The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-12-29
BOXED DEVILMENT.
THE INTERNAL MACHINE SENT TO
ANTHONY CoMSTOCK.
Nearly Exploded by One of the Clerks
Description of the Engine of Death
The Police Investigating the
Mystery.

NEW YORK, Dec. 29.-The clerks and Gus
toners who were in the salesroom of the
American Tract and Bible society at $50
Nassau street, shortly after noon Friday had
a narrow escape from injury and perhaps
death A box containing an internal ma
chine was half opened by one of the sales
men, and would have exploded but for the
bunglng way in which the spring had been
arranged Fortunately, the man suspected
there was something wrong about the pack
age, and, after tearing the pa
per covering from it, laid it aside, and sent
for Anthony Comstock, whose Office is in
the same building, to examine it. Had he
lifted the lid of the small box within it
would undoubtedly have exploded, but his
delay in some way disarranged the ma
chinery. There were about two dozen Gus
toners in the store at the time, but when
they heard of the mysterious package they
took hasty departure, and the clerks gath
cred in a little knot at the further end of the
| room.
| Mr.. Comstock Immediately recognized
what the box was designed for, and began
| to tear it apart He pried the bottom off
| and calmly removed the deadly works
within.
| The box is a square paper-collar box. Com
! pletely covering the explosives was thin
piece of picture-backing board, one end
| of which was a piece Of wood one inch
square, in the center of which was a
| fuse surrounded by seven matches At
the bottom was lever working on pivot,
and piece Of sandpaper was so arranged
that it would be drawn over the matches by
the pivot and thus ignite them. The fuse ran
into a bottle containing about three-quarters
Of pound of powder, while next to it was
an ounce phial of nitric acid. Around all of
this stuff was closely packed a quantity of
broken glass mostly in pieces half inch
square
The effect of the explosion, had it occurred,
can be better imagined than described II
would undoubtedly have resulted in loss OF
life to many and serious injury to others in
the store. For some unknown reason the in
ternal arrangements did not work when the
clerk began to open it. and he
had not gone far enough to ignite
the matches before be stopped. The matter
was instantly called to the attention of the
police, but though they work on the case all
day no definite information of the perpetra-
tors of the outrage has as yet been obtained.
The box was brought TO the store by boy
who stood unsuspectngly while it was being
opened. He was afterward detained by the
police as witness The package was ad
dressed simply Bookstore, $50 Nassua street,
and the boy stated that was giver
him by a man at the corner of LIE
roy and Hudson streets, about midway from
the society's place He said that he had
never seen the man before, and was to have
received p cents for his services on hi
return. The detectives went to the place
but could find no one answering the descrip
ton given by the boy, who described hin
and mustache, and wearing a large overcoa
and Derby hat
Mr.. Comstock, when questioned about the
outrage said: Il think it was sent to the
society by some infidel who hoped to Great,
sensation and thus start an agitatior
against the religious people. There arr
many cranks among that sort of people, anC
believe it was one of them who sent tht
machine. don't think that it was intended
for me. There are many who would like (.
see me out Of the way, but don't think they
would go as far as that. "
The officers of the tract society are at
loss to understand why any one should try +
injure them in the way attempted No on
except the employees could be harmed by th
machine, as none of the officers would hav
opened the package in the ordinary course O
business. The machine is now in the hand
of the police