The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-19
GRAND CENTRAL CRACKER
DIR. III UNCER m. DEPEW MAKES
AN INVESTIGATION.

Az n Result NE FIippantiy Sage NE Tried
In vAin to Get His Life Insurance. In
ereased-Tho Powder In the Bsg the
Kind Used 60 Make Red Fire at Theatres.
When the finding of q bag of sunpowder. with
a fuse attached. in the annex of the Grand Cen.
trail Station on Tuesday night was reported to
President Dopew yesterday morning. he caused
a most careful investigation TO be made. What
he learned 10 given In . abatement which he
made to n Sun reporter yesterday afternoon.
Mr.. Depew said:
THAT was an aw full thing. the finding Of that
bag Of powder. When I heard Of IL l immedi-
ately made application to have my life insurance
increased, but every company in New York
considered the risk too great. When l heard
about what the new journalism calls an Internal
machine, I concluded to End out all l could
about II. had q look at 1t myself. and II looked
as harmless as an old bag OF salt. Then I ask cd
that an investigation be made, and that all the
facts relating to the finding of the bag, together
with q statement Of what It contained. be re-
ported to me. When I received those reports 1
drew my own conclusions from them.
Some Of the powder was tested. When q
match was applied to 1t there was q flash, q
burst Of red flame. and there was nothing, not
even smoke. Tho specimen burned left no re-
siduum. From all this I concluded that tho bag
did not contain gunpowder at all, but that 1t did
contain Ave or six pounds of the powder used In
theatres to surround the devil with the appro-
pirate red light whom he goes upon tho stage.
You remember the puff Of red flame that comes
mp through tho trap door In the stage OF tho
Metropolitan Opera House when Mephttophclcs
appears In the opera of "Faustp" Well. that
flame Is made from tho same kind Of powder
that was found in the bag.
Now there is every reason to believe the bag
between which the bag was found no passenger
trains are ever unloaded, and the only baggage
cars s that are run Mn In s on those ho tracks r. arc the
are used almost exclusively for that purpose.
Some theatrical baggage was taken from cars
is that, In unloading that, or some other bag
gage belonging to q theatrical company. the
the Internal regions in some play house. was
dropped pnknowingly where 1t was found.
,o mIh :, theory that sb! The bag was int for =
narily. use something that will do some damage.
would have done as much damage to property
lying near 1t as would a cannon hrecracker; and
Gunpowder, which it didn't. Further than that,
q bomb exploder usually wants to kill some one.
exploded whore this one was found, the OK
plosion wouldn't have hurt anybody. for the
some person connected with the road. Is ever in
Blu above and beyond ali this, do not be-
would desire to interfere with the traffic Of tho
New York Central Railroad TO the extent of de-
stroyinR In q wholesale manner the property Of
the company. Neither do l believe that there 10
any. one, no matter what grudge he may have
isfy that grudge by exploding q bomb where
thousands of INNOCENT. persons whom tho
Central brings into New York would certainly
be killed. My confidence In American citizen
ship is too great to mako It possible for me TO
believe any such thing"
Detective Logan Of tho Grand Central sub
station said yesterday that Notwithstanding
Mr.. Depew's. statement, he believed that the
bag contained powder of the kind used in firing
cannon. He said that tho tests made by
Superintendent Murray Of the Bureau Of Com
bustibles established that fact.
Yet" said Logan. "even IL Il did contain
cannon powder and the contents Of the bag had
been exploded in o room six feet square. 1t
Wouldn't have done enough damage 70 speak Of"