Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1899-09-21
Poison Plot for Love.

At San Francisco Miss Florence NJ.
| Campbell, when she confessed to be
the author of the poison plot that so
greatly excited that city, also gave a
remarkable psychological display.
From her story we know just how
1t feels to dig a pit for another's feet
and step into it.
Writing with the wholly imaginary
pangs OF arscuical poisoning and gasp
Ing with the very real spasms conse-
quent on the use of emeties, Miss
Campbell was sick unto her soul that
she had ever attempted the role of
Borgia with Machiavelian trimmings.
She got her idea, of course, from the
Botkin case that murder which
taught new crime to a thousand jeal-
Gus, cra2ed women. Dunning, the
husband of Mrs, Botkin's victim. was
newspaper correspondent. Rathom
was also newspaper correspondent
The two men were together with the
army before the operations against
Santiago 1t was very natural that
Rathom should talk over the awful
tragedy in his friends affairs with the
woman who was to him what Mrs.
Botkin was to Cunning. Miss Camp
bell, well-born, well-bred, well-edu-
Gated, applied the Botkin reasoning
to her own case and thought she saw
an opportunity to improve on the muir
der that sent Mrs. Botkn to prison
for life There was a mixed motive
In the case Mrs. Rathom was threat
ening her husband with divorce suit
because of his relations with Miss
Campbell, and the latter thought out
the scheme, In part at least, in order
that she might have something with
which to blackmail the injured wife
into silence.
The denouement of the plot was
artistic and exciting.
First the public became aware that
an attempt had been made to poison
Miss Campbell with arsenic in cherries
and that her landlady, Mrs. Scheib, had
also partaken OF the sweets and had
also been made very III,
The next step was the testing OF the
box Of candied cherries
"There Is enough arsenic here to
kill a herd of cows" was the chemists
report
Then the police made the discovery
that the address on the box was In
the handwriting OF Mrs. John Rathom,
whose possible motive was no deep Sc
cret.
So far It was all as Miss Campbell
had planned
Then John II. Rathom entered upon
the scene. He declared his positive
| belief that neither his wife nor Miss
! Campbell sent the poisoned candies,
but he was not prepared 10 say that he
did not send them himself
He made very frank confession Of
his own wrong doIngs. He admitted
that he had behaved in a disgraceful
way toward both his wife and Miss
! Campbell and declared that he fully de-
served any trouble which might come
upon him.
He introduced further complications
into the mystery by revealing a prop
osition which he said Mrs. Scheib, wife
OF Mr. Scheib, with whom Miss Camp
| bell lived, had made IN him. Mr..
Scheib came after the attempted pol
soning and said in effect:
Your wife sent this box Of poisoned
candy. She has nearly poisoned my
wife and Miss Campbell. You must go
to her and make her pay the doctors
bills, and sign paper that she will
leave the state and not seek a divorce
from you. Then you can get a d.
vorre from her on the ground OF de-
sertion and marry Miss Campbell"
Scheib stoutly denied that he ever
made such a proposition, and declared
that Rathom had utterly distorted
what he said.
Il took month to dsentangle the
ugly skein. During that time Miss
Campbell Indignantly denied that she
had mailed herself the poisoned candy
but the police piodded along. proved
Mrs. Rathom's innocence and gradually
brought the matter home 10 Miss
Campbell. and thai young woman at
last confessed 1t all
MY only object In mailing this poi
soned candy was because Mrs. Rathom
threatened to use my name and make