The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1885-08-08
AN INCENOIARY FOlLED.


Most Diabolical Attempt to Fire Build
ing, in Which Were Fifty Sleeping In
mates, Fails to Connect-Duuted AioO-
hol Proves "A Poor Conductor of Fire.
NEW YORK, August about eight
months ago Frank Sclacca, an Italian
barber, who is also known as Frank Lilly,
moved from Chatham street to 26 Canal
| street. where he started well-furnished
shop with five chairs and four assistants.
He charged but five cents for shave and
ten cents for hair-cutting, and he soon
had plenty OF customers. Joseph Cara
bella, youthful ellow.countryman OF
Sciacca, got permission to establish a
boot. backing stand in front of the bar
| Der shop on condition that he would
sweep out the premises every morning,
and the key OF the barber-shop door was
entrusted to him When Carrabella went
to work out his rent this morning, he
saw smoke curling through the cracks in
the door of the shop. He called a police
man, who kicked in the door, They
found little pile of saw-dust shoulder
ing on the floor. 1t was damp from the
alcohol with which it had been soaked
A wide strip of muslin which had
also been wet with alcohol connected the
smouldering sawdust with four of the
chairs. Other strips connected the chairs
with the rack of light woodwork along
the wall containing the shaving-cups.
Between the chairs lay heaps of shavings,
through which ran the train of alcohol
soaked muslin. The fifth chair, which
was a little distance from the others,
was also connected with the sawdust by
a similar train, which ran across piles of
paper in the wash-basins. On each chair
| was an alcohol-soaked towel, and other
towels similarly soaked hung upon a
baby's chair and an ordinary cane-bottom
chair in another part of the shop. Half
open drawers filed with shavings and
waste paper and everything in the shop
that would burn were connected with
the smouldeIing saw-dust By aco-
hol-soaked muslin. An empty
gallon demijohn and several
big bottles that had held the alcohol
were scattered about the shop Evident
ly the alcohol had been diluted with wa
ter, which had dampened the muslin and
sawdust, so that in place of burning it
had only smouldered. There was full
bottle of kerosene near the empty bot
ties. What little fire there was in the
sawdust was easily trodden out, and
Chief Kehoe of the Tenth battalion ex-
amined the cellar under the barber shop,
which is occupied by Samuel Cohen, a
soda-water maker. He broke open the
door without difficulty and found even
more dangerous preparations for burn
ing the premises than existed in the bar
Der shop. Big wooden boxes, which
were excellent kndling, half filed
the room. hole was cut in
the gas pipe near the gas meter,
from which the gas was rushing.
From hole in the floor of the barber
shop board on which was train of
fash powder, the kind used in making
fire works, extended to the gas meter.
Nearly two pounds of powder was in the
train and there was big double handful
under the meter. The plan of the incen-
diary was evidently to lead the fire which
he had started in the shop above to the
meter by means of the train OF powder
III OrQer 10 cause du explosion WHICH
would destroy all evidence of his crime.
The police believe that Sciacca is the in
cendiary. He is known to have been In
the shop late on Friday night, and, con-
trary to his custom, shut up the premises
himself in place of letting Carrebella do
it. He went away about ten O'Clock, but
is supposed to have returned just before
daylight to lay the match to the train
which he is thought to have spent the
previous evening in laying.
Although convinced that Sciacca is the
sole incendlary and that he got into the
soda water factory by breaking in,
the police put Mr.. Cohen and Solomon
Faymann, his assistants, under arrest
and took them to the Madison Street
Station. Lawyer Adolph Cohen went to
the station-house and endeavored to see
them, but Captain Heddon would not
permit him to and refused to give him
any satisfaction whatever; the lawyer
subsequently obtained writ of habeas
corpus from Judge Cullen and had the
two prisoners brought before the court
in the afternoon. No reason being given
for holding them, Judge Cullen imme-
diately ordered their discharge.
Had the attempt at arson been success
full LARGE loss of life must have resulted.
The building is a five-story tenement.
Nearly fifty persons sleep in 1t. Had
the incendiary scheme succeeded the eX-
plosion would have shattered the stairway
and those in the upper stories must have
persisted