davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14

characteristic gesture his arms stiff
fen. and he instinctively places his
feet wider apart. An anthropologist
would class him without hesitation
among the "race with the short.
round heads" which it was the fash
ion before the war to say were the
coming conquerors Of the modern
world. He has short, frizzy, black
hair, and in his black, audacious eyes
the look of one who seeks danger
in sheer high spirits. His nose is
short and snubbed. Every time
have seen him he has been smiling
in the same way, the smile of the
confident boy, who enjoys the fun
Of life, the amusement of succeed
ing, and the exquisite taste Of power
and success. Murat, the pastry cook
of Marseilles, must have looked like
Bruozzi, avigorous, audacious South
ern man. Without those tenacious
hands, swift to clutch but strong to
hold, those eyes might have made
Bruozzi the first commercial traveller
on the Italian road, or a bandit,
highwayman. AS it is, he is the
coming force Of labor in Italy, the
man who made the Italian revolu-
tion.
His bosom friend and the enemy of
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14

when she comes in. Not that she is
severe, or wet blanket. l did not
meet one sad or serious-faced person
in the whole of the labor movement.
They go in Italy rather to the theo-
retical side, to be laughed at and
shouted at by the Bruozzis. She is Z
broad-shouldered woman dressed in
black silk gown, her hair beginning
to turn gray. A stout old lady. Her
voice cannot with justice criticize.
1 remember that she was speaking to
foreigner, and international tradi
ton has it that one must always
shout to be understood by such. Ger
tainly she spoke very loudly, as if
she was addressing a public meeting
of one. She has addressed public
meetings all her life, this old lady
with shrewd, large black eyes. She
began when she was eighteen. she
told me, when on visit to the coln-
try. She must have been q teacher.
l fancy. No one else was doing the
work in those days The contadini.
the peasants, were in bad wav. as
the French peasants were before
their revolution. They were just day
laborers.
No one owned his land. In the
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14
NHE fighting points Of the in
dustrial revolution that to-
day holds Italy in its clutches

are the Metal Workers.
Union and the Peasants or Land
Workers. Each of these trade
unions, writes a special correspond
ent just back from Italy. in The
Manchester Guardian, is strong and
led by a remarkable personality,
the first by young man and the
second by woman in late middle
age. Bruno Bruozzi and Sienora
Argentina AltobelEi are two people
Of whom the outside world knows
Isstle. Both are worth knowing.
Brrozzi / saw for the first time in
the ctsces of the official Socialist
paper (Communist) Avanti. He is
= difficult person to find, for he loves
movement. He can never stay for
more than an hour in any one Of the
multiple offices in which he does his
work. People made a gesture Of de-
spair when / asked, successfully, at
the Camera del Lavoro, the Confed-
Grafton Of Trade Unions, the offices
of the Metal Workers, where he
nsight be caught. To judge from
sacse expressive shoulders one might
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14

his soul is Professor Pagliari, the
social scientist, the brains Of the
movement in Italy, the thinker. He
cannot avoid his company, vet every
word that Pagliari says makes Bru-
ozzi clench- those hands and stand
firmer upon his feet. Pagliari is the
brains of the movement; Bruozzi is
its arm. Both are Communists, but
let Pagliari and his friends beware
OF trying to take the direction of a
strike away from the workers, their
organization, their leaders, from
Bruno Bruozzi. "On economic mat
ters we are the first and last word"
says Bruozzi, the trade union official.
So the man of pure thought and the
man OF action meet and quarrel in
their shouting Southern way, with no
malice in it, every hour of the day.
Man Without a History
Bruozzi's history is not long:
rather it is just commencing. He
was a workman; he became secre-
tary of his union; he went to Mos
cow. In his buttonhole he wears the
red star of the Third Internationale
at night, when it can only be seen
in the lighted rooms of Avanti. It
is a five-pointed star of red enamel
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14
With the Match Lighted

Audaciously, and with every bit of
the skill he had credited to himself,
ne advanced the project up to the
Point of applying the match, when
suddenly he. discovered that most of
his alleged accomplices were regular
detectives with real badges.
Now Frank Lighton is sitting in
a lonesome cell in the Hackensack
Jail thinking things over.
A few weeks ago the Butterworth-
judson Company, Of Lyndhurst
\. j., received the following letter:
Superintendent.
Dear Sir: I wish to communicate
with you in secret way. If my
Questions are not agreeable with
your views and desires, 7 wish and
ask YOU to answer me no and forget
everything.
The works at Lyndhurst, N. j.,
owned by your company, are closed
and Idle; Your expenses no doubt
nrc high in engaging two watchmen
and paying them their wages for
which you have no returns or gains.
wish to ask you if you have the
sid building insured high enough
hat would pay you we'll enough and
stop paying the necessary expenses
by having same sold as I call it
in the air).
Should you agree to this please
lat me know and know we. will close
70 satisfactory -erms, etc. But, as I
said before, if you should not agree
20 THIS plan, then please answer no
and say nothing more about it, Hop
ing to hear from you soon. Respect.
.ully, FRANK S. LIGHTON.
s57 Henderson Street, Jersey City
n. J.
The INSTRUMENTATION Company
had factory in Lyndhurst. 1t had
been used during the war as q
chemical plant, turning out govern
naent orders. Lately they have had
little use fer the place and were
preparing to dismantle it. However
i.lghuon's proposal didn't quite fit
in with their schedule.
Detectives on the Case
Instead of complying with the re.
quest to "answer me no and forget
everything" they notified the Ma.
tional Board of Fire Underwriters
who Immediately placed Henry J.
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14
nOWN hallWoys and
H. through doors the fuse
aU0s laid

chased several balls Of wicking, such
as miners use. At Pacific Avenue
address he picked up two jugs and
a half gallon can. Later, when thew
reached Lyndhurst, he went down in
the basement of a house and came
up with five-gallon can. Two more
fve-gallon cans were procured at q
garage.
The party arrived at the factory
about midnight. The Lyndhurst
plant Of the Butterworth- -Judson
Company is an extensive affair, oc-
cupying a series of low, rambling
frame buildings, inclosed by a
wooden picket fence. One side faces
the banks of the Hackensack River.
Here Mr.. Sloan can give a fairly
detailed account of the story.
when we landed at the gate the
factory could be dimly seen in the
darkness" said Mr.. Sloan. "The
deserted neighborhood and the hour
seemed to be we'll adapted for the
plan. We found the watchman
waiting for us.
Powerful Medicine
LEIGHTON had been boasting about
the efficiency of the secret prepara-
ton which he called medicine. He
mixed some of it in a bucket, using
a combination of materials from che
various cans and bottles. He gave
G demonstration with a short piece
of wicking on the concrete floor. 1t
made good his claims, because
tried to stamp it out and couldn't.
'Then it was interesting to see
the professional way in which
Lighton and the watchman went to
work in preparing for the fire. Hun
dreds CT feet of soaked wicking was
used. A trail was taken from room
to room and from building to build
ing. Carefully planned lighting
points were arranged. The walls
were drenched with gasolene and
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14
Asked for References


as we'll attempt to predict the move
ment OF the north wind. The only
way was to lie in ambush for him.
1 chose Avanti. The Offices of the
paper are in a quiet, almost middle
class street, facing canal. went
there at 10 o'clock at night. Bruozzi,
OF course, was not there. One of the
editors, however, received me in his
Office.
An Editor With Leisure
An hour passed by. The editor in
his armchair seemed to have little to
do that night. AS he developed his
thesis of the complete, sudden and
violent" reformation Of the world,
according to the edicts and decisions
of the Third International, sounds
Of disputes came from the room
alongside. The COMMUNIST brethren
seemed to be coming to blows, hu. The
editor never turned his head. The
struggle died away. Another hour
passed, and still the man in the black
ribbon tie, with beard like Lenine's.
held on his Communicate way. Col
laborators came and went. We we're
always surrounded by a little group,
who listened quietly to the man with
the tie. Occasionally one Of them
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14
A Money-Back Guaranty

"a guaranty with every job, or
your money back" was his terse
way of expressing it.
Twice before he has been arrested
for incendiary ambitions, once for
arson and once for attempted arson.
But both times the cases were nom
piused or nolle- pressed, or what
ever it is that happens in court
when nothing happens.
Then he planned something really
big-the burning Of a chemical fac
tory over in northern New Jersey
that had fallen into disuse. ALI he
wanted was 8 per cent of the total
gate receipts when the insurance
policy had been cashed in, or, if
that seemed excessive, he was will
ing to accept fiat 5000 and ex-
penscS
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14

Underwriters, whom he introduced
to Lighton as corrupt plainclothes
man Of the Jersey City police force.
Lighton appeared satisfied and per-
mitted the two men to accompany
him while he collected his materials.
A Firebug's Tools
At hardware store Lighton pur-
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14
ming Of October 22 at the Robert
Treat Hotel, in Newark.


Sloan concealed a dictaphone in
the room, with wires leading to an
adjoining apartment, where a STEM
ographer could record the conver-
sation. To guard against any fail
ure, another stenographer was
locked in closet with notebook
and a small electric fiashlight. The
scenery was all set with the dra-
matte precision of q motion picture
drama.
Not the Villain Type
When Lighton arrived he pre-
scnted hardly the type expected Of
one who practiced the daring trade
OF an arson expert. A mild-man-
1lered man, past middle age, with
his hair just beginning to thin on
the top of his head, he was of a
robust, stocky build, smooth shaven,
heavy features, red nosed, slovenly.
From his battered old gray suit and
cracked shoes it was apparent that
re had not profiteered extensively in
his business.
Seated opposite the reputed manu-
facturer, with the formal introduc-
tions out Of the way, his first ques-
ton was about the insurance policy.
II never touch a job until read
the policy" he explained.
Sloan assured him that the policy
was in first class condition. After
considerable discussion of finances
1t was agreed that Lighton was to
receive 5000, half down and the bal
ance when the job was completed.
Also the company assumed respon-
sibility for all expenses, which
Lighton thought would not pass
$50, besides the money that was to
be paid to the watchman as a bribe.
Asked for References
At a second conference, held the
next afternoon in the same room,
Sloan pretended that his firm was
dissatisfied with Lighton's qualifi
cations for the delicate job. Ligh-
ton promptly grew expansive as to
his talents.
He boasted Of thirty or forty fires
in northern New Jersey for which
he was personally responsible. He
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14

personal charge Of setting the trap
and assigned County Detectives
Taylor and Valuzzi to the case. AS
the investigators feared that Ligh-
ton might advance his schedule and
set the fire when they were not
present, constant watch was kept
on the plant.
According to their testimony.
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14

IN the center Of which is the sign of
Communism, which is seen everv-
where in Italy at present. chalked
on the beams of the workshops.
painted on the walls of factories
sold in The shops on picture post
cards-thc crossed hammer and
sickle.
The Signora
rs he sincere?" is the first aues-
tion one asks about Communist in
stinct telling US that it is not so
much political creed as a reliqion
fanatlcism, a faith. 1t is a oues-
tion which Bruozzi would never nut
to himself. His is not the nature to
be worried by religious doubts.
am sure he has never even thopobt
about the question. He is enor-
mously ambitious and greedy for
power; for the cheers of the multi
tude, for practical things, for results
To see Argentina Altobelli, the
general of the other wing, one has to
go to Bologna. She is easier to find
than Bruozzi. for she is nearly sixty
Her clerks call her the Signora.
and stop chattering and laughing
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14

south they earned sixpence or 'eSss
pence a day. They did not wefA .
the year, and in the end they d.ea y
emigrated to America. One hl''
of a peasant as a man who re.Hs
large family in little picture sq''
cottage in the country. The itn''
peasant, when Signora Arge l'D'
appeared on the scene, lived il
slum, in a town or village, AM "'''
to work every morning (if he W.
lucky enough to find emplo7ine'
for a fixed wage.
Taught Peasants to keao
So, even after she married, VIZ
friend CT Carducci she contln'isu :
visit the contadini and teach tnsp "
read and write and that they VIZ
unjustly treated. They were y
years inclined to disbelleve this o.
put it down to the anger OF wv
She tried to get them to form, i''"'
groups of ten to twelve to meet "
gether. They would not for w.,
time. This year the membershif :,
her Land Workers Trade un'os =.
100000. Such is the life Of -"
belli. a.. -. =,
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14

-icism from Sloan, Lighton offered
to give references as to his ability.
and called up over the telephone two
former patrons, one in Lyndhurst
and the other in Rutherford, both of
whom warmly indorsed Lighton's
professional skill and discretion.
Final arrangements were consum-
mated at third meeting. Minute
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14

had never been caught, either, and
his clients had always been able to
collect the full insurance.
''Most of my business is with sa-
loons," said Lighton, "but have
handled a job for s2oo,000."
Upon further expression Of skep-
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14
A Firebug Who Was Able to Give His Customers
Frank S. Lighton, Was Trapped
IN the Act Of Starting a
Fire, Was an Expert

Sloan, chief Of the arson bureau. in
charge Of the case.
Posing as member Of the But
terworth-Judson firm, Mr.. Sloan es-
tablashed communication with Ligh-
ton. After a series Of letters had
passed between the two a con-
ference was arranged for the eve
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14
MOTE how the fuse led
~ up to the filled aUaste
basket

details Of the plan were agreed
upon and the date set.
At this point Sloan decided to no.
tify Prosecutor A. C. Hart Of Ber-
gen County. Prosecutor Hart took
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14
NTRTCTLY among friends he
was known as Frank the

IN TRTCTLY among friends he
was known as Frank the
~ Firebug.r Just pet name
nothing Official about it. Still,
in his own home town some of the
police force had the playful habit
Of. offering him matches as they
passed him on the street and urging
jovially:
Here, Frank, go start fire"
Professionally Frank S. Lighton
was an arson expert, an arch incen-
diary who could give references
from any number of satisfied clients.
His speciality was the igniting end
of the job. According to his own &c
count, there weren't any better ar
son men in the business. With his
secret medicine he could fire whole
city block in five minutes and no
one would be the wiser.
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14
His F Proposition to Bum a Dismaut),1
War Plant Revealed an Ex-
tensive Arson Business

sasolene was even poured ON, 8
gas meters so that the fr, 80 s'a'
cause an explosion to con,,.. '"<
destruction. nv" u
"All Of this consumed t,...
four hours, so thorough and No n
manlike was the process. Vo,s,' 1
there in the dark, it was hs.,
believe that these men wer. .nss.' ,s
in a perfectly matter-of.faet' ''ss g
in committing an extensive -.
and that was apparently as,i,.s.' '
t.iem.
FINALLY all preparation.
complete, and We returned ~ " .
engine room, which had been s..s
as the point Of lighting. c;u.ss
the supposedly crooked d.,..s
was with US. By this time b. s,s5
high in Lighton's confidence, '
The Time to Act
ave stood two to two, bu. ~,
reserves, the county detectives ....
hiding behind the fence. | had ~.
talking loudly enough 80 that ..
outside watchers could keep tar.
Of our movements. They knew q,
well as we that the time had eon,.
for action.
Now, you fellows had h.s.,
run,' said Lighton, as he .ook :,
natch from his pocket and st.uoa
over to the wicking.
"This was the signal for tn. ct.
WV az
tack. The reinforcements nor,.,
in, and after a short struggle The
incendiaries were overpowered an;
in the hands of the county dsts
tives."
The original plan had been to a..
low Lighton to start the fire. E..
tinguishers and water had been cor
cealed ready for immediate use BIZ,
when it was seen that spark fun
a single match might set the whO.
factory in blaze the detectives d.,
cided TO take no chances.
Upon Investigation by Prosecute
Hart's office, it was discovered tia,
Lighton is an old friend Of the u-
Ice. In the Rogues Gallery he i
known familiarly as No. PAPA. III.
der various aliases-Frank Keele,
Frank Leighton, Frank Ciawm.
Frank Swadik. Frank Kurachelle-
his police record shows that he ha.
been before the court frequently and
has served several sentences.
A DisiiIus;onized Man
Visited in the Hackensack jail,
Lighton was still cheerful, bu.
showed plainly that he has lost al
faith in human nature.
"How do [ know you are news.
paper man." he asked the corr.
spondent. "Since that man Slcaa
fooled ME | don't believe anything
or anybody
Modestly he protested that Il
wished to claim no distinction i''
being the inventor Of secret med..
cine that could sell things "in tas
air" He felt that he had over
stated the case in his conferenH
with Sloan.
Nothing but gasolene, kerOsfn'
and a little oil" he described tn'
ingredients OF his compound. RS
had run away with nh
in his eagerness to get the loa
Really, he was only boasting auO'''
being such a celebrated arson ei'
pert.
Lighton's one compliant about IN
whole affair rests on the buVN''
worth-Judson Company's failure y
treat his suggestion in the splT' "
which it was intended.
II told them to answer ME NJ
and forget everything he wnin'"|
And they didn't"
- -----------
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14

would put in his word. At half
past IL I began to think I would
give it up. l hazarded word about
Bruozzi and asked if my teacher
thought he would be in the next morn
ing. "Bruozzi?" asked the man in
the armchair. "Why, here he is"
He made brusque gesture to the
group around our chairs, indicating
a young man whom I vaguely re-
membered as having hovercd around
US, coming and going in intervals of
five minutes for the past half hour.
Bruozzi smiled with ell his teeth.
could scarcely resist cry Of tri-
umph.
Bruno Bruozzi
He is a young man, about thirty
or a little less; Of middle height,
shabbily dressed in a gray tweed
suit. If you looked at his hands first
Of all you would put him down as a
wrestler or an acrobat-large, fleshy
hands that are obviously very strong.
which he shoots out in argument or
greeting as If he were striving for an
opening" They are not the hands of
a manual worker, but of a profes-
sional strong man. When he pushes
them out suddenly and abruptly in q
New-York tribune., 1920-11-14
the ch
burned o the paper the efusev iqrited -

THE fuse qDas laid from
K building to building so
that the entire plant qVoa.ld
burst INTO flames at appror-
am1dtely the same moment
and insure complete de-
St7>MctaOn
The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-02-24

Neither do the bitches bother, as we
ditched in such a way as to leave no
deep. narrow bitches.
when the neighbors saw what a
good thing it was they employed US
to ditch their wet lands, which we
did with great success.
I'VE now consider our land as good
as the best, yet at the time we
bought it people criticized our judg-
ment. We are now raising 40 BUSH
els of wheat to the acre on this land
and we believe that concerted effort
should be made to drain hundreds of
thousands Of acres which are now
wet and Doggy.
"Our ditching machine makes
V-shaped furrow and we can go just
as deep with it as we like.
Farm bureaus under the charge
Of competent county agents are
preaching this great doctrine and
there is not a county agent who does
not know how to go about it. You
can get the information right at
home as there is now a county agent
in nearly every county. Our public
land is now all taken up and we must
improve our opportunities in swampy
The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-02-24
NOTICE TO BIDDERS

state of Indiana, Wayne County, IS:
Notice is hereby given that tn.
Board of Commissioners of WAYNE
county will receive sealed proposals
for 10000 feet more or less of oak
bridge flooring, from to 10 inches
wide, and 2 inches thick.
Bids will be received until II
o'clock a. m, on Saturday, March 13,
1870, at the County Auditors office
at the court house in the city of Rich
mond, Indiana.
Bids must be submitted on blanks
designated by the state, which may be
procured of the Auditor of Wayne
county. Bids must be made in &C
cordance with the specifications on
file in the Auditors office
Each bid shall be accompanied by,
a personal or surety bond in a sum not
less than the amount of the bid, and
in full in all respects conform with the
law governing such matters.
The board reserves the right to re-
Ject any or all bids
By order of the Board of Commits
sioners of Wayne county
WILLIAM II. BROOKS,
Auditor Wayne County.
Feb. "a, March 2.
The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-02-24
BY w. A. MARTIN.
Itional Crop Improvement Service. ]

National Crop Improvement Service.l
All of the agricultural colleges are
putting great stress on the reclama-
ton Of land by pulling stumps and
digging bitches. All improved farm
land Is increasing in value so that it
pays to buy ditching machinery and
control the water.
There is a man out in Sterling,
Kan, by the name of J. w. Smyser,
who had 1900 acres in swamp
piece of land which was not worth
more than $25 an acre. Two years
ago he bought a ditching machine
and grader and used it on $50 acres
of very wet land, so wet that moth
ing could be raised on it. Before
ditching he was unable to harvest a
crop on this land, even If he could
raise it, if the season was at all wet.
If there had been a wet spring he
could not plant a crop. He says:
II wouldn't take 1925 an acre for
this land. Since we used the ditcher
we can drive over the farm with a
car and we can harvest our wheat
with a header or binder, without any
inconvenience on account of mud.
land which is now of no use."