The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1895-12-17
A FIENDISH ATTENPT
To A8sassinate George M, Pullman
and Philip D. Armour,
INTERNAL MACHINES BY MAIL

Postofiice Ohiclals wcrc Suspicious and Had
the Boxes Examined and Their Deadly
Character Clearly Proven-A Suspect
Under Arrest Asserts His Innocence.
CHICAGO, Dec. IA bold conspiracy to
assassinnte George NJ. Pullman and Philip
ID. Armour has just come to light, and
every effort is being made to npprehend
the perpetrators of the plot Two pack
ages were received at postal station l., of
which William H. Hanon is supern.
tendent, directed to p. ID. Armour and
George NJ. Pullman, respectively, and the
packages were finally turned over to Post
Office Inspector Stewart 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 We're taken up by Collector
Philip Kirkwood. One Of them he found
on the mail box at Wabash avenue and
Fourteenth street, and the other at Wa
bash avenue and Twenty first street. The
second machine was laid on the box Just
as Kirkwood approached it to make his
collection He saw 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 hand
writing. 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 its way to him through the
mail He claimed to have overheard an
exposure of the conspiracy from two men
talking in an alley. The employees 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 to Mr.. Pullman
Sunday night, presumably by the same
person who took the trouble to inform
Mr.. Armour's people. Mr.. Pullman had
already retired, and did not see the visitor,
who appeared very much worried and anX-
ious to see the millionaire in person. He
delivered his message, however, without
seeing Mr.. Pullman, and left card with
his address.
The dangerous character of the packages
has been established without doubt A
trial test of their contents was made and
this proved that the packages contained
an explosive, in force to dynamite
The packages were 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 friction with sandpaper, which
was glued to the box above the drawer,
when the latter was pulled out. The boxes
were well provided with the explosive, but
in the bottom was placed a piece of lead
pipe several inches long.
;. A. Owens, the man who Informed
Messrs. Armour and Pullman that the in
fernal machines would be mailed to them,
is detained in Postal Inspector Stuart S
office on the supposition that he sent the
bombs. The theory expressed by Inspector
Stuart is that Owens conceived the idea of
sending the bombs and notifying the re-
cipients in advance of the mailing of the
packages, in the hope of obtaining a good
reward. This beliefs strengthened by the
similitude Of the bad spelling on the ad-
dresses and the spelling in q statement
furnished by Owens in detailing the man
ner Of his securing the information of the
sending of the package
Owens statemenU recites that on Sunday
night at II 80 he went into the alley under
the IL tracks at Congress street. and
| there overheard the conversation between
two men, to the effect that they intended
sending bombs to Messrs. Armour and Pull.
man. Owens denies that he sent the in
ferugl machines.
Minister na In,nass l,Lya