St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-09-12
DESPERATE STRIKERS.
Dynamite Used by the ex-Bmployes OF the
Lake Shore and Michigan South
ern Railroad.
The Signal Tower in the Outskirts OF
Chicago Shattered by the POWER
full Explosives.
Narrow Escape of the Night operator
From sudden and Violent
Death.
A Switch Thrown Open In an At
tempt TO Wreck Passenger
Train.
Lives Iuperiled.

Lives mpeTtteu'
Chicago, Sept. 1.-THE war against
the Lake Shore Railroad company in the
town of Lake has broken out afresh. this
time i'm a new and dangerous manner
The latest method is the use Of explosives
and an attempt to destroy the property OF
the company might have involved the loss
of life. A few minutes before II o'clock
last night, James Calvin, the night oper-
ator, was sitting in the signal tower OF the
Lake Shore company, at The intersection OF
the main and stock yards tracks. Inc tower
is thirty feet high. and in IL is machinery
nv which the switches. signals
and gates for long distance along the line
of the road are turned. Calvin was alone
in the top of the tower and had noticed
nothing unusual, when he was suddenly
startled by seeing a column of smoke arise
at one side of the structure. 1t was bright
moonlight so that he was aware OF the
nature of the cloud in an instant and
moment later his little room was COM
petely filled with binding smoke, which
almost suffOcated him. Calvin started to
rush down the stairs to investigate the
unusual phenomen)n AS he reached the
landing below
A DEAFENING EXPLOSION
took place. At that moment Calvin saw
the figure of tall, slender man dart away
from the building. The man ran west
toward the stock yards and was lost III the
labyrinth of cars which covered the tracks.
At this instant an explosion occurred; Cal
vim was thrown TO the ground with intense
force and his hat was blown off his head
and through a window. Such was the
force of the explosion that a number of
tools were lifted from the floor and
crashed through the windows. Calvin did
not lose Consciousness, and, after pulling
himself together, rushed out on the tracks.
Officers Donovan and Costello were on
guard at the time at the Root street cross
ing. They heard the defamation and ram to
the tower where they found Calvin terri
blv frightened. Then a search of the
tower was made, and it was rewarded by
the finding of a twenty-inch piece of shat
tered gas pipe
There was also package of something
which looked like cotton, which had been
soaked in some kind of dark liquid. Smoke
was coming from it, and bright sparks
were thrown off. A bottle containing what
is supposed to be an acid was picked up near
by. The door of the signal tower was
ajar and the dangerous explosive had been
thrown onto the floor. The explosive
SUdtl6IGu
In the cellar are the batteries used
for the electric signals. There
were 100 cells in the room, and of
these thirty-four were broken. Not only
this. but the pneumatic tubes, also used in
signaling. were torn and twisted. and the
whole system was entirely ruined. 1t will
take thousands of dollars to repair the
damage. When daylight came another
search was made for more explosives
There is little shed at the rear of the
tower. In this small bundle, supposed
to contain another explosive, was packed.
1t was wrapped in paper and tied with a
black cord. 1t was soaked in some sub
stance and was laid in an old mattress.
THE POLICE WERE AFRAID
to open it and it was removed to the town
hall. Calvin had only been in charge of
the tower a little while, having relieved
William Nevins. What makes the attempt
more dastardly is the fact that the outward
bound passenger Train No. II was due at
the town few minutes after the explosion
occurred. The theory of the police
is that the wreckers hoped to blow
up. the tower. and as the passenger
train came along to throw a switch,
and thus the train would have plunged
into the mass of freight cars that lined the
sidetracks. The explosion would have
done greater damage had the door been
closed after the package was ignited. There
were also other attempts at destroying
property on the Lake Shore road Last night,
one of which was successful, the other Ie-
sulting in the arrest of the man concerned
in the affair. About 8 o'clock last night
the Lake Shore road received from the Hi
nOis Central train of twenty-eight cars.
While these were being taken over the Root
street crossing
A SWITCH WAS THROWN OPEN
after about half the cars had passed. caus-
ing a general wreck. Fifteen of the cars
were derailed. and although no loss of life
or serious damage resulted, the contents of
the cars were badly shaken up. About
midnight John Fagin. an eX-swltchman of
the Lake Shore, was arrested at Fifty-thrd
street, Just as he was about. it is charged,
to throw a switch, with the purpose of de-
railing a train drawn by Engine No. 533.
The arrest of Fagin was made by one of
the PinkertOn officers, who are still
guarding the Lake Shore tracks at
that point, the prisoner being taken to
the Harrison street station and locked up.
Fagin was seen in his cell this morning.
His explanation of the affair is as follows:
In company with man named Murphy,
who is also an. eX-Lake Shore SWitchman,
he was walking along the tracks and
claims that neither of them noticed the ap-
preaching freight train until it was so close
to them that they were separated by it.
He saws that when arrested by the Pinker-
ton officers he was looking under the train
as it passed to see if any harm had come
to Murphy.
THE LAKE SHORE OFFICIALS,
when they heard of the artempt to blow up
the signal tower. were greatly exercised.
Supt Amsden immediately went to Fortieth
street to make investigations. The officers
of the road know nothing of the circum
stances except what they had heard from
meager reports. w. II. Mcintosh, chief of
the detective force of the company, this
morning said that up to yesterday the at
tempts to destroy the property of the COM
pany had been confined to points at some
distance north and south of the Forty third
street yards. The police had confined them
selves to a surveillance of the points at
which these attacks had been made, and the
signal tower had been left entirely unpro-
tected. Mr. Mcintosh further stated that
he was sure he knew who committed the
outrage last night, and that he would have
them ali under arrest within fOrty-eight
hours. He has sent out all the available
men under his supervision, and a deter
mined effort to apprehend the perpetrators
Is now being made.
They Shot a Deer.
PROSPECT HOUSE, n. Y, Sept. IL
Late last night arrangements were COM
IL l.