POLICE GET TWO FALSE ALARMS DURING NIGHT
One to Quiet Black cat, Other for "Attempted Break-In"
Calls to quiet a black cat on the back porch of a private residence and to investigate an "attempted break-in" at a local doctor's office comprised the total business transacted by the Mattoon Police Department Tuesday night as the city began a slow return to normalcy after more than a week of jitters in the case of the "mad anesthetist."
Doctor Forgets Keys.
Investigation of the "break-in" revealed that the doctor had inadvertently locked himself out of his office and was attempting to enter through a window to retrieve his keys which he had left in the pocket of a coat hanging in the office.
Squads of state police again assisted local officers in patrolling the city while keeping in direct communication with headquarters though use of two-way radio equipment.
Cole Amplifies Statement.
Chief of Police C. E. Cole, who last Tuesday issued a statement concerning the origin of fumes which persons have said they smalled, today amplified his statement.
Still clinging to the theory that mass hysteria resulted from gas-like smells given off at various industrial plants, Chief Cole said:
"The fumes of carbon tetrachloride or other similar chemicals did not necessarily originate at the Atlas Imperial Diesel Engine Company plant. Other industrial firms in the city also give off odors as a result of various chemicals used.
"Chemicals used in coloring leather, bleaching broom straw and cleaning clothing have fumes which may have been carried to any part of the city by changing winds.
"The nausea and illnesses suffered by 'victims' and the quick recovery of the people definitely indicate that no serious or dangerous gas was used. No signs of a serious gas have been found in any case. Dangerous gas, such as might be used in warfare, in nearly all cases clings to the ground for long periods of time. Odors smelled by 'victims' here dissipated rapidly."
Atlas Statement.
Meanwhile, Atlas officials issued the following statement:
"We deny that the strange gas, which has been described variously as having a sickening-sweet odor and smelling like gardenias, is coming from this plant.
"There is less than five gallons of carbon tetrachloride, mentioned in Chief Cole's statement, at our plant at this time, this being the amount used monthly in small fire extinguishers. We do not use a quantity of trichlorethylene in the plant. However, the fumes from it cannot be responsible for the mystery gas, for persons working in the plant would be the first to notice or be affected by any fumes. During four years of operation, during which trichlorethylene has been used, we have had not one case of sickness due to fumes. Trichlorethylene is used in practically every war plant in the country, and it seems strange if a mystery gas is put out by factories using trichlorethylene, that other communities throughout the nation have not been similarly affected.
"Our factory has recently been inspected by Dr. Kronenberg of the State Department of Health. In a telephone conversation today he said there was no possibility of trichlorethylene vapors getting into the outside atmosphere in any amount of concentration that would even closely approximate a toxic condition.
"Chief Cole's statement was a great surprise to us, as no one representing the local authorities has made any attempt to check the conditions in our factory. We seriously question that the source of the toxic gas will ever be determined by the methods which, we understand, have been used in the past."
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