The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-12-17
One Of the Deadly Packages Adj
the other to Philip ID. Armour.
BOTH MILLIONAIRES WARNED
TOLD SUNDAY NIGHT THAT THE MA
CHIMES WOULD BE MAILED.
The InfOrmer Arrested on Suspicion
that He Himself Sent the Bombs and
Hoped to Obtain n Reward.


assassinate George NJ Pullman and Philip
d. Armour has just come to light and
every effort is being made to apprehend
the perpetrators of the plot. This morning
two packages were received at postal sta
ton L. OF which William II. Hanlon is
superintendent. directed to p. d. Armour
and George NJ. Pullman, respectively, and
the packages were finally turned over TO
Postoffice Inspector Stuart for inspection.
They proved to be Internal machines. which,
had they reached their destination and
been opened without suspicion by the men
for whom they were intended. would have
probably blown them into eternity.
The packages were taken up by collector
Philip Kirkwood, of station L. One of them
he found on the mail box at Wabash ave-
nue. and Fourteenth street and the other
at Wabash avenue and Twenty-ffrst street
The second machine was laid on the box
just as Kirkwood approached 1t to make
his collection He saw a man of rough ap-
pearance lay a package on the box and
walk away. When he reached the mail box
he found the package to be similar to the
one he had picked up at Fourteenth street
and addressed in the same handwriting.
Each package weighed about twenty-four.
ounces and the poorly scrawled addresses
were alone enough to attract the attention
of the carrier
The postal authorities were already on the
lookout for suspicious packages for Mr..
Armour as a stranger had notified at
taches of his Office that an Internal ma
chine was on it's way to Mr.. Armour
through the mail. He claimed to have
overheard an exposure of the conspiracy
from two men talking in an alley. The en-
ployes of Mr.. Armour did not place much
reliance in the story, but informed the
postal officials of what they had been told.
A similar visit was paid Mr.. Pullman Sun
day night, presumably by the same per-
son who took the trouble to inform Mr..
Armour's people. Mr.. Pullman had al
ready retired and did not see the visitor,
who appeared very much worried and
anxious to see the millionaire in person.
He delivered his message, however, without
seeing Mr.. Pullman and left card with
his business address. This Mr.. Pullman de-
clined to make public afterward, as 1t
might be the exposure of a valuable clew.
The man who gave the warning is said
to have been metal polisher named
Owens, but this has not yet been entirely
confirmed. This evening Mr.. Pullman made
an effort to locate the owner OF the card,
but in this he was unsuccessful. He dis
patched a confidential man to the place of
business specified on the card, but was told
the person of the name it showed was alb
sent, being an outside man and seldom at
the headquarters of the firm. Mr.. Armour
is now on his way to Jacksonville, Fla,
having left the city on Sunday.
DANGEROUS PACKAGES.
| The dangerous character of the package
| has been established without doubt. A
trial test of their contents was made and
| this proved that the packages contained an
| explosive in force akin to dynamite. The
packages we're about eight inches long with
| three inch ends. They were wooden boxes,
each containing drawer. Matches were
so arranged inside as to be ignited by the
friction with sandpaper, which was glued to
yne wa oox oie9 a5ooe et 'hT be boxes were we'll
vided with the explosive, but in the bottom
was placed a piece Of lead pipe several
Snei light browns owns paper @ and addressed in rough
| hand with pencil. On the margin was writ
ten: "Contens, WIRE" The street addresses
| were, likewise, misspelled.
| That Mr.. Armour had been notified of the
| conversation reported to have been over
| heard by a citizen last night, was confirmed
by message to the postai station nearest
| the Armour residence this morning not to
deliver any letters to the house. p. ID.
| Armour's private secretary, w. j. Quinn.
",
| known to anyone in the office had entered
| and informed g. w. Comes, the manager,
that plot was on foot to destroy Mr.. Ar
mour. An internal machine, he asserted,
| had been mailed to him and he warned Mr..
| Armour's representatives to have the mat
ter looked into Mr.. Quinn said: I'VE did
| not put much reliance in the mans words,
| but In order to be on the safe side. turned
the matter over. to the postal authorities
and let it end there. We have no further
did no one secure the name of the
stranger who brought the information to
mo, we did not consider it of enough i'm
portance. as no one here believed the
storyy;" yyi,. .. tho MANS .nnsaranceq.
81 did not see him, am Mr.. Comes, with
| whom he dealt. is not in just now"
As stated, Mr.. Armour is on his way to
Jacksonville, Fla, whittier he started yes
terday 1t was denied. however, that the
| rumor of some one having designs on his
life had anything to do with the million
he had already left the city when the news
| Of the mailing OF the internal machine
reached the ears c, hiss his employees, and tnat taat
little If he had heard of 1t. 1t is believed
by some of Mr.. Armour's friends. however.
cape at least the annoyance the publicity
of the affair would give him. and that he
knew as much Of it as did the employees
| when he left town yesterday.
ONE OF THE SUSPECTS"
Albert Reaser was arrested to-day on the
strength OF statements made by Collector
| Kirkwood, who said that the man whom he
saw place the package on the box re-
| sembled a man whom he had seen arrested
last summer for throwing stones at Mr.. Pull
| mans windows. He was under the i'm
preston that the men were one and the
same, and Reaser. who was the stone
| thrower was at once brought IN. He de-
nies in the strongest manner that he sent
the package through the mail. Reaser Is
also charged with lounging around million
aire Marshall Fields home, on Prairie ave-
nue., near the Pullman and Armour resi-
dences. Reaser had been found several
times in the same locality previous to his
dressed i'm his own handwriting to Marshall
Field and George NJ. Pullman, asking fol
employment he was formerly an inmate
OF the Dunning Insane Asylum, from
whence he escaped Nov. is. Reaser claims
to have worked in Kinks soap factory W
to a short time ago. and seems perfectly
harmless. though the police are suspicious
| of him. and believe he is only pretending
to be insane or unbalanced.
81 didn't mail any packages or letters tC
| anybody, and would have delivered the let
| ters l had in my pocket only i was afraid
of being caught by the police" said Rea,
ser. When arrested Reaser. replying to q
Son.s as ss 1 why whs ne sans Fe
so'as SoE,sd = aIs ng %Gpsy in the yard and an
s. A. Owens. the man who informes
Nessra Armour and Pullman Sunday nigh