Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-03-29
Arming Our Criminals
BY Frederic j. Haskin

who feels moved To destroy win soon |
be able, in the good old American fash /
ion. to get all the dynamite, nitro /
glycerine and other high explosives /
that he wants. Soon children will again /
play with sticks of giant powder which |
they have picked up around rock quar- |
ries, convicts at work on the road will /
conceal explosives with which to re- |
sumo the merry business of cracking |
safes when they are released morOns /
and idiots will easily steal all the dyna- |
mite they want with which to make |
bombs for blowing up Cabinet officers |
and government buildings.
This Is not pure prophecy. All Of the |
conditions mentioned IN the para graph |
| above were found to exist by the Bu-
| reau of Mines when they first under
took the administration of the Federal |
Explosives Act in 1917. At that time
the United States was literally popping
like bunch of firecrackers. Munition
factories and bridges were blown UP
with astonishing ease and regularity. |
A Cabinet officers house was wrecked,
1 then a portion of the Capitol building
went up in the air. 1t was evident that
| not only were astute enemy aliens able
| to get and use high explosives. but per-
| sons of the poorest means and intelli-
gence and of evidently unsettled mind
had the same advantage
All of this led To the passage Of the
| Federal Explosives Act. which was ad-
ministered by the Bureau of Mines. II
greatly reduced the damage done by
high explosions. both accidental and de-
| liberately criminal and 1t revealed a
condition with regard TO their distribu-
ton and use such as finds parallel in
no other civilized country. Few states
had any adequate laws governing either
| the sale or use Of explosives. and there
was no Federal law on the subject ex-
cept a ruling Of the Interstate Com
| merce Commission with regard to their
| interstate shipment. As a result, dyna-
mite and other high explosives were
! bought and cold like groceries, stored
anyhow and By anybody caused enor-
nous numbers Of accidents. and were
widely and picturesquely used in crime
Law Expires.
To this same condition we arc now
about TO return unless Congress does
something about it. for the Federal FIX
plosives Act was a war measure. It
technically remains in force until the
| declaration Of peace, or until the funds
| for its administration are exhausted.
| This point has now been reached. IN
| less Congress acts promptly. we now
| return TO the regime under whcih any
| one can blow up anything or anybody,
| any time. Indeed, r. a great extent
we have already returned 10 H. few
| weeks ago In Maryland two farm hands
had a quarrel One If them went To
a general store. stole a large quantity
| Of dynamite out of warehouse and
blew up the home Of his enemy. killing
a man and a baby and badly iniuring
| a woman. Tha shock vas felt for eight
miles The man who did the work
was considered 10 be az unsound mind.
| fet he had easy access to sudden death
aud destruction in enormous quantities
The Bureau Of Mines is asking Con
gress To pass a law which viii con
tinue the administration Of high ex-
plosives in its hands It stands on the
| facts as to the need for such reguia-
tion as revealed b. the conditions found
in 1917. and upon its own success in
| administering the war time act 1t also
| points out that during the war many
| thousands Of men became familiar with
explosives who would never before have
thought OF using them. Pertinent also
are the facts that there is much unrest
in the country and an unusual amount
Of crime
The Bureau Of Mines suggests as a
peace-time explosive law. an act Of
Congress empowering Il and giving i
the funds 70 investigate all explosions
whether accidental or OF criminal
origin to the end that precautions may
be taken 10 prevent such explosions.
In the event that there is evidence OF
criminal work the bureau is 10 report
its findings 10 the proper state or Fed
eral authorities.
The problem is complicated by the fact
that explosives are widely used in in
dustry Half 4 billion pounds OF high
explosives are used in the United States
every YEAR fer domestic purposes other
than war This doubtless includes the
powders used IN sporting ammunition,
hut all the rest is industrial explosives
| This includes dynamite and giant
powder used in blasting roads, IN many
kinds of mining. in nearly all quarry
ing, in deepening channels. and in ag-
riculture for removing stumps, rocks
and the like High explosives are high
~ concentrated energy Of the greatest
value when rightly used. The problem IS
To regulate their manufacture. sale and
storage in such a way that their legiti-
mate use will not be interfered with or
made expensive, While risk Of accident
and of their use IN crime Viii be mini
mized.
Careless Storage.
1t seems evident that neither can %
wholly avoided. but at least such
dagrant carelessness as existed before
the war can be avoided The enforce
lnent agents found high explosives
stored in all sorts Of sheds and ware
houses Many magaziHes Of tho better
class we're easy enough for criminals
. av,t -. Eaiog locked only with mad