Chicago Daily News, Sept 8

STOLEN GASSES CLUE TO ELUSIVE MATTOON GHOST

BY LOIS THRASHER
Mattoon, Ill. Sept. 8 -- The mysterious disappearance of a set of samples of gasses used in a training school for air raid wardens was being checked today, while this city of 17,000 considered some mass action to capture the spray-gun artist who has made 17 victims ill. In each case, the victim reported that he had been awakened in the night by a "sweet, sickening odor," only to discover that he was partly paralyzed and violently nauseated.
The set of synthetic gasses, which were relatively harmless versions of the war poisons, furnished by the government in 1942 to teach OCD workers their identification, was turned over to the high school chemistry laboratory when the course ended.

Set is Missing.

Today it was learned that the set has disappeared. Among the chemicals used in the course were mustard and lewisite gas. All of the gasses in the identification set produced the odor of the genuine article, but not the same effect. Police said there was nothing, however, to indicate that one of the synthetic articles was not tampered with by some inventive chemistry student until he produced the genuine effect, as well as the genuine odor. According to Carus S. Icenogle, commander of the Citizens' Defense Corps, the set was eventually presented to Earl Achenbach, the high school chemistry teacher, for the students' use. Achenbach left a year ago for a teaching position at Fleming, Colo. But the set of gasses remained in the laboratory.

Gasses Were Harmless.

"We sniffed all the gasses at the time of the course," Icenogle said today. "Some of them had a sweetish odor, like new-cut hay. The genuine article produced not only the same odor, but a brassy taste, headache, soreness in the lungs, coughing, throat spasms and a tight feeling in the chest. The gasses we used were harmless, but some smart chemistry student might have fooled with one of them until he produced the real thing." Police indicated that they were also interested in the present activities of four Mattoon boys, all of whom served in the chemical warfare service, and within recent months were given medical discharges from the Army. One, according to reports, had been the star student of the high school chemistry class and had worked as a chemist before his Army stint.
Although police made a vigorous denial, it was learned that a lie-detector test had been given yesterday afternoon to a recently discharged serviceman. The test, according to reliable sources, revealed that the ex-soldier had Peeping Tom tendencies, but failed to establish whether he had used a spray gun and poisonous chemicals recently.
Police received numerous calls last night from jittery citizens, but an investigation failed to reveal a phantom with a spray gun. At least 50 citizens slept with loaded shotguns in the bed, ready to rise and whang away at the first whiff of the mysterious gas. -- Friday, September 8, page 8