Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-02-18
lay YDEATH AND ILLS
TONAPHTHA WRECK.
s,.idents Of Roelofs Stirred Up
Nv What They Consider Men
ace to Health
p,,I WAY co. SCOUTS CHARGE

A., nscple at Roelofs. Pa. which ia
trenton Junction. are stirred
ne' =" ovrr what they consider the after
" .s,,,. Of The wreck OF n nnphtha car
'"'' NV ,,C consequent draining of 5000
s',Ions a Of nuphtba into pit west Of the
Az manner Of ills are laid TO the
.nh,hs-.tbe death OF a man. the ILL
- n woman. the illness Of cows,
ness ,ne,inp off Of wallpaper and the
Wy t.,I;rs apart Of furniture.
rsip,t tbe Reading Railway. on whose
H.. ,hc naphtha chr was wrecked No
nne nhor NV saws the naphtha could not
"nm"oiyobIy have caused death or Ill
Os S.ss Hnd q prominent Philadelphia
ssIsician says the same thing
Saw Drinking Water Affected
pu, nevertheless farmers and others
,,,r Rorlofs declare their drinking
n,S ,r,,er has been affected by buried
,snhtha, and their protests have
rssched climax with the death OF
nsrsd Blettle, an eighteen. year old
ssIroad worker Of South I.anghorne.
The "naphtha dump pit west OF
Roelofs Station, is near creek ana Is
y Tho vicinity Of artesian wells which
.rpply =. nearby residents with water, A
nnnnn ,rrri is located at Roeiofs Station
rbich IL near Trenton Junction.
Rlettle. who was assistant to the
,,.t;onn,aster at Roelofs, became il.
January 80 and died last Monday.
Mrs, Freda Blettle. at her home on
r,stbrook avenue, South Langhorne,
WI "iifrcd complained Of not feeling
veil on January so. We called in Or.
Edwin S. Huntsman. OF Hulmeville,
Who treated him. Alfred died Monday
,i,St DR.. Huntsman said he had been
noisoned by drinking the water from
tbs pump az Roelofs Station "
Vapors Permeste House
y,nors from the buried naphtha. it is
said, permcated the house OF Robert
sbs fumes loosened the wall paper and
,o"ssd il 70 hang down in unsightly
rrips, Finally the seepage through the
,n;I ncnctrated the foundations and
tltwell left the house.
Tho station master is now living at
400 Hillcrest avenue. Trenton. in
soYsc Iensod for him BY the railroad
nnpapy ,Sn for $50 a month.
mo claims. 30 far as l know. have
h,,n entered against the railroad
'sid Mr.. Clewell today. "A good many
persons % around here are getting sick.
,boush Mrs. Frank y. Jackson, a
farner's wife, who lives near the sta
ton, Is sick with stomach trouble"
There is a we'll in the cellar Of the
station agents house at Roelofs. Rail
road workmen have capped the well with
h,ep feet Of concrete to prevent the
raphtha fumes from spreading.
Cows Stop Giving Milk
Frank J. Jackson. husband Of the
woman who is i'll with stomach trouble,
and whose farm is south Of the rail-
rosd tracks. almost on direct line
with the "naphtha dump. SO id that
Twelve days after the railroad acci-
dent his cows went dry"
81 first noticed the trouble about
twelve days after the wreck Mr..
Jackson said. "My cows had been
drinking from the creek at the foot Of
the slope where they buried the
napN,ha When five Of my cows
VIVID give no milk | went TO DIR.
Js, yoster. at Newtown.
Ut OSIer bAlu Tue jumping OF
nauh,b, was very dangerous when so
near body Of water and that it would
"a, tho lining from the stomach of any
creature drinking water affected in that
NAY"
". c. Brist"r. general claim agent Of
'he Reading Railway. discussed the un-
lsual case today. The naphtha was
buried no said. 70 prevent fire or
explosion when it was learned the tank
car was leaking.
Waiting for Evaporation
I'VE will have TO wait until it all
svaporates. he said. "Ws are hoping
or sunny weather to aid in the evapor-
alton
Questioned about the pump at the
station and reports that Blettle died
rom naphtha -pcrmeated water. Mr..
Bfister replied:
That is utter nonsense. Twice since
n M. time Of the accident we have had
lire engine come over from Yardlcy
,nd pump The we'll dry at the station.
zach time after being pumped dry sam =
tes OF water were sent to Reading
lere tested and found 10 be free from
'hy nanhtha or gasoline
Philadelphia physician of promi .
'hce was asked today for his views
Fr The case
do not sec how naphtha, the ordi
tE product, could have caused Il
%tm such as described he said. at
very volatile product, and can
think il could have caused wall
tpet to lenyp the walls md u,OCl f,,r .