The Washington times., 1905-03-28
ROSSEAU GUILTY,
MEANT No HARM
Jury Is Convinced Despite
His Plea.
ADMITS HE SENT MACHINE
Made Dynamite Harmless by Extract
ing Nitroglycerine-Sile
About the Statue.
ADMITS HE SENT MACHINE

NEW YORK. March 2S-Accused of
having sent, with malicious intent, an
internal machine to the Cunard steamer
omorla in this city on May g. 1903,
Gesner Russell. also known as Gessler
Rossean. has been convicted before Re
corder Con. He will be sentenced on
FRIDAY. The maximum penalty for the
oHense is Ave years imprisonment.
Rosseau went on the stand in his
own defense, and said that the ma
chine was placed on the dock in an
effort to demonstrate that it would be
an easy matter to destroy an ocean
inner. He admitted that the mechanism
was perfect, and that the box contain
ed nearly 100 pounds of dynamite, but
mat the explosive power had been re-
moved.
Explains Plan to Jury.
Taking q photograph of the machine.
he left his seat, and. directly address
Ing the jurors. showed how he had dis
connected the mechanism so there would
be no explosion
Il am a New York boy. and was born
fofty-thrae years ago. said Rosseau,
after his lawyer, Charles NJ. Kiefer, had
called him to the witness chair. Il have
travelled over all the world and 1 have
CT essed the ocean and the continent
miner. salesman. a dime museum
freak, an editor school teacher,
book agent and / know not what.
1t was after | went with party of
proSpectorS TO Cape Nome that l became
familiar with explosives. L made my
first internal machine in 1896 but only
Tor my own amusement. Prior to the
Spanish war / furnished several of the
machines TO The Cubans, with which to
blow up the Spanish warships.
Aforad p,,,h, 60 Do.~,
'..Afterward / offered to make some for
the Boer representatives here, but they
declined to take them. saying their use
would not be fair fighting.
why did you send the machine to the
Cunard line?" asked the recorder
Principally because | have an un-
dying hatred of Great Britain and every.
thing that is English. That country has
been threatening to wipe oct many
smaller countries and is always bull
doing some country. There were also
rufnb blingS of war between England and
the United States, and ! wanted to show
how easy it would be to blow up YES
sci II anyone wanted to. | have also a
hatred OF the Malta, and that was the
reason that L signed Malta to the let
terS l sent to Commissioner Greene, tell
ing him the box was on the Cunard
pier"
The dynamite he bought of the Climax
Company in Park row, and had 1t deliy-
cred at an East river pier.
Il took it in a buggy to Larchmont.
In a shanty in an open lot i placed the
dynamite so the sun could strike ii, for
il is scientific fact that the sun viii
dry out the nitroglycerin from dyna-
mite. After two days l placed it III
buggy and took it to Mrs. Currys house
in Thirty-first street. ! put it in the big
box 1 had brought from Chicago
Made Dynamite Harmless.
'.I wanted to be sure that all the nitro
glycerin would be out of the dynamite,
SO / bought a lamp. filled it with coal
oil, lighted it. and put it in the box"
Rosseau said he had tried TO explode
the dynamite seventeen miles from Jer-
sey City. but could not do so.
Il put the rest of the 100 pounds in
the box" he continued, ''and sent il
ty an eXpressman TO the Cunard pier
l put the mechanism, parts Of which
I mad taken from an old clock, on top,
but I did not connect 1t with what
had been dynamite.
He mailed letters of warning to Com
missioner Greene and the Cunard Off
cials he said two days before the I'm
bria sailed.
"The box was not marked he added.
There was no consignee'S name, and
knew 1t would not be placed aboard the
Umbria but | wrote to the company
officials SO there could be no chance or
its being placed aboard.
do you or have you ever belonged
to secret society" he was asked.
mo, L never have"
Plan Premeditated
Did anyone know you were making