Henderson daily dispatch., 1936-07-24
SERUMS LACKING
FOR BLOOD TESTS
Moreover, Buncombe Sher-
tiff Has Asked for None
To Be Made as Yet
Daily Dispatch Burenu,
In The Sir Walter Hotel.
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sly -. q. ia SN IEICVILA
Raleigh, July 24.-Although the
chemists in the food and oil labora-
tories of the State Department of Ag-
riculture have the clothes worn by
one of the suspects in the murder of
Miss Helen Clevenger in an Ashe-
vile hotel last week, on which there
are dark stains believed to be human
blood, also a strip of carpet and up
hOlstering material from a chair in
the room in which she was murdered.
they do not as yet have any word
from Sheriff Laurence E. Brown, of
Buncombe county, as to what he
wants done with this clothing, nor do
they have on hand the anti-human
blood serums needed for making tests
to determine if the stains were made
by human blood, it was learned today.
1t is supposed, of course, that the
clothing and strips of cloth were sent
here to have the chemists in the State
laboratory make the customary tests
to determine if the spots were made
by human blood. But until he receives
some definite word from Sheriff
Brown in Asheville, Chief w. M. AL
len, of the food and oil division of
the Department of Agriculture, indi-
Gated that the bundle of clothes would
remain locked up in his office. The
bundle containing the clothing was
addressed to the State Board of
Health. But since its laboratories are
limited to making tests and to the
manufacture of biologies to be used
only in the prevention of disease, it
hence could not make any Analyses of
the sort believed to be desired by
Sheriff Brown. So the package Of
clothing was sent over to Prof. Allen
in the Department of Agriculture
But if word is received from Sher-
iff Brown asking that the spots on
the clothing and strips of cloth be
tested to determine if they were made
by human blood, the food and oil la
boratory is not prepared at the pre-
sent time to make these tests, accord
ing to l.. B. Rhodes senior chemist
in the laboratory. Rhodes maintains
that before the tests for human blood
could be made, if would be necessary
to manufacture some anti-human
blood serum from the blood of live
rabbits into whose blood stream some
human blood had first been injected
He points out that the food and oil
laboratory has no rabbits or guinea
pigs and hence has no way to make
this serum. When it was suggested
that such a serum might be obtained
from the State Laboratory of Hygiene
of the State Board Of Health, which
makes many different types of serums
Rhodes admitted that it might be OBJ
tanned there, but insisted he would
want to make the serum himself
Rhodes said that several days would
be required to make the anti-human
blood serum needed.
When DR.. John H. Hamilton, direc-
tor of the laboratory of hygiene, was
asked if his laboratory had any anti
human blood serum, or could make it,
he said that they did not have any
and that several weeks would be re-
quired if they should undertake to
make it. He said, however, he was
sure that anti-human blood serum
could be obtained already made up
from almost any of the manufacturers
of .-iologics in a very short time and
that with this serum all of the stains
on the clothing could be sent here
could be tested speedily to determine
if they were made by human blood.
Other chemists and psychologists
here consulted today were Of the OPP
inion that the food and oil labora-
tory should keep a supply of the anti
human blood serum on hand all the
time and that it would be a foolish
waste of time and money for it to
attempt to make it's own serum be-
fore making tests for human blood.
They pointed out that with this serum
the test for human blood is very sim
pie and can be made by a competent
chem st in a very short time. Several
felt that Rhodes was making the pro-
cedure appear much more complicat-
&C than it really is.
Since the food and oil laboratory is
maintained Ky the State for the aid
and protection Of the public, it should
keep on hand such serums and other
equipment as would enable it to be
of assistance in this and similar cases
in the shortest possible time, obser-
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