The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1920-09-18
Atty-Gen. Palmer Convinced Explosion Which
Snuffed Out Lives of IS Persons and In
jured 300 Others Was Deliberate
Work of Anarchists.
FIVE THREATENING CIRCULARS
FOUND NEAR SCENE OF DISASTER
Radical Literature Similar to That Figuring in 1919
Bomb Plot Eight Separate Investigations Under
Way-Horse Shoes and Fragments of Death
Wagon Thought to Be Important Clues

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said. Workmen were still busy re-
pairing the damage TO the Morgan
bank the United States assay office
and the other buildings that go, the
brunt Of the destructive blast
Department OF justice officials at
taehed relatively little Importance to
the identification Of Edwin Fischer at
hamilton, ontario who yesterday ad-
mitted to Canadian authorities having
sent warnings Of the disaster to sew
eral friends here However Atty
Gen, Palmer said he would direct that
Fischer be thoroughly examined in the
hope that, despite the belief that
might present valuable leads"
1t also was expected that those who
received Fischer's warning missives
would be questioned during the day.
Buildings Guarded
Special guards still were kept today
the Morgan bank and the homes OF
numerous men prominent la the hnan-
cial world. Atty. Gen. Palmer said
this same precaution was in vogue
throughout the country 70 make sure OF
thwarting any possible radical move
Atty.-Gen. Palmer. his assistants,
Garvan and Hoover and William J.
Flynn chief of the bureau Of investiga-
tion OF the department Of justice. were
on the scene early this morning, work.
In to substantiate their preliminary
theory that the explosion was the work
OF reds and that r. N T. was used.
Only Weird Coincidence.
Interest III Edward Fischer. former
New York tennis expert now in a lu-
matte asylum in Canada, upon whom
the investigators focused their atten-
lion Yesterday rnnSinnpu hlu Iae.
sened over night. Chief Flynn said.
Il do not attach much importance TO
FFischer's arrest" Flynn stated. Il be-
iieve he is nut who happened TO
hit il off right However. he will of
course be Investigated"
Fischer is the man who sent a mys-
terious warning of an impending Wall
street disaster to the French high com
missioner. The authorities now be-
heve his premonition was merely a
Next to the horss shoes, the
mystery wagon" as reconstructed
from its debris. Is looked upon by
the authorities as the most impor.
tant clue. Every one OF the hun.
dred- odd places In New York where
wagons Of Its kind car be rented
was visited by agents today, and
the owners were put under arillln9
the driver. srr'raasss =
1t was learned for the first time to-
day that a warning similar to that
sent to the Frnech high commissioner
was received by Morgan e. Co. the day
before the disaster II bore Buffalo
postmark and conveyed warning ito
all to stay away from Wall street
Thursday between 2 and o'clock"
Flynn's Deductions,
Deducing his conclusions from the
discovery of the warning circulars OF
the American Anarchist Fighters,
Chief Flynn outlined his theory today
as follows
The piotters probably left the wagon
with the horse attached in Wall street
having Sc the timing device few
moments ahead. They didn't want TO
take chance on mailing the crcu-
lars. nor did they want to throw them
into the street. SO they just dropped
them, without postage or wrapper, In
the nearby mail box on their way from
the scene of the crime. Three minutes
later their bomb had exploded.
The system Of guarding the financial
district, public buildings and the homes
Of wealthy citizens who might be
intensified. The whole Wall street area
swarms with department Of justice
agents. police and plain clothes men.
American Legion Aids.
The American Legion several Of
whose members were among the victims
of Thursdays blast. is raising a fund
to aid the authorities in tracking down
the perpetrators Of the crime. Fifty
eight victims of the explosion were still
IN hospitals early today
Eight Of tnose who were killed served
with the American expeditionary forces
in France.
Fischer 10 be Extradlted.
No comment could he obtained at
police headquarters this morning on the
statement by Col. Mead, Of the Morgan
office, that the farrier who shod the
horse pttached to the death wagon had
been found and the Identity Of the
owner reasonably well established
Police officials also declined to make
known their plans concerning Fischer.
It is believed. however that he prob
ably will he extradited and brought
here.
Crowd Police Headquarters.
Detectives and witnesses continued
today to crowd police headquaIters'
where Capt. John Coughlin, acting IN
spector in charge Of the bureau OF de-
tectives, was still seeking to establish
tho identity Of the death wagon
Apparently more progress was being
made from examinations OF the morse
than the wagon. The horse-a straw.
berry roam Of less than IS hands-had
been newly shod behind hut had ola
Shoes on his fore feet
The Horscshocrs' International union
is reported 10 have only one local In
this city. The 500 members are being
exam ned.
Formal Report This Afternoon.
Capt Coughln said he had been un-
able as yet to establish the Identity OF
the WAGON or its owner. \ conference
of detectives, however. viii be held az
Headquarters this afternoon when 1t Is
expected tn re win bc made public the
first formal report coming from the
police department. At headquarters. Vt
was said little c~cdencc was placed in
reports that consplrators had planned
Tot only to bomb. hut to burn wall
street This report gained circulation
after certain pieces Of metal had been
found. This metal at first was believed
TO have been fragments Of kerosene or
gasoline cans placed near the scene oi
the explosion In an attemnt NJ arson