The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1919-12-28
WOOD ALCOHOL KILLS
100; MANY BLINDED
BY POISON DRINK
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE.

warning the public. The bureau al
ready in several statements has
warned against drinking liquor now
| Illegally peddled.
A similar campaign will be COM
Quoted by the Public Health Service
\ it was stated at Surgeon General
| Blues Office
! The Department of Justice and the
| Department of Agriculture are inves-
| tigating the bootleg sales, with a view
| to prosecution. Present laws may be
| inadequate said Assistant Attorney
General F'riersOn. in charge of prohi-
bition enforcement, and Solicitor
Williams, of the Department or
Agriculture. II that is the case. Con-
gress will be asked to pass additional
| legislation Immediately upon its re-
converting January 6.
The most probable method OF pros
ecution-an accomplish to murder
will be through the pure food and
drug law. under which misIabelling
of any beverage is prohibited.
The source of at least some of the
poison whisky" has been traced to a
certain wholesale dealer in New York,
it was declared. and his arrest is ex-
pected to be ordered by big Bill"
Edwards. internal revenue collector of
the New York district The barrels
containing the wood alcohol bore no
poison signs or the customary skull
and cross bones. it was declared.
Death Penalty Promised.
Atlanta. Ga. through Solicitor John
A. Boykin, served notice on all boot
leggers yesterday. according to ad-
vices received here, that the death
penalty will be demanded for all per-
sons convicted of selling whisky"
containing wood alcohol "AII such
cases brought before me will be vigor-
ously prosecuted" added Solicitor
Boykin.
Two persons have died in Pitts
burg. according to dispatches from
that city, from drinking wood alco-
hol whisky" while celebrating
Christmas. Four prominent physi-
clans and a leading druggist have
been taken in a raid by Federal au-
thoritics to clean up ring which
was alleged to have been violating
wartime prohibition with medical
prescriptions.
At EIyra, Ohio, three railroad sec
ton hands are near death in Me-
mortal Hospital from the effects of
wood alcohol poisoning and two
others known to have partaken Of
the same connection IRE missing
and believed dead.
Fear Heavy Sunday Toll.
Fearful of heavy toll of wood
alcohol poisonings over Sunday. city.
county, State and Federal authorities
at Cleveland last night were making
Of
against its use as a beverage.
THE situation is more serious
thap most people imagine" de-
clared Probation Officer Christian,
who has been placed in charge of
the Cleveland campaign. Indus
trial concerns report as high as 30
per cent of their men are inca
pacitated for work on Mondays as
a result of partaking of poisoned
liquor. Unless checked our hos
pitfalls will be full of paraletics and
( the morGue will have to be en-
larged to hold the dead"
Chicago's wood alcohol victims
last night numbered nine, with
several others in hospitals likely
TO die. Three women and two
NOR died yesterday. four others
having died Friday. Coroner Hoff-
man has appealed to Mayor Thomp-
sun 1" prohibit its sale by drug
GiSiS. Since wartime prohibition
went int" effect July 1 twenty
eight deaths from wood alcohol
poisoning haa, occurred in Chi
caEo. The drink has come to be
known here as tho "coroner's cock ..
TAIL
The sale of wood and denatured
alcohol in Milwaukee has Increased
SO per cent, according to druggists.
The Milwaukee emergency hospi-
tai y"sterd reported that IL per-
s"ns bfous there for treatment
mcnt. Absolutely refusing to Civ.
any evidence to incriminats her hus-