ATTEMPTED MURDER.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 187, 15 August 1901, Page 3

ATTEMPTED MURDER.

AN INFERNAL MACHINE,

Philadelphia, June 29. An attempt on the life or beauty of Miss Laura Barney, of Ogontz, l’a., granddaughter of the once famous financier Jay Cooke, was made by means of an infernal machine filled with gunpowder last Monday morning, and has just been made public by the police.

Tho instrument of destruction was sent through the mail, addressed to Miss Barney, and that she escaped all harm is duo to the vigilance of one of her father’s coachmen, who goes regularly to the Ogontz post office for the daily mail. There is no clue to the sender of the machine, although ho or she is believed to be the same person who previously sent three threatening letters to Miss Barney. The young woman and her family and friends are at a loss to account for any motive in sending the explosive.

Miss Laura Barney is tho youngest and very attractive daughter of Charles D. Barney, millionaire stockbroker, of this city. The Barney residence is a delightful country house. Miss Barney’s engagement to Henry Miller Watts, a young Philadelphian, was announced a short time ago. The infernal machine was a small package resembling a bon-bon box. The coachman who found it in tho mail examined it carefully and discovered a fine dust which resembled gunpowder dropping from a crack at ono edge. He called the attention of Postmaster Yerkcs to it, and the latter pronounced it gunpowder. The coachman then took the package and other mail to the Barney residence. Before handing the package to Miss Barney he called her attention to the suspicious character of its contents, and cautioned her to be careful in opening it. She cut away the paper surrounding it and found within a two-pound candy box. The lid of the box was then carefully removed, and to her horror Miss Barney found the box was entirely filled with gunpowder. Fastened to the lid was a pin which held in place a small spring hammer, and immediately beneath this was a small strip of paper to which was glued an explosive cap which was exposed to the powder. The machine was so constructed that when tho lid was raised the pin would be dislodged and the spring hammer would hit the cap, which upon exploding would ignite the powder. From the quantity of powder the resulting explosion would have killed any one standing near.