Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-02-15
MAN NEAR DEATH,
WOMAN OFFICIAL
SERIOUSLY INJURED
Photographer Loses Arm in
Premature FIashIight Ex-
pIosion : All Windows
Blown Out

CHICAGO, Feb. 1S.-Charges that
Allan o. Meyers, of the Burns De-
tective agency, had him go to. the
office of the Thiel agency, a rival bu-
reau, and write threatening letter
to the postmaster of New York City,
on a Thiel typewriter, were made to-
day by Albert Bailan, alias Balanow,
when he continued his deposition
for use at the trial of twenty-five al
legged communism at st. Joseph,
Michigan.
The deposition is being taken by
Frank P. Walsh, attorney for the
defendants.
The hearing came to an abrupt
halt just before noon when the pre-
mature explosion of a photograp piers
f1ashlight wrecked the offices of Will
liam. Guinea. where the hearing is
being held, blew out all the windows,
seriously injured Miss Ida Silverman.
Z court commissioner before whom the
deposition is being taken, and prob
ably fatally injured the photogra,
pher. Captain j. Mcdonald, a for
mer member of General Pershing's
headquarter's staff in France.
Every window in the suite of
offices was blown out, law books in
adjoining rooms torn to tatters, and
McDonald's, right arm blown off.
Miss Silverman was showered with
broken glass and one side of her face
badly cut
Balanows testimony today contin.
ued his story Of yesterday, in which
: he charged the Burns and Thiel
agencies with fomenting radical and
labor troubles, and told of double
crossing in which he and others. he
claimed, sold out one detective
agency to another.
Meyers, he swore today, had him
write the following letter on a type
writer in the Thiel office and mail
it to the postmaster of New York
on October 10, 1920:
Attention:
I'VE will not tolarate any longer
unless you free all the politacal and
industrial prisoners or we will kin
you this time for good. We mean
business this time all right. We are
j going to blow up the Woolworth
building this time unless you free all
the prisoners mentioned here above.
KNIGHTS OF THE RED STAR,
American Anarchist Fighters,
New York
October, 1920"
The Burns agency offices in New
York are located in the Woolworth
building.
Balanow swore that after the letter
was mailed Meyers had him go to
s I. w. w. headquarters and write an
illierate letter apparently from
one radical to another and send it to
Meyers to use in showing that the
Threatening type of letter was the
kind radicals would write.
Detailing conferences he claims to
have had with w. J. Burns, head
of the agency bearing his name and
now head of the bureau Of investiga.
ton of the department. of justice,
Balanow swore that in 1920 Burns
boosted to him that if Harding was
elected he would be head of the in
yestigating bureau and that if Gov
ernor Cox won the election his Of
flee manager, Allen o. Meyers, would
I get the post, so that either way the
Burns office would be in charge.
Officials of the Burns and Thiel
agencies here last night made gen.
eral and specific denial of Balanbw's
charges.
G. C. John, Chicago manager for
the Burns agency, said ito the best
! of my knowledge no man named Bal
anow or Balm ever was. employed
by the Burns agency
The statement from the Thiel agen-
cy was similar in tone.