New-York tribune., 1915-03-29
Drives Three Headlong
Into Cellar in East
Side Explosion.
ONE, BLINDED, DYING;
TWO ARE PRISONERS
Blow.Up in Wash Boiler Leads
to Discovery of What May
Be Bomb Plot.

Three men sat around a wash boiler
yesterday afternoon in a small room
in a stable at II Pike Street unloading
a quantity Of gun shells Of all descrip-
tions. Suddenly the slip of a pair OF
pliers snapped a spark from percus-
sion cap into a hundred pounds OF
smokeless powder and the three men
were blown down a horse runway into
the cellar.
An hour afterward. when fire that
did damage estimated several hun
dred dollars had been extinguished'
children told a patrolman about the
men. Search revealed one OF them
fatally hurt, under horse blanket IN
the cellar The others, one OF whom
had escaped injury, were found across
the street in hiding. The owner OF the
stable told the police that he didn't
know the men were there, and the en-
tire case is surrounded with mystery.
In Gouverneur Hospital is Edward
Stern, who has no home and will prob
ably die. Both eyes are so badly
burned that he will lose their sight
even if he survives his other injuries.
Practically all his clothing had been
burned from his body, and he had lost
consciousness under the blanket, IN
which he had wrapped himself in des-
perate attempt to eXtinguish the flames
that we're eating into his face, hands
and body. He said he was engaged at
80 cents a day to help the others unload
the shells and separate the powder
from the lead and brass.
Bomb Materials Found.
Also in the hospital is Israel Yam
kelowitz, Of II Monroe Street. lie IS
badly burned all over the body.
Searchers found him across the street
from the rear of the stable in Cherry
Street. in the home of his brother.
Morris Turman, who was with him, was
arrested, charged with having eXplo-
sives in his possession without per-
NIT. He lives at 230 Cherry street.
The police also arrested Joseph Ber-
man. owner of the stable, who lives
at 1877 Madison Street, in spite OF his
protest that he didn't know Of the use
the others were making OF his property.
Roth prisoners were taken 10 the
night court. where Magistrate Deuel.
accented bail of $1,000 each. They will
be arraiCned to-day IN the lomDs
court. D.,
INSPECTOR owen EaRan, OF Ine bureau
Of Combustibles. assisted IN the IN
vestigation Admitting that the AFFAIR
looked suspicious, he refused TO say
positively whether a bomb factory had
been wrecked by the untimely eXpIo-
sion. Among his discoveries were
quantity Of wire and the works oil an
alarm clock.
Turmau. the only one Of the trio who
.r1
he and Yankelowitz had bought eight
cases of miscellaneous shells at bar
gain, and intended to unload them and
sell the various parts. The lot cost
about $3.50, he said.
Men Shot Down Runway.
The men were working in small
room near the Cherry Street side OF
the stable. As each shell was broken
I'D. the powder was poured INTO the
wash boiler, around which they sat,
and the lead, copper and brass were
thrown into separate boxes. Inc eN-
plosion was so sudden that all were
pitched out of the room and down the
runway without warning.
DESPITE the force of the blast, it was
well muffled, and shook the building
only slightly. On the upper floors sew
erai hundred men and women were
working in factories, but after tenn
porary fright all returned to their
labors.
In fact the explosion might have
gone undiscovered for hours if a
1atrolman had not seen smoke issuing
from the windows. He turned in an
alarm and then made an investigation.
No one was in sight, and after the
frcmen had done their work they went
away. stern lay all the while uncon-
scious in the cellar while his COM
panions had fled.
The patrolman, Sullivan, discovered
enough to warrant the services of
Faqan. The inspector began rigid
search Of the building and the neigh
borhood. This was the state Of affairs
when Patrolman Luttge learned from
children that three men had gone into
the building some time before the fire.
stern was then found and hurried TO
the hospital. Rumor that man was
injured across the street led TO the dis
coyery of Thermer and Yanke elowitz.
The police had much trouble with
horse owners whose animals were
stabIed in the building. Reserves
finally held them in check. Berman
arrived in the midst of the excitement