An Infamous Deed by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Oct 18, 1910

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 37, No. 41.

An Infamous Deed

By Editor

CALIFORNIA, yes, the country, is shocked by the news of the awful explosion which wrecked the Los Angeles Times building at 1 A.M., October 1. Twenty employees were killed and as many more injured. The property loss has been estimated at half a million dollars. Within a minute after the explosion the Times building was in a mass of flames caused by the instantaneous ignition of gas from broken pipes. There were over a hundred employees in the building at the time of the explosion. Many leaped from second and third story windows and were seriously injured, while many were entrapped and buried under the crumbling walls, or suffocated by the smoke and flames.

Two dynamite bombs have been found in the city, one being placed under the window of the home of Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, editor-in-chief of the Times and largest stockholder in the company, which is conclusive evidence that dynamiters have wrecked his plant. As the institution opposed union labor, an accusation has been made that the labor unions are responsible for the crime.

A view of the "Times" Office (in the foreground) before the fire

Governor Gillett, after expressing his horror and feelings of the awful deed, remarked:

"It is useless to talk of anything but dynamite in the explosion. Subsequent developments, where the bombs were found on the porch of General Otis's house and at Zeehendelar's home, show that the men or man who did these things cared not a thing for human life as long as vengeance for a fancied wrong was accomplished. Whether guilty or not, the labor unionists will have to be blamed for the crime until shown that they are not guilty, as everything points to a desire to wipe out property and lives of those who have been fighting organized labor for years. The saddest part of it is that many innocent men have lost their lives, and families have been made to suffer."

The unionists deny the charge that any union or true union men are responsible for the outrage.

In a letter to the editor of this paper of October 2, General Otis says:

"Dear Sir: Accept my thanks for your letter of sympathy. The crime committed was indeed infamous and almost beyond description. Our building and machinery have been destroyed, but the Times itself can not be destroyed. We will go on fighting as before for the great principle of industrial freedom, and we believe victory will yet be the outcome throughout the entire nation. The country can not surrender to a mob of anarchists, nor can the people consent to have one essential of republican liberty destroyed. "Very truly yours, "H. G. Otis."

We wish we could share the hope that General Otis holds, but the events of the past few years are not at all encouraging even to the most sanguine. If it were mere property alone which suffered in these outbreaks it would not be so serious, but it is utterly impossible for life to be safe unless property is safe at the same time.

Rewards have been offered by the city and county of Los Angeles, state, business firms, organizations, and citizens, aggregating $100,000, the largest, we believe, on record. The merchants and manufacturers of Los Angeles are responsible for $50,000 of this; and we do not wonder if such things are allowed to go with indifference that the question naturally comes to the mind of every one, Whose home or hearth or friends are safe? To the Associated Press General Otis declares:

Scene after the fire, the magnificent "Times" Building in ruins

"More than all else do I deplore the sad loss of life. I with my co-owners in the Times property can endure the physical loss which the destruction of the building involves, with its expensive plant of modern printing machinery and all necessary accessories of an up-to-date American newspaper. . . . But we are overcome with sadness by the fact that so many of our loyal and faithful workmen were slain by the hands of conspirators and assassins. . . . We can repair the physical damage done and restore the great property destroyed, but we can not restore life taken away; and this is the great burden which weighs on our hearts in the face of this frightful calamity."

And it seems to us that every true man, whatever may be his politics or opinions regarding things earthly, should coincide with this. And we hope for the sake of those who live that such steps may be taken in justice as will make life safe.

Jesus said as the days of Noah were so should be the days just prior to His coming. And in the days of Noah, we read, "The earth was filled with violence."