The Detroit times., 1908-11-11
house. IS WRECKED
|bY BLACK HAND
C0NsP|RAT0Rs
nLoW UP HOME or ITALIAN ON
LARNEp-sT. EAST AFTER SEND.
ING DEMAND FOR MoNEY-oc.
cuPAMTs uNINJuREp.

In accordance, apparently. with q
s threat contained In Black Hand let
4 ter sent earlier In the day. unknown
1Dersons exploded charge OF gun pow
der under the home OF Grille Mer-
<curio. an Italian peddler. at No. 21S
B xarned-st- east, soon after IL o'clock,
<Iuesday night, while Mercurio. his
wife and two children and five ltal-
nm boarders were asleep In their
1ods. While all the occupants escap-
I'd injury, the house was badly wreck
I'd Flooring was torn up. windows
omashed, doors blown the entire
1ougth OF the house, and the front
btsps. under which the charge was
\ laced, disappeared completely.
The police are seeking two men
who were seen by Frank Elder and
inward Essler, of Nos. $50 and 9O4
respectively, run
ming east on Congress-st. just before
The explosion was heard. They can
tive only q meager description OF the
foll0ws. however.
The explosion created great ex.
<.o1tement in the neighborhood. Sleep
sHors within radius Of several blocks
were routed from their beds. while the
4ercurino household and their near
neighbors ran about scantily clad and
s ~ . state bordering on hysteria. In
HE excitement, Mercurio fred his re-
volver In the air several times and
other Italians In the vicinity followed
+. Ms example.
During the past few weeks Mercu-
'&1o has received several anonymous
otters demanding $500. with the al
<oFnative Of being blown up. He ig-
ored them all. The following is q
fannlation from Italian OF the last
.otter. received Tuesday morning:
This Ia the last letter we are
81 going to send to you. Bring the
$500 that we demand where We
tell you or we will blow up you
md your family. We say little
hat we do lots. II you think any
thing Of your family, you won't
rofuse to bring this money and
rive II to us, but II you refuse
them we will blow all OF you up.
Thursday night you take Fort
NJ street car west and ride to the
end OF the line and at 8 o'clock
you will meet one OF our men.
Give him the money and say moth
Ing to no one, but return home
Immediately after you hand over
the money. IL you fail you will
be blown up.
Why the biackmailers chose Tues
oy night to blow up the house. when.
D the letter, Mercurio was given un-
U Thursday night to produce the $500
~ q mystery. There Is possibility.
4 n thought, that the conspirators
ooont Tuesday night and wrote
I 1uroday" by mistake.
|0rCurio was similarly threatened
~ yo6&S ago and he finally left the
Gttxy 20 avoid the Black Hands
~, returning only recently.
he police have received numerous
mblnints from Italian citizens who
1yo received Black Hand letters in the
~ few weeks and for some time pas
I'VE been guarding several homes In
~ city. Mercurio. however, was nor
80 Of those who complained. II Is
1ieved that an organised Black Hand
@ng II at work and the detective force
N exerting every effort to run the
ombers to earth. They have received
1lormation that Salvatore Dana.
1wniting trial ON the charge of MUIR
og1ng Manuel visconte. Is q member
W the Black Hand and they are work
~ on the theory that the perpetra-
pru Of Tuesday nights outrage are his