Morning journal and courier., 1885-01-19
THE NoRwALK EXPLOSION.

The Strikers Protest That They Had
 Nothing To Do With It-Revvards
 For The Perpetrators.
 The inhabitants of South Norwalk were badly shaken up Friday night by genuine dynamite explosion which blew out the end of one of Crofut & Knapp's hat factories. The town is not large one, and it's indus tries are all focused into very small space. It was, therefore, soon discovered that the explosion had occurred in the factory of Messrs. Crofut & Knapp, the largest manu- lecturers in this hat manufacturing city, Their establishment is situated hardly more than stone's throw from the main thorough fares at the corner of Water and Tolles streets. Thither the more p1ucky South Norwalk folks wended their way. The po- lice had assembled end no one was allowed to approach the place.
 Seventeen workmen, George Younges, the engineer, Howard Knapp, son of one of the firm, and John Scott slept upon the premises Knapp and Scott had both been tbrown from their beds, where, with revolvers near at hand, they were ready for any emergency but an explosion, while the workmen had been awakened as one man at the time the noise was heard. The police dispersed the crowd and proceeded to keep watch over the factory until daylight had come. Then in vestigations followed.
 It had been an explosion of dynamite It had undoubtedly been placed upon the gran ite window sill of what is called the tip room, which faces on Tolles street, and ex- ploded by means of C fuse. The window sill, four inches thick, was shivered into atoms, portions of the stone breaking in the windows, shattering the glass in all a,. v.- rions and finally imbedding themselves in the plaster ceiling, which was riddled. The five windows in the room were completely de- streyed, the windows of the room on the sec ond floor were broken, those in the engine room, closed at hand, fared similarly, ,as did the glass in an adjoining eleesset. which was sep arated by wall from the tip room. A fence on the opposite side of the road was shatsefed, and sticking into it's wood were found the remains of an iron shell about three-quarters of foot long, which had evi- dently been screwed into an open tube some two inches in diameter. Only broken DOT. tions of these were found The damage was very slight, however, notwithstanding the force of the explosion. This ocentFsed about 100 feet from where tKo workmen were sleeping. 1t Was apparent to all that the affair Was meant to frighten the work men and not to destroy them, as the -dyna- mite could have been placed with eeua, facil- ity at the end of the builaSs.g which they occupied,
 The Common Council of the place has of fered 8 reward of $500 for the conviction of the guilty parties and the strikers co,,inittee has offered reward of $sAa The ttbosses'' have also offered reward of $500 for the conviction of the perpetrators of the dyna- mite outrage, S100 for the arrest of Austin Wilson's enemy and $100 for the conviction of those who committed the assault upon the two South Norwalk men. Gensef3dently there are rewards offered by tie strikers, the bosses and the city.
 The strikers aver that the hat manufactur- CTS did it to excite popular feeling against them. They say: 'tIf we had done that, why surely we should have done more damage It would have been the e8siest thing inc the world te have Blown mp the engine And, yoa See, not single man in the factory was afraid, even though they may tell you they were. And where was the policeman they generally hire to watch the place?"
 Men were engaged in re airing the injured factory Saturday and the place is closely watched.