The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-12-02
HISTORY OF MNAMARA CASES
STARTS WIN TIMES" ENPLO-
SION WITH ~ KILLED.

Hustled From Indiana TO California
How ". !. burns Linked the Los
Angeles Crime with One at Peoria.
The crime for which James r. Mcnamara
and his brother John J.. who was secre-
tarv and treasurer of the International
Bridge and Structural 1ronworkers As
sociation. were arrested and placed on
trial in Los Angeles was the blowing up
Of the Los Angeles Times newspaper and
printing plant. At few minutes after
O'Clock on the morning OF October 1.
1910, while the Times stah were getting
out the days paper the building. situated
at Broadway and First street. was wrecked
by dynamite Time clock bombs had
been used IL was ascertained later.
s. The effect Of the explosion was frightful.
One,whole wall Of the building collapsed.
Floors gave way and crashed to the
cellar Flames arose from the lower part
and spread swiftly.
| The firemen and the police took twenty
one bodies out of the wreckage. Some
had been killed instantly by the explosion
Others. caught by the sweep Of flame, were
burned to death.
A number Of the dead we're union men
Many Of them were married and had
chi ldren.
! Later in the morning bomb was found
! in the home OF Gen. Harrison Gray Otis.
proprietor and editor Of the Times and an
uncompromising opponent of the closed
| shop. This bomb let 60 in the street just
after detectives who had been examining z
it were frightened away 10y the rattle of
| its mechanism Other bombs were found.
cunningly contrived mcchanisms, in which
an alarm clock Illuminating cap and a
can Of nitro glycerne were the chief
components. The tragedy of the early
morning. together with the discovery of
the bomb in Gen Otis house and another
| bomb near the house of the secretary Of
the Merchants and Manufacturers Asso-
citation, thoroughly alarmed the city.
PRICE PUT on DYNAMIrERs HEADS.
The City Council appropriated s25 .O0C
for the purpose Of tracing the dynamiters
and murderers and offered a reward OF
81 800 for the arrest of any one responsible
The California Legislature added SO .O0C
and the State Building Trades voted
s. 900 to the fund. The Mayor of Los
Angeles, George Alexander. knew of a
detective who had made first class
record in the San Francisco graft cases,
William j. Burns. Burns was hired
! looked around Los Angeles and disap.
peared after examining the bomb picked
up at the home Of +. J Zeeha ndelaar. the
Merchants Association secretary. IL was
long time before Burns was heard of
When he reappeared he had his men anc
| the evidence.
As q matter of fact Burns had beer
busy on dynamiting cases before the Lo,
Angeles Times building was destroyed
In September. 1910, foundry in Peoris
sticking by the open shop principle hac
been blown up. and Burns was put on tn,
job to catch the criminal. The investiga
ton Of this crime led by curious anc
interesting series OF steps To the arres
of the McNamsras for the Los Angelo
Times outrage. All the clue IN the Peori;
explosion was a clockwork bomb tina
hadn't gone of, a machine containing
ten pound can of nitroglycerine Their,
were few marks Of any sort on the can
nothing TO produce Identification o
buyer or seller description and pic
ture of the can went through the news
papers and fell under the eye OF an agen
for an explosives company. He guessed
il might have been one OF his cans. Whel
he saw il he was sure. Burns began &
get under rapid headway. He discovere,
that a man calling himself J. W. McGray
had purchased the nitroglycerine in Port
land, Ind. saying he wanted to use it il
a stone quarry near Indianapolis.
JOHN J. M'NAMARA sHApowEn.
Burns traced McGraw to Muncie, Ind
and then to Indianapolis He Learned
that McGraw had been seen talking wit
John j. Mcnamara, secretary and treas
urer of the International Bridge an
Structural Iron Workers Association.
,, union that was fighting hard for a c,ose
shop. Burns heard that John J. Nc
Namara had been active in warning EN-
ployers not TO Use non-union men. Wit
these shreds Of case in his fingers tn
detective shadowed Mcnamara Nigh
and day the ironworkers' official wa
watched. He never got out Of sight Of
detective. At this very time the Lo
Angeles Times explosion occurred. Mayo
Alexander in hiring Burns had no idea {
, how much progress the detective ha
made already.
The bomb recovered in Los Angelo
was an extremely powerful explosive,
per cent. gelatin. Burns located III
powder company from which it had bee
obtained and was told that a man name
J b. Bryce had bought it for the purpo,
Of blowing up stumps. Later on BryC
and a man named Leonard got on
pounds Of the same kind Of stuff an
e received it at the companys works
Giant, Cal. The two, with third name
3 Morris, carried the explosive away in
power boat Burns traced the boat an
i turned up part Of the explosive in Sa
Francisco. He learned that j. B. Bryc
and Leonard" who was really NJ.
, Schmidt, had been roominR in San Frar
i cisco. But here Burns lost the trai
j. B. Bryce had managed to drop out
sight
l. The bombs found in Peoria and in LIZ
|