Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 March 1918 — POISON FATAL TO 3 PERSONS [ARTICLE]

POISON FATAL TO 3 PERSONS

THREE OTHERS ARE CRITICALLY ILL AT -DECATUR AND MYSTERY IS UNSOLVED. Decatur, March 1. —Decatur’s poisoning mystery is yet unsolved. Three persons have died from the effects of an unknown poison. The dead are'Russell A. Premer, proprietor of the Madison Hotel, where the victims were poisoned; Miss Veve Burger, waitress at the hotel, and Robert Kilver, 14 years old, son of Mr. and Mrs. L A. Kilver. Mrs. Frank Reed, an assistant in the hotel; Mrs. Premer, wife of the landlord and Clark J. Lutz an attorney, are critically ill. Mr. Lutz was taken to a hospital in Fort Wayne today. It is believed Mrs. Premer and Mr. Lutz may be saved. Another woman, Mrs. Royer, of Sturgis, Mich., was also taken, but her condition is not serious.

Four Ft. Wayne specialists and all the physicians in Decatur are working on the case, endeavoring to find the source of the poisoning. Chicago and Washington specialists have been appealed to for aid. The poisoning is believed to have been caused by some disease of meat, as only those who ate of the beef on Friday have been stricken. After the post-mortem on Mr. Premer it was suggested the poisoning might have come from hoof and mouth disease. It is the opinion that the disease is a rare one in this country though common in Germany, where it is known as botullinus or German sausage disease. The symptoms of those afflicted correspond to those who suffer from the German disease. The victims were rendered blind, their throats and nose became paralyzed and they could neither talk nor eat. The analysis of the organs taken to Fort Wayne has not been finished. The whole city is aroused and the sale of meats practically has stopped.