The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1891-12-12
Weekly l~ntelligencer
A FIEND AND A BOMB.
TERRIBLE ATTEMT ON THE LIFE
OF RUSSELL SAGE.
In Perpetrator al Escaped LunatIo Who
Demands SI.25O. 900 of Mr.. Sage and
as the Latter Turns Away IA Bomb
Expiodes with Awful Results.

New York, Dee. 5.-Russcll Sage, the
millionaire broker, escaped death by Il
miracle yesterday, but at least two per-
sons were killed and many injured, his
office and the entire Empire building, in
which it was, being shaken to its founda-
ton by the explosion of u dynamite bomb
hurled by u crank who made u demand
upon him for the immediate payment of
81, 250, go, 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 metropolis is it
probable that an event has occurred that
for the time caused more excitement in
Wall street and lower Broadway. Fully
80, 900 people were drawn to the scene and
for an hour the police were pOwerless to
bring order out of the chaos.
1t was twenty-five minutes past l2,when
the explosion came, with Il force that was
absolutely startling, completely wrecking
the second floor of the building, throwing
pedestrians on the street TO the ground
and startling people for blocks around.
Those who were close at hand saw a
man blown through one of the windows OF
Sage's office into Rector street.
A few minutes later Mr.. Sage himself,
with blood streaming from his face and
hands, was helped out into the street and
taken to O'Connelrs drug store, just be-
low Wal street on Broadway. There also
was carried the man blown from the win
dow.
Just inside of the door of the general
office was found the trunk of a man in a
state that rendered recognition nearly i'm
possible, the head having been severed
from the body. A pointed, reddish beard
gave the appearance of an educated man,
which was enhanced by the brown curls
of the hair and the heavy mustache that
adorned the upper lip of the dead one.
When the body was taken up it was found
TO have been torn into shreds by the ex-
plosion.
The interior of the offices plainly showed
that the force of the explosion was some
thing terrific. All the partition walls were
blown down and the sashes and window
frames forced outward. The ceiling had
been ruined and the floor driven down
ward, rendering it unsafe to walk upon.
Desks and chairs were overturned and
hurled into an incredible mass and every
piece of glass in the big air shaft that ran
TO the roof was shivered into thousand of
particles.
But one person had been killed outright
the man with the pointed beard. He is
supposed to be Fl. ID. Wilson, the mar that
made the demand for the money from Mr..
Sage and the one who threw the bomb.
Benjamin F. Morton, who was blown
through the window, a clerk in the office
of Mr.. Sage, was removed to Chambers
street hospital, were he died in forty min
utes, while under operation for fracture OF
the skull. The deceased was q resident OF
F'ar R~ockaway, l.. l.
The following injured were taken to the
hospital:
Frank Robertson, % years old, living at
Bergen point and employed as 4 clerk for
Imbre g. Co, brokers. He was in Sage's
office at the time of the explosion. His
skull was fractured and he will probably
die.
Charles w. Osborne Russell Sage's
cashier, 1876 Berkeley place, Brooklyn, frac,
tured skull; will probably die.
Samuel j.. Calhoun, clerk, of l65 Deane
street, Brooklyn, lacerated wounds on
head
William II Laidlow, who vas in the
building at the time, received a fracture
of the leg. He was taken to St. Vincent's
hospital.
Colonel j. j. Slocum, a brother-in-iaw OF
Mr.. Sage and his chief clerk, was badly
cut about the head and face.
Russell Sage made the following state,
ment to Inspector Byrnes:
~ came out of my office, having been
sent for. l found there a man with q
satchel. He handed me a card bearing
the name of II. d. Wilson. He said he
came from John D.. Rockefeller and al
the same time handed me a type.
,r,riftnn Iattnr ~ panIn1 nnNyaInnn
1t was addressed to me. / opened
it and found that it was 6
demand upon me for the payment of 81, ESQ.
0G0. The letter stated that if the money
was not given up at once to the presenter
of the letter that he would blow me-, him
self and the entire office up with dynamite.
L read the letter and placing it in the en-
velope handed it back TO him and turned
to go into my private Office, when the ex
ploSion occurred"
Russell Sage saw the head found In the
debris and identified it as belonging to the
man who had come to his Office and de
manded the money. Inspector ByrneS
took the CHASTITY, CORY head in u basket tC
Mr.. Sage's house and together with DR..
on the second floor. The instant the
magnate, who was lying in bed, saw the
conference.-the said That's the head o.
the man." The Identification was com
plete. Inspector Byrnes sent the head tt
the morgue.
TIL story of the attempt on Mr.. Sage's
life goes far back. Russell Sage, ir., talked
freely about it. He said that Mr.. Sage
had received three or four threatening let
tiers signed by one James Walsh. In one
of them the writer demanded 81, 20J, 600
why that sum MIR. Sage could not say
The recent troubles between President
Andrews of the New York steam heating
company and the Standard gas light com
pany now anne into play in the case. A
large part of the stock in dispute be
longed to the widows, Spinola anC
Mannheim. These women, Walsh sait
in his letters, he was about to marry. He
therefore demanded money TO put him OIL
their financia level. Mr.. Sage paid no at
tention to him. Mr.. Jay Gould was also
attacked in the letters and denounced IL
abusive terms. The writer threatened
Mr.. Sage's life, but no attention was paid
to il, as all who knew about the letter:
believed him TO be u harmless crank. Thu
result is known and Mr.. Sage has beer
made an object of the dynamite fiend.
ALBANY, N. Y, Dec. 4-The dynamite
crank is thought to be Hiram ID. Wilson,
appd AZ an eScaned luuatic