The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-12-29
4 DAsrARp1Y DEED.

W i
a Bomb Thrown into the Milwaukee
street car PIant-vaIuablo Property
H~arasd-rhs watehman'g story.
MILWAUKEE,, WIS, DEC. 2s-At two.
O'clock this morning a bomb was
thrown into the main building of the
south side plant OF the milwaukee,
street railroad company. There was q
tremendous explosion and in a moment
the interior Of the building was in a.
blaze. In a few minutes the fire was
beyond control, and IN less than an
hour the entire plant was consumed,
entailing q loss OF $4,000.
The street railway company's south
side plant is located on Minnikennic
avenue. It includes the immense stor-
age stables for electric motors, tho ma
chine shops and the stables. In the
barn were so new electric motors and
nearly all the summer cars owned by
the company. The machine shops were
built the past season and were fitted
with very fine machinery for the re-
building and repairing OF cars. In the
stables were 90 horses, but these were
gotten out alive. The car stored in the
building were valued at S350,000, while
the structure itself is worth at least
$4,000. The machinery is valued at
fully SIS, 900, while the stores OF the
company were kept in the building and
were worth $4,000. The insurance
carried was on the building and
amounted to S4,0O0. The barns which
were destroyed were the principal
depot Of the company and the fire
greatly cripples the company. Who
the man is who threw tho bombis not
known. Ho is supposed to be the fire
bug who has started fully q dozen
other disastrous firos within o month.
A grand jury will be summoned to
investigate.
Tho only person who saw the alleged
bomb thrown was Night Waterman
Worden. He says that he was standing
near the main doorway Of the barn in
which the motors and cars were stored.
There was a whiz OF something through
the air, a flash and q tremendous ex-
plosion. 1fthere was a bomb thrown,
which many doubt, 1t came through the
main doorway and struck the car near
est this entrance. The projectile must
have beon filled with some highly in
famable substance, as hardly ten sec
onds elapsed, according to the night
watchman's story, till the building wa
in flames. Manager Lynn, of tho conf
pany, is convinced of the truthfulness
Of the watchman's story. That there
was an explosion everyone in tho
neighborhood will testify. There was
nothing of an explosive nature about
the plant, and the electric current was
not on, the machinery at the power
house not being in operation.
Investigation to-day shows beyond
doubt that the fire which yesterday de.
stroyed two ltanneries, causing loss OF
S259,000, and by which two lives were
lost, was ineendiary. This is also the
case with the two fires on Sunday, when
SIPS, 600 worth Of property burned.
Manager Lynn places the loss on cars
alone at 100000, This afternoon
Mayor Somers issued a proclamation
Offering a reward of $500 for the arrest
Of the persons who started any of the
fires beginning with the great conta-
grafton Of October 20, or who shall start
any fires in the city within the next
thirty days. It has also been decided
to at once add 100 special policemen to
the regular force for night service. II
the incendiafies are arrested it will re-
quire militia protection to prevent a
lynching with the excitement running
as high as it does to-day.
To-day two more bodies were found
in the ruins OF the tanRery fire yester-
day increasing the number of lives lost
to four. One body is that of Stephen
Treatler, a tanner. The other has not
been identified.
To-day a number OF insurance agents
representing leading companies re-
ceiyed orders from their several COM
panies to cease writing insurance on
manufacturing plants in Milwaukee,
The fire bug who is operating in Mil
waukee has cost the city over S5,000,0O0
in two months.
A meeting was held by the Chamber
OF Commerceat noon to-day when q
committee Of six were appointed to
arrange for a mass meeting OF citizens
to be held tomorrow to take action on
incendiarism.