The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-01-13
TELLS OF POISON.
John 0 SChenk'S Physician
on the Stand.
MEDICINE WAS TAMPERED VIE
Dr.. F. L. Hupp Testifies That He Found
Arsenic In the Water That Was
Being Given to the West Vir-
ginia Millionaire.

Wheeling, w. Va, Jan. 11.-A thou
sand persons. the majority of them
women, besieged the criminal court at
the trial of Mrs Laura Schenk, accus.
ed of poisoning her husband, and when
court officials opened the door there
was crush that swept down the
aisles and pushed everything movable
against the judges bench. The court
officers who attempted to stem the
tide were swept aside, and it was only
after one woman had narrowly escap-
ed being trampled to death and an
others pocket had been picked that
quiet was restored. The women fought
harder than the men. and when the
smoke of the miniature riot had clear
ed away all the best seats were occu-
pied by women.
DR.. Frank Lemoyne Hupp, gradu.
ate of Columbia university of New
York and for a number of years con
nectrd with one of the New York hos
pitfalls. was on the stand. He it was
who first discovered the arsenic III
the lithia water and medicine that
was being administered to John O.
Schenk by his wife.
DR.. Hupp testified that he was called
TO attend Mr.. Schenk Oct 13, and on
going to the Schenk residence he met
Mrs. Schenk, who told him that her
husband was very i'll. The doctor
prescribed for him.
The witness said that he continued
to call on Mr.. Schenk, and Oct. 10
when he visited the house he found
Mrs. Schenk crying. with her arm
about her young son. She said TO
him:
doctor, perhaps | would be better
satisfied If you would let him die
DR.. Hupp said further that in the
quinine he prescribed for Mr.. ScEenb
there was one-ninth of a grain of ar
Senic.
''On a later visit TO the house DR..
Hupp said. 81 made an examination
of the water that was being given
him and found that it had strong
aromatic perfume. | managed to oh
tain a sample of this water. This was
bottled, sent to the Johns Hopkins hos
pital ut Baltimore, and there an anal
ysis of it was made. 1t revealed ar
senic in the water.
Later | also found that the medi-
cine l left for Mr.. Schenk to take was
changed in color. l sent samples of it
away and analysis revealed the pres
ence of arsenic. Finally l ordered that
Mr.. Schenk be removed to the North
Wheeling hospital.
"While he was Il patient there |
found that his medicine was tampered
with. Mrs. Schenk complained to me
about his being at the hospital and
said that she would much rather have
him at home. ! told her that his CON
dition was such that he should remain
at the hospital. She then said that she
would have him brought home herself
''It was then that l called in Albert
Schenk, brother of John: DR.. r. NJ.
HasllinS and Prosecuting Attorney
Handlan. Immediate action was de-
cided on and Mrs. Schenk was arrest
ed. l met her in the office of the pros
ecuting attorney and she said to me
with great surprise and agitation,
What do you think, doctor. some of us
are accused of poisoning John / told
her it was no great surprise to me.
81 broke the news to John o. Schenk
that his wife had been arrested for at
tempting to poison him. He became
very excited, and for some little time
his condition was exceedingly danger
Gus. He has continued to get better.
but at the present time he is still far
frem being a we'll man"
Mrs Schenk, attired in the same
blue dress and gray toque, was in very
good humor, She paid the closest at
tention to everything that was said
and several times prompted her coun-
sell