German arrested after explosion in US senate
Attempted assassination of J.P. Morgan
Washington DC, 5 July 1915 - A German national named Holt is thought to be responsible for bombing the United States senate.
On Friday night a bomb consisting of three sticks of dynamite was placed in the Capitol building, Washington. The force of the explosion shook down part of the ceiling and side walls, shattered a huge mirror and the crystals of a chandelier and blew open the doors.
There were no injuries, but the incident caused panic among the night's watch.
That the explosion was a deliberate and premeditated outrage is evidenced by the letter received by the Washington Times before the event announcing that the attack would take place. The note was written in a rambling style and demanded that the American government should stop exporting munitions to the allies.
Assassination attempt
The following morning the same man attempted to assassinate the banker J.P. Morgan at his summer home in Long Island, New York.
J.P. Morgan and his home in Long Island where he was attacked (Images: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA and The Brickbuilder Architechtural Monthly [January, 1913], via the Internet Archive)
In the course of the assassination attempt, two shots were fired. Both bullets hit Mr Morgan, but his injuries were not severe. The assassin was overpowered by Mr Morgan’s butler and was subsequently arrested.
When questioned about his motives for the double attack, Mr. Holt said: ‘I thought that it was a good way to bring the attention of the American people to the terrible murders being committed in Europe.’
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
