Daily Arizona silver belt., 1909-01-21
BUT THE BABY IS DEAD.

How difficult it is to apply the old forms of law to our new conditions of life. was illustrated in Washington, D. O.. when the wife, mother and baby of an employe in the congressional library were killed by poisonous Illuminating gas. The little family, at breakfast, were struck down by the odorless, col orless poison without the least warn ing or chance of escape.
 The Bremerman family were guilty of using cheap gas stove. This was a natural thing to do when one has very small income and there is mother, a wife and babe to think about. The cheap gas stove leaked and permitted little of the gas that was sold by the Washington Gas company to escape into the room. The father had gone to his work. The wife and mother were at breakfast. Suddenly they fell. They had no warning. They had no time to open window They were not "as- phyxiated'; they were stricken down by an invisible, intangible poison-car- bon monoxide. And the baby perished, too.
 The government experts looked into the matter and reported that the fault lay in the quality of the gas. It was not ordinary coal gas at all, but mix ture of 25 per cent of coal gas with product known as carburetted water gas. The result of the mixture was the presence of between 20 and 80 per cent of monoxid, product recognized by chemists as dangerous and deadly poi ! son. It is needless to say that water gas is cheaper to make than coal gas and SO, when sold at the same price produces larger dividends.
 Thus it appears that the people oi Washington were all unconsciously ans unwarned. using in their homes ga' known by people familiar with the trad' of making gas to be menace to lift and health. All that was needed t work a tragedy in the home was tin! leak. In the case of the Bremerman
 the cheap gas oven supplied the i'm perfect apparatus. Three deaths wer
 the result.
 Now who is responsible7 The ga
 was furnished by the Washington Ga
 Light company. Who is responsible fo
 the Washington Gas Light company
 Its majority owner and recognized hea
 is John R. Mclean. MT. Mclean own gas companies. newspapers and oths
 properties. He lives in beautifr
 house on Farragut square and owns wonderful country place outside c Washington known as "Friendship." Is John R. Mclean responsible fc
 the death of the mother, wife and chil
 of Clarence Bremerman7 The depar-
 ment of justice says that there is 10
 ability attaching to the Washingto
 Gas Light company, for the results (
 it's carbon monoxide, because congrel never said the company should n, ' make and mix this poison and sell 1t the consumers. If the impersonal co : poration has the right to send dea, through the gas pipes. how can the la
 say that the owner of the corporatiC has not that same right7
 In the eyes of the law, then, nobot
 is guilty of the death of the Breme man family. Of course. Mir. McLes . did not intend to murder the Breme mans. He merely intended to nal more money by selling cheaper gas. H V charter did not forbid him to sell poisonous gas. So he supplied tn U kind. It killed.
 Mir. Mclean is not responsible the eyes of the law.
 The company is not responsible y the eyes of the law.
 ' BUT THE BABY IS DEAD.