Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1917-04-12
CHESTER HORROR
RESULT OF PLOT
Disloyal Employe Caused Ex-
plOsiOn Killing 116, Mostly
Girls and Young Women.
SEVERAL ARRESTS MADE.
All Details Not Given Out-Onc Ger
man in Jnil-plOt Letter and n Man
OF Chester Arc Found,
SEVERAL ARRESTS MADE.

Chester. Pa, April 11.-A statement to-
day by high official Of the Eddystone
Ammunition corporation placed the blame
of yesterdays disastrous explosion on
disloya. employe who is thought to have
sacrificed his life with the 116 known dead,
most of whom were girls and young
women.
This amazing development spurred on
the investigations already under way by
federal, State. county, local and company
officials. Numerous suspects were round
ed up here. in Philadelphia, Villa Nova,
Pa, and Camden. N. j., and placed In
the hands Of department Of justice agents
at Philadelphia. These arrests. however,
have apparently furnished no tangible
clue to the perpetrator Of the alleged plot
II such was the case.
The statement Of the companys repre-
sentative who declined to permit the use
Of his name. said the tragedy was the
result of a diabolical plot conceived in
the degenerate brain of a demon in hu-
man guise," and that the triple explosion
was due to a bomb manufactured from a
shell by one of the employees. No further
details were made public.
1t is pointed out by those familiar with
the plant that it would have been possible
for a workman to carry on a plot in the
midst Of unsuspecting employees. partic-
! ularly the women engaged.
Unless the bomb was timed. it was ex-
planned, the plotter must have met the
same fate as the rest of the victims. The
number of known dead announced to-day
by the company, after a canvass of the
lists of employees and the victims. was
placed at 116 and of these fifty-two had
| been identified. Identification is proceed
| ing slowly because Of the charred and
mangled condition of the bodies. Un-
| official reports Of missing placed the num-
ber at 30 and between GO and 20 injured
were still in hospitals.
The present belief that the explosion
was deliberate is shared by Alba B. John
son. president OF the Baldwin Locomotive
works. which owns the Eddystone build
ings, and Samuel NJ. Vauclain. presi-
| dent Of the corporation.
| or the arrests to-day the most alarming
on the face of 1t was that Of Frank Miller
a German. 8 yearsS,,ld. In Camden. y. j
He was taken In custody after a conver.
sation he had held with a waitress in a
restaurant was overheard by former
Judge French and Judge Lloyd. They I'm.
derstood Miller to remark that he was
German inspector employed at the Ed
dystone plant and that "it was a shame
for the German Americans to be blamed
| Tor the explosion"
Captain Schregler Of the Camden detec
tive bureau expressed his conviction tina
Miller had nothing to do with the explo
sion.
Mrs. Annie Kotting Of Trenton. n. J..
to-day told federal officials in that cit,
that she had found in railroad station
at Philadelphia on March IA a letter ad
dressed to IN. X" in which the writer
said. "All ready to blow up Eddystone
Send us help. On sheet of white paper
she said. there was rough sketch of th'
Philadelphia navy yard and the Delaware
| river and a plan OF Chester. Pa.