Perth Amboy evening news., 1915-04-16
Children Find Poison in Gar
bage Dump in Penn Street
and Eat 1t.
ONE DIES IN CONCLUSIONS
Child SprinkIes Poison on Half
an Apple, 1t Having a Some
what Sweet Taste.
q VICTIMS WILL RECOVER
Police Investigation Starts -
Autopsy Will be Performed
Tomorrow Afternoon.
q VICTIMS WILL RECOVER

Five children were poisoned, one
fatally, when they ate the powdered
contents of can of 'Kilrato," con-
tanning a large degree OF arsenic,
which they found in the garbage
dump off the end of Penn street,
yesterday afternoon.
Rose Bednar, five years old, died
about 8 o'clock last night after con-
vulsions before City Physician M. s.
Meinzer could arrive at her home in
Myrtle street in the Budapest sec
ton. The child had eaten the poison
after sprinkling it over half of an
apple. The poison had sweet taste
and the little girl liked it.
The other four victims, who will
recover from the poisoning, ate the
rat killing powder with candy, with
cakes and bread that they happened
to be munching when the can was
found by Joseph Luska, eight years
old, of Alpine street, and opened at
the corner Of Alpine and Francis
streets before the group of five play
mates. The boy found the can at the
garbage dump, but did not open it
until he reached the corner, where
he found five of his neighborhood
companions. The little fellow would
not eat any himself, but threw it out
on the ground, here each of the 9TH
ers tasted It and finding it sweet, ate.
If it was povdered sugar.
* or more residents 81 she- he sec
about the dump say that the
poison was thrown on the dump
10y man driving u truck who did
not bury the poison. Joseph SuIiof-
sky, eleven years old, of Myrtle
street, former playmate of the
dead child and the poisoned chill
dren, says that he was standing
nearby when he saw Joseph Lusko
open the can at the corner of Alpine
and Francis streets and throw the
contents on the street in little piles.
The girls and boys picked it up as
they would have handled fine sand.
ard sieved it through their fingers,
and then spread 1t on whatever they
were eating.
I Coroner Eugene J. Mullen, who
las taken charge of the body of the
dead girl <and is arranging for the
funeral, has requested County Physi-
tcian Carroll to perform an autopsy.
The county physician will be here at
8 o'clock tomorrow morning The
coroner this morning declared that
it was a shame that the garbage
dumps were not better covered over
with dirt SO that disease breeding
refuse and refuse containing poison
would not be exposed and attract
children and other dump scavengers.
He declared the party dumping the
rat poison loosely on the pile, with
out burying it from reach, should be
punished.
But the dump scavengers hardly
wait until garbage wagon is un-
loaded before they swarm around
the pile of debris, scatter it about
and separate from it everything of
the least value. Some of the women
have been seen to gather half rotten
bananas from the garbage piles and
carry them home to eat. Oranges
slightly imperfect are picked from
the trash and used for food, as are
pieces of bread, old canned goods.
etc All day there is generally a
band of twenty or more men, women
and children scraping, picking and
roofing about the Penn street dump.
President Harry H. Petz, of the
Board of Health, when informed of
the fatal poisoning this afternoon,
declared that he knew the garbage
contractors, Graham & McKeon, did
not cover up the dumps with ashes
or dirt as they should, but he de-
clared it would require a watchman |
at the dumps all the time to keep !
them from being uncovered by for
eigners. He said the matter was a |
hard problem to contend with, but |
thought that any person that would |
deliberately throw deadly poison on |
the dump would be liable to be |
found guilty of criminal negligence. !
Continued on page 5.)
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