The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-12-05
Refusal OF a Loan OF Over Million
Followed by q Terrific
Crash.
The Crank Had Exploded a Dyna-
mite Bomb With Most
Awful Effect
Indescribable Scene OF Confusion
and Terror in the Busy
Street.
The Bomb Thrower Torn Into Frag m onts
by His Own Device Mr.. Sago
Not Seriously Hurt.

by His Own Device Mr.. sago
Not Seriously Hurt
| NEW York. Dec. 4.-Russell Sage. mil
| lionaire broker, escaped death by a miracle
| to-day. His office and the entire Empire
building, in which it ia located, boing
shaken to the very foundation by the ex-
| plosion of a dynamite bomb, hurled by
crank who made demand upon Sage for
the Immediate payment of $l,250,000, the
ultimatum being in case of refusal the
| death of the millionaire, the crank himself
and those employed in the office. Never in
the history OF the metropolis has an event
| occurred that for timo caused more ex-
citement in Wall street and lower Broad
way. Fully $1,000 people were down to the
scene of the explosion and for an hour the
police were powerless to bring order out OF
chaos. 1t was just 1920 when the explosion
came with force that was absolutely
startling, completely wrecking the second
floor of the building, throwing pedestrians
| in the street to the ground and startling
people for blocks around. Those close at
hand saw q man blown through one of the
windows of Sage's office into Rector street.
A few minutes later Sage himself. with
blood streaming down his face and hands,
was helped out into the street and taken to
| O'Connelrs drug store. just below Wall
street on Broadway. There also was carried
the man blown from the window. Within
ten minutes after the explosion DIR. Mum,
the physician of Jay Gould, was at the side Of
Sage and personally attended to his injur-.
les. which proved not to be of a serious ma
ture. The hair and eyebrows of the mil
lionaire were burnt and his face and hand
hurt by small purticies Of glass and plaster,
the result of the explosion. Sage, though
| suffering from the shock, made the follow
| ing statement while his wounds were being
dressed:
"a man, who gave the name of II. y.
Wilson, came to my Office just now. [ had
never seen him before. He had carpet
bag in his hand, and said: If you will not
give me 81, ,250, 900 will blow you to pieces.
knew nothing further, except hearing
great explosion, falling on the floor and re-
gaining consciousness here. The man. ly-
ing on the floor of the drug store is, be-
leve. the same ono who asked ME for the
! money"
| When Sage's wounds were dressed he was
| taken in a cab to his home. Outside Of the
door everything was confusion. Men lost
! their heads and rumors of the Widest kind
| filed the air. Twenty we're said to have
| been killed and injured and from the build
| ing tiremen led or carried dead and injured.
Ambulances were summoned from three
hospitals and soon the streets around were
solidly filled with struggling mass OF per-
Sous, all eager to see the scene OF the disas-
ter.
When the police arrived in force the
building was quickly cleared Of all persons
and search made in the wrecked offices.
just inside of the door of the general
Office was found the t.unk of man in a
possible. the head having been severed
from the body. A pointed. reddish beard,
gave the appearance of an educated man,
which was enhanced by brown ourls Of hair
and a heavy moustache that adorned his
upper lip When the BODY was taken up it
was found to have been torn into shreds by
the explosion. The interior Of the offices
plainly showed that the force OF this explo- |
sion was something terrific. All the parti- !
tion walls had been blown down and sashes
and window frames were forced outward. |
The ceiling had been blown down and the /
floor forced downward, rendering it unsafe
to walk upon. Desks and chairs were
overturned and hurled into ali indescrib
able mass, and every piece OF glass ia the
big air shaft that ran to the roof was
shivered. A search quickly showed that
the body of u man with pointed beard was
the only one among tho debris. In the
meantime, crowds in the street grew larger,
elevated trains from up town bringing |
thousands to the scene, all lmpeiled by
curiosity. For an hour confusion reigned,
then tho police found their heads aud some
thing like correct list OF killed and in
jured WAS had. But ons person had been
killed outright. the man with the pointed
beard. He is supposed to be Il. d. Wilson,
the man that made the demand for money
from Sage and threw the bomb.
Benz. Il. Morton, who was thrown through
the window, is IL clerk in the Office He /
was removed to the Chambers street hospi-
tai, whsre he died soon. The following in
iured were taken to the hospital: Frank
Robertson. 20 years old. clerk for Imbre "
Co., brokers. He was in Sage's office
at the time Of the explosion. Ills skull is
fractured and he will ,prohaaly Die. Chas
W. Osborn, Russell sage's cashier. frac..
tured skull, will probably die. Samuel
Calhoun, who was In the building at the
time received II fractured leg. Col. ]. Y.
Sloonm, brother-in-law OF sage and his
and face and when his wounds were dressed
he returned to the scene, declaring that he
had left the door Of the safe open and was
fearful the securities In 1T had been hlowh
out and lost. Quickly gathering together
whnt he found he placed them IN small
EaTG ana lnu III F9InOVbQ tO tllb 0lllGp VI LILO
Manhattan Railway company III the same
building.
In the afternoon freman found among
the debris leg, thotght to bs that OF
woman. Whether it is or not has not been
Sage never employed y woman
typewriter and IA this fact is we'll estab
lished, the supposition il that ii the leg IL
that of a womun, it il all that is left of one
of his put und calP' customers who was In
the Office ut the time,
Chas. James, d railroad man aud resident
of Chattanooga, Tenn, had I'M appointment
with slge at II O'Clock, and had mn expert
enoe that he will never forget, He says.
II called at Sage's office Mt ~ o'clock and
found him out, A seat WAS offered me in
the main Office near desk. took IL and
waited Sage's return. Sitting on q banoh
near the wall Inoticed u man. perhaps tive
hat and had pointed beard and heavy
brown ruoustRahs. About l2;I6 Sage oAEna