The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-01-06
PERFECT BOMB MAKING.
Europern Anarchists Experts in the Sci
ence of Explosives.
IN. Y. Press.l

and file of anarchy learn as much as
they do of the sciences. The record they
all possess. apparently, has given them
no time to study such abstruse matters
as chemistry, and yet most of them seem
to be experts therein. Most of them
in fact, mix their own complicated explo
sive compounds.
Judge, for instance. from the career of
the latest agitator, Valiant, what his
opportunities were. He was born De-
cember 30, 1861, was imprisoned for the
first time on May 81, 1873, for swindling,
being then 16 years of age. December
IA, 1878, he was condemned at Marseilles
to three days begging. In Algiers
April, "a, 1879, he was sent to prison for
three months for robbery. Returning
to Marseilles he was again condemned to
prison, April 2e, 1881, for burglary. His
photograph appears in the keeping of
the French police, dated 1873, and bear
ing upon it's back the words, Working
having made some anarchist threats,
after which he married and came here
to New York, where he deserted his wife
and retur.s ed to Paris. Despite these
difficulties he has persisted with amin
dustry worthy of a better cause, educat-
ing himself on the subject of explosives.
The First Progress
The first serious progress made by
these revolutionists. was the discovery of
illuminate of mercury, which substitute
ed percussion caps fol the antique flint.
illuminate of mercury is the white sub
since which is placed inside of the caps
and explodes when heavily,struck. 1t also
increases the expansive power of the
powder one-quarter. The tremendous
power concealed in these little caps was
well illustrated recently in Paris, where,
in the Rue berenger, nun ber of boxes
were stored containing diminutive ex-
plosive leaps for children's toy pistols.
One Of the boxes was dropped or Jared,
and it's contents exploded, and in their
turn the other boxes, with the result
that six houses were reduced to ruins.
Then Came Nitro. Glycerino.
Then came the invention of nitro-glyc-
crime. The cap increased the explosive
power of powder one-quarter, but nitro
glycerine increased it 800 per cent. It's
power to explode everywherezand under
dlluOSt any COutltlOlS lCuOECO OiC llCC-
essity for combining it in any closed cover
ing such as cartridge. This fact was
made use of by the anarchist. Matthew,
who blew up the restaurant. Very little
over year ago. Matthew filled an ordin-
airy valise with dynamite, attached a
fuse to it and quietly slipped it under a
table.in the restaurant for it to go Off
when it got ready. When tine famous
Ravachol blew, up the house in the Rue
a. 81 taa DC hic of
struction, merely a common iron kettle
that had been employed in the peaceful
duty. of making soup for him sduring his
rational days. This he filed with dyna-
mite. put in the customary fuse, and
the house.very shortly sailed skyward
The fuse does not act directly on the
dynamite, but ignites small quantity
Of powder, which exploudes, and the
conclusion brings about the greater ex-
plosion OF the nitro-glycer1ne.
A New Method.
Recently the anarchists have discov-
.red and made. use of an improved meth
cd Of blowing people up. They have en-
ployd nitric acid and carbonate of sulphur
These two liquids when kept apart are
not dangerous, and can be handled with
perfect safety and recklessness by any
one; but as soon as they are mixed there
is produced a compound that is.one of
the most terri BILE in existence, and
which produces the most frightful re-
suits by the mere commingllng; the
simple pouring of one into the other is
all that is necessary to bring about
temporary era of devastation.
1t requires some considerable skill and
cool Judgment to prepare these liquids
for their work. The bomb thrower US
ualIy places one of them in a receptacle
at the bottom of whatever he selects as
the bomb. and the other in second
bottle some distance above the first. So
longsas these bottles do mot fall against
each other or become unlocked the bomb
thrower can walk around with Lis dead
" valise safely, but if he drops his bur
den or pitches it over the trailing of the
gallery in the Chamber of Deputies for
instance, ssthe catastrophe happens
Controlling the Explosive,
The simples tot all methods for control
ing this deadly explosive and the most
generally employed, is to procure glass
tube curved.in the shape of horse shoe,
Gil one end of it with one of the liquids
and then crowd into the tube quantity
of cotton wadding, completely filling
with one wadding the curved portion of
the horse shoe, and then pour into the
other end of the tube the second LIQUID.
So long as this horseshoesis kept with
its curved portion uppermost the liquids
will, of course, remain apart, and even
their fumes will not commingle,- owing
to he presence of the intervening cotton.
In his position the tube is secured in the
bomb, the bomb then filed more or less
with dynamite and collection of nails
slugs, bullets, or whatevert the ingenuity
of the anarohis may suggest, the cover
tied on and the weapon is ready for use.
It can be readily understood that SO
soon as the bomb is reversed the curved
portion of the horseshoe comes beneath
the liquids, the fluidssspercolate through
the cotton and Immediately upon their
uniting the explosion occurs. The time
required for penetrating the cotton is
readily determined by the use of water or
any other fluid. The rapidity with
which. these liquids come together is in
dicated by the premature explosion of
Valliant's bomb when he threw it the
other day in the Chamber of Deputies.
1t is reasonable to suppose that up to the
moment it left his hand he had kept it
in an upright position d, and only when
he flung it toward the Presidents desk
did he reverse it. 1t never reached it's