Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1920-09-08
John A. McCuen of Alexan-
dria and Joseph Langley
Former Resident Victims
FOUR DIED YESTERDAY
Military Authorities Uncertain Wheth
er Men Drank Alcohol Stored at
Post or Procured From Outside.

Baltimore, Md, Sept, s.-seyen
civilian employees of the Edtgewood
Arsenal are dead and four more des-
perately i'll as result of drinking
some form of poisoned alcohol.
The military authorities at Edge
wood said last night they did not
know whether the men brought the
LIQUOR with them or drank some of the
alcohol stored on the post for ex-
detrimental. and manufacturing pur-
poses. The Government alcohol, they
admitted, had been rendered deadly
70 deter soldiers from stealing and
lrinxing it. The dead are:
William Richmond- Philadelphia.
John A. McCuen. Alexandria, Va.
William F. Meyers 500 North Gay
street, Baltimore.
Joseph Langley, 1917 West Barre
street, Baltimore, native OF Alex
andria.
George Murphy, of Baltimore.
Nelson Lusius, of Rochester, n. 7.
James Davis, of Salisbury, Nd.
The last of the poisoned men Mi
chael OLeary, of Baltimore, was in
dying condition at last report.
Efforts of the military authorities
to find out where the liquor came
from have been frustrated by the re-
.fusal of any of the men tt tell where
they got the deadly stuff.
A large quantity of alcohol for
chemical uses is stored at the post.
the military authorities said. Quanti-,
ties of this had been missed from
time to time, it is said by the authorl-
ties. Two weeks ago, although they
had been warned by Capt. Roy A.
Hungerford, executive officer. that
the alcohol was denatured and made
poisonous, number of soldiers stole
the alcohol and drank it after dilut-
ing it with water They were made
III. Thereupon the commanding OF
ficer, Major E. J. Adkisson, in orders
of the day, announced that the alcohol
would be rendered deadly. This warn
ing not only was transmitted to the
soldiers, it is stated, but to the civil
ian personnel as we'll
The ingredients used to secure this
effect was chloracetochenone, it is
stated, which is an ingredient of poi
son mustard gas.
A number of those who arc i'll and
those who died left the camp Satur-
day, Sunday and Monday (Labor
Day.. This absence from work, the
authorities; say. makes it difficult to
ascertain whether the drink they cons
.sumed was secured somewhere out
side of the post, was procured from
some soldier or taken by the men
who drank it from the store of the
post.
The men became i'll Monday night.
and McCuen and Meyers died. Rich
mond died yesterday morning. Lang
lev died last night.
An inquest was held yesterday over
the three who were dead at that time
by Justice of the Peace Howard w.
Lewis. of Edgewood.. Testifying be-
fore this. Lieut.. Col. Frank c. Wood
berry, of the Medical Corps. regular
army, who treated the men. said the
men had every symptom of wood al
cohol poisoning before they died. They
became >bliud. he said. The coroner's
Jury rendered a verdict that the men
had died either from wood alcohol
poisoning or from denatured alcohol
poisoning.
! Lieut.. Col. Woodbcrry repeated last
night that there could scarcely be any
question about the symptoms. Asked
if it would have been possible for al
coho1 treated with The hustard-gas
ingredient to have had the same eff
feet. he said the symptoms were quite
familiar to him and were those of
+ VI
wood alcohol poisoning.
CONTINUED on Page Four)