The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1919-05-03
Senators Wife Injured I
By Bomb
Internal Machine Sent tes Mrs.
~ $50
Hardwick Through the Mail

Atlanta. April lS.-Mio. Wa aouo .Is
Hardwick, wife Of Former United
States Senator Thomas W. HardWick.
was painfully injured and her negro
maid suffered the loss of both hands.
in the explosion here today OF an IN
fernal machine sent through the. mails
TO the home of the former Georgia
senator. He was at his law office. at
the time.
The package which came in q pa
per wrapper bore New York City:
postmark and had been mailed to
Senator Hardwick's former home at
Sandersville, Ca PostofIiee officials
there had forwarded it TO his apart
lrtent here on Peachtree Street. The
package was about six inches long and
some three inches wide. Mrs. Hard
wick, the senator said, decided that,
it was a sample of pencils and told
the maid to open it.
What the police believe to have
I'beeD nitric acid was exploded by con-
tact with some other acid as the
maid. Ethel Williams, unwrapped
the parcel. A number of metal sIugs
added TO the effect of the explosion
which. literally blew the maids S hands
OFT. Mrs. .Hardwick was burned
iabout the face and upper part of the
body. A piece Of metal made severe
cut across her upper lips. and loos-.
encd some teeth. -,
Mrs. -aardwick and the maid were
in the kitchen of the apartment. at
the time of the explosion and a aitct1-
en- cabinet was wrecked and other
/ pieces of furniture. damaged. A rain
storm at the time caused neighbors
to surmise that. lightning had struck
the building.
Both the former senator and local
police and federal officials expressed
the belief that the explosion was the
work Of anarchists operating in. New
York. The senator could assign no
particular cause for the attempt on
his life. The package bearing the
typewriter. address, Senator Thomas
w. Hardwick, Sandersville, Canvas
marked Sample" and had wrapper
bearing return address of "Gimbel
Bros, 32nd and Broadway, New
York" It was tine word Sample"
that caused Mrs. Hardwick to think it
vas some merchandise and to have
opened it in her husbands. absence.
After leaving the United States SEN
ate Mr.. Hardwick. came to Atlanta
and engaged in law practice. &. On
! leaving his home at SandersyiIIe, he
did not know what his Office address,
would be SO he gave the postmaster
the number of the apartment he, had
taken here. For that reason the pack
age was not sent. to his oifice but to
his home.
Police described the Internal ma
chine as being composed of piece of
wood about six inches long,, three
inches wide and probably an inch
thick. A hole had been made in the
| wood and the acid container, which
they believed was glass, was placed
| in this. 1t was SO arranged, they said,
that untying the wrapper loosened a
coil spring which allowed the larger
quantity of acid to come in contact
with some other acid and the explo-
| sion followed. The piece of wood and
pieces of the wrapper were found.
The wood was burned black in places.
| The small metal lugs appeared to
have been wrapped around the wood.
Attention was called to the fact
that an Internal machine received
Yesterday through the mails at the Of
flee of Mayor Ole Hansen in Seattle
also came from New York and ! bore
the return address of Novelty De-
partment, Ginlbrel Bros. New York
City The police were inclined to
connect the two attempts to destroy
life and said that the WrapperS of a
New York firm were used to avert
any possible suspicion before opening
the packages. The bomb sent to Seat
tic did not explode.