The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-03-24
MAP-MAkER IS
FREED, MISSION
HERE INNOCENT
Man Arrested Near Reser-
voir Released After He
Explains Intentions.

Stringent means are being taken in
Bridgeport today by factory owners
for the protection Of their property
from possible attacks by enemies upon
reports circulated to the effect that
public service corporations in this city
have uncovered evidence of suspl-
cious character which might tend to-
wards the actual destruction Of prop
critics.
Chief among the means of defense.
"to he purely local. as one official on
a public service corporation declared
today, is the formation Of a. military
organization in the University club to
be known aus the bridgeport R1na
Club"
This organization which already has
one hundred members supplied with
uniforms and contemplates an in
crease to 200 persons with the addi-
tional formation Of machine gun
corps, has the financial backing of
number of big industries which have
contributed largely to its treasury.
It will he equipped with Remington
rifles within the next week.
Though reports current about the
streets Of Bridgeport today indicate
that a quantity of dynamite was
found in proximity of one Of the larger
dams Of the Hydraulic Co., supplying
Bridgeport with water, and that arti-
cles of a suspicious nature were found
near the big gas tanks of the West
End within the last two weeks, the
full force of the runors is denied by
company officials today.
It is however. admitted by Samuel
T. Senior, vice president and chief
engineer of the Bridgeport Hydraulic
Co. that the company's guards appre-
hended a man engaged in plotting
maps Of the compa1y's reservoirs and
streams. After close espionage he was
brought before competent authorities
who closely examined him. said Mr..
Serior today
1--WE found that he was in the map
making business and he was released"
Mr.. Senior continued and closed by
saying:
Nobody iniraical to the country's
interests would attempt such a brazen
thing as map-making here at this
time, would they?''
Though some Of the larger manu-
facturers including DeVer H. Warner
and Walter B. Lashar are credited
with large subscriptions to the Bridge
formed and already partly drilled un-
der command of Major L. J. Herr
mann, a reserve officer Of the Ma
tional Guard, opposition to such inde-
pendent bodies of militia has already
sprung into existence.
This statement has been issued
from the headquarters of the Home
Guard in Hartford today:
From two cities come the reports
Of the formation Of semi-private or
ganizations that are arming for spe-
cial duty. They plan to be in readi-
ness to be sworn as cOnstableS or
special police in case of local trouble,
the men to be armed with revolvers.
The ordinary status of such bodies is
in considerable doubt. OF course they
would not come under the descrip-
ton of legal defenders so provided in
International law.
'"The reason given for such organi
zation Is that the prombters desire
to make sureEthat their town and fac
tories shall not be robbed of defense
in case of an emergency which might
call the Home Guard outfit to
another town. In other words, they
adopt for their individual town the
very principle which the governor and
the legislature adopted for the state
relative to the National Guard.
cat Home Guard headquarters, to-
day, it was said that this reveals a
serious Misrepresentation of the plan
for the guard. Headquarters has con-
stantly in mind possible tricks by a
very clever foe. One such trick
would be to start trouble by fire, ex-
plosion or disorder in one community
in order to draw away troops from
another community and then bring
disaster on tho unprotected commun-
ity.
It is clear, then, that there would be
little sending of troops from their
home town unless the emergency call
ed for everything and everybody.
The Bridgeport Rifle club is to be
commanded by officers recently train
ed at Plattsburg, N. Y, and sent from
this city by various factories in
which they were employed including
Continued on Page Two.)