Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-10
PROBING TRIPLE TRAGEDY
Facts to Be Established as to Just
What Happened.
CONDITIONS ARE REPRODUCED
Experts Have Set Up Gas Heater Re-
sponsible for Deaths-Poison
Fumes to Be Measured.

In one Of the crowded little laboratories
of the bureau of chemistry there has
been working all day long today a man,
w. w. Skinner, whose knowledge Of the
chemistry of gases puts him in the class
with authorities. and who will probably
devote many working hours in the i'm
mediate future to establishing as near as
possible the exact facts as to conditions
which caused the death of Mrs. Katherine
Bremerman, Mrs. Hebe Cults Bremen
man and the child, Cults Bremerman, last
Friday.
Some idea of the care used and the time
consumed in arranging the preliminaries
can be had from the fact that practically
all this morning was given over to get
ting into position series Of tubes through
which fumes from the lighted hot-water
heater will pass when all is ready to start
the analytical work in earnest.
Heater Is Set Up.
The very heater which has been uni
versally acknowledged to be the cause Of
the tragedy is set up. connected with the
gas pipes. and, for moment this morn
ing, was in full operation. Mr.. Skinner
caused the burner to strike back"
Persons familiar with heaters of this
kind know that beneath the pilot light
there is an arrangement which admits
air. When the burner strikes back the
air space becomes filled with burning gas.
That is a simple explanation which every
housekeeper can understand. And 'strik-
ing back" probably was the primary
cause of the three deaths.
What the chemist will do will be to let
the noxious fumes generate and catch
them in his series OF tubes. In the tubes
they will become separated into various
component parts, so he will be able to tell
just how much carbon monOx1de was
present last Friday.
He will be able to do this provided he
can reach the exact conditions existing
in the Bremerman kitchen. There is not
much doubt that he will be able to do so.
Description Of Apparatus.
There are five tubes strung along on an
iron cross. -Four of them are U shaped
and the fifth defies human ingenuity to
describe. 1t has curling, wormlike part.
looking much like the worm of still,
also a bullying globe and a long, straight
part.
Each tube Is connected with its neigh
Dor on either side by little piece of red
rubber tubing. The fume swill enter the
first tube through long glass tube and
from the fue of the hot-water heater.
Leading from the last U-shaped tube
is a long piece of rubber tubing, enter
ing big glass bottle fitted up with an
other tube, which, in turn. leads to sec
ond glass bottle. The bottles are going to
be used in the capacity of lungs.
BY an arrangement Of water placed In
one bottle and syphoned into the other
the gas will be drawn through the bat
terry of curious little curved tubes by
the ordinary process of suction. The
two bottles comprise what the chemists
call an aSpfratOr.
In each of the tubes on the iron cross
certain chemicals will be placed which
will be nothing more or less than liquid
sponges and which will absorb the vari-
Gus parts Of the gas as 1t comes from
the fiue. In the indescribable wormlike
arrangement sulphuric acid will absorb
heavy parts Of the gas. Then what is
left will be sucked on through to the u
shaped tubes.
In each one Of these other chemicals
will gather various separate gases un-
til the last one is reached. And there
the composition taken up should show
exactly how much carbon monoxide is
present.
Mr.. Skinner and DR.. Haywood are in
terested in the matter and will go to the
bottom of it, and will make a complete
report of their findings to the coroner.
It may take considerable time, as there
is no prophesying what developments will
arise.