New-York tribune., 1920-09-21
800 Pounds of Explosive
i'm Yellow Sticks Located
i'm Craft at Plum Beach $
Previous Case Recalled
Custom House rs !
Warned of Blast
wv.
Witness Describes Threa
Men Who Fled Scene
just Before the Blast

The authorities in searching for
the source of the explosive that
caused the Wall Street disaster last
Thursday, yesterday found three
hundred pounds of smokeless powder
in an abandoned houseboat at Plum
Beach, L. I. ~ >
The cache was discovered by Ser.
geant James Gegan Of the bomb
squad, who went to the place with
Inspector Henry Campbell, of the
United States Bureau of Mines, ON
an anonymous "tip." According to
Gegan, the houseboat appears to
have been deserted for some time.
How the powder got there is mys%
terry. 80
Explosive i'm Sticks 10
Samples Of the powder were taken
to Police Headquarters last night.
The explosive is in short yellow
sticks, resembling crayons. The rest
Of the three hundred pounds was
turned over to the army authorities
at Fort Lafayette, off Bay Ridge.
A similar cache was unearthed
about six months ago at the same spot,
The houseboat in that instance was
the property Of German named Rich
ter, who, it was then thought, had col
lected the powder for sinister pur.
poses involving injury to this govern
ment. The police later gave <eut the
story that it may have been part Of
large quantities Of powder that were
set adrift in the neighborhood shortly
after the Black Tom explosion.
The police, however, were not 80
ready to believe that the present mag
azine came from any such source. and
are making every effort to find out who
occupied the houseboat last and where
the powder came from.
A postcard warning that an attemnt
would be made at p. m to-day to
blow up the Custom House was re-
ccived through the mail yesterday by
William B. Edwards, Collector of Ina
ternal Revenue. M
Warning Signed "A Citizen"
The postcard was signed "a Citizenn
and was turned over to the Collector
of the Port, Byron r. Newton. Mr..
Newton, while inclined to look upon
the matter as a hoax, said he was
taking no chances and had called upon
the police, Department of Justice and
the army officials at Governors Island
for protection.
Great importance is being attached
to the stories coming from various
sources that three men were seen run
ming away from the scene of the trag-
edy just before the explosion. Some
idea Of the character Of these men was
obtained from Samuel B. Wellington,
president of the West Indies Trading
Company, of SO Cortlandt Street, who
was slightly injured in the blast. Mr..
Wellington says that he was leaving
the offices of lawyer at 37 Wall Street
. few minutes before IL o'clock when
he heerd two men near him calling to
third man across the street to Hurry
up. Beat it. Get out Of here" The
two men, he said, looked like peddlers,
were middle aged and were calling to q
man near the Assay Office. The third
man was watching tottering wagon
with top, but with open sides. The
morse attached to the wagon, as he re-
was an old zush. The third
man was about sixty years old, accord
ing to Mr.. Wellington.
lhe three men walked hastily toward
William Street. Wellington says he
thought they mighs nave been inn
plicated in some bond sheftg and ex-
pected to see them chased by poIiee. 3
man. AS he neared Nassau Street .ka
plosion. B;
The description of the three men
with those Of Matilda Schiess,
a stenographer of Gay G. GODDARD, law.
wears of 52 Wall Street, and Thomas Le
Boutillier, of the same firm, who say
that just before the explosion they
saw three men of this type get into q
car in frent of the National City Bank.
Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer
declared at Strordsburg, Pa, yesterday
he is firmly convinced that the ex-
plosion was the result OF criminal
plot. His statement definitely discards
all theories attributing the disaster to
accidental explosions.
Il am firmly convinced that q bomb
placed by criminals was the cause OF
the fatalities in Wall Street." he said.
Il believe we will be able to handle the
situation"
Edwin Fischer, the mentally incom.
petent tennis star, who sent several
postcard warnings of the explosion Ito
friends in Wall Street, arrived hera
yesterday from Hamilton. Ont. After
a short session with the police and
members of the District Attornev.s
staff it was agreed by the authorities
that he was insane ard that his warn
ing was o mere coincidence.
~ae District Ar+orney's Office. how.
s*sr, ss making arrangements to havn
Fischer cOnmissed to an iass:tution
Agreeable to Fischer and his relatives
Two Inquiries Resumed
The death last night of w;r,;a
Peterson in Broad Street Hoss;taI S,s
creased the number Of victims ~ .,.
explosion to thirty-four. PataMe Me
was twenty-eight years cid and Ifso9 ls9
1T s2 Chestnut Avenue. nosesa s,Sea
The grand jury and the Dissr;.st ~ y
torney,s office resumed their ino,,sN. ns- {
yesterday by summoning twansSs..y sss.ry
amined by the grand pury, Other sS ax.
questioned by mAmhXr. - ~ sesa pHtN& 4