Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-09-13

partment and an accomplishment that |
reflected tho highest credit on the |
police department and the particular
officers who carried out the work.
Police Find Hidden Dynamite.
Pratt. according to the police, " !
the man who supplied the dynamite.
He claims ne got II from another man.
He got IL in patches OF eight, nine
and twelve stlcks, twenty-nine In all.
Pratt has an automobile and the po-
lice say he carried the seventeen
sticks OF the explosive which were
used In the, bomb which was placed
under the Fourteenth street bridge 10
his home ut 936 East Seventeenth
street. There the wooden box was
made and painted green and there the
wires were connected' up. the clock
Installed and the time arrangement
tested. II appears the men managed
to get an electric spark when they
placed the two wires, end to end. and
at any time they set the clock to ex-
plode the bomb. but then, II is under
stood. they lost their nerve and be-
came afraid of the thing. fearing II
had II completed. The time bomb was
therefore discarded and the box
thrown out.
Later, according TO the statement
of the men, Italian Dan got the box
and rugged UP the fuse bomb. Pratt
when he got the dynamite. also got the
fuse and two decorating caps. Pratt
this morning told the detectives he
would show them where he had hid
den the remaining twelve sticks OF
dynamite laid aside for another Job.
| II they would take him with them.
Detectives Sutton and Kempslti placed
him In an automobile and following
Pratt's directions, started out the
| kennett pike. They turned into the
Montchanin road and when they
reached n road that turna off that
highway near ST. Joseph's Church
| they stopped at a woods at Squirrel
Run. They got out and walked about
n quarter OF mile through the woods
and then Pratt stopped at an old tree
stump. Sure enough, under IT, ee
curely hidden and protected from the
wea ther the twelve sticks of dynamite
were uncovered and the officers
brought them back to City Hall. They
were broken up. the police not carinf
To take any chances in having such {
quantity of explosives lying around.
For several hours the detective
talked to Pratt and questioned him
He was more reluctant than any o
the others to discuss the case or 4
tell what he knew about 1t. but bit b,
bit he developed his information. /
appears that In addition to the Four
teenth street bridge job and the contem
plated attempt To blow up the round
house at Todd's Cut there was also
plan on foot TO blow up the railroa,
bridge at Bellevue. where the track
carrying the passenger trans run ul
an incline to span the freight track
leading to and from the freight yard
at Edge Moor. The plan to he ex
ecuted here was to place n charge o
dynamite under each end Of thi
bridge and ignite It. thereby makinl
sure that there would be enough force
} to do more damage TO the structur
than happened at the Fourteentl
street bridge. Whether the twelv
, sticks OF dynamite recovered thl
: morning were TO be used In this at
, tempt Pratt did not indicate.
; Superintendent of Police Georg
$ Black was more than pleased toda
t with the results OF tho investigation
= he and his men had been making HI
3 with Detective Captain Benson an
s Detective Sutton, was the only or
= who knew anything about the evi
= dence that had been discovered an
d just what the case was developing unit
o today when the balance of the arrest
: were made. Superintendent Black wa
@ unstinted in his praise of the me
d under him for their very efficiel
& work and he was justly proud of II
d accomplishments OF his department
d this particular case.
The whole thing presented one
g the most difficult problems the depar
n ment had ever been confronted wit
IT for on the morning after the expl,
e sion there was not a shred of ev
e dence upon which the police cou
l. work. They did not lose hope, hoy
e ever. but kept right after every eli
that came to them until they 1nal
n developed sufficient grounds for fl
le ing their suspicious and this led
/ the trailing of Befany Sunday NOR
d ing and the overhearing of his ia
about the explosion, with his cons