The lives of several hundred employees on the night force of the plant were endangered when an unknown man attempted to dynamite the Oliver Street plant of the Lycoming Manufacturing Co. last night about 10:30 o’clock.

Haste or lack of knowledge in the handling of explosives saved both the building and the lives of the workmen and while extensive damage was done, the building was not materially affected by the explosion, which shook the neighborhood and was heard throughout the western part of the city. No one was injured. 

The explosives were placed in one of two holes, each about a foot-and-a-half deep, which were dug along the west side of the shipping department and about 15 feet from the north wall of the assembly rooms. 

When the explosion came, several men rushed to a window and were in time to see a man whom they described as being of short, stocky build and wearing glasses, dash toward High Street. Several employees pursued him but were only in time to see him jump into a car that had the motor running. The car supposedly sped eastward on High Street before anyone could note its license plate or take up further pursuit. 

The damage by the explosion will probably reach $2,000.