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TLES OF rilK MICML OPTIONMON I ;1! \ I .CIRCUMSTANCES ODD.John Looney, I 'orinrr Proprietor, Vn-nouines Today 1 hut Plant and P:i-Ik*r Were Hold to Xcw Man Satur-(la\—Two Slightly Injured.(Lee Syndicate Sieclal.)Davenport* la., March 23.—Dynamite placed under the press in thepressroom of tie- Rock Island DallyNews office, exploded earlymorning with terrific force destroy-€itIing the press entirely and badly J cwrecking the building in which thepaper was published.The bitter fight which the Newshas been making in the interests ofJk2V.Ithe local option movement in Rock j *island, and Its attacks upon certainsaloon and gambling interests hav*Icgiven rise to ail sorts of rumors as c to the possible cause of the dvnamlt- I fIfing. However other peculiar clr* {cumstances which surround thlt;* case ^tend ot create a doubt in the mindsof some Rock Island and Davenportpeople as to whether the obvious is in reality the true cause of theexplosion. IJohn Looney, the proprietor of thepaper, added to the mystery in the case by giving out a statement thismorning in which he s and his partner. Myron Jordan, had Saturday completed a deal by which they disposed of their interests in j the plant to W. Willmett, of Rock Island county. The triRh of this statement has apparently been con-cvPrsanPfirmed.Story of the Explosion.According to the best accounts obtainable, .Jordan, who is the editor of the paper, and who sleeps in a I room on the third tloor of the build- ! ing, was awakened about 2:30 o’clock this morning by the force of an explosion. He went at once to the J first floor of the building and found the press in a mass of ruins. A dynamite charge had been explodedbeneath the machine completelywrecking it. The front and rear ends 1 of the first floor were blown out. while the posts which support the second floor were destroyed and the entire building had been more or jless thrown out of plumb.What saved the walls of thejbuilding from being wrecked was thepresence of a light well in the (structure. The force of the explosionit is stated went up the light welt bursting out all the windows and byaffording an escape for the rush of gases saved the building from complete destruction.Two Slightly Injured.Henry Atuch, the janitor of the j p building, and his wife were the only ^ ones injured, and in neither ease Is i f the injury serious. Atuck was ! h thrown from hi bed on the third floor and for a time remained unconscious. Mrs. Atuch is suffering i tfrom an attack of nervous prostration F as a result of the shock. The bed which the Atuchs occupied was ne\f to the wall and for this reason they flt; felt the shock of the explosion to a iar greater extent than did Mr. Jor- ^ dan, who also slept on the third :S; floor.■John Looney, the proprietor of the jnNews. has long be* n a storm centerin Rock Island. Last June he was indicted on numerous counts for alleged conspiracy, extortion and criminal libel. He has' however, not a been convicted on any of the counts : that have come to trial.Looney’s pronounced stand in the local option fight in Rock Island has been a matter of more or less surprise to The people of the Tri-Citiesas he has not in the past been associated or connected with the menand interests who have been at The ! * forefront of the local option move-inent. Looney has made many enemies in Rock Island during the time flt; that he has conducted the News even before he entered so bitterly into the present local option fight.riant Heavily Mortgaged.The plant and building are saidto have been heavily mortgaged andthe paper is believed to have been in serious financial difficulties fora! PCh ar ot:Ovent;ome time.Willmett. the man to whom the;ew» is said to have been sold Sat-rday is not known in the Tri-Cities s a newspaper man. and what his j oolicv was to have been has not been ti soertained. The ease possesses itrlt;Tiany peculiar phases and is capable , r t a number ot explanations.
Newspaper Details
Muscatine Journal
Muscatine, Iowa, US
Mon, Mar 23, 1908
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anne C.
NA, 03 Apr 2023
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