The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-09-17
Property Damage Placed at Mil
lion; Opinion Differs as to
Cause of Catastrophe
INVESTIGATION THOROUGH
While Morgan House Was Gen.
ter of Disaster None of Group
of Bankers Was Killed.
fRu AasocIated press.l

New York, Sept. lo.-lne ihSslciA-
Gus explosion in Wall street near
Broad, is believed by trained depart
ment of justice and police investigators
TO have been caused by an Internal
machine. 1t rocked the heart of New
York's financial district today, leaving
death and destruction in it's wake.
At least 20 were killed and more
than 200 injured. The banking house
of J. p. Morgan & Company. the sub
treasury and the assay office were par
TALLY wrecked, and property damage
estimated at around million was
caused by the blast.
Evidence tending to confirm the the
ory that the explosion was premedi-
tated came from several sources. CHIEF
of Police Inspector Lahey reported that
he found pieces of iron slugs fashioned
from window weights, and there were
no window weights of this type within
several hundred feet of the explosion.
William J. Burns said less than a
month ago he warned his clients that
radicals were planning bombing out
RACES. He said he was convinced the
wagon containing the bomb with a
timing device so it would explode ex-
actly at noon was driven up and left
in the street.
Various police officials, after ex-
Summation, expressed the belief 1t was
~ bomb. Lieutenant Arnauan, attached
- the French high commission, an
apunced that on Wednesday the COM
mission received a letter warning that
there would be a catastrophe in Wall
street about $3.50 o'clock, but no date
was given and he did not pay any at
tention to it at the time. Detectives are
seeking a man who formerly worked
for the commission.
Thomas w. Lamont, of the Morgan
firm, expressed the belief that the ex-
plosion was an accident, caused by a
collision between an explosive laden
wagon and another vehicle. He said
the firm had received no threats of any
kind and there was no real reason for
planting a bomb outside it's offices.
AS an endless stream of office work
ers were pouring into the streets for
the noon lunch, cloud of yellowish
smoke and a piercing jet of flame
leaped from the street outside the
Morgan office; then came deafenipg
blast. A moment later scores of men,
women and children were lying pros
covered with debris from thousand
broken windows and torn facades of
nearby buildings. Two minutes later
stock exchanges closed. Panic and con-
fusion reigned.
thousand fled in terror and many
were trampled upon. Scores tainted. |
A Few minutes later came a rush of
thousands attracted by the explosion, |
and reserves, and finally soldiers, were |
called out. while ambulances rushed |
the injured away.
While the police toiled for hours
seeking the dead and injured, trained |
investigators were trying in vain to |
determine definitely whether the ex-
plosion had occurred from a bomb |
dropped in front of the office of j. |
p, Morgan and Company, or whether |
an automobile dashing into a wagon |
loaded with explosives had taken its |
toll.
Frank Francisco, one of the most |
able Investigators of the department of |
justice, declared after arriving on the |
scene that it was his opinion that it |
was not bomb plot but collision had
been responsible for the blast which |
rocked skyscrapers, tore the fronts |
from office buildings for blocks around |
and scattered deadly missiles in all
directions.
The damage to the Morgan building
alone was 100000.
Minor damage to hundreds of other
buildings, it was expected, would to- |
tai at least 100000 more.
Although the front and sides of the |
Morgan banking house We're den1olish- |
ed, no member of the firm was serious |
ly in jured.
j. p Morgan himself is in Europe,
but at the time of the blast Thomas
w. Lamont, Eliot Bacon, Dwight Nor
row and Geo. Whitney, all directors of
the company, were in consultation.
Police Commissioners Enright said
that after comforting with members of
the firm he had learned that Mr.. Ba-
con was slightly injured and also
Junius Spencer Morgan, another Off
cial Of the company. Several employees
were injured and one killed.
Firm members are quoted as say
ing that the blast came from the