Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1892-07-27
WORK OF A CRANK.
Attempt to Kill III. c. Frick, Chairman
of the Carnegie Company.


made yesterday afternoon TO assassinate
| Henry Clay FricR, chairman of the Car
negle Steel Company, limited. His as
sailant was Alexander Berkman, a Rus
sian Jew, who came here from New
York with the evident intention of re-
moving the man who has been the prin-
cipal on the employers side in the
! great struggle now going on between
capital and labor in this city.
1t was few minutes before o'clock
when dark-cOmplexioned young man
with a Jewish cast of countenance. of
medium height and fairly we'll dressed,
entered the elevator in the Chronicle
Telegraph building, which is also occu-
pied by the Carnegie Steel Company,
and asked to be let off at Mr.. Tricks
Office. The young man had been fire.
quent visitor during the past few days
and David Fortney, the elevator boy,
thought nothing of the request, but
stopped at the second floor and
pointed out the way to the chairman
private room. Two minutes later the
occupants of the building and passers-
by on Fifth Avenue were startled by
three pistol shots, fired in rapid sue
cession. Intuitively the victim was
OWNED, and "Frick is shot" were the
words soon passing from mouth to
mouth on TIE street. 1t was true. A
man believed to be a crank had as
sailed the great steel master, but the
| latter, Notwithstanding two bullet
wounds and four ugly gashes from a
dagger, still lives and will probably re-
cover.
As was his custom, Mr.. Prick took
lunch at the Duquesne Club at noon
and returned to his office at 1870
o'clock in the afternoon. The Office of
Mr.. Leishman, business partner of
Mr.. Tricks, adjoins that of the chair
man. Mr.. Leishman came in and the
two were holding a private conference,
no one else being in the room. A few
minutes before 2 o'clock the Office boy
noticed man hastily push open the
swinging gate in the railing that runs
between the public portion and the en-
closure where the desks of the officers
and clerks are located. There was no
one near the private Office door, and
the boy hurried up to ask the intruder
what he wanted, but be was too late, as
the stranger had already entered the
private apartment. AS he entered the
office, Mr.. Prick looked up, as did also
Mr.. Leishman, to see who it was. Mr..
| Prick was examining a bundle of
papers.
The man sprang within about five feet
of Mr.. Frick and, quickly drawing his
revolver, pulled the trigger, brit the first
cartridge did not explode; the second
entered the back of Mr.. Tricks neck
and, glancing downward, passed to the
outside below the armpit. Mr.. Frick
made an exclamation and jumped to
the circular window on Fifth Avenue
and tried IN vain to open it. The as
sailant passed quickly in front of the
desk and, approaching close to Mr..
| Frick, fired again. The ball entered the
muscles on the left side of the neck and
passed around to Judgment under the
right ear, where it was later reached by
| the probe. At this instant Mr.. Leish-
man threw himself on the would-be
assassin and Wrestled for possession of
the revolver. Lelshman clutched the
| barrel and turned the muzzle upward
as the cartridge exploded, the ball en-
tering the plastering near the glass par
| tition.
With agility the desperate man drew
| dagger and attempted to stab Leish-
man, who was holding the assailant by
of the steel, and, although staggered by
the shock Of the wounds and bleeding
| profusely, jumped between the men
| and seized Berkman's arm. The latter
freed himself from Lelshman's grasp
| and plunged the dagger into Tricks
right side just above the hip. making an
ugly wound three inches long. He
made another plunge. This time the
knife struck struck higher up, but the
point struck a rib and glanced down
without inficting much of an injury.
Twice again was the knife thrust at
Frick, but he was merely scratched by
struggle was in full view of those on the
street. In a moment the assassin was
overpowered and taken away. That he
was prepared to end his own
life, however, was developed la
ter. At o'slock the prisoner,
in charge of Supt. O'Mara, In
spector Mckelvy and Detectives Shore
and Coulson, was taken to the gymna-
SUM in the station yard to be photo
graphed. Seated in the chair, the only
action of the young man that indicated
any nervousness was a peculiar move
ment of the Jaws. This aroused the sus-
picion of Police Surgeon Meyer, who
afterwards made search and found a
small shell in the prisoners mouth.
The desperate man refused to open his
mouth and it was necessary to choke
him till he was black in the face before
he would give the shell up. It was
taken 10 the establishment of Arthur
Kirk & Sons where it was announced
to be dynamite cartridge of the same
kind used by Lingg, the Chicago anarch-
list, to kill himself.
Mr.. Prick slept we'll during the night
and rested easily to-day. His tempera-
ture is 80, and he seems to be quite
cheerful and confident OF his recovery.
A curious thing was that another cut
was discovered to-day, which was
missed in the examination made Satur-
day. It is in the left leg, just below the
calf, and has almost severed the ten
dons. He complained of pain in the
leg, but his attendants imagined that it
was of the other wounds he spoke. 1t
was, OF course, carefully dressed, and
relief followed.