Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-05-04

OAh NAC hNAAa
New YORK. May 1.-The sending of Internal
machines to Cyrus w. Field and william n.
Vanderbilt through the mails on Saturday is
the leading topic in all circles. We have had
no sensation since the war on the Andre monu-
ment to compare with it.
There has been for some years a Nihilistic
element in this city, but it has mainly hidden
itself in cellars and skunk in out-of-way places
1t is well known that it has had much to do
with the various strikes, but otherwise it has
not obtruded itself much on public notice.
When it has come out into the light, people
have only laughed at it as something that has
no excuse for being In this country, and as al
together too weak to do harm. Many are dis
posed to make light of the affair of Saturday,
and say that it was only designed to bring the
Socialists into prominence and to attract atten
ton to a ceremony that took place yesterday
in Brooklyn. This is perhaps the rational view.
But others look at the caper more seriously
They say that the German Socialists and refu-
gee Nihilists from Russia are forming
an element in the social life here that may in
time become source of serious evil There is
no doubt that these men have brought their
philosophy of hate with them and as if not
content with their larger liberty here they try
hard to feel that there is oppression some
where. When Leo Hartman the famous Rus
sian Nihilist was here Ihad aconversation with
him lasting somewhat over an hour. He said
over and over again that his mission to this
country was not to teach Nihi'istic principles
here. There was no need of a revolution in
society in this country. Wherefore did he
GOMEZ Simply to enlist sympathy for the
down-tT odden people OF Russia. 1t is not natu-
raj even for refugees to be content in watching
the fortunes of a country so far away. There
fore they must have something near at hand
to hate This they find in the capitalist. There
is no despot to kill, they will war all they can
then on the men who have money.
All the clues so far obtained point to the
Socialists as the authors of the plot 1t is not
generally believed that the machinery in any
event, were potent enough to blow either Mr..
Field OF. Mr.. Vanderbilt to atoms or to seri
ously injure them; yet the attempt points out
a new source Of danger. The leading clue is
this: that third machine was designed for G.
w. Walling, the Superintendent Of Police. Two
or three days ago the Socialists applied for a
permit to parade through the streets Yesterday
Sunday. Superintendent Walling per-
emptorily refused to grant their request. His
reason for doing so was that it would be in
satisfied, and threatened to carry out their
plans in defiance of the authorities. Another
clue is that copy Of the Folks Zietung,
Socialistc paper here. was used in the manu-
facture Of the machines all of which were
evidently made by the same hand. The one
designed for Mr.. Vanderbilt consisted of a
small flat pastebOard box with a sliding cover
metal flask was imbedded in cotton and sur
mounted by glass bulb. the slender neck of
the bulb passing down through the cork into
the flask On investigation by chemists it has
been found that the flask contained several
ounces Of gun cotton, which, when closely
packed, is several times more powerful than
gun powder. The bulb contained sulphuric
acid and on the top of the gun cotton in the
flask was sprinkled some chlorate of potash
and fine sugar. A blue ribbon wound around
the eek Of the bulb and attached to the slid
ing cover completed the contrivance. AS If to
tempt the aesthetic eye of Mr.. Vanderbilt the
ribbon was daintily looped and passed to the
outside of the box so as to form a handle All
that remained to be done on receipt of the box
was for the millionaire to insert his thumb and
forefnger in the loops, try to pull off the
sliding cover, thereby breaking the neck of the
bulb, which would have set the sulphuric acid
free to run down upon the chlorate Of potash
and sugar and Well, one can't Just say
what would have happened. Mr.. Vanderbilt
would have been surprised at least, and he
might have been exterminated. If he had been
blown to atoms what rejoicing there would
have been in Justice Schwab's cellarl The ma
chine addressed to Mr.. Field was so destroyed
by the explosion that its mechanism cannot be
so we'll ascertained. 1t was wrapped in brown
paper, and inside of the wrapper was draw
box like that Of the other machine. Both parts
of the box were fastened with brass clasps
There was also a brass canister in this box
packed in cotton to prevent premature ex-
plosion. The explosive materials were the same
as those used in the machine addressed to Mr.
Vanderbilt, and the mechanical device for
bringing the chemicals together was the same
One of the packages was mailed in the General
Office and the other was deposited in street
box in the General Post Cffice district which
embraces the downtown business quarter
and much of the territory known as the
East Side The pouches containing the
machine left the post office at a few
minutes before O'Clock Saturday after
noon. While on their way to the sub-statiouS
up town, on board the Elevated train, on the
Third avenue line, the one addressed to Mr..
Field exploded. Tho messenger was fright
ened, but fortunately escaped injury The
other machine was discovered before it reach
ed its destination by means of attention being
directed to it by this premature explosion.
There is scarcely probability that the pack.
ages would have been opened by the obnoxious
persons to whom they were addressed, had
they safely reached their destination. Mr.
Vanderbilt, for years, has had his footman open
his mail-partly through fear of some plot of
this nature and partly to economic time. The
railroad king is shy of newspaper reporters,
and only consents to meet one when he wishes
to define lis position some question of
freight rates Consequently he has refused to
say a word on the subject of the deviish devil
designed for his destruction. Mr. Field also
opens only small proportion of his letters
this service being usually performed by sec
retary or a servant He says himself that had
the package reached his house it would have
excited suspicion. So far he has refused to
say that he has employed detectives to ferret
out the conspirators The inference from
what he has said is that he has. No doubt Mr.
Field is beginning to feel that he is very much
uersocuted man. The remembrance of his
trouble with the monument is fresh. Nearly
every morning he read at his breakfast table
of another corner being blown off and he had
no end of trouble with the man whom he ar
rested for defacing the inscription
But there was a third Internal machine sent
on its deadly mission on Saturday. This was
intended for our white-haired Superintendent
of Police. 1t did not reach his house, but by
some mistake was placed in the vestibule of
house several doors away The man who
brought it put it in a dark corner behind the
storm door, touched match to the fuse and
hurried away. When the explosion took place
there was a loud report, and smoke and flames
burst through the outer door, which was stand
ing ajar young lady was reclining on sofa
in the back parlor. When she rushed out she
found the vestibule full of SIN Ike and the door
mat on fire. The noise attracted some people
passing in the street, and one more courageous
than the others picked up the box and threw it
into the street. The explosion was violent
enough to be heard by those within block or
two Of where it took place. Not having heard
of the other two machines, it was supposed by
the police and others in the neghborhood that
the box was the work of some roguish boys
living in the neighborhood
This machine differed from the others in it's
construction. A cigar box was filled with
gunpowder and cotton saturated with cbemi-
cal solution. 1t was tightly wrapped with
thin wire, and was ignited by means of fuse.
The Socialists did not attempt to carry out
their threat yesterday to parade In the street
in violation Of the Sunday law. The Superin
tendent of Police had an extra number of men
stationed in the BowerY and large reserve
force that could have been called out at a mo-
ment's notice. comical feature of the affair
was furnished by the opportune death of So
cialist at one of the hospitals An spplica-
tion was made for permit for a funeral pro-
cession, for the purpose of carrying out the
original programme. This was denied on
the grounds of a technicality. corner
stone of hall to be used for
Socialistic meetings was laid in Brook
lyn, and infiammatory speeches were
made against tha crime of ownit money
Perhaps the wisest policy is to give these peo-
pie the largest liberty. so that they will exhaust
themselves beating the air. But there are not
a few here who are indignant enough to feel
that the only just course is to trample upon
this growing evil and stamp it out
HALL~HAYNE.
Base Ball.