Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1914-11-14
SUDDEN DEATH
OF 4 MEN IN SILO
Dangerous Gases Cause Almost
Instant Death. Timely Warn
ing To Our Farmers

In view Of the constantly increasing
Importance Of the ,ilo for the prcscrya-
ton Of fodder on the American farm.
it seem, proper To draw widespread at
tcntion to the danger of fatal asphyXia
which may occur to workers in filling
and cmptying silo-. There are no re
ported cases on record of fatalities un.
der such circumstances 50 far rs we
haze been able to learn after careful
search Of the literature Agricultural
bulletins warn of the danger Of carbon
dioNidc poisoning unless certain pre-
cautions are taken \ sudden death
here and there has unguestionably been
laid to heart failure. apopIexy and the
like.
Since the first American silo vas
built by Dr Manly Miles. in lN75. the
principle has undergone widespread de
yelopmcnt throughout the country 50
that the dangers herein cited are liable
To bc,et Il large number Of persons.
The danger from the accumulation Of
bcatl gasc, in the old type of pit slo-
dug III the ground can b. easily appre
ciatcd hut the Instances in question
took place in modern upgrouni metal
-ilo. built about 30 feet high and free
from surroundings which might inter
fere with ventilation.
At the Athens fOhiol State Hospital,
at about o'clock on the morning Of
Sept. l9. 1914. -four members Of squad
OF six men asccnded the ladder on the
outside Of the siio in question to an
open door about L feet from the top.
and jumped in, one after the other. on
the silagc. the lcvcl of which was about
. feet bclow the doorway Within
tjyr minutes, a. reported the next
two men Who ascendcd shouted down
that the first four hooked as though
they scrrdcad \ large forccof work
cr, vino were at hand immediately as
scented the -ilo and opcninp a lower
door which wa- ju-t above the level Of
thc Stage hurririis removed the uneou
-ciouS forms. and b spite % III, lm
mediate arrival 90 tour or live phys
CLANS from the institution all attempt,
Al rrsuScitaton failed
The unfortunate ones one of whom
was 81 Years old and the Others ~. -
and 81. were TRUSTEES at the in-ttu-
ton and al had been engaged for ecy
eral years on the Institutional farm. and
had helped in filling slos for the past
two or three years During the two
weeks previous they had helped To till
two large wooden siio>, nearby. and
during the three DAYS previous had
helped with the hling Of the metal
silo in question Their work was to
tramp down the cnsilage q, it vas de-
livercd from the blowppc on this
morning the machine had not yet begun
operations. and apparently the men sat
down or lay down on the >ilage 10 wait
10 expedite the removal Of IN, vie
TINS they mad 20 bc let down head first
within the 3! foot chute which surrounds
the adder In this manncr thcy wcrc
passed down from helper to helper to
thc brlckpavcd DAIRY yard below All
were blue and respiratory movement,
had ceased. but il was thought that in
three the heart action was still prcsen,
when rcsuscitation efforts began In q
few minutes, however. all became pallid,
and in spite Of an hours 5 effort, on
each one with artificial respiration and
stimulants, none revived.
on the evening Of the same day Wc
arrived al the institution and autopsies
were performed on two of the bodies
with significant anatomic findings (which
We're exactly similar in both cases. as
follows. a black huid condition of the
blood which flowed persistently from
practically all places of incision. there
being an entire absence of clots; marked
cyanosis of the lungs and mucous mem
hranes OF the tracheae and bronchi
The same was true of the liVcrs and
kidneys There was also marked capil-
larry injection of the brains and intes-
tines Aside from these findings the
tissues of the bodies showed no recent
changes worthy Of comment; especially
there were no pathologic conditions Of
the hearts or vessels to be noted.
The next morning about o. clock We
visited the silo in question, where condi-
tions had been allowed To remain as on
the previous morning. except that be-
fore orders could be issued couple OF
feet more Of silagr had been added
This had apparently sunk foot during
the night, leaving about 3 feet up to
the bottom OF the door in question.
However. according to the manner in
which the gases are generated about
10 or T. feet should have been added.
more nearly 20 reproduce the amount
of pas 10 Whirh thu Nurkm., hnd