Evening journal., 1916-03-27
state HAS CLUES
IN DYNAMITE Case
Continued from FIRST Page,

Continued from First Page.
Pierce live alone on the small farm
and are highly respected by everyone
in the neighborhood. AS far as is
known, neither Of them have an en-
emy. Mr.. Pierce is about 60 years of
age, and his wife a few years his
junior. They have one son Leroy
Pierce, who is employed at the Office
Of the park engineer in this city. He
boards in Wilmington and was in this
city at the time of the explosion, hav-
ing been notified of 1t by his parents
by telephone about O'Clock yester-
day morning. He Immediately went
TO the aid Of his parents and remain
ed there al day assisting Detective
Mccoy in searching for clues. Mr..
Pierce owns the farm where he has
lived Tor many years. While he had
nre insurance on his home, it is said
IT. VIII not cover this damage by dyna-
mite, and the entire loss will be about
$4,000.
The experience of Mr.. and Mrs. Pierce
IS one that 'they will remember for a
long time and both are much upset by
tine shock. While Mr. Pierce was cut
some about the face, his wife escaped
unlnlured except from shock They
were both asleep at o'clock. when the
explosion occurred. Many persons in
the vicinity were awakened bv the re-
port and thought powder mill had
gone up.
The floor of the bedroom dropped
lIr
though by magic. Thev went down with
the bed, which partly overturned in the
descent, but fortunately it proved a pro-
lection to them in the fall. Debris was
falling all around them and that they
were not killed by some of the falling
timbers from the floor above was mir
aclc. \ piece of wood did strike Mr..
Pierce near his eye, making an ugly
wound, but Mrs. Pierce was not
scratched. The aged couple found them
selves practically in the open with por-
tions Of the wrecked building all around
them.
That it was a deliberate plot to
wreck the building and possibly TO
XIII MIR. and Mrs. Pierce, can not be
doubted under the circumstances. Mr..
Pierce stated that he had no reason
10 suspect that anyone would want
TO injury him or his wife and that
he has no enemies. He declared
there were no explosives about the
premises and that he had no occa-
sion TO use them or keep them on
hand.
Il Is the suppositiOn that the ex-
plosive was placed at a point nearly
under the bedroom where the farmer
and his wife slept and it was evil
IDENTIFY the work of some one who
knows something about explosives.
The place where the fuse was placed
It is claimed, could be traced on the
ground where it had burned the
grass and was long enough to give
the person igniting it time TO get
some distance away before the ex-
plosion occurred. The debris is be-
ing cleared away today and Detec-
tive Mccoy has given instructions to
those doing the work TO be very
careful and not destroy anything that
might prove to be a clue
! The back portion of the house from
J the ground to the roof was complete
! ly wrecked. An outside kitchen was
! blown to atoms and other out houses
! damaged. The doors on the carriage
house some distance from the house
were torn from their hinges and
every window i'm the building was
broken. Houses for a great distance
in that vicinity were shaken.
The furniture in the house was
all practically demolished. Mrs.
Pierce's sewing machine was twisted
into an almost unrecognizable mass.
while clothes of Mr. and Mrs. Pierce
in the closets were torn into shreds.
A large pan OF eggs in the basement
was not damaged. not an egg being
/ broken 1t was a two-story house
/ with an attic.
Mr. and Mrs. Pierce both suffered
to some extent from the sudden ex.
posure to the early morning air with
only their night clothes on. They
went to the home of neighbOrs only a
short distance away and who had
been awakened by the explosion. Mrs
Pierce remained with the neiPhbor
during the day. Although some OF the
walls are standing the house is be
yOnd repairing.
Some of the wreckage was blowr
: across the road and lodged in a tree
i All residents in the vicinity speal
in the best of terms of Mr.. and Mrs