The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-02-22

PHILADELPHIA. Feb. 22.-Co7Cner Du-
gan late yesterday afternoon issued sub
poena for Edwin slocum. d reporter on
morning newspaper better known as "a
yellow Journal commanding him to ap-
pear and explain where ne got the body OF
an infant which he yesterday deposited in
the morgue-
With the body was a note 10 the mOrgue-
keeper from Dr.. Benjamin Lee Of the State
Board Of Health, requesting him to receive
the body that the reporter would bring.
II was the first notice the coroner had
that something suspicious was on foe,
when he received word from the mOrgue
that there was body there The coroner
detailed Detective Mckinney en- the ease,
and the latter reported that the remains
looked as though they had once been bur
led and then dISiuJeTeG-
Had Coroner Uugan been with Coroner
Ashton, Of Montgomery county, early in
the morning he would have secured some
valuable information as 70 where the in
FAINT came from and incidentally learned
that yellow journals are not scrGpuiOus
when they seek 10 work up a sensation.
Coroner Ashton, with Justice Of the Peace
he conducted At SomerJon 20 see II he had
Jurisdiction TO investigate the alleged IL
legal burial OF infants in SomertOn Hills
Gene terry.
The charges had been made by members
of the SomertOn Improvement Association,
who claim that the bodies of forty-eight
infants had been brought out from the
city and dumped into q trench. The
trench, II was shown, had been filed up
since the charges became public, but, &C
cOrding to the stories told the coroner,
there IS one body less in the hole than was
there on Friday night The missing
corpse it was stated, was taken out of the
trench on Saturday morning, and up TO
ths time of the arrival of the dead in
FAINT at the Morgue has been in the pos
session Of employees Of the newspaper
whose reporter has just been called be-
fore the coroner. Presumably the inter-
ment Of the infant had been paid for by
its parents.
There is no record of { permit for its
removal, as required by law, and no rec
ord Of a permit for bringing body into
the city. Apparently, from the state
ments made TO Coroner Ashton, the TAX
ing Of the corpse was accompanied by that
process known as body snatching." \
letter from Dr. Lee 10 a member OF the
Somerton Improvement Association stated
that out Of sympathy 10 Mr. Slocum he
had directed him 10 take the body 10 the
Philadelphia Morgue- He did not do this,
the doctor explained in his official caPaci-
u, as a member Of the State Board of
Health. nor did he want his action 20 be
known as official.
Why the body was taken is not quite
clear. John Depeue, who made the origi-
nal complaint. told Coroner Ashton yes
terday that the trench in which the forty
eight dead babies had been thrown was
easily enough seen. 1t was a hole" he
said, six and a half feet long, five feet
deep. and TWO feet eight inches wide II
was covered with loose boards. All of the
boards except one were hidden By shall
low layer Of earth The board left uncov-
cred served as the trapdcor through which
bodies could be dumped into the trench as
they were brought into the cemetery
This thing has been going on since year
from the 23d Of September.
81 finally made complaint to the Som
erton Improvement Association and the
matter got into the newspapers Since
then the cemetery people have covered Up
the trench and the nuisance is partly
abated- We have been charged with NAL
ice in this matter. Malice We have more
We only want 10 protect our families
from the danger from contagious diseas-
es"
While Mr.. pepeue was telling his story
to the coroner the posJman brought him
a letter from DR.. Benjamin Lee. OF the
State Board Of Health = IN the letter the
doctor told Of the examination that had
been made by a medical inspector from
NorristoHu and said II was clear that
the law requiring bodies TO Re inferred IN
der at least four feet Of earth had rot
been complied with The letter also told
how he had disposed Of the body taken
from the cemetery in order TO save the
ambitious yellow journalists from the
penalties for body snaching-
J. 9. Lewis, the president Of the Somer-
ton Improvement Association. told how he
had brought the nuisance to the attention
of Chief Good. Of the Bureau OF Health OF
Philadelphia The latter, however. could
only act so far as the improper removal
Of bodies from the city was concerned
The trench in which the inteTments were
made lays on the Montgomery county side
of the cemetery, and was not in the juris-
diction of the city authorities
Coroner Ashton, after considering the
matter. said he would like very much 10
conduct an investigation, and II he could
fnd ground for legal action he promised
that such investigation would be most
thorough. He thought, however, that he
could only conduct an enquiry il II were
shown that one Of the bodies thrown into
the trench was that of an infant that had
died in Montgomery county
He would, he said, lay the matter before
District Attorney Henderson, and the lat
ter might possibly reach the root Of the
evil BY securing indictments against those
responsible for the violation Of the stat
utes governing burials- Coroner Ashton,
with Justice Of the Peace Bond, OF More
land township rode over 10 the cemetery
and made an inspection of the trench
The committee Of FIVE which represents
the Somerton Improvement Association
includes +. 5. Bonner. Fremont Bowman,
John Depeue. II. Souders, and Dr. McKen-
zte. All are residents Of that portion OF
Somerton which lies inside Of the Fhila-
delphia county line. and IS included IN the
Thirty-ffth ward