Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-04
BOMB SCARE IN PARIS
Many Internal Machines
Picked Up of Late.
BUT A FEW EXPLODE
AT ONCE REMOVED BY THE
SERVICE OF EXPLOSIVES"
Taken to Municipal Laboratory and
Placed in Powerful
Hydraulic Press.
BUT A FEW EXPLODE
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star


One day the wrong headed but warm
| hearted Louise Michel came from London
| to Paris in company with false comrade'
a secret police nformer, an agent pro-
| vocateur. they call them. Henri Roche
| fort tells the story. He called Louise TO
| him and said:
MY poor girl don't you know the char
| acter of your friend? Don't you know that
| in your secret meetings there slip pretend
| ed revolutionists and anarchists who are
nothing but agents provocateurs?"
| Il know it, Louise answered with Sc
| renity but in the party we love them
| well. because it is they who really make
| the most revolutionary notions!
To such naive reasoning Rochefort con-
| fesses he found no possible answer: yet
| the police of Paris are wondering today
whether the new bomb terror that has come
| to the gay capital is not very much the
work of Russian government emisSarles 10
| discredit the revolutionary movement in
| their country and sidetrack the spontaneous
blame which nine ParisianS out of ten at
| tach to the Russian ruling class. in spite OF
| the alliance and in spite of the untold mil
| lions of French capital invested in Russia
That a new bomb terror has come 10
| Paris is certain. The cable tells you only
| of the big successful explosions, such as
| that at the house of Prince Troubetzkoi
and that near the Place de la Repubique;
and even the Paris papers, not to advertise
the bomb-piacers. pass in silence two-thirds
of the bombs picked up before they nave
done damage. AT the municipal laboratory,
however the service of explosives is con-
| tinuaily called up on the telephone by
scared policemen:
"Allo. aIlo, a bomb at the ministry of
! financed"
..Allo. allo. bomb at the senate"
Prevent Many Explosions.
The service of explosives does not get
ratified; it has seen plenty of practical joke
bombs filled with sawdust; but 1t has also
picked up and verified so many terribly
deadly ones that it Immediately 1nvesu-
gates every call; and it points with PRIDE
| to the fact that its prompt work mas tfus
prevented. in the past ten days. enough eA
plosions to have given an extremely pau
reputa ton to the gay capital such as 1t has
neither deserved nor had since the an
| archist bomb activity of ten years ago. 900
| .Allo, allo! a bomb in the doorway OF 9oz
Avenue de IOpera!
| II is like fire call. Instantly M. Girard.
| director of the municipal laboratory. jumps
| into a racing buggy drawn by a swift pioou
| horse He does not wait for the speclal
| bomb van, which, like the fire engine, ar
| riyes few minutes after the chief IS al
| ready the spot.
The bomb van is drawn by brave and
nervy horse named "Ravachol, VINO sue
ceeded to the celebrated Dynamite, VINO
| had his head blown off three years ago
! during some experiments at the faIis
bomb farm" The courageous driver also
merits to have his name given-it Is RameZ
The first person to touch bomD-ano
| consequently risk his life doubly-ls always
| one of the six chemists of the municlpai
! laboratory Each takes sweek. in turn,
| and each has five weeks to recover his
| nerve The operation requires courage, Tor
| sure. There may be sawdust IN II. ana
| there may be that which VIII dow him@h'o
many small pieces also.
Of Dangerous Kind.
| The bomb discovered at 800 Avenue de
| rOpera was of the most dangerous KIND.
The place is a high-claSs hotel, and l shai
| not name it to injure its reputation ana
| why the bomb was placed there remains
| mystery. True, the Paris police do not tel
all they know There was a little crowd
| outside on the pavement, talking bombs in
an awed whisper. Up dashed the buggy
| with NJ Girard Soon the bomb van maze
| it's appearance. The crowd on the street
| increased; but there was plenty OF room III
the reserved space-in the hotel courtyard
| reserved, not by the police, but by the
enlightened prudence of the crowd thar
took good care to stay cut in the street.
The chemist Clement had the van drive
I'D close to the bomb. Then he kneit down
| beside the ominous mystery, first looked at
| it without touching it, then gently itted 1t
up vertically with the greatest gentleneSs.
| His chief care, obviously, was to continue
holding the bomb vertically, not to let 1t
| slant in his hands either to the right or
| left, much less turn it over horIZontally'
because it is the nature of certain class
of bornt that they explode only when their
| postio-i is changed, and this by the uniting
of two liquids, arranged in tubes to now
and meet each other only in that case.
The bomb van has pneumatic tires. ball
bearings and the gentlest possible springs,
| curved very high to prevent any humping
| even driving over gutter. Wei back be-
| hind the drivers seat and separated as
| much as possible from it. is the bomb box.
| just over the high springs of the back
| wheels. 1t is filed with shredded wood
| fiber and into this, as in nest, the
| Chemist Clement deposited the bomb-as
gently as a young mother snugs her first
| born into its cradle. Then the wood fiber
| all around it was packed and braced, the
| door of the box shut-and the pomb van
drove off.
Driven Rapidly Away.
It was driven straight to the most Curl
| Gus fenced-in shed building existing in the
| environs of any city. This one is at Bercy;
! but there are three others the three
other sides of the capital, and the bomb is
! driven to the nearest
| Contrary to what you might think, the
bomb van is driven swiftly-the vast
jority of propaganda bombs, unlike the
bombs of war, exploding not by a Shock
| but by either change of position or by the
mere passing of time. Their original posi-
ton being safeguarded therefore, time be-
comes the vital element.
There are bombs that explode on the
uniting of two liquids, one of which has to
soak eat its way along a tube-a time
bomb. -Clock-work bombs are scarcely ever
found nowadays. nor bombs exploding by
lighted fuse. And this is one of the rea-
sons why the high police of Paris are so
troubled now, at the beginning of the
terror. The bombs scientifically con-
structed. They are up-to-date with modern
chemistry. Those who place them, unfor-
tunately, know what they about.
But the chemists of the municipal labor
atory of Paris are also up-to-date; they
also know what they about. Within
five minutes of the arrival of the bomb
van, they have taken a Photograph of the
newly discovered bomb. Thus the x-rays
render precious service. The general char
| acter of a bomb may be judged within a
very short time. Until it is known, you
may be sure that loafs in it's i'm
mediate vicinity. The photographs are
taken, much as possible. behind armor
| plate screens.
In a Hydraulic Press.
This is done in the front room of the
bomb shed. There is a second room, far
p,oh h Ixy no opIy