New-York tribune., 1885-02-11
PRICE THREE CENTS
DID DYNAMITE CAUSE TT
MYSTERIOUS NOISES In "A PLAYHOUSE.

MYSTERIOUS NOISES In A PLAYHOUSE.
TIE soNCY PRoNoUNCED UNsAFE-Is THERE
CONSPIRACY TO DRIVE OUT THE TENANTsf
For some weeks the tenants Of tbe Soncy fat
house, at No. SO West Fifty. seventh-st. have been
annoyed and alarmed by frequent dull explosions
apparently in the walls of the building Their
origin could not be discovered. and rumor gained
currency that the place was haunted and the ten
ants began to leave il. Complaints were made to ].
b. Tallman. of No. 341 West EIgbteenth-st. tho
owner of the building who at first pooh-poOhed the
matter; hut the complaints continued and when
the tenants began to depart the matter became
serious, and he resolved to make an investigation.
He stayed in the house several nights, heard the ex
plosions, and came to the conclusion that they
the result of dynamite and that Daniel Collins, who
was the ianitor of the building. but who two
months ago discharged for attempting to collect
bill. as he had no right to do, was at the bottom
of the trouble The mysterious sounds were heard
on an average two or three times day, and while
they were distinctly audible all through the house.
they were more violent the top floors and on the
east side of the house.
The Soncy is q seven-story building and is o
rather pretentous fat house; 1T is elaborately
decorated on the outside with two rows of bay
windows running from cellar to roof 1t Is an ex-
pensive dwelling place, and Is only inhabited by
well-to-do people. 1t is arranged with two series OF
apartments on each floor, making rooms for
fourteen families Eleven of the flats were occupied
up to last night. One of the unoccupied apartments
is that on the east side of the fifth floor. On Nom
day night Mr.. Tallman, with friend named Salli-
van who occupied it, resolved to find out positively
the nature of the explosions. They took clean
sheet OF paper and put it in the fue OF the chimney
in the room and waited. About $50 o'clock they
A. ,,ntao and fali mana
from the 1ue, they found that it was covered with
PARTICLES of mortar which had been disodged from
the chimney mixed with quantity OF light, black,
carDonzed stuff, which Mr. Tallman was not able
to recognize, but which he thinks is the remains Of
dynamite cartridges.
Satisfied from his inquiries that plot was on foot
to drive his tenants out of the house. even IL the
destruction of the house was not intended. Mr. Tall
man determined to set close watch and detect the
guilty persons if possible. II unsuccessful he would
call in the police. The result Of his investigations
was communicated to the tenants and the panicky
feeling subsided. Most of the complaints regarding
the noises came from j. E. shaw, proprietor of the
Grand Onion Hotel and j. II. Storms who live on
the top 6oor as it was in their apartments that tho
explosions were most frequent and severe.
In the meantime some of the tenants had become
alarmed and made complaint to the Bureau OF
were sent from the Bureau to make an invcstga-
t.on Their report said that the rear walls of the
buildng were settled and cracked in places and
that the window sills aud lintels were broken. In
their opinion the wall was unsafe, and needed I'M
mediate repairs This report was printed IN some OF
the afternoon papers, and when 1t WAS read in the
Soncy there was a renewal In an intensified form OF
the previous panic All of the persuasons AMI pro-
testatons of the owner that on his word as
practical builder the wall was perfectly SAFE were
of no avail and there general clearing out OF
the building last evening large pc,s s;n ,Se
| house, hut they slept elsewhere:
The Soncy WAS finished about two y'ars ago. and
was built under the personal supervision OF Mr..
TalIman the owner, who is himself abuilder OF long
| experience. When asked by TRIDuNE reporter
| about the report OF the examiners, iii. altman
1t would be absolutely impossible for the walls
of the Soncy TO settle. personally superintnded
the work and like all the buildings III that part or
| the city, the foundations are built on solid rock.
The walls at the bottom are two feet ionr inches
thick. and are twelve inches thick at the, top. AS
for the broken windOw-sills and lintels, any
practical builder will tell you that they are found
in all big buildings and signify nothing believe
that the mysterious noises when nave oeen sSara
The ground tor my belief may be briefly stated. !
discharged my old janitor. David Collins, about
two months ago, for good cause At the time
was told that he made the threat that by May
| would Lot have tenant IN the house. Two
weeks later began to get complaints from my Ten.
-
explosions of distant guns and whici were ACCOM-
panied in some cases by a slight shock. For
while paid little attention to the complaints,
thinking that they were imaginary; but after
awhile they became numerous u at made up
INV MIND 10 investigate the affair. The result OF
nv investigations makes me confident that Collins
has succeeded in getting some OF the servants the
honse to enter into conspiracy to accomplish MS
revenge byGroppng small dynamite cartridges down
the ues in the unoccuped apartments, and as these
are on the upper floors the noises were more ire.
onent there than on the lower floors. think the
work was done simply to frigbten away the tea
ants and not with the idea of doing any serious IN
jury" u, .. .ho .r.;r.
1t was about six weeks ago that we first began TO
hear the noises I'm the house. They sounded some
thing like the dull, smothered report Of Q
gun Complaints wert made to Mr. Talman,
but AT first he didn't do anything When he DID
make an investigation he gave an explanation Of
the affair that quieted fears for the time, bue
the noises still continued. They were heard some.
times as often as two or three times day. When
the paragraph appeared IN the papers this after
noon. stating that the building was unsafe, coa-
ciuded that wouldn't sleep in the place until the
matter settled"
MIR Tallman owns a considerable amount OF other
fat-house property IN the upper part OF the city
including the Winfield and Rockland houses