The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-10-12
POISONED BY WHIsKEY
LIQUOR BELIEVED TO HAVE CON-
 TANNED WOOD ALCOHOL.
Rudolph Fritsche, a New York saloon .Man, is Placed Under Arrest on . Charge of sus-
 pfctOm.

New York, Oct. 11.--Acting under in struction from the coroner, the police have taken into custody Rudolph Fritsche. who keeps little saloon at T2s Tenth Avenue. Fritsche is charged only with being suspicious person. but the police say that in his saloon. it is suspected whiskey was sold which contained poison. and this whiskey is responsible for the many deaths that have occurred in the neighborhood re- gently.
 Fritsche only recently bought the place which Is of the variety generally described as a barrel house."
 Investigation of the numerous deaths in the neighborhood during the past few weeks. showed that nearly all those who had died suddenly were GUS toners of the 'barrel house."
 Fritsche, after being taken to the station house was admitted to bail He returned to the saloon. but the police followed, closely questioned the pro- prietor and closed the doors.
 Twenty-f persons living in the neighborhood, all of them middle age have died within the past two weeks. The symptoms were in the main iden- tical. They were characterized by the attendant physician in all cases as those of alcoholism In the past twenty-f four hours, one death. that of Robert Smith, has been reported while the following awaited burial:
 Michael McAuliffe, aged 45, died Sat- urday.
 Charles McLeavey. aged 50 died Sum day.
 William Drain. aged 30 died Friday.
 Adolph E. Lehman, died Sunday.
 Nora McGinniss, died Sunday
 All these persons resided In pre- scribed territory. Lehman's stomach and a bottle of whiskey purchased in the neighborhood were taken to the health department for analysis, the re- suit of which has not yet been made public.
 doctor living In West Forty eighth Street, who was called to attend several of the persons mentioned. said that while the cases he had seen were plainly enough alcoholism. there was yet something peculiar in such an out break of the ailment In so circumscrib- ed & territory.
 May Have Been Poison.
 T was called" he said ito see Me Leavey. McAuliffe lay dead of the same dpisease in room just across the hall when I got there and McLeavey was diIeduJ ucdO WHCu dTTlVGQ. It would appear as though there had been something in the form of alcoholic beverage they had been taking, which had a powerful effect in arrestinE the hearts action. I have found that fin the case of several who died, they had been in the habit of buying whiskey at the rate of 10 cents a pint, and that in some instances they drank great quantities pouring 1t into ordinary tumbler and pouring 1t down as though 1t were water. It is barely possible the whiskey was made of wood alco- hol." Coroner scholer has ordered the chief statistician of the Department of Health to furnish him a list of all persons who have died during the past three months in the district lying between Forty sixth and Fifty-third Streets, Ninth Avenue and the North River All will be investigated and If it is thought ad. Visable in any instance. bodies will be exhumed.
 report submitted later to Police Captain Hussey by the Department oi Health analyst alleges that wood al. cohol was found in Lehman's stomach ana IL Is further alleged that a bottle also contained large percentage oi wood alcohol.
 Determined that no mistake should be made. Coroner SchoIer at once or. dered that the funerals of McAuliffe and MeLeavy be postponed and their stomachs analysed. SampIes also were taken from seven barrels of whiskey in Fritsche's saloon and the police took entire charge of the place. Coroner Scholer declares 1t Is his opinion that the same kind of whiskey would be found in other saloons and that other deaths could be traced to its use.