New-York tribune. [volume], September 18, 1920, Image 1

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
ALL MERCHANDISE
ADVERTISED IN THE
TRIBUNE IS GUARANTEED
First to Last?the Truth:
Vol. LXXX No. 20,970
??Copyright. 1020.
New York Tribun? Inc.)
SATURDAY,
News ? Editorials?A advertisements
THE WEATHER
Fair and somewhat warmer to-day;
to-morrow fair; moderate to
fresh west winds.
Full report on last par*
SEPTEMBER 18, 1920
* * * ?
TWO CENTS?
In Greater New York
THREE CENTS
Within 200 ?lie?
FOIR CENTS
Elsewhere
Red Circulars Found 3 Minutes Before Blast Link It
To 1919 Bomb Outrages; Author of Warnings Seized
Kin Seeks to
Have Fischer
Held Lunatic
?Robert Pope, Brother-in
Law, Employs Counsel
to Represent Prisoner at
Canadian Investigation
Said Morgan Would I
Die Inside a Week
Hatred of Wall Street an
Obsession ; Frequently
Made Wild Prophecies
Special Dispatch to The Tribune
BUFFALO, Sept. 17.?Edward P.
Fischer, who sent post cards from To?
ronto, Ontario, to friends in New York
City, warning them that a bomb ex?
plosion would occur in the financial
district September 15, is being exam?
ined to-night by the Hamilton, On?
tario, lunacy commission. Federal au?
thorities from Buffalo will cross-ques?
tion the prisoner and his brother-in
law, Robert Pope, of New York City,
who is making an effort to have him
adjudged insane.
Acquaintances of Fischer in Canada |
hid noticed recently that hif mind was :
In a peculiarly disturbed state. He ,
made a great number of prophecies. !
He displayed documents which purport
e?i to show that he w-as a special agent
in America for the French govern- ;
ment, and he predicted that within a
week France would be at war, but with
whom be did not say.
He told others that he had a scien?
tific formula for turning silver into
gold in three days. He told one man
that th^re would bo r,o winter this
yesr, and to another he saui. "Three |
rears ago I was going blind, but I !
cured my eyes by staring at'the sun/'
Predicted Peat h of Morgan '
Hatred of Wail Street was an obses- !
tdon with him and he had been fore- !
telling a '??.?aster there. He even
prophesied hat there would be an ex-1
plosion in t.. .tree;, and last Sunday1
Be said to a friend '*J. P. Morgan will
be dead inside of a week." His ac?
quaintances, knowing his habit of mak?
ing wiid prophecies, paid no attention
to it.
Pop?; ?eft Hamilton to-night, escorted
by government agents from Buffalo,
for New York City. New York police
and government agents will moot them
upon their arrival there in the morning.
He has been instrumental in seeking
to have his brother-in-iaw adjudged
insane and admits following him from
New York to Toronto and Hamilton.
He was with Fischer this morning when
the latter was arrested.
Acting Strangely of Late
Fischer, who spent Wednesday in ?
Niagara Falls. Ontario, was arrested
In the Bank of Hamilton this morning
on the complaint of Pope, who told the
authorities that he had been acting
strangely for several days.
Fischer is said to have left New York
several days ago for Toronto. After
bis arrival in Toronto he is said to
have mailed an additional lot of post?
cards, some of which the police believe
bave not been delivered as yet. Fischer
went to Niagara Falls the morning of
the explosion and returned to Hamilton
Thursday night. Pope claims to have
followed him from New York, and both
?en registered at the Royal Con
?aught Hotel, in Hamilton, Thursday
?:ght.
Statements Are Contradictory
Fischer, according to the Canadian
authorities, rambles in his conversa?
tion and contradicts himself at every
turn. Ifc -ays h*. held the metro?
politan tennis championship of New
York City 'or ?everal years and
?i?o c!a;;r.? to have been a sparftng
partner for Jack Dempsey, the heavy
*??'-g;ht champion.
?'ope, in defending his brother-in
>**', 'Jet-lares that the society in which
riechr-r moved would preclude his be
"ijr in con'act with any persons of the
?na-chii-t class and that he (Pope) con?
sidered it impossible that Fischer
*ou!d have come in contact with any
one who would have given him infor?
mation regarding the Wall Street bomb
?utrage. j_r; then advanced the insan?
ity theory a. a rea;on for Fischer'?
a!tog.<?th'-r too true prediction made
two woekx. ir? advance.
Dispatch'!, from the New York
rolle* Department received in Hamil?
ton th?n afternoon ?aid that an ef
jf""t to obtam Fis'-her'? deporta?
ron to New y0rk were met with
threat* of strong ooposition by his at
*?*"?*. Rooer* f?ooson, K. C, who was
retained by "Pop?? immediately after
...._ 'C?i_tliio?<I ?a pi?i t*ur)
J. P. Morgan in Scotland
Notified of Explosion
fcnard? Are Strengthened at the
Batik of England; London
Paper? f?xpreng Sympathy
From Thi Tribun*'* Kiirrrpmn tturrau
"?KM??... j*2'., ,S>w York Tribun? Inc.
J/KVJjON, Kept. 17. 3, V. Morgan,
J** '* '"' Scotland, received a full re
f?ft to-day of the explosion outside
W* oftVes in New York. The report
**? roost reassuring, St was ?aid, so
2* ?? injurie* rexult?ng from the ex
P?*?ion w#re concerned.
r^otland Yard has no evidence to
??Port the theory that, the explosion
r*? b?jt part of a widespread plot,
rrn*PJ with international ramiflca
Jj''?*. hut, n#verthele??, the city po?
il* w*r* w?rn*d that such might be
__fV*i*' ?rid the guards at the Bank
w Jr.nrland have Wr, strengthened.
aJ? i n*w*P?P*r* here published Ion?
if?! ?I* **nt *** emM* describing the
*_!?__!_ *b4 ??veral of them expresa?.?*!
WWfatfcjr *??\Uit\*\\r.
Conspira tons Expected to Destroy
Wall Street by Fire. Police Say
?_
Further evidence that the bomb plot was designed for widespread
destruction was brought out yesterday in the examination of three
rusty and battered tin cans which were picked up at the scene of the
blast.
These cans, with other odds and ends, were, turned over to the
police immediately after the explosion. Yesterday the cans were sub?
jected to a thorough inspection by experts at Police Headquarters.
The opinion first prevailed that the three cans might have con?
tained explosives. Later it was found the containers had been filled
with gasoline and kerosene. Experts were unanimous in the belief
that the plotters included conflagrations in their plans for a general
destruction of the financial district.
Inspector Lahey said the presence of gasoline and kerosene prob?
ably accounted for the fact that the clothing of many of the explosion
victims was Durned off.
. ?a?????
Five Here Were Warned That
Disaster Menaced Wall Street
-
Friends of Fischer Who Received Messages De?
clare Him an Eccentric With Red Sympathies;
Scout Theory of Complicity in Dynamite Plot
Unless Edward Fischer, the one-time tennis star, lawyer and admitted
eccentric, who warned friends in the financial district to "keep away from
Wall Street," had prior knowledge of Thursday's bomb horror, all authori?
ties agree he is the victim of a most remarkable coincidence.
Fischer, who was arrested yesterday in Hamilton, Ontario, gave no
less than five distinct warnings that a catastrophe impended in the finan?
cial district. In some he fixed the date vaguely. In others he said the
?catastrophe would occur Wednesday, and in another the man to whom
he spoke is positive lie fixed the time of the explosion almost to the hour.
Fischer's warnings are intimates of !
his whose business takes them daily
into the section where the horror oc- ?
curred. This circumstance leads the !
authorities to regard the admonitions
seriously, and the man, though painted
by all his associates and intimates as
an extreme eccentric, has become one
oi" the centers of the bomb investiga
tion.
Many Received Warnings
Among those who received cards from
Fischer urging them to avoid the scene !
of the explosion are George F. Ket
ledge, 2 Broadway; Shephard Hern?n;-,
of Prosaer & Romans, l?O i) road?
way; Captain Arnaud, of the French
High Commission, 6.", Broadway;
Thomas Delahanty, caretaker of the
West Side Tennis Club, Ninety-third
Street and Amsterdam Avenue, and T.
J. O'Neil, employed by George Lamont
& Son. at fal Broadway.
William J. Flynn, chief of the United
States Secret Service, said yesterday he
was convinced Fischer was in an in?
competent mental state, and that he
could have had no knowledge of the
crime. s Mr. Flynn indicated that he
has knowledge of the identity of the
radicals responsible for the outrage,
and scouted the belief that Fischer
could have been in any way connected
with them. Nevertheless, a Department
of Justice agent was sent to Hamilton
immediately upon receipt of word that
the eccentric had been arrested.
Other officials were less ready to in
dicatu ;? oonvietioii that tiie man of
many warnings had acted upon a
premonition. As soon as it was learned
that Mr. Homans had received one of
the eccentric's cards, the broker, to?
gether witn Edward Jiohinson. an em?
ployee of his office and a friend of
Fischer's, was summoned to the Dis?
trict Attorney's office and questioned
by Chief Assistant District Attornev
Talley.
Warniruj Sent From Toronto
The card which carried the warning
' to Mr. Homans had on the side oppo?
site the correspondence a picture of
? the City Hall and Temple Building in
Toronto. It was dated simply the
"13th" from that city. The message
read:
"Dear Shop: Keep away from Wall
Street this Wednesday afternoon.
There never was a road that didn't
have a turn. Good luck.
"(Signed) ED."
In their conversation with Mr. Tal- j
1 ley Mr. Homans and Mr. Robinson ex?
pressed their belief that Fischer is
simply a paranoiac whose delusions
tock the form of an intense hatred for
weaTth and a sympathy for what he j
termed the "under dog."
Mr. Robinson recalled that a few I
weeks ago, when the Russians ap- '
? peared to have the upper hand of Po?
land and the fall of Warsaw seemed
imminent, Fischer seemed elated and j
! advised Robinson to 'dispose of every- j
thing, a? they were gofng to blow up '
the Stock Exchange."
Mr. Robinson said he had attributed
the warning to one of Fischer's irra?
tional moments and interpreted the
pronoun to refer to the Bolsheviki,
\ then in the midst of military ?uc
; cesses.
Both Mr. Homans and Mr. Robinson
I described Fiwcher as h man of remark?
ably likable personality, kind-hearted
and brilliant when in his right mind,
(Continued on next m?)
Blast Hurls a Slug
TwO'thirds of a Mile
One of the freaks of the explo?
sion was reported to the police
yesterday. It consisted of a piece
of a broken sash weight that fell
on the ferryboat Washington, of
the Pennsylvania Railroad, at
the foot of Cortlandt Street and
North River, two-third? of a mile
from the scene of the explosion.
In order to reach the ferryboat
the missile had been hurled over
four of the city's largest sky?
scrapers?the Equitable Build*
in*, the Bankers Trust Building,
the Singer and the City Invest?
ing buildings.
Anonymous Note Writer
To Real Estate Co. Sought
Firm Warned to Dispose of Wall
Street Property to Avoid Lass
in Case of an Explosion
Government officials yesterday be- i
g?n a search for clews that might j
bring to light the writer of an anony- I
mous letter received recently by the i
W. A. White & Sons Real Estato Coin- j
pany, with offices at 40 Cedar Street. :
The firm wa3 warned that it should
dispose immediately of all its Wall
Street properties .so that it might not;
be the loser in case an explosion took
placo. i
At the offices of the real estate con
<?? rn it was said the letter had been j
forwarded to the Post Office Depart- ;
ment. The member of the (irm who
received it said he did net care o
discuss the matter because it was
being handled by government authori?
ties.
Officials at the Federal Building
professed to know little about, this
case, but it is generally understood
a renewed interest has been ?aken in
it with a view to linking up the writer
with further knowledge o! the explo?
sion in Wall Street.
"We do not ?iiU-nd to do anything
concerning the ?ester ourselves," a
member of th? real estate concern said,
"but since it might lead to a possible
clew, we hope, of course, to do every?
thing wo can to assist in clearing
it up."
Mark O. Prentiss, chairman of the
United States Clearing House of For?
eign Credits, received a postal card
several weeks ago which he turned
over to the police yesterday. It car?
ried to him a warning that violence
was to be resorted to in case certain
demands were not met. The inscrip?
tion on the card read:
"Unless you put pterling. francs, I
: marks down where they belong, at j
! once, every bank interested in foreign :
credit will be blown to pioces. I do
my work right. We will make the j
job a new way." The note was signed
"American."
Broker Offers $1,000
For Plot Arrest Reward
Prior to the passing by the Board of I
Estimate yesterday of a resolution au- i
thoii'/.ing a reward of $10,000 for evi- i
dtnee leading to th-e arrest'and con-;
viction of the person or persons guilty I
of perpetrating Thursday's explosion, ?
William W. Cohen, of the Stock Ex- j
change firm of W. W. Cohen & Co. had j
addressed a letter to Mayor Hylan of-:
fering a contribution of S i ,000 for tljis
purpose. The letter follows:
"Hon. John F. Hylan, ?
"City Hall, New York City.
"My Dear Mayor- I note in the papers
your retjuest t<> the Board of Estimate
for a fund of ?10,000 as a reward for.
the apprehension of the perpetrators of i
yesterday's (Thursday) awful tragedy
in this district.
"In the event that the Board of Esti?
mate does not make this appropriation
I I shall be glad to donate $1,000 to be
used by you as a basis for a fund for
?this purpose. Holding myself at your
service, I big to remain, respectfully
yours. WILLIAM W. COHEN."
i None Missin# in Explosion
?Boy Returns Home After Wan?
dering for Hours in a Daze
Saverio Guliano, the only person
that the Bureau of Missing Persons
still had listed as missing as a result
of the Wall Street disaater. returned |
to his home at 167 First Avenue, after!
1 o'clock yesterday morning, according
to Mrs. Palma Guliano, his mother.!
He is sixteen years old and had gone
to the financial district yesterday to
ret work in a bank. He was within a
block of Wall and Broad streets when
the explosion occurred. He wandered j
aroun?! dazed and cannot give a com- |
plete account of himself. |
"He had nothing to eat. and could
not rat when he eume home. He I
shook when ? asked hirn question.*
about thu explosion," Mrs. Guliano I
said. "Ho has given up all idea of
working In h bank, nnd he will not go
downtown ?gain. I sent him to^he
theater to-day, thinking he might
forget." ?'
Palmer Puts
Entire Force
On Red Hunt j
Attorney General Arrives
With Garvan ; Takes Per?
sonal Charge of Search
for Wall Street Plotters
_ '
Round-Up of All
Radicals Forecast
Deportation of Criminal
Alien Anarchists by U. S.
Likely Will Be Renewed
Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer
arrived in this city last night from
Washington with his assistant, Fran?
cis P. Garvan, who has charge of the
investigation of radical activities, and
took up at once the inquiry into the
Wall Street explosion. He said that he
had planned the trip to New York be?
fore the explosion, but now that he
was here would make a personal in?
vestigation.
"At present," he said, "I believe this
to be the result of a criminal conspir- !
acy. I hope that further developments:
may tend to prove the contrary?that I
it was an accident?but all the present:
indications are that it was a deliberate
outrage."
Mr. Palmer said that almost the en-1
tire field force of the Department ofi
Justice had been assigned to tasks that;
it was hoped would lord to the solution I
of the mystery surrounding the disas
ter. His department, he said, was far'
less conversant with anarchistic af-j
fairs than it was six months ago, the ?
cut of $750,000 which Congress made j
in its appropriation having necessi?
tated a reduction of one-third in the.
number of operatives.
"Criminal Act," He Says
"If it is found." he said, "that the ex- |
plosion in Wall Street was beyond ?
doubt a criminal act we may, with the :
support of public opinion, be able to
take more drastic action with relation]
to the deportation of alien criminal |
anarchists- the only class we have been i
deporting." ?
It was called to the Attorney Gen- >
eral's attention that the anarchistic
circulars found in a letter box at Cedar ,
Street and Broadway at about the time ?
of the explosion demanded the release
of political prisoners, r.nd he was asked
if he thought there was any connection
between the explosion and the appeal,
which Socialists and labor leaders made ?
to him Tuesday in behalf of auch pris- |
oner?. Mr. Palmer said that he thought
any such suspicion was absurd.
He will return to Washington to- ?
niprht. Mr. Garvan will remain her? i
until to-morrow night.
From The Tribune's Washing/on Bureau
WASHINGTON, Sept. 17. Convinced j
that the explosion yesterday in the ?
heart of the New York financial dis?
trict, in which thirty-three persons lost
their lives and 400 were injured, was
the work of radical?, the Department
of Justice to-day launched a nation?
wide hunt for those guilty of the crime.
The heads of the Department of Jus?
tice hurried to New York after they
had received information from Will?
iam J. Flynn, director of the Bureau
of Investigation in the department, that
convinced them thai, the explosion was
the result of a bomb plot.
It was said at tie department to-day
that a general round-up of radicals is
being considered, but decision as to
whether a dragnet will be thrown out;
in an effort to capture the Reds whom j
Flynn believes l> be guilty of the ex?
plosion and prevent similar crimes in :
other cities rests with .Mr. Palmer. j
The department's plans for handling |
the situation depend upon the result of;
the investigation in New York by Flynn, ;
Palmer and Garvan, it was said at the |
offices here.
Series of Bomb Plots
The bureau of investigation in the
department has the records of and in- |
formation regarding nearly every radi?
cal leader in the country, and it was '
through these records, it was stated,
that the autliorshin of a letter of warn- |
iiiR to a New York broker was placed ,
upon Edward P. Fischer, who was ar- .
rested in Toronto,'Can. Fischer, it was
slid, has been under surveillance for j
some time.
In .government circles the explosion
is regarded as being another of a
series of bomb plots that started with
the attempt to blow up the homo of j
Attorney General Palmer here about j
a vear ago. The bomb in that case was
placed several feet beyond the build- ?
ing line and outside of the Palmo*' !
house.
The local police declared that since |
the placing of :ho bomb at the Palmer
home the radicals who wer.' in Wash?
ington at the time have fl?td. They ;
were, unable to withstand the close
surveillance. Inspector (.?rant, of the
Detective Bureau, declared, and went ;
(Contlnusd on next page)
CLASSIFIED ADS
Accepted until
8 P. M. TO-DAY
for Sunday's
NEW YORK TRIBUNE
Karly copy is sure of inser?
tion. Send your ads in early
for Sunday's Tribune.
?Phone Betkman 3000, or go
to any of The Tribune's
Want Ad agents?conveniently
located in all parts of '(.reater
New York at newsdealers',
stationery and cigar stores, etc.
Death Threat
In Missives
Of Anarchists
Postman Finds Sheets in
Mail Box Only Two and
a Half Blocks From
Broad and Wall Streets
Flvnn Sees Series
*/
Of Red Outrages
Release of All Political
Prisoners Is Demanded
in Scarlet Lettering
?????.
William J. Flynn, chief of the Bu?
reau of Investigation of the Depart?
ment of Justice, at the Hotel Astor last
night made public five circulars, print?
ed in red lettering, which were found
at 11:58 a. m. Thursday in a mail box
at the southwest corner of Cedar Street
and Broadway, n distance of two and
a half blocks from the scene of the e:.
plosion.
The circulars measure eleven by six
inches and are printed on white paper.
They are sirrned by the "Fighting An?
archists of America," and read: "We
will tolerate the imprisonment no long?
er. Free the political prisoners or it
will mean death for all of you."
Carrier Finds Circulara
On two of the circulars the word
"prisoner" was spelled "prisoneir."
Chief Flynn declared that he was of
the opinion that those who dumped
the circulars into the mail box were
responsible for the bomb explosion.
He said further tnat he did not be?
lieve that the explosion was directed
against J. P. Morgan personally, but
that the bomrj was placed at Wall
and Broad streets because this corner
is the acknowledged center of the
financial world.
The circulars were found by a let?
ter carrier, who turned them over to
Captain Cochran, chief of postoffice
inspectors. The circular; had not been
placed in the box when it was opened
by the letter carriers at 11:30 a. m.
Department of Justice officials re?
called last night that the pi.k circulars
which were wrapped with bombs mailed
to government officials during the
spring of 1919 were signed "The Fight?
ing Anarchist:-;." Fragments of these
circulars were found at the home of
Attorney General Palmer nfter the
bomb explosion there. Some of the
circulars were prepared by Andrew
Salsedo, the anarchist, who leaped to
his death last May from the four?
teenth floor- of the Park Row Building
to the sidewalk'.
No Doubt of Cause
Twelve hours after Flynn had begun
his investigation of the explosion,
he said positively that it had been
caused by a bomb.
"A bomb ?? nothing else." declared
Chief Flynn yesterday. "There is ab?
solutely no doubt of it, and, knowing
this much, we can proceed toward the
placing of the responsibility. We know
that the wagon destroyed in front of
the United States Assay Office carried
the bomb and we know further that the
man who had been driving the wagon
could not have been more than six min?
utes' walk from the spot where the
explosion occurred. It is difficult for
us to say more about these phases
of the case until later.
"We expect the shoes removed from
the feet of the dead horse to help us
in finding the owner of the wagon.
We also believe that we will be able to
obtain important evidence from livery
stables."
Flynn Holds Conferences
At 7 o'clock yesterday morning Chief
Flynn was standing at the corner of
Wall and Broad streets, making a gen?
eral survey of the situation. Through?
out the day he was in conferences with
financiera, government officials, city
and police officials, inspectors of va?
rious governmental departments and
explosive experts. Chief Flynn de
,clared that to-day the Bureau of In?
vestigation hopes to know definitely
just what kind of bomb was used.
Expert metallurgical examination of
bits of iron found in the financial dis?
trict was hastened with a view to ob?
taining this information.
The fourteenth floor of the Park
Re w Building was abustlc with activity
all day and throughout last night. The
biggest force of Federal agents operat?
ing from the Park Row headquarters
since the close of the war is at work.
Chief Flynn declared that the Wal!
Street blast would not be the cause of
a general round-up of Reds in New
York City anil vicinity. Various gov?
ernment officials intimated that pre?
vious round-ups had resulted in much
criticism and that because of this
criticism some really notorious and
dangerous radicals had been given
their freedom.
The Department of Justice officials
do not attach much importance to the
purt Edward Fischer played in the
bomb mystery. They said they were
convinced that Fischer had no knowl?
edge of an impending disaster and that
(Continuad *n paoe thret)
Davison Halted by Police
On Way to His Office
Member of Morgan Firm Per?
milled to Pass Guards After
Disclosing Identity
Henry P. Davison, of J. P. Morgan
_fc Co., had difficulty in gaining access
to his office yesterday. The Morgan
building was guarded closely by police,
and when Mr. Davison tried to force
his way through the crow?l to the
building shortly before 4 o'clock in
the afternoon polio-men stopped him.
After Mr. Davison made himself
known he was permitted to pnss.
Mr. Davison, who was head of the
American Red Cross during the wnr,
joked about the incident, saying that
perhaps he ought to visit his office
oftener to become bitter known to
thon? who are guarding it.
Bomb Is Exploded in
Genoa Stock Exchange
LONDON, Sept. 17.?A time
bomb was exploded at the Stock
Exchange in Genoa to-day, says
a dispatch to the Exchange Tele
graph from Genoa. Some dam?
age was done, but there were no
casualties. The authors of the
outrage were not arrested.
City Reward
! Of $10,500 in
Bomb My
$10,000 Offer for Evidence!
Leading to Conviction \
and $500 for Identity of !
Owner of Blasted Wagon
?-.? ?
1 Slugs May Supply Clews
! - |
! Metal Such as Used in
Expert Explosive Cases
Found at Disaster Scene
The Board of Estimate at a special
j meeting yesterday offered a reward of
? $10,000 "for the apprehension and ar
I rest and the furnishing of evidence
; sufficient to warrant and secure the
I conviction of the person or persons
; guilty of causing or perpetrating the
! disastrous explosion" in Wall Street.
; An additional reward of $500 was to
i any person who would give informa
i tion leading to the identity of the
: ownership of the hor.~e-drawn wagon
I which it is supposed carried the e:<
; plosives.
When the Mayor introduced the
i resolution providing for the reward,
j Borough President Henry H. Curran
? of Manhattan suggested that it be
! made $25,C00. The Mayor explained .
| that the other members of the board !
1 agreed with him that $10,000 was
i enough, but that it could be added to,
! if necessary. The additional reward
I was ?ftere! at the sujnrestion of Major
| F. H. La uuaiuia. President of the
Board of Aldermen.
Resolution Offered by Mayor
The Mayor's resolution follows:
"Whereas, on September 16, 1920. a
disastrous explosion of high explosive
? substance occurred at or near the
j corner of Wall Street and Broad
Street^ in the City of New York, as a .
i result of which many lives were lost i
? and many citizens were wounded and ;
! maimed ; and
| "Whereas, it is the opinion of the i
i members of this beard that no effort ,
1 should be spared in promptly de?
termining the cause of the explosion,1
and that if it be found that the same
Mas th? result of a criminal purpose
and plot, that immediate and effective,
steps should be taken for the detec?
tion, apprehension and conviction of
the person or persons responsible for
this heinous act; now, therefore, it is ;
"Resolved, by the Board of Estimate \
and Apportionment. That a reward of
$10,000 be, and the same hereby is,
offered for the apprehension and ar
rest and the furnishing of evidence \
sufficient to warrant and secure the
conviction of the person or persons :
guilty of causing or perpetrating the ;
aforesaid act.
"Further resolved, that an award of |
I $500 be offered and paid to any per- ;
son or persons furnishing: the Police :
'? Department with information leading]
I to the identity of the ownership of ,
? the horse-drawn wapon which was? de- i
' stroyed at the time of the said ex- ;
? plosion." !
Fail to Trace Wagon
Fire Commissioner Thomas J. Dren
nan submitted a preliminary report to ?
the Mayor and the board on the inves- ?
tigaticn made by the department of the ;
explosion. The report was prepared ;
by the Commissioner, Fire Chief John I
Kenlon, Dr. William F. Doyle, chief!
of the bureau of tire prevention, and
Thomas P. Brophy, chief lire marshal.
The report did not :?tate a definite j
conclusion as to the cause of the ex
; plosion except that it apparently oc
curred in the horse-drawn wagon in
I Wall Street which was blown to atoms.'
I Fragments of the wagon recovered. I
! however, showed thr.t it had red run?
ning gear, according to the report, but
a thorough check-up on the companies
'hand?ng and transporting explosives
: determined that the wagon did not be- j
long to them. ?
The. report says that the iron slugs, i
resembling window sash weights, found ?
at various points where the force of
the explosion was felt, had "evidently!
'been fused with an intense heat," and
probably cut into slugs by a high- j
I powered iras burner. Pieces of sheet |
'metal resembling tin wer'' found in |
! the debris similar to metal lining I
jsuch as is used in the construction of ;
export cases for high explosives, ac- ?
cording to the report. The report fol- ;
j lows:
"A preliminary examination of the!
i physical conditions at the scene of the
'? explosion indicates that it apparently j
; occurred in a horse-drawn, covered
! wagon in Wall Street, on the north
j side, east of Nassau Street, at a point
| almost opposite an entrance to the
? Cnited States Assay Office.
''The explosion blew the wagon to
fragments, disemboweling the horse and
shattering windows within the vicinity,
particularly damaging both the interior
and exterior of the offices of J. P. Mor* .
pan & Co., on the corner of Wall an.l ,
Broad streets, and the United States
Assay Office.
Automobile Tossed Into Air
"On the opposite side of the street
there was a five-passenjrer automobile,
license 242-4fi, New Jersey, 1920. car
registered 73,789. Simultaneously with
the explosion this automobil? was
(Cantfaued as next pat?)
Ne?<! OflW H?!r>T Wlileuwukr work- !
er? and executives reail The Tribune. '
Phone raVelutiuti 3(100- nnil (tlvo \our ad?
vertisement or pluce U thmiiR-h any of The '
Tribun.- Want A?l Agents -conveniently lo?
cated |n ,|| parts 0{ Oroator "Ne w V..ik-??- '
1 Advl.
stery
Horse and Wagon Give Clew
To Perpetrators of Disaster;
Country-Wide Hunt On
33 Dead, 400 Injured
Ed P, Fischer, Held iii Canada,
Is Widely Known as a Radical:
City Offers $10,000 Reward
An announcement made last night that a letter carrier had found
threatening circulars signed "Fighting Anarchists of America" in a mail
box at Cedar Street and Broadway just three minutes before the Wall
Street explosion on Thursday and only two and a half blocks from the
scene, gave ground for suspicion that the same gang which sent bombs by
mail and otherwise to public officials fifteen months ago, sent the wagon
load of explosives and slugs to the Sub-Treasury.
Wherever one of the bombs exploded in the summer of 1919. bits
of a red-printed circular entitled "Plain Words" and signed "The Fighting
Anarchists" were found.
Aside from the exploration of devious anarchist trails, the chief
tasks conironting detectives yesterday were the solution of the mystery
shrouding the warning messages which Edward P. Fischer sent to his
friends before the event, and the tracing of the horse and wagon which
conveyed the mine to the center of the financial district.
Fischer is under arrest as a lunatic in Hamilton, Ontario. His
brother-in-law, who delivered him to the authorities, declared that it
was ridiculous to suppose that Fischer was in the confidence of dynamiter.:.
His theory was that Fischer's mind war. in such an abnormal state that
io was particularly sensitive to telepathic influences, and he sent to his
friends the warnings which his mind gathered from space as a wireles:.
set collects the gossip of the sky.
The fact remains, however, that Fischer, whether he was admitted
to the councils of Bolsheviki here, frequently espoused the cause of Sov.t.
Russia in conversation with his friends. One of his earliest utterance?
concerning a disaster in Wall Street was delivered in the course of such
a talk. He had been discussing with an employee in a friend's brokerage
office the succes?es of Soviet troops in Polish territory and advised him to
sell whatever securities he had as next "they would blow up Wall Street."
In Canada, Fischer made a number of extravagant statements and
predictions. He insisted to friends that J. P. Morgan would be dead
within a week.
Time of Explosion Fixed by Fiseher
Such a statement alone would be without significance, but Fischer's
later notices, though expressed sometimes in the vague and incoherent
cern?s o? a man whose mind is beyond his control, were so definite in
stating the time of Wall Street's punishment as to arouse the interest of
investigators, though just far enough from being absolutely accurate as
probably to absolve Fischer from actual complicity in the outrage.
The death roll of the explosion mounted yesterday to thirty-three, all
but one of whom have been identified. It was estimated that at least four
hundred persons suffered injury in some degree.
Chief Flynn of the Department of Justice declared that there was
"absolutely no doubt" that the wagon, which some witnesses said flew a
red flag, carried an infernal machine. His statement that the driver was
v. ithin six minutes' walk of the Morgan offices at the time of the explosion
led to the belief that Federal detectives have picked up his trail.
He made public anarchistic circulars found in a letter box at Broad?
way and Cedar Street at 11:58 a. m. Thursday, just three minutes before
the explosion. The circulars were signed "American Anarchistic Fight?
ers" and commanded: "Free the political prisoners or it wiil mean death
for all of you."
Federal authorities believe that an organized ganj: of anarchists con?
ceived and carried out the plot. The "Flying .Squadron" of the Depart?
ment of Justice, which formerly confine;! its, activities to the prosecution
of profiteers, has been put on the trail of the dynamiters.
Thomas J. Tunney, ex-Polite Inspector and organizer of the bomb
rquatl, declared that at least half a dozen men were conversant with the
details of the p!oi^ and that the immediate task before detectives was to
iracc the horse and wagon. Fragments of the wagon were collected at
headiiuarters.
They indicated that the vehicle was a \enerablc one, probably twenty
years in service at least, and was designed for a butter and egg cart, such
vehicle.-, it was explained, having an unusually wide box in order to accom?
modate crates of eggs in tiers of rive.
Information received by the police indicate;: thai the driver of the
bomb wagon was about thirty-fivt or forty years old. He was dressed as
_ laborer, wearing brown overalls that were splotched with white, and ?
slouch hat. The driver is said to have had a growth of beard. Wit?
nesses agree that a red flag hung from the rear of the wagon.
Grand Jury Investigation Ordered
Judge Wadhams of Genera! Sessions charged the grand jury ta
investigate the explosion with a view to determining whether a crime had
been committed, whether existing laws provided an adequate safeguard
against a recurrence of such a ?.usa s ter, and whether there had been anji
negligence in enforcing the law. The grand jurors visited Broad and
Wall streets with Assistant District Attorney Tailey.
Exactly twenty-four hours after the explosion which marred thi
Sub-Treasury with its hail of iron slugs, the Sons of the American Revo,
lution held exercises on the steps of the building to commemorate the lo_>c
anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution. More than one hundrce
thousand persons were present.
Trading on the Stock Exchange, the Curb and the Consolidated was
resumed at the usual hour, and revealed an unshaken confidence in th?
future. Almost 1,000,000 shares changed hands in the Stock Exchange
It was the biggest day's trading since August 9, and except for a few
minutes' irregularity at the opening, prices had a marked upward trend
The Board of Estimate and Apportionment, on the resolution o\
Mayor Hylan, offered a reward of $10,000 for information leading to th?
conviction of those responsible for the explosion, and an additional rewar?
of $500 was offered for information as to the owner of the horse an?
wagon.
Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer arrived from Wa Mngton las