The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1907-08-28
Exploded in Sub Station in
Philadelphia.
Mail Clerk Was Severely Burned but
No Damage Otherwise Was
Done by It.
HAD FORCE ENOUGH TO KILL.

Philadelphia, Aug. 2S.-An IN
fernal machine, sent through the
mails to Secretary of the Treasury
George B. Cortelyou, partially ex-
ploded In the Nicetown sub-postoffice
while clerk was postmarking the
stamps. -
He was severely burned by the in
fnitesmal portion of the charge that
exploded. Had the package been
opened in the hands of the secretary
of the treasury both that official and
his assistants would have been blown
to atoms.
The bomb, Enclosed in an official
looking cardboard package three and
a half inches thick, was brought into
the Nicetown station at 3 o'clock
this afternoon by carrier who col
lected it on his route. Within it lies
the Midvale steel Works, where thou
sands of Italians are employed.
Though inclosing a weight of more
than a pound the covering was OF
very thin pasteboard. The address
Iclipped from newspapers evidently TO
avoid detection was Secretary Cor
ltelyou. Washington, d. c."
All the carrier can tell, so far. is
that he secured the package in mail
box on the same trip that ended with
the delivery of the substation. He
tempted the pouch upon the table In
the carriers room and Clerk Thomas
Roberts swept the package up with
the rest and carried It over to the
stamping desk to be postmarked.
Half dozen once-cent stamps COW
cred the box Unsuspectingly and la
a hurry to get through with the lot.
Roberts jabbed the stamping die into
the midst ofsthe stamps. There was
the sound of ignitlng sparks. the
quick splitter of a fuse within and
then the package burst with an ex-
plosion that tore it to shreds and
streamed sizzling powder over the
mail clerks wrist and shirt.
other employees ran to his aid with
buckets of water and extinguished
the fire after he had been badly
scorched.
When the cardboard box burst its
contents scattered to all sides of the
room. Afterward nothing could be
found but streaks of unexploded
grayish powder, which strewed the
floor, and lot of wadding, which
furnished no clew.
The injured clerk was sent to the
hospital, where he will recover. and
officials of the postofiice inspectors
department were notified. The head
of this bureau, curiously enough, Is
James J. Cortelyou, a brother of the
secretary of the treasury. He began
an investigation at once. Unless the
powder contained in the Internal ma
lchine is pulverized dynamite, the ex-
lperts who have so far examined IL
are at loss to give II name. Tests,
however, made with the remnants
Iscattered by the explosion show that
1t contained sufficient latent force to
have wrecked the Office of the secre-
tary of the treasury and to have in
stantly killed all within.
Why such an attempt should be
made against the life of Mr.. Cortel-
Iyou has no explanation tonight. Sc
lcret service men called into the case
have failed to locate not only the
slender of the mailed bomb, but the
exact vicinity from which IT was sent
1t is known. however, that the mail
box in which II was placed for mall
ing was not far from No. 1868 North
Broad street, and as this is in the
heart of the foreign district of Phtla-
delphia, the detectives declare they
will have trailed down the perpe-
traitor within the next twenty-four
hours.