Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-12-28
indianapolis Dynamite Verdicts Follow Long Fight By
Government Officials After One Hundred Explosions


that date he arranged for ME TO go to
Boston and see NJ. ]. Young regarding
the job on the Boston opera house,
which was blown up" Later, on in
struction from Hockin, McManigal
said he went to Hoboken to confer
with Frank c. Webb, of New York,
about blowing up viaduct. A dispute
arose and McManigal told Webb that
Hockin was paying for the work and
he purposed to follow instructions.
"Hockin paid me $3.50 for the Bos-
ton and Hoboken jobs" said McMani-
gal Then it was arranged should
meet J. B. Mcnamara for the first
time. Hockin had telegraphed me to !
meet him in Indianapolis. We went
from there to Muncie, Ind, where we
met ]. B. Hockin made all arrange
ments here about getting rigs, boxes |
and cans for the nitroglycerin he was
negotiating for. He had me buy a !
piano box and rent house, fill barrels |
with sawdust and put them in the
house for storing the explosive. Hook |
in paid me for the rent of the house |
and arranged with a well-shooter to |
get the nitroglycerin, which we trans
/ ferred to the house in Murcie
'Tn February, 1910, in Chicago, /
received a telegram from Hockin to
come to Indianapolis. did not go, but
]. B. Mcnamara came to Chicago and
told me Hockin had sent him to ex-
plain new invention. ]. B. explained
about the alarm clock arrangement by
! which we in the future were to regu-
late the time for exploding bombs. A
few days later Hockin wire me to
come to Indianapolis, where he and l
and ]. j. Mcnamara fully went over
the clock scheme. With it l went to
Mt. Vernon, Ill, and pulled off a job
on a power house, for which Hockin
paid me $125."
1t was in the summer Of 1910 when
explosions were frequent that Nc
Manigal said his relations with Hockin
were broken off because he discover
ed Hockin had been keeping part of
his pay. About that same time wit
nesses said Hockin began to give in
formation about the dynamiters.
J Edward Smythe, of Peoria, H., also
personally pointed out jobs to be
blown up. A hotel keeper related that
after the explosion Smythe examined
the hotel register, and later the page
on which McManigal had registered
was found to be torn out McManigal
said Smythe arranged to go 70 a thea
: tire the night of the explosion and
prove an alibi by keeping the seat
checks.
President Ryan, of the iron workers
} union, and all the other defendants
were charged with being principals to
the conspiracy through the writing of
: letters. Ryans defense was that the
McNamaras and those who confessed
, alone knew that a "dynamiting cam
paign" was being carried on, and that
the executive board members did not
| know what Secretary Mcnamara did
; with the $1,000 monthly appropriated
| for his use without his being required
to give an accounting.
. Beyond doubt the testimony which
: attracted keenest interest was that
which related to the Blowing up OF
!: the Los Angeles Times" building.
: That a man could deliberately buy 500
:. pounds of high explosive with the pur-
: pose only Of destroying property gave
5 unusual zest to that part of the story.
: Unrestricted by the court, the gov
1 eminent went into every available de-
0 tail of James B McNamara's activity
: on the Pacific coast which was con-
2 sidered essential to the charges here.
r The dynamiter's arrival in San Fran
] cisco, after he left his brothers Office
!, in indianapolis in July, 1910, his &C.
: companying MECHANICAL as far as Chi.
k cago, his sending back to MECHANICAL a
postcard giving him greetings from
d the far west, and saying, 1.-The best OF
5, friends must part; the dynamiter's
+ wanderings about San Francisco, his
8 meeting with Clancy in Seattle. his
e taking lessons from an electrical ex.
t. pert in Seattle in how to set off a
l. bomb by spark instead of by a fuse
o his causing an explosion in Seattle
and his return to San Francisco pre-
It paratory to going to Los Angeles. were
q all traced.
n A woman in San Francisco who
IenLSu IOOn 10 MCNAMARA, q woman
II who rented a room to Schmidt, anC
y another woman friend of Caplan, tele
n phone operators who connected McNa
l. mara with the powder company which
It sold him the nitrogelatine. the mel
h from whom he, Schmidt and CaplaI
Is rented the launch used to carry tht
E. explosive; clerk who sold the alumni
e mum letters by which the name of tn,
1t launch was disguised; a man VIII,
n rented the house in which the 5O
10 pounds of nitrogelatine was stored il
e san francisco; a clerk in a hotel il
a Los Angeles to whom Mcnamara biz
re good night" at about o'clock a
o. night, after the bomb had been set il
ID Ink alley" in the Times" building
6, and policemen who ran to the wrecl
after the building was destroyed ant
le Mcnamara had fed, all testified.
ot In connection with the explosion tn
IS story Of William J. Burns was given