The evening world., 1922-04-13
SIXTEEN FAMILIES IN PERIL.
6 HURT, IN BOMB EXPLOSIONS
IN AN EAST SIDE TENEMENT
Interior of Building in Eldridge
Street Is Shattered by Ex-
ploSion-2 Men Seen Run
ming From Place Arrested.
Police Believe Blasts Mark
Renewal of Black Hand Ac-
tivities-Neighborhood Ter
rorized Three Years Ago.

Six persons were injured by th2
explosion Of two bombs on the fourth
.,Sor of the tenement at No. 2lS
Eldridge Street early to-day. The
interior of the building was wrecked.
The stairway leading from the NTH
TO the fourth floor was left hang
ing in the air and the landing at the
head OF the stairs coming from TIE
third door was blown away. This
police and firemen pronounced /; the
worst wreck of its kind many of
them ever had seen.
In the minds Of the police the ex-
plosion marks the renewal Of Black
Hand activities and they have no.
doubt that il viii be followed by
others in the same neighborhood
which three years ago was terrorized
| oy black handlers, who followed
threats made to extort money with
explosion after explosion.
Although every tenant in the build
ing has been questioned all deny re
| ceiving any threats. This is not an
unusual situation for the police to en-,
counter in terrorized house follow
ing the explosion of bomb. They
are confident the bomb was intended
for some family or member of a fam.
| ily living upon the fourth floor as
both deadly destructive agents were
placed so that in case of fire follow
ing the explosion IL the person was
not injured in the wreck escape would
be almost impossible with the stair-
ways cut off.
On this floor live three Italian fam-
lilies and one couple of Spanish Jews
The majority of the sixteen familica
nthe house are Italians. Those In
jured in the explosion are;
John Sigents, thirty. lacerations
and contusions; Mrs. Rosalie Semin.
atore, thirty-two, laceratlons, con,
tusions. possible internal injuries; her
children, Joseph, seven; James, eight
and Elizabeth. nine, all suffering from
cuts and bruises and burns, were
taken to Gouverneur Hospital, and
Josephine Scorza, thirty, lacerationa
attended and cared for by neighbors
| Policeman Edward Tracy was al
IClinton and Stanton Streets when the
explosions Jared the district just aftet
midnight. He ran TO the house ana
found it blocked with a mass OF debrLl
| at the second floor. While he was
trying TO get through there was h
back drauGht. black smoke and dust
that drove him back.
He tried 1t again after hearing cries
and means from apartments abovu.
He found the stairs had been bloyI
away half way above the second floot.
| From their doorway on the third fioolc
Mrs. Seminatore and her childreis
were begging for help. Tracy half
climbed. half crawled to them and
aided them down. Part OF the wasl
they had to go on hands and kneeA
along the supports Of the stairs. By
the time hremen and police reserves
arrived Tracy was so exhausted he
collapsed in the street, and after being
attended by an ambulance surgeon re-
ported sick. Sigents was found In his
wrecked apartment.
The shocks threw sleepers OF the
neighborhood from their beds and
shattered windows a block away. A
small blaze started in the wreckea
building. The police and firemen
found scores OF persons on the root
and fire escapes crying for help AMI
took many OF them down fire ladders.
Soon the streets were blocked by a