Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-12-28
ALARMING bomb"
WASL0ST CAMERA
mystery" Of Chain Bridge
Early in War Solved by
Star Mans Friend.
PLAYED WITH $50 LENS

The mystery attached to the report
ed finding of a supposed German bomb
or internal machine in some bushes
not far from the Maryland end of the
Chain bridge shortly after this coun-
try went to war has been cleared.
The dark and deadly looking con-
trivance which a son of one of the
county officials found so carefully
tucked beneath some bushes, and
about which there were many sensa-
tiona1 stories printed at the time
stories suggestive of the blowing up
of vital points about the capital-it
has been learned, was nothing more
than harmless though costly graf1ex
camera.
Belonged to Star Man.
At the time the finding of the Ger
man bomb" was reported c. T. Chap
man. a photographer on the staff Of
The Star, reported the loss of his
grafex. He had placed his camera
beneath some bushes while he f1shed
nearby. However, there seemed no
connection at the time between the
strange disappearance of the camera
and the finding of the bomb.
The bomb story faded away and
of the times. Photographer Chap
man, still bemoaning the loss of an
expensive and useful part of his pro-
fessional equipment, went away to
war.
Both mysteries were solved yester-
day when an associate of Chapman,
who was in a store near the Mary
land end of the Chain bridge, heard
some natives "joshing" deputy
sheriff about the German bomb"
These village "cut-ups" wanted to
know if the deputy wasn't proud of
being responsible for breaking up
such an evil plot. They also tantal-
izingly asked if he had improved his
picture-taking any lately.
The Cat Is Freed From the Bag.
When one of the testers laughingly
remarked that 'it surely beats the
mischief how a Teller would mistake
a picture camera for a German
bomb" Chapman's friend commenced
putting two and two together. He
made Inquiries. and the story in all
its laughable details was told him.
The men roared in glee as they told
how the deputy's son had found the
thing and how he and some friends
proclaimed 1t deadly oeVlce, ana
how they handled it tenderly and
carefully. just like any one would
handle something they expected to
explode They told how later the
deputy and his friends became more
COURAGEOUS and took the evil thing"
apart, and how. when the little cur
tain inside the camera rolled up with
a sudden bang. all ands nearly
dropped dead with fright.
Finally they learned what their find
really was They tried to suppress the
story. but news in the country district
travels fast. Neighbors have since had
many laugh at the expense OF the dep
uty and his friends.
Played With Expensive Lens.
Not being able to get the camera to-
eether again and not being acquainted
with their soaring war time prices and
of the scarcity Of camera parts. the
deputy put the grafex on the shelf of
his home and trie dto forget. His boy
was afterward frequently seen using the
lens, which, by the way, are worth
about $50 and scarcer than gold, to burn
his playmates' hands by letting the rays
of the sun pierce through the glass.
After hearing the story through Chap
mans friend was positive he had traced
the lost camera. He has made arrange
he