Evening journal., 1915-12-10
Prisoner BOASTS He
Can END LIVES
Negro Who Said He Blew
Up Powder Works Held
for Observation
INTERNAL MACHINES
IN HIS POSSESSION

PHILADELPHIA. Dec. 10.-Bruce
Hackett, Richmond colored man.
who. on Wednesday told the ponce
that il was he who blew up the upper
Hagley Mills, of the DUPONT foW9er
Works. was termed YESTERDAY py VI.
John Wanamaker, Sd, "a dangerous
paranoiac, OF mechanical turn oi
mind.s' DR.. Wanamaker, VINO Is po-
lice surgeon in City Hall, listened 10
The mans stories and then sent nm 10
the Philadelphia Hospital for ooser'
vation.
"This man." said the surgeon later,
described in detail two Internal ma
chimes that he had made or was ABOUT
"a make TO destroy munition works
and ships carrying munitions Of war
He is a good talker and he has me-
chanical turn of mind He is paran-
oiac and / believe that If he were
turned loose now he might perfect
these machines he talks about and
cause untold damage. l believe lhat
he should be confined"
Ills Internal Machine.
DR.. Wanamaker then described two
internal machines that Hackett had
described to him. According to the
surgeon. both are practical and would
prove extremely dangerous in the
hands of a man like Hackett. Hack
EFT said one Of these machines was SO
small it could be carried in work
MANS lunch box. II would be an
easy thing, he said. for workman to
take it into a powder plant set II
down in some corner and then leave
the works at night with the other
workmen. In the middle Of the night
it would explode. blowing up the
works.
This machine was made of a bottle
and an acid, the name of which Hack
EFT kept secret. Attached to the sides
OF the bottle were two cross bars
on a carriage. The least move would
tilt the bottle containing the acid. At
tached to the neck OF the bottle was Z
piece of invisible wire. he other enc
being attached either to the minute
or the hour hand OF a large watch
which in turn was held securely TO
piece of woodwork Under the bottl,
of acid was another bottle contain
ing nitrogylcerine.
Hackett explained that all he would
have to do would be TO carry his ma.
chine to the plant, wind the watch and
leave it. As the hour or the minut,
hand made the circuit of the watcf
face the wire would tilt the bottl,
containing the acid. which in turr
would spill into the nitroglycerin,
and cause tremendous explosion.
To Wreck a Ship.
The other contrivance which Hack
ett described to Wanamaker wa
equally cunning He would not g
into details. but he did say that al
that he would have to do would be Il
20 out in a rowboat and get withil
five hundred or a thousand yards of
ship carrying munitions. He wOul
then throw overheard a small RAT
containing a high explosive. He woul,
allow the raft to drift down towar
the ship with the tide and when
finally touched the vessel he woul
work two wires attached to a stOr
age battery in his boat and brin
about a short circuit which, in turn
would create a spark that would Sc
OF a mass of explosive on the raft.
Hackett told DR.. Wanamaker tina
he had described his first invention
The one which fits into a lunch box, {
several of his friends in Wilmington
two days before the explosion, whic
wrecked the Upper Hagley Mills a
duPOnts. He said he believed one {
the men 10 whom he told the stOr,
made good use of it and blew up tn
powder mills, thereby causing tn
death of thirty-one men.
Apparently the only thing thi
Hackett is insane on. according TO d
Wanamaker, is his plan for buildin
an airship and submarine detecto
He had a model OF this instrumei
when he was taken into custody
The police on Wednesday night. TIL
model is in the form of extension la'
1ers. At the top of the last ladder
small cage, which is supposed
house the operator on watch. Hacke
explained that to make the machiI
successful it would have to be
lease one half as tall again as Il
Woolworth Building in New York.