The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-15
General Impression that the Outrage
Was Committed by the Fenians.
The Earl of Morley DeplOres the Fact that
the Efforts to COnciliate ireland Are
Not Met in Proper Spirit
THE LONDON EXPLOSION.
The Bridge Not Damaged-NO Clew to the
Perpetrators.


that no injury whatever had been done. Nothing
could be found about the bridge to indicate that
an explosion had occurred The police have
discovered nothing likely to assist them in their
inquiries The heads of the detective depart
ments were comforting with the Home Office DUR
ing the entire day. The absence of any clew is
paralyzing the action of the police, who were
unable to tell the nature of the explosive used.
1t appears that the explosion occurred nearer
the Surrey end OF the bridge than was at first
supposed, and yet most of the houses damaged
were on the Mddlesex side, where windows
were smashed as far as Billingsgate market
Several panes of glass were broken in Fishmon-
gers Hall, but otherwise the building received
no damage. Several square off a lofty glass
screen in Cannon-street depot fell to the platform,
greatly terrifying the passengers in the build
ing although nobody was injured.
Had the outrage been carefully planned, and
had the perpetrators intended serious mischief,
which is doubted by the police officials. the re-
suit must have been appalling. London bridge
is known to be the most thronged thoroughfare
in the world. 1t is estimated that $4,000 people
from the the London, Chatham & Dover rail
way station alone pass to and fro on the bridge
daily Four lines of vehicle traffic are with diff
6eulty kept moving by policemen stationed with
in a yard of each other, and the sidewalks are
proportionately crowded for eighteen hours
out of the twenty-four. On Saturday business
houses in the city close at an earlier hour than
other week days, and toward evening
there is a perceptible diminution the
the usual crowd. To this circumstance
alone many persons unquestionably owe their
escape from injury. A year ago the nOminally
strong patrol stationed between the city and the
Southwark side was doubled in consequence of
the threats by dynamiters, but, at the end of
three months. the scare died away and the extra
force was withdrawn.
On the railway bridge short distance above,
all became confusion Trains ceased running
for the time, and general Generalization, last
ing for ten or fifteen minutes, reigned supreme
The newspaper offices, in Fleet street and vicin-
ity, next became the centers of attraction.
Amateur reporters pushed their way into
counting and editorial rooms, anxious to
know what had happened Others related
narrowing tales of the horrible sights they
had seen, the number of buildings which
had been blown up, or an exact account of the
condition of the arches of London bridge which
remained standing. Experts from Scotland Yard
estimate that while the damage was slight, at
least fifty pounds of dynamite must have been
used to cause an explosion so great as to smash
windows on both sides of the river, and put out
gas-lights for a space of at least a quarter of a
mile. They astounded at the small damage
done, and assert that perhaps other series of
circumstances than those which providentially
,rie4 4n1 . fnar AoNf1 III.
trifing q catastrophe, coupled with so potent n
cause. 1t is not at all likely that the police will
succeed in making any arrests, as they have long
relaxed all precaution against overt acts of
this description, except in the vicinity of the gov
ernment buildings proper
A policeman who, at the time of the explosion,
was standing on top of the steps leading to the
steamboat pier, on the Surrey side of the river
with his back to the stream, says ne saw |
binding glare of light. like sheet-lightning,
which was followed by Il terrific report He was
almost stunned, and his helmet was blown some
yards away by the concussion. He ran to a DO
lice station and gave an alarm, and after
ward the river police were making as minute an
examination as possible of the buttresses of the
bridge and the wharves on each bank of the
river. Their search, however, was fruitess.
Daylight showed that not single stone had
been displaced by the shock. Taking this fact
into consideration, the experts are unanimously
of opinion that the explosive agent used was
thrown over the bridge. and exploded in the air
or striking the water Towards noon, how
ever, wharfer informed the police that "A few
minutes before the explosion he saw boat CON
tanning three men, under the arch the Surrey
side He took particular notice of them,
thinking they were river police, and did not see
the boat afterwards 1t is supposed they pro-
ceeded down the river.
The police this afternoon learned that piece
of charred sGcking, about foot and a half
square, had been found on one of the buttresses
and are now of opinion that the explosive was
nj ilI1ta ba oa1l Of
the damages to the extraordinary air currents
beneath the spans.
The newspapers throw light on the explo-
sion most all the statements bein- surmises
The Telegraph says THE newest Fenan out
TRACE falls far below its predecessors in actual
that gunpowder, and not dynamite, was used. 1t
is noteworthy fact that Saturday
was the seventh anniversary of
the Clerkenwell explosion. The windows in the
building of Rollins & Co.. American merchants,
suffered severely. customs officer states that
after the explosion he observed a small steam
launch, carrying one mast forward, pass at q
high rate of speed down the river. Strangely
enough at the time of the explo-
bes were watching the bridge from a
boat, precaution which has been adopted
nightly for the past two years. They saw
nothing before the explosion to arouse their
suspicious, and made minute search after
wards, but could discover nothing of suspicious
character. Some witnesses three distinct
flashes. Several horses drawing heavy loads were
thrown to the ground Engine-drivers sitting
in q shed in Cannon street were hurled
from their seats Persons passing the
bridge at the time of the explosion say a column
of water thrown to a great height, drench-
ing people.
During the stampede on the bridge woman
was Knocked down by cab. This was the only
case of serious injury. One account of the ex