The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-07-24
HUNT FOR BOMB GANG
Continued from Page One.l
NeWsnanerS Warned.

The explosion of the bomb lends
significance to the receipt of some OF
the San Francisco newspapers several
days ago of letters threatening direct
action against the preparedness par
ade. AT the time they were not taken
seriously and were regarded as the
fuIminations of a crank.
The letters were in Roman script
with an indelible pencil, many of the
words being heavily underscored- The
communication was signed:
THE Determined Exiles from Mill
taristic Government, Italy, Germany,
United States, Russia"
In several instances the writer re-
peated himself. The communication
read:
Editor: Our protests have been in
vain in regards to this preparedness
propaganda, so we are going to use
little direct action on the 22d which
will echo around the earth and show
that Frisco really knows how and that
, militarism can't be forced on us and
our children without a violent protest.
Things are going TO happen to
show that we will go to any extreme,
the same as the controlling class, to
preserve what little democracy we still
have. Don't take this as a joke, or
you will be rudely awakened Awaken
(sic). We have sworn to do our duty
to the masses and only send warnings
to those who are wise but who are
forced to march to hold their jobs as
we want to give only the hypocritical
(sic) patriots who shout for war but
never go, a real taste of war.
kindly ask the chamber of COM
merce to march in solid body if they
want to prove they are no towards. A
copy has been sent to all the papers.
Our duty has been done SO far
Through Postoffice.
Postal officials also are investigat-
ing postcards sent through the mails
addressed to a number of San Fran
cisco firms threatening them with re-
prisals if they permitted their en-
ployes to march in the parade.
All of these postcards were held up
and have been forwarded to the post
master general in Washington before
today's explosion occurred.
Shook the Ground.
About 2 o'clock, half an hour after
the head of the parade had passed
Steuart and Market streets marching
from the Ferry Building, and just as
the veterans of the First California
Volunteers we're passing Steuart
Street the explosion shook the ground.
The blare of bands and the thunder
of drum corps mupled the noise of
the explosion, but windows for sew
eral blocks around were shattered and
the spectators and marchers thrown
into a panic.
off in the thickest part of the Mar
ket Street crowd. Scores of persons
were knocked down and either slight
ly or seriously injured. People stand
ing on the sidewalk were heaped in a
screaming, yelling mass. The foot of
one child was torn completely off and
the standard of a big American flag
was blown from a marchers hands
and a piece of it driven through his
leg.
Building Wrecked.
The force of the bomb was surpris-
ing Concealed in a suitcase packed
with cartridges, bullets, gas pipe, glass
and scrap iron, it blew a gap through
the crowd, blasting men, women, chill
dren and babies. The 1-story brick
building against which the suitcase
stood was wrecked.
Handouts of empty revolver and
rifle shells, blown through the crowd
by the explosion, were picked up in
the cutters by souvenir hunters A
piece of lead pipe was blown two
| blocks into the Northwestern Pacific
Railroad waiting room in the Ferry
building. A womans gold watch, pre-
sumably belonging to one of the vic
Tins, was blown through the air and
landed in fruit stand a block and
half away.
Emma Goldman Was There.
Emma Goldman, international
woman anarchist leader, who is lee
turing here, denied that anarchists
were responsible for the explosion.
She refused to discuss the occurrence
in detail. however
Before her address tonight on Pre-
paredness,'' she said.
of course L shall condemn pre-
paredness. This was a fools parade.
But I have said and done nothing
during my stay here calculated to in
cite anyone to explode a bomb
There are worse things than being
disappointed in love-" says the Cynical
Bachelor In fact we often live to be