Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1891-12-09
THE WRONG MAN KILLED.
A. Lunatic Dies in an Attempt on the
Lie of Russell Sage.

A. Lunatic Dies in an Attempt on the
Lie of Russell Sage.
New YORK, Dec. Russell Sage, the
millionaire broker, escaped death by al.
most miracle to-day, his office and the
entire Empire building, in which 1t was.
being shaken to it's foundation by the ex-
plosion of dynamite bomb hurled by q
crank who made a demand on Mr.. Sage
for the immediate payment of 81 ,250,-
600, the ultimatum being, in case of re-
fusal, the death of the millionaire, the
crank himself and those employed in
the Office. Seldom in the history of the
metropolis has anything occurred that
for the time caused more excitement
in Wall Street and lower Broadway.
Fully sc, 900 people were drawn to the
scene of the explosion, and for an hour
the police were powerless to bring ORDER
out of the chaos
The officer of Russell Sage were on
the second floor of the building Nos.
SO, 71eand Is broadway, situated on the
southwest corner of Rector Street,
overlooking Trinity churchyard, and a
stones throw from Wall Street. 1t was
just 1922 when the explosion
came, completely wrecking the
second floor of the building, throw
ing pedestrians in 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 OConnell's
on Broadway. There. also, was
carried the man blown from the win
dow. Within ten minutes after the ex-
plosion, DR.. A. P. Mum, the physician
Of Jay Gould, was at the side of Mr..
Sage, and personally attended to his
Injuries, which proved to be not Of a
serious nature. The hair and eyebrows
of the millionaire were burnt and his
face and hands cut by small particles Of
glass and plaster, the result OF the ex-
plosion.
Mr.. Sage, though suffering from the
shock, made the following statement
while his wounds were being dressed:
"a man who gave his name as II. ID.
Wilson came to my office just now.
had never seen him before. He had q
carpet-bag in his hand and said: If you
will not give me $1,250,000 | will
blow you all to pieces know nothing
further except hearing a great ex-
plosion, falling on the floor and re-
gaining consciousness here. The man
lying on the floor of this drug store is,
L believe, the same one who asked me
for the money" When Mr.. Sage's
wounds were dressed he was taken in 8
cab to his home.
The interior Of the offices plainly
showed that the force of the explosion
was something terrific. All the parti-
ton walls were blown down, and the
sashes and window frames forced out
ward. The ceiling had been blown down
and the floor forced downward, render
ing 1t unsafe to walk upon. Desks and
chairs were overturned and hurled into
an indescribable mass, and every piece
OF glass in the big air shaft that ran to
the roof was shivered into thousands of
particles.
But one person had been killed out
right-the man with the pointed beard.
He is supposed to be III. D. Wilson, the
man that made the demand for money
from Mr.. Sage, and the one who threw
the bomb.
Benjamin f. Morton, a clerk in Mr..
Sage's office, who was blown through
the window, was removed to Chambe
Street hospital, where he died at 80,
while under operation for fracture of
the skull. The deceased was resident
of Far Rockaway, L. I. The following
injured were taken to the hospital:
FRANK ROBERTSON, 20 years old, living
at Bergen Point, and employed as clerk
for ln.bre q Co., brokers. He was in
Sage's office at the time OF the explosion.
His skull was fractured, and he will prob
ably die.
CHARLES w. OSBORN, Russell Sage's
cashier, 1917 Berkeley Place, Brooklyn, frac-
tured skull; Will probably uie.
SAMUEL j. CALHOUN. clerk, of 165
Deane Street, Brooklyn, lacerated wounds
on head.
WILLIAM r. LAIDLOw, who was IN the
building at the time, received a fracture of
the leg. He was taken 20 st. Vincent'S
Hospital.
Col j. J. Slocum, brothe1-in-law of
/ Mr.. Sage, and his chief clerk, was badly
cut about the head and face, and when
his wounds were dressed returned to
the scene, declaring he had left the
door of the safe open and was fearful
that the sureties in it had been blown
out and lost. Quickly gathering to-
gether what he found, placed them in a
small safe and had it removed to the Of
fee Of the Manhattan Railroad Com
pany.
Late in the afternoon the fremen
found among the debris a leg which was
thought to be that Of a woman. Wheth-
er it is or not has not has not been dis
covered. Russell Sage never employed
woman typewriter, and as this fact is
well established the supposition is that
if the leg is that of d woman it is all that
is left of one of his 'put and call" Gus
toners, who was in the office at the
time.
Tho coroner made an examination of
the mangled remains of the man found
in Sage's ellice, and from the mangled
mass Of flesh and clothing took a seven
chamber bulldog revolver, This was
all that could be found by which an
Identification could be made. What
was left by the explosion of the mad
mans body-at least it was so labeled
and accepted by police and coroner
was laid out in Undertaken Dutf's Office
at 80 Greenwich Street.
1t was not much. The head was
there. blackened, but neither cut nor
disfgured in any way. 1t was cut off
at the top Of the neck and looked like
the mask of man 80 or 40 years old.
with full beard, that might have been
long, but was now burned close to chin
and cheek. Then there was leg-the
right, the left foot, one hand, and that