The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1915-07-06
TERRIFIC HAVOC WAS
WROUGHT BY EXPLOSION
Reception Room of United
States Senate Wrecked.
MUCH DAMAGE WAS DONE
Letter OF TX. Pearce" Led Detectives
to Connect Morgan's AssaiIant
With Deed.

""ShihStoH, july o.-lnveStiga-
tlon OF the explosion late last night
which wrecked the senate reception
room of the national capitol. was in
terrupted tonight by the confession
In New York of Frank~Holt, the man
who shot j. P. Morgan at his home
In Glen Cove, l.. I. this morning,
that he also had been responsible for
the Washington crime.
Early in the day Washington
newspapers received letter signed
"R. Pearce," in which the writer
stated he had planned the capitol ex
plosion as 1.-The exclamation point to
my appeal for peace"
While experts were at work salts
Tying themselves that an internal ma
chine had wrecked the senate room
the police were searching for clues.
They could find no trace of the mys-
terious "R. Pearce," but tonight they
sought to trace the movements of
Holt who confessed that he came to
Washington yesterday noon and wait
ed last night at the union station un-
til he heard the bomb explode.
MORGAN'S ASSAILANT SUSPECT
ED.
Hours before Hollis confession.
however, suspicion was aroused here
that the assailant of Morgan and the
man who sought to wreck the capitol
were identical. Holt had given utter
ance in New York following his ar
rest to statements strikingly similar
to expressions in the "R. Pearce"
letter.
IF Germany should be able to buy
munitions here, we would, of course,
positively refuse to sell to her." Holt
said after his arrest.
I'VE would, of course, not sell to
the Germans if they could buy here"
is statement in the "Pearce" letter.
Other portions of Hollis interview
and the Washington writer's letter
also were similar, and officials here
regarded this as more than a coinci-
dence. An investigation to establish
a possible connection between the
two crimes was started.
GREAT HAVOC WROUGHT.
The havoc wrought by the bomb
was terrific. In the reception room
telephone booths lined the wall near
the window where the bomb was
placed behind the telephone switch
hnQr6 Tho fro
window was of iron and was shat
tered by the concussion. The tele-
phone booths were blown into splin-
ters and bits of metal were imbedded
In the splinters gathered up by the
investigators.
Directly in front of the switch
board no vestige of which could be
found save few pieces of the metal,
was mantel on which stood large
gilt-framed mirror, admired by cap
Ito! visitors for years. 1t was shat
tered into thousands OF pieces and
souvenir hunters, seeking these frag-
ments had to be restrained by the po-
lice while the inquiry into the explo-
sion progressed.
An onyx clock fixture of the re-
ception room for twenty years. was
ground almost into powder.
Experts declared that the destruc-
tion would have been more complete
had the recreation room been entire
ly closed, but a window was open
and at the opposite end of the room
is an arch leading to the senate hail.
way. Notwithstanding this outlet
for the force of the explosion, it
wrecked portion of the arched cell
ing. The doors leading to the office
OF the sergeant-at-arms of the senate
were wrecked and doors to the Off &c
OF the Vice President were sprung
from their hinges. The floor of the
room was sprinkled with bits of the
great chandeliers. The damage to
these will be difficult to repair.
PUT BLAME ON BOMB.
Early in the day Elliott Woods.
superintendent of the capitol, was
convinced that the wreck was the re-
suit of bomb explosion. He sum-
moned Professor Munroe, who is con-
nected with the bureau of mines and
geological survey. Professor Mum
roe looked into the debris and soon
satisfied himself that the room had