, anu tue only qucstiou Whitu LHe pO-
lice cannot answer is the important one.
who sent the poisoned CONNECTIONS TO Miss
Campbell?
The cherries. when unwrapped by Miss
Campbell. were found to have been thrown
without care into a bambo basket about
inches long, inches wide and 21s inches
high. 1t contained about three-quarters of
a pound of cherries No paper surrounded
them inside the box. and they were GER
tainly not packed in candy store. Neither
Is the basket of a kind used by candy
dealers. Inquiry at several Of the principal
candy stores failed to find counterpart of
the basket, and basket sellers in China
town declare that the basket in this case
II not Of Chinese or Japanese manufacture.
Mrs. Scheib says the candy was left at her
house on Thursday and kept until next day.
when Miss Campbell called. Although the
wrapper was stamped II is not certain that
the packet came through the mails. The
string had been put on first and then the
address pasted over the string. From the
appearance OF the package 1t might have
been several weeks wrapped UP. In one or
two places the string had worn quite
through the piece OF paper which contained
Miss Campbells name.
Local confectioners declare that the cher
ries were imported from France, and had
been kept, perhaps IN jar, until they had
become stale. They were not recently sold
I'm this city.
Florence NJ. Campbell is a girl of beauty
and good breeding. Her uncle Is prominent
Judge in Wheeling. w. Va, from which
State Miss Campbell came two years ago.
She was one OF party OF West Virgfnians
who crossed the country TO witness the
launching OF the gunboat Wheeling at the
Union iron works. On the journey Miss
Campbell was chaperoned by the wife of
West Virginia congressman.
After the christening OF the Wheeling she
remained in California, and took up news
paper work. Thus she met John r. Rathom
who took a liking TO her, coached her and
helped her in the profession. She met Mrs
Rathom. and for a short while lived at the
Rathoms home In Mill Valley. The women
until recently. were intimate friends. Then
Mrs Rathom became displeased and left
her husband. The disagreement between
Rathom and his wife was on the point of be-
ing patched up when the arrival OF the
poisoned cherries interviewed.
When the candy was delivered TO Miss
Campbell she received at the time a
letter. That letter was one which she had