The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-10-02
FINDING OF DRY BATTERY
CAUSED MUCH EXCITEMENT.
NeIEhbors Feared Mrs. Reardon Had
Picked Up Internal Machine or
stick of Dynamite.

While Ms. Frank Reardon OF No. $3.50
Evans avenue was returning 70 her home
from market yesterday morning. in crossing
a vacant lot near Vandeventer and Evans
avenues. she found q neatly tied and
wrapped package near the path, almost COW
cred BY the weeds.
She took the package home. and. unwrap-
ping II. discovered three paper-cOvered cyl
iuders OF some dark colored composition.
from one end OF each OF which two metal
cylinders protruded. Mrs. ReardOn had
never seen objects ike the cylinders be-
fore. They were suspiclous-lOoking objects.
and as she CARED at them she recalled that
Chief had only a short time be-
lore received a package that he was afraid
10 open. believing IL an Internal machine
The objects before her resembied the in
1ernal machines that Mrs Reardon had
often read OF In the newspapers, and in
great trepidation she q neighbor
and showed her the and. The neighbor az
once declared her opinion that the cylinders
were Internal machines and urged Mrs.
Reardon to tern them over 70 the police.
Sergeant Collins OF the Tenth District to
notify him The Sergeant was not AZ home.
but Mrs Reardon told Mrs. Collins and
asked her to send her husband over to take
turned.
.The more Mrs Reardon contemplated the
sinister-looking cylinders the more she be-
came wrought up over their presence IN her
house. She was unable to attend to her
househoic duties through dread that an ex-
ploson would occur that would wipe the
community on the face OF the earth. Finally
she placed the three gingerly on q shovel
and took them out 70 the shed IN the rear.
Within & few hours the news hat Mrs.
ReardOn had discovered three dynamite
bombs hidden In the vacant lot had spread
was much excitement among the neighbors.
sergeant Collins failed TO put IN an appear
anee 70 remove the stun TO police head
quarters. and at noon Mrs Reardon. beset
by her excited neighbors. took one OF the
cylinders over to the drug store on the cor
ner TO ask the druggist what its compost
ton was She held IL at arms length while
carrying II, and the terrified neighbors.
watching her with blanched faces from a
safe distance. msrveled at her courage.
There was no one in the drug store but
the. boy who attends the soda fountain when
Mrs Reardon entered. She asked him what
was In the cylinder. The boy took one look
at the cylinder. another at Mrs. Reardon's
pallld face and said:
Mrs. Reardon nearly tainted NJ this rom
nrmation OF the suspicious OF herself and
ner neighbors and the boy. noticing her
Don't drop Il in here. You.n blow the
whole West End up II you DO. Take II our ;
How Mrs Reardon got out OF the drug
cylinder is a mystery to her. She was on
tne verge OF nervous collapse. anxiously
hoping for Sergeant Collins 10 come. when
a carpenter whom she had engaged to re-
pair her 'front.' door bell arrived. In a tremor
OF apprehension she begSed the carpenter to
carpenter went to the wood shed. Looked |
and long.
Internal machlnesr' he said. 'Dynami,el |
Why. those are dry cells. 10 be used IN bat |
1erleS Tor house telephones or door bells. /
used thousands % EN-. They're very
useful. but entirely harmless"
And 20 II proved. The cells were probably
cropped by an electrician In crossing thest
vRcant lot. or might have been concealed ]
there by some one who had stolen them /
But Mrs. Reardon and the boy IN the drug |
store and her n~elghbors dislike 10 have the 1
incident discussed In their presence.