New Britain herald., 1916-08-10
TWO ARRESTEDFOR BLACK TOM DISASTER
NorEegians Alleged to Have Caused St5,OOO,OoO Explosion

Jersey City, Aug 1O.--The Jerse, City police arrested Erling Iversol
 and Axel Larsen, NOrWegians, at theil
 boarding house, 241 Grove street, Jer
 sey City, late yesterday on charges e.
 being suspicious persons They are
 held on suspicion of complicity in the
 $15, 100000 Black Tom island fire ant explosions on the morning of July 30 according to Police Inspector Eaters. by.
 Both of the men gave their address as 319 Gardner street, Union Hill They had been living at the Grove street address for the past five weeks Neighbors reported to the police that the men had been acting in a suspi- CiOus manner especially on the night of the explosion and the day follow ing.
 When Detectives ROOney Casey and Zelinsky went to the boarding house they found the two men ready to leave the place. The detectives searched their room and found in a violin case mass of papers. There were draw ings of a submarine. with the note that 1t could make seventy-three miles an hour, and had been planned for the United States navy. The plans were marked in the corner, "Accepted by Captain J. Howard, Chief T.. s. Sub marine Dept, June 26. 1916." On an- other corner was written, ITO be built by Iverson & Co.,. London"
 The Navy Register contains the name of no Captain J. Howard nor any record of the office of "Chief of the Submarine Departm ent"
 The detectives also found a book in which there were shorthand notes Iverson, it's owner, said he could not write shorthand. The police said they found letters from relatives in Nor way showing that the men had pro- German leanings. There was also an Uncompleted letter from IyersOn to his mother in London telling of the ex- plosion and saying: "I expect there will be more, for there are still sixty eight cars of ammunition in the Black Tom yard
 Larsen said he was employed on the Pennsylvania railroad tugboat Rather and worked the night of the explo- sion. Iverson said he had not been working recently.
 Frank Underhill of the federal de- partment of justice, was in Jersey City } yesterday Investigating the case of the tWa men,
 Alien Plot Suspected
 The police Of New York and Jersey City as we'll as agents of the govern ment have been at work trying to verify information that comes from l highly reliable sources that the ex- p1osion which destroyed the Lehigh 1 Valley railroads Black Tom terminal 1 in Jersey City week ago last Sunday | and resulted in the loss of seven lives | and property valued at more than | S15,O0O,0O0 was the work of alien , plotters acting in this country in the | interest of a foreign government.
 A man who is in touch with the in vestigations now under way said that there was every reason to believe that the explosion of benzola, a benzine compound, in the Lehigh valley yards last Sunday night and the big explo- sion on the previous Sunday were both developments in the carrying out of a plot to hinder the exportation of war materials from the United States to Europe.
 On the occasion of the explosion of last Sunday night two men were seen nurriedly to leave the Lehigh Valley yards a few minutes before the eXplo- Eion occurred. These men were well dressed and one of them wore white Bpats. Fairly good descriptions of both of these men are said to be in the pos session of the authorities
 A letter read with much interest by persons identified with the investiga- lion Is one recently found in German bound mail by agents of one of the