Republican farmer., 1918-06-14
BRANDEGEE'S
 ARREST DOES
 NOT END CASE
Capt. Cronan Not Satisfied With Explanation of
 Bomb Explosion.
BELIEVES BRANDEGEE
 INNOCENT OF CHARGE
Whether He Had Explosives Or Not Bomb Was Fired
 Near Naval Base.

The arrest of William s. Brandegee of Black Rock, by Charles H. Lane of the Department of Justice, for having explosives in his possession, but sup posed by many to be in connection with the recent attempt by Hun agents to blow up the Black Rock Naval Base, last Wednesday, has giv- en rise to difference of opinion be- tween the federal agent and the Bridgeport police department.
 When seen today Captain E. o. Cronan, chief of the detective bureau, who is personally conducting the po- lice end of the inquiry into the at tempted outrage, said People may say what they like about Brandegee but in my opinion a man of his | standing in the community, a mem Der of one of the oldest New England l families and intensely patriotic in | every way, would not be guilty of l committing a crime of this nature
 or of even planting the bomb after the explosion.
 q have had a great deal of ex- perience in my life with internal
 machines and the one which was used
 at Black Rock was one of the best
 and simplest I ever laid eyes on. It
 was not an alleged bomb, but real
 honest to goodness machine, which | if planted properly, and not thrown
 away hurriedly, would have caused
 damage which cannot be estimated.
 we all know that W. s. Brande-
 gee was a collector of rifles and fire
 arms of every description. We know
 that he was an ardent yachtsman
 and carried his enthusiasm to the ex-
 tent of firing off a cannon every even
 ing at sundown, in the same manner
 as warships do. When visiting yachts
 from the surrounding waters entered Black Rock harbor it has been his
 custom to fire a salute of welcome to
 them.
 Some time ago W. S. Brandegee performed some rather eccentric
 tricks, but he has given up those ways
 and as far as 1 am aware is a very
 sensible keen-minded business man.
 There is no reason to suppose that he
 is mentally unbalanced, and a man to
 go to the trouble of manufacturing a
 steel and cast iron internal machine
 just to plant it and bring notoriety to
 himself must be an idiot The bomb was made in a machine shop and not
 withstanding the assertion by certain
 people who looked it over that it was very crude it was just as finished as any bomb have ever laid eyes upon and I have seen some of the most fa- lmous that were ever tipped off or | about to be tipped off in the country. , People do not make bombs for orna- f ments.
 "The machine was manufactured
 by an expert and not by an amateur |, I defy anyone to say that the bomb . which lies in my office is the work o1 anyone but a party skilled in the f making of deadly machines.
 q q further contend that it was the discovery of the miscreants in the l nick of time, whether it by the dogs barking or the appearance of Bran degee which saved the loss of many
 lives and the destruction of much . property. I emphatically state that the bomb was not planted after the |, detonation. The explosin was caused , by the internal machine the remnants of which are in my desk.
 "One of my most trusted men, De
 tective Sergeant Wheeler, who is vel versed in explosives, made a mos thorough investigation and I have , every faith in his report, coupled witt . the result oIa5ny own investigation !, that the bomb was intended for ust . against the Naval Base, which is only . a hundred feet Or so away from the spot where the blast occurred. Int theory of keg of powder blowing LII
 Or an old charge of dynamite left b1
 excavators being accidently exploded
 cannot stand in face of facts and tht
 facts are that deadly internal ma chine was used, but failed to do tht | damage for which it was intended. n '"The reason that the fragments O !, the bomb were not found until tn, i day following was first, because thu : fragments were scattered some dis
 tance by the force of the explosion anC r second, because they were buried un h der a heap of wreckage which had t :. be moved very carefully while a searcI l was being made"
 l. Brandegee is being held in bonds 0 r. $5, 900 and will have his case heart