POISON MYSTERY

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 50, 22 November 1930, Page 29

POISON MYSTERY

Arsenic in Sweets

It will be lon g before boiled sweets regain their popularity in the towns of North Straffordshire and South Cheshire, although the poison mystery which has distressed and bewildered the people of ther district during the past few weeks has now been cleared up, and the danger is considered to be over. The powder which was used for dusting about half a ton of sweets in a Burslem factory was 100 per cent, arsenic, and as the result 43 people suffered from arsenical poisoning, although fortunately none of the sweets eaten proved fatal. This is certainly wonderful, as the sweets were impregnated to the extent of 77 to 150 grains of arsenic to the lb. The police are now in possession of the whole amount of arsenic in connection with the case, and believe that there is no further cause for alarm. They are also satisfied that the affair was the purest accident, and as no one was aware that they were dealing with arsenic the matter will not be carried any further -

The history of the investigations which led to this satisfactory conclusion is an interesting one, and it was not at first thought possible to clear the matter up in such. a. short time, for the original aspects of the case were very baffling. The factory where the, sweets were made was sold to the present owner about three years ago, and recently the man from whom he bought the factory did some repairs for him and sold him what seemed to be harmless dusting powder, but which affected the proprietor after using it to such an extent that he became ill, his face and hands being burned. About half a ton of sweets was dusted with this powder after it was bought on August 18, and the sweets sold it two ounces a penny. The first illness reported was at Cohgleton, where thirteen children became ill, and afterward there were reports of illness from all over the district Over 200 bottles were traced from the factory, and the books carefully searched for records of consignments. The wholesale dealers gave particulars of their retailers, and in this way the.- sweets were-tracked down in Stoke-on-Trent, and in about fourteen other places, including Crewe and Shrewsbury.

The man who sold the arsenic as dusting powder has been found to have acted in perfect good faith, believing it was French chalk. A half'cwt of arsenic .powder found on the premises at Tunstall and the'3lb. bag used for tlie sweets, was found to have been filled from the wooden box which had contained this large quantity of arsenic, which had lain for three years unopened. The' box was left to the present owner of the Tunstall factory with other articles in payment •of a debt by a former manufacturer, who

’ went to America. It was not opened until 1929, when the owner decided that the powder was useless to him until he came to sell it as dusting powder to the Burslem manufacturer. It was the only time he had ever taken powder from the box, and, as before stated, believed it to be French chalk. The man who left the box behind on leaving for America was in business in Hanley as a manufacturer of iron enamels, and consequently there was nothing surprising in his having such a large amount in his possession. The only satisfaction that can be felt at the occurrence is that it has not yet resulted in any actual loss of life, and that there is no longer any uncomfortable mystery about it. The worst sufferer appears to be the Burslem sweets manufacturer, who has not only suffered in his own person, but is bound to feel the effect of the scare on his boiled sweets trade for years to come. It is by no means pleasant to reflect that wooden boxes crammed with arsenic can be left lying about unlabelled in this casual manner, for the lettering on the box consisting of the letters “T” and “C,” a triangle, containing “E O 1202,” and then the word “London,” all of which is believed to indicate that the box is of foreign origin,,probably imported through agents in Birmingham and London, no indication being given of the nature of the contents. Among those who were most seriously ill were two children, Emily Cain, aged 14, who went out in the evening perfectly well, bought sweets, and on her return home became delirious and blind, and had to be taken to hospital. Another child belonging to the same town, Burslem, Mark Lucas, aged 13, also became very ill after eating some of the sweets given to him by r wellmeaning neighbour, whose wife, Mrs. Beach, was also affected. At Tunstall two sisters, Mrs. Alice Stoneir . and Mrs. Sarah Tabbinor, both living in the same house, became ill after eating sweets bought a fortnight before at Longport A false alarm was raised at St. Barnabas’ Home, New Brighton, where 19 children took ill after eating sweets believed to have contained arsenic. All except two of the children recovered rapidly, and the remaining two, although suffering considerable pain, could not have been poisoned by arsenic In the sweets, as the Liverpool city analyst who made an analysis of the sweets Could find no trace of arsenic in them, and did not believe that they had anything to do with the illness of the children. It is now stated that Mr. J. A. Dale, of the Stoke-on-Trent City Council, intends to raise a question with regard to safeguarding the public from indiscriminate distribution of arsenic.