The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1891-12-11
A LUNATICs BOMB.
The Terrible Alternative offered
Millionaire Russell Sage.
Give Up Twelve Hundred Thousand
Dollars DIe-FearfuI Results Of
Explosion which Fol-
lowed the Demand.


New YORK, Dec. 5-A terrific ex-
plosion occurred at 1925 o'clock yes
terday afternoon in the old Union
Trust building, at 60, II and 73 Broad
way. 1t Is also known as the "Ar-
cade-" 1t runs through to Trinity
place. and is used for egress from the
Reetor-street Elevated railroad station.
The noise and shock was frightful, and
caused panic in the entire lower part
of the city. 1t was caused by dyna.
mite bomb exploded in Russell Sage's
Office, Mr.. Sage was badly hurt, but
viii live. The man who threw the
bomb, and one of Mr.. Sage's clerks
were killed. Several others were killed.
and many persons were injured.
The explosion was the work of
fiend. whether insane or not, is yet un-
known, who went to Russell Sage's of
fee with the purpose of assassinating
him. The story is that at 1915 o'clock
a small, well-dressed man, apparently
about s5 years old, carrying a leather
bag, called at Russell Sage's office, on
the second floor of IL Broadway, and
asked for Mr.. Sage. He was told that
Mr.. Sage was busy and could not be
seen. The man persisted and contin-
ued to talk in loud tone. Mr.. Sage.
who was in an inner office, came out to
see what was the matter. He asked
the man what was wanted. The man
said:
IL demand private interview with
you.''
Mr.. Sage inquired with what he could
oblige.
The man with the satchel replied:
eve WANT" he said, slowly and dis
tinctly, ''S1, 200, 600. We want it right
here and now"
Mr. Sage started back, but instantly
recovering his presence of mind, said it
was great deal of money, and that he
would have to think about it. He knew
that he was dealing with a crank, and
was sparring for time. But subter-
fuges were in vain with this crank. He
had no time to wait, and he said SO.
I'VE cannot wait. / told your clerk
our business was urgent. The money
is wanted now. In this satchel have
dynamite, pounds of it. Unless you
hand over the money, up she goes"
| Mr.. Sage made one more attempt to
temporize. He had not got the money,
he said; Ills visitor might come again.
| At the word the man made an angry
| gesture and raising the satchel at arms
length, ''You will not?'' he said, 'then
here goes"
An explosion followed which almost
raised the roof from the building, and
Mr.. Sage was blown clear through the
4 nf
across the room. He landed in bank
of rubbish.
The persons in Mr.. Sage's office at
the time of the explosion were: Mr..
Sage, his brother-in-law, Col Slocum;
G. L. James, of z Nassau street; B. E
| Norton, of Far RoclSaway, c. w. Os-
born, of Brooklyn, and Mr.. Menzies,
attaches of the office; Frank Robinson,
of Bergen Point, messenger boy and
the bomb thrower.
When the explosion occurred there
was a great rush of air from below.
The building rocked and shook and the
floors seemed to rise up. Everywhere
The walls were cracked and big Jumps
of plaster, loosened from the ceiling.
fell with crash.
The panic in the upper stories was
something awful. People ran over and
tiampled upon each other in their mad
haste to get down the stairways. There
were two elevators in operation, both
filled with passengers at the time. How
they escaped death no one knows, fol-
the confusion was SO great for half an
hour after the occurrence that no de-
tails of the narrow escapes that many
1 - I. = hra oh
Tue scene in the wrecked Office oi
Russell Sage after the explosion was
one of ruin and chaos. The large main
office has smaller office on each side.
The explosion apparently occurred in
the main Office, and expended its force
westward toward the larger of the
smaller offices, and through it to the
Offices of the elevated railway. In Mr.
Sage's main Office the furniture was
overturned and broken. The walls and
ceilings were barred of plaster in great
patches; the little closet built under
the wash basin was wreckcd; broker
ink bottles and other Office implement:
were scattered about, and valuable
papers were strewn over the hoor
The safe lay in the midst of the sag
cing floor, agape with documents en-
closed in stout MANILA envelopes.
The office to the east, a small one
was not so seriously wrecked. Th'
plaster near the ceiling was knocked
off, and all the furniture was covereS
with plaster. The Office to the ives
was nearly as badly wrecked as th'
main Office. All the windows here, al
well as in the other two offices, wer'
broken, and the walls were in larg'
part barred of plaster.
In the offices of the Manhattan Rail
way Co. on the same floor with Mr.
( Sage's office, but farther in the rea
toward Trinity place, the shock of tn
explosion was about as severe as in tn
| front Window panes were blown out
walls and ceilings were cracked ant
everything thrown into confusion.
In the Manhattan directors room
which is in about the center of tn
building, George Gould and severa
other members of the board are said +
) have been holding an executive meet
ing. They were terribly frightened b
the noise, but none of them were hurt
Across the hallway is an unoccupie
room full of books. 1t looks out owe
the we'll under the skylight All 1t
windows were broken and part of tn
furniture was overturned while tn
floor was strewn with books and othe
debris Just to the east of the sky
light well. and across the hall fror
| Mr.. Sage's offices are the offices {
Roussell & Hicks. agents OF the Cor