The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-12-02
CRIME OF DYNAMITER
COST SCORE OF LIVES
History Of Case W hich Has Attracted World
Wide Att-ntion detective w. j. Burns
Nemesis f the l. cNamaras

The crime for which James B Nc
Samara and his brother. John j.. who
MAS secretary and treasurer OF the In
ternational Bridge and Structural Iron
Workers Association. were arrested
ana placed on trial In Los Angeles.
l"us Inc blowing! up OF the Los Ahsele
Times newspaper aEos- pr!ntlhg pianl-
n Few minutes atler CLOCK, on tho
morning OIL Oetouer /. 1910, while the
Times stan was getting out the days
paper. the buiIuing. situated at Broad
way and First street was wrecked by
dynamite. 1imc-clock bombs mad oeen
used. II was asccrtaIned later. the
effect of the explosion was trightfui.
One whole wall OF the building col
lapsed, Floors gave way ana crashed
to the cellar frames arose from the
lower part and spread swiftly. The
nremen and the police took twenty-one
Doules out OF the wreckaGe. Some had
been killed instantly by the explosion.
Others. caught by the sNe ep OF lame.
were burned TO death. 4 number of
the dead were union men. Many of
them were married and had children.
Bomb mt Home of Otis.
Late in the morning a bomb was
found in tle home of General Harrison
Gray Otis. proprietor and editor o.
the Times and an uncompromising OPP
poncnt OF the closed shop. This nomp
let go in the street just after detec-
tives who had been examining it were
frightened away by the rattle OF its
mechanism. Other bombs were found,
cunningly contrived mechanisms. in
which an alarm clock, Illuminating
cap and can OF nitro-glycerine were
the chief components.
The tragedy of the early morning,
together with the discovery OF the
bomb in General Otiss house and an.
other bomb near the house of the sec
facturers Association. thoroughly
alarmed the city. The City Council
appropriated $4,000 for the purpose
OF tracing the dynamiters AMI MUIR
derers. and offered asrcward of $4,000
for the arrest of any one responsible.
The California Legislature added
$4,000 and the state Building Trades
voted $1,000 to the fund. The Mayor
of Los Angeles. George Alexander.
knew of detective who had made a
first-class record in the San Fran
cisco graft cases-William j. Burns.
Burns was hired. looked around Los
Angeles and .sappeared after exam
lining the bomb picked up at the home
of L. j. Zeehandelaar, the Merchants
Association secretary
1t was long time before Burns
was heard of. When he reappcared
he had his men and the evidence. AS
n matter of fact, Burns had been busy
on dynamiting cases before the Los
Angeles Times building was destroyed
In September, 1910, foundry In Pc
oria. ILL.,, sticking by the open shop
principle, had been blown up. and
Burns was put on the job to catch the
criminal. THE investigation of this
crime led BY curious and interesting
series of steps to the arrest of the Nc
Namnras for the Los Angeles Times
outraRes. All the clues there were
to the Peoria explosion was clock
work bomb that hadn't gone OFF. and a
machine containing ten-pound can
of nitro-glyccrine. There We're few
marks of any sort OIL the can, nothing
to produce certain identification OF
seller or buyer. But q description. of
the can went through tho newspapers
an explosive company. lie guessed 1t
might have been one Of his cans.
When. he saw it he was sure.
Then Makes Rapid Progress.
Burns began to get under rapid
Roadway. He discovered that a man
calling himself j. w. McGraw had pur-
chased the nitro glycerine in Portland,
Ind. saying he wanted to hse 1t in a
stone quarry near indianapolis.
Burns traced McGraw to Muncle. Ind
and then to Indianapolis. lie learned
that McGraw had been seen talking
with John ]. Mcnamara, secretary and
treasurer of tho International Bridge
and Structural Ironwokers' Associ-
ton. union that was lighting hard