Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-05-02
sssssss ssss
Cyrus W. Field, Esq,
Cor. 21st st. and Lexington avenue.
Offu


This address was written with ink In q
somewhat crsmped hand upon the back of
yellow envelope which had been pasted
upon the wrapper. There were also five
ten-cent postage stamps placed almost
exactly in the same relative position as the
stamps on the box addressed to "W. H.
Vanderbilt" This second box Mr.. Mosier
carefully placed where It could do no harm
and sent word to Postmaster Pearson. The
Postmaster received the notification at his
residence about six o'clock, and went with
out delay to the Branch office. The facts
stated above were narrated to him. After
removing that portion of the wrapper
containing the address he had the un-
opened box placed In a vessel OF water. He
then examined the mail bag, and found that
there was a rent about five inches long In
one side OF it, and upon inquiry learned
that mufhed explosion had been heard to
emanate from tie pouches, which were
| piled upon the front platform of the front
car. Just after the elevated train had left
the Ninth street station. The theory that
naturally suggested itself was that the
messenger. in moving the bags about, or
possibly in trodding upon them, had vio-
lently Jared the Internal machine and
caused It to explode.
After keeping Mr.. Fields mysterious
package In soak for fully four hours, Mr.
Pearson took it out and proceeded to open
it with his own hands. The sOftened paste
board was easily pulled apart and q powder
can similar In size and shape to the one that
had exploded was disclosed to view. 1t was
imbedded in cotton and was lying with its
bottom toward the end of the drawer that
pulled out first. At the upper end of the
box was a curious contrivance. A small
glass tube In the shape Of "V," wide at
the top, was fastened lightly by nimsy brass
clamps and pulley to the pasteboard, and
connected with II was a small glass
bulb. The tube and the bulb con-
tanned a liquid which was supposed
to be illuminate Of mercury. Carefully lift
ing the powder can out Mr.. Pearson found
that an ordinary guDpowder fuse was pro-
truding from hole punched near the cap,
and it was of sufficient length to form quite
a coil In very close proximity to the glass
tube and bulb. Fastened to the latter were
strong blue silk ribbons which extended
bsek along either side of the can and form
ed a loop at the further end by which the
drawer could be opened. The can con-
tanned about half a pound of gunpowder.
The method by which the makers of these
Internal machines had hoped to carry out.
their malignant designs was at once evi-
dent. Ignorantly presuming that Messrs.
Vanderbilt and Field would undertake to
open their boxes personally, the wretches
had planned that as the ribbon
loop at the end of the drawer
was pulled the glass vessels containing the
combustible liquid would be detached from
the upper end Of the box and crushed
against the top of the powder can, igniting
the fuse and causing an explosion. It is
extremely doubtful whether one Of these
machines would have had eufieient power
to infiict any dangerous bodily injury upon
the person opening 1t, but whether slight or
serious, the Injury inflicted, even had the
two boxes reached their destinations, would
probably have been inflicted upon some in
nocent subordinate. Had the concoctors of
this Nihilistic scheme possessed the average
amount Of intelligence, they would have
known that from Messrs. Yanderbilt's and
Fields position they are not In the habit of
opening their own mail. They do not ex-
anime 1t at all, much less bother themselves
opening it.
The lateness of the hour at which the
discovery Of this attempted mischief was
made, of course, prevented Postmaster Pear
son from making a very thorough investiea
tion of the matter last evening. He, how
ever, was able to tell from the post office
marks upon the boxes that one of them had
been brought in by collector and the other
dropped into the proper recs pfacle on the
Park Row side of the post Office. Both,
therefore, had been mailed In the first dis
trict, and the time stamps upon them
SnOWeu JndJ GneV were malleQ between
and $3.50 o'clock. The pouch containing
the two boxes was loaded, together with
six others. into wagon and taken to
the City Hall elevated railway station a lit
tie before O'Clock. 1t is a curious fact
that in the box addressed to Mr.. "Wander-
bilt" was found small piece torn from the
bottom of a German newspaper. As this
was displayed in the Pos masters office
last night one of the reporters of German
paper promptly exclaimed, "Why, that is a
piece of the Volkszeitang, the Socialists
paper" This discovery led to a closer
scrutiny Of the boxes and their contents,
and picking up that piece of the wrapper
taken from Mr.. Fields intercepted package
which contained the address. the Times
reporter pulled It's pasted folds
apart and saw the address ''No.
3l1 E. 19th-st." written in pencil. Mr..
Pearson thereupon wet the paper, and after
a while was able to pull the pieces sufi-
ciently apart to reveal the full address of
the Superintendent of Police, sc. W. Wal
ling, No. 311 East Nineteenth street, city.n
OF course, all OF the gentlemen present i'm
mediately jumped to the conclusion that
the miscreant who addressed the box to
Mr.. Field had at first thought of sending It
to Superintendent Walling.