The sun., 1903-12-14
DYNAMITERS AT WORK HERE.
4 TOUCH OF MONTANA CREDITED
TO THE SAM PARKS GANG.
Employers Association Buildings At
tacked-IIoist Engine Partly Wrecked
at Acker, Merrall & C0ndits-N0
Harm Done at broadway Tabernacle.

| ployers Association are putting up are
believed by the police to have been the
work OF the Sam Parks gang. One OF the
explosions, in the new Broadway Taber-
nacle, at the northeast corner Of Broadway
and Fifty-sixth street, did no damage.
The other, in the new Acker, Merrall
4 Condit building, at 1870 West Forty-third
street, partly wrecked a hoisting engine
used by the iron workers. In both build
! ings the iron workers employed are MEM
| bers OF the New York Housesmiths' Union,
the recently organized rival Of Parks's
Housesmiths and Bridgemen's Union, Lo-
cal No. 2 of the Structural Ironworkers.
The contractors who are putting up the
buildings have had trouble with Parks's
crowd and have had occasion before to
| seek police protection
That the explosion that woke up the
neighborhood half an hour after midnight
was in the Tabernacle building is the be-
| lief of the neighbors, the watchman on duty,
| the police and one of the architects, but
| nothing more than wreath of gunpowder
| smoke remained by way Of trace.
| The second explosion, which occurred
about o'clock, left plenty Of evidence.
| Pieces of wrought iron were ripped OF the
hoist engine, a heavy lever wSa torn of
| and hurled ten feet away, the glass over the
| steam gauge was cracked and two windows
| in house fifty feet away were smashed.
| The report of the explosion was heard .
| mile away.
George E. Murray, Inspector OF Combus-
| tibes, who made an examination Of the
| buildings, came>to the conclusion that
| in the Acker.t Merrall & Condit building
| some kind of illuminate had been used.
| In the Tabernacle building he couldn't
| find any sign that there had been an ex-
| plosion. There is an electrical engine in
the basement and he thought something
might have happened to that, but, not being
an electrical expert, he couldn't tell,
The Broadway Tabernacle building 10
practically completed on the outside, with
the exception of putting in the windows.
| Michael Lang, the wat 'hman, was in his
| shanty on the Broadway side when, about
1890 o'clock, he was almost knocked OIL
| his chair by conclusion.
"There goes a boiler" said Lang, and he
ran out Of his shanty. He looked across
the street at the Rockingham Hotel, but,
seeing no wreck there, glanced over his
own building. From the most easterly
| side he saw thin wreath of smoke coming.
Before he got to the window he was joined
by Dr. r. II. Cunningham of 200 West Fifty
| sixth street.
bed when he heard the explosion. He put
an overcoat on over his pajamas and ran
into the street. He also says he saw smoke
coming from the window. Windows were
was a great stir in the Rockingham Hotel
and the Rutland Hotel on the west side Of
! Broadway near Fifty y-seventh street.
The watchman got lantern and with
| DR.. Cunningham went into the building.
The smoke had almost disappeared when
| they got inside, but they agreed that there
was a strong smell OF burnt ginpowder.
In a very short time they were Joined by j.
par pf a
architects Of the building. He Went through
the building and made a careful examina-
ton of it: but, like the others, found no
evidence of an explosion.
Some workmen who came out of the
| Rapid Transit subway said that they had
had several -burnouts" that night but that
the reports were not loud enough to awaken
any one. They were sure that the explo-
| sion they had heard wasn't in the subway.
1t was long time before the neighbor-
! hood uuieted down, and several policemen
remained at the building trying to get
some explanation of the explosion: They
they were startled by another explosion.
the noise of which seemed to come from
further down Broadway. The same re-
port was heard by the sergeant on duty
at the West Forty y-seventh street station
at exactly minutes before 5. Three
policemen from nearby posts were at the
Acker, Merrall & Condit building in n jiffy
| This building is to be eight stories high.
| but only four stories of the iron work are
up. The policemen found dazed watch
man in the person of Spencer Leonard.
| In few minutes they were surrounded by
dwellers in the Spalding Hotel, across the
| street; the Cadillac, on the corner and the
| Gardner, large boarding house next to
the new building. This crowd was aug
| mented by late birds from Broadway all
| night resorts.
| The watchman said that he had boon
around the building more or less all night,
nd a
which is inside the building and on the
same floor with the donkey engine. which
| was damaged
"The fire was going out, he said, sand
| ] went inside TO fix it, ! hadn't seen or
! heard any one around and sat down on
a chair. | hadn't been there long when
| there was n terrific bang was knocked
| off the chair and the lamp in the shanty
| was blown out. ] saw a fash of fire outside
and ran out of the shanty, but there was
! nobody in sight"
| Leonard said that he hadn't been out Of
! the building minute before the policemen
| ran up. 1t was still dark, and the police
men and watchman had to wait until day
! light before they could find out with any
! degree of certainty how much damage
| had been done. Two servants came out
of the Gardner and reported that the glass
in the window Of their room had been
| knocked in by the explosion seventy-fve
feet away. Mrs Mc(iee, who owns the
| Gardner, also said that one of the windows
! The Gardner takes in three houses and
| accommodates about 100 lodgers.
When daylight came it was possible to
determine how much damage had been
done to the donkey engine. This engine
| is used for hoisting iron to the upper floors
of the building and for nothing else. 1t is
| about twenty feet from the shanty whore
the watchman was. There We're two levers
| on the engine, and one of them, the one
nearer the ground, had been ripped off.
| The clutch on the controller. long iron
| bar, had been shattered. The controller
was broken, too. A piece was found fifty
| feet away.
Capt, Handy Of the West Forty-seventh
| street station with four Of his detectives
and a score Of sleuths from the Central
Office began an aninvestigation. Capt. Handy
sent for Mr.. Murray, the city's expert on
combustibes, and he made an examination
Of the engine, He said that he was con-
| vinced that the explosion was premedi-
tated and that an attempt had been made
to blow up the engine.
| Il don't think dynamite was used" he
said. Il believe that triple extra fulmi-
mating caps, maybe one or more, were
exploded. These caps are used in setting
| of unusually heavy blasts and they are
powerful enough to cause the amount of
damage done here"
From Forty-third street Mr.. Murray,