River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1888-07-19
pYNAMITERs ON TRIAL.
The Alleged Conspirators Against the
Burlington Road Hauled Over the Goals
Damaging Evidence Against Them.


The Alleged Conspirators Against the
Burlington Road Hauled over the Goals
Damaging Evidence Against Them.
CHICAGO, July 14-The preliminary ex-
animation of the men who are under arrest
on the charge of having conspired to de-
stroy the property Of the Chicago Burling-
ton & Quincy railroad with dynamite, is
in progress before United States
Commissioner Hoyne, in this. city.
The principals are j. q, Wilson.
Thomas Frederick and John Bowles. 10
custody and closely watched are Alexander
Smith who is said to have "squealed -,
J. II. Baureisen and George Cooling. They
are charged with violating section $3.50
Of the revised statutes Of the United
States. The statute itself is, inoffensive
enough. as it simply provides for imposing
fine upon persons who shall carry ex-
plosives upon any vehicle which runs be-
tween States. This, however, was
simply the pretext upon which the
men were arrested. The real OH
iect of the Burlington, whose Ell
ployes the prisoners had previously
been, and the United States, was TO show
that dynamite plot existed among the
brotherhood of engineers and firemen,
which, il carried out, would entail the de-
struction of vast amount of property and
the probable loss of life.
The proceedings began at II o'clock a.
N. District-Attorney Ewing outlined the
prosecution in his opening address, in
which he said he thought it would appear
from the evidence that on the Goth Of May
dynamite cartridge was exploded BY the
passage of train near Aurora; another ~
South Aurora on the l4th of June. The first
explosion broke the fiange of a wheel
The evidence, he said, would show that a
few days before the explosion Bowles went
into Hoge's room and showed him dyna-
mite cartridges and talked with him about
the use of explosives. After that Bowles
met Smith and told him how dyna-
mite could be used. On the Doth Of
May Bowles showed Smith a cartridge
similar to those found is possession of the
defendants. Mr.. Ewing then said that
Smith and Bowles drove a few miles out Of
Aurora, and that the latter alighted from
the buggy and put the cartridge on the
track, and that it exploded Just be.
fore they got back TO town. A few days
afterward Bowles told Smith that he was
gong TO get more cartridges and would
leave some Illuminating caps with him.
Bauereisen afterward told Smith that
Bowles had left a package for him,
which Smith obtained. June II Bauer
eisen asked Smith if he had set
of any of the cartridges. "No, not yet
was the response ''This would be good
night TO do it," replied Bauereisen. That
night Smith set off one of the cartridges at
South Aurora and told Bauereisen that no
had done so.
About July 5, it was stated the evidence
would show that Smith met Broderick and
was sent by him to Godings house to OBJ
taf., a Il.
Cooling gave him four cartridges, contain
ing about half pound of dynamite Smith
took them to the brotherhood hall in
Aurora and delivered them. tie met
at the hall Broderick, Bowles, and
Bauereisen, and told them that the pack
age was in the ante room. Tho evidence,
j was said, would show that Broderick
Bowles, Wilson and Bauereisen shortly
afterward left the hall and took the train
for Chicago. The three first named were
arrested en- route, and dynamite cartridges
were found in their possession.
Samuel c. Madden, agent of the Atlas
Dynamite Company. was placed on the
stand and explained the composition of
dynamite and Illuminating caps. John J.
Kelly, locomotive engineer, was the next
witness. He said that in May he was sec
rotary to Cha rman Hoge, of the Locomo-
was asked If he had ever seen dynamite at
the headquarters of the committee at the
Grand Pacific Hotel in this city. He said:
There was package there said to contain
dynamite. Bowles was the man who brought
II in and it was opened in the presence of
HOge Fowler, and myself. Then Mr.. Bowles
took some caps from his pocket which he said
were used in exploding the dynamite. Bowles
bad five or six cartridges, and spoke of going
Eultnu az q In "a
that he put it on the rail and kept it in place
by sheet lead"
At the afternoon examination Kelly told
the court that all the time Bowles visited
Hoge with the dynamite there was a man
named Fowler present. He made a
memorandum of the circumstance at
the time, beca,zsS ne knew il was
contrars 90 the rules of the brother
hood for any member to contemplate
measures of violence. He denied that he
had been promised his liberty or any thing
else for testifying in these cases, and he
did not think the prosecution of the con
spiracy charge against him would be
dropped. He was in the custody of the
police voluntarily and because he deemed
it best TO tell all he knew of the facts in
the two cases.
Thomas L. Lloyd, hardware dealer at
Noblesville, Ind, identified BOwles as the
man who mad on three different occasions,
between the latter part of May and the
latter part of June, visited his store, each
time purchasing about five pounds of dyna-
mite or Hercules powder, with caps
and fuse. Lloyd's story was cor
roborated by Andrew +. Barnes, his clerk,
who said he had sold Bowles dynamite on
ut least two different occasions.
When Bowles visited Noblesville he was
in the habit of stopping at the house of
man named Sapper, who lived a mile and a
half from the town. Thomas Jester, who
also lived with Sapper was called to the
stand and told of Bowles' visits. He swOre
that on one occasion Bowles boosted in his
presence that he was "going over to Cres-
ton Ia, 10 raise little hi among the
boys"
Kirk Howe was the last of the damaging
witnesses from Indiana. He is a clerk I'M
store at Westfeld. He positively identi-
fed Bowles as the man to whom he had
sold eight sticks of 3D. dynamite some six
weeks ago. He described accurately how
he packed the dynamite and the fuse in
wooden candy box and delivered it TO
Bowles He examined one of the cartridges
with the three men on July 5, and said il
was the same in appearance as that sold by
him.
This box is in possession of the railroad
officials, but they did not produce 1t, as it
is to be used as evidence in the trial Of the
Hoge conspiracy case. 1t is thought 10 be
the receptacle in which the dynamite was
carried into the Grand Pacific Hotel.
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