New-York tribune. [volume], January 12, 1917, Page 9, Image 9

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Munitions Blast Spreads Terror Through Northern Jersey
?U.&W.TORNUP
FOR TWO MILES
Twisted Rails and Ties
Block Commuters on
Boonton Branch
TRAINS SHIFTED
LONd WAY AROUND
Explosion Means Discoin
fort to Thousands of
New Jersey Residents
For ?art ikM '"*"* rn\\tt the trscks
,/ :ht B?OI ton-Northern division of
tie Delaware, Lackawanna 4 Western
jUulroad were tern up by the King?
gesiaspltt on Turleted rails and aplin
tirti mm Uttered the gap which barred
tfceiia-ids cf commuters from homes
within a fee miles of Now Yon*
Trs.r.s wen I Ifted to other divisions
ud through trains from Washington.
-?th miles of freight trains and at
It??*. WM?* gsilees of New York's
ailksupp'T *?'ere halted by the peremp?
tory wrele??. while the packed thou
ur.d- of commutes? were taken b?me
I? tlltuitOUl routes From the Hobo
km term.'.?, m i?uffa!o the wireless
liTT.fd the sudden message* which de
Uyed ?sd d sorted trains along hun?
dred? of miles of track so that New
York's worn?-:? could get horn in time
?o go to bed at loSSt
Milk end produce ".c.r New York may
it twsaty-four huurs late in reaching
u rif I it ?Jie 40,000 corn
enter* who jammed Ike Hoboken st?.
clamen ing. close-packed mass,,
?jMlkurdened the ferryboats
?oured ? Hudson tubes in end
d aid crumbled
?tee Iksil regular coui?.e wa? inter?
rupted. hh4i the first call ou tne ser
T.c?? of tht icad.
Roundabout Tripa Taken
Snmr travelled nearly eighty miles
-.o reset h desl nal ot hard.y a quar
swsy. Th? railroad
accep".??-: tickets on all
isck detour?, and will do the same this
:. the return rush begins.
Th* Morris and Essex division to New
?ri; w?? rammed to the uttermost
? ? r*.' the la?t coai-i during the two
oh to ?ope with the
Passengers bound for points
real Kingsland bad to jo to Denvills
then retrace their route
towi-d New York on what remained of
the Boonton-Northern dtvit-ion.
Daring the rnsh hour the railroad
?_* a train out of the Hoboken term:
roe minutes, some of which
rude r.o ='ops for forty mile?. It was
sr, before the first train
carted 'or ."-ocaucus, wkick is within a
**w m'.\es of Kitifrsland.
Th* throngs in the station soon be?
j?n t?) jr-n\ t?te toward the restaurant,
and lines leading to the sandwich coun?
ter? wert formed early, while enter
arlsTSM ktcksters d:d a thriving bus.
r.p?!.
At 6:3", in tht midst of the hubbub,
th? Wsshisgten Expre?? pulled out,
minus it? diner. which was somewhere
in the congested yards. At Denville,
howerer, another aristocratic express,
bound from U'ani \gton to New York.
10 be sent bsck to
the capital with the same crew that
brought it on'. The passengers leaving
Hoboken were promised that the diner
os th* stalled train would be at their
ferric*.
Hunger and Anger
-"? ?>* Denville the hungry passengers
from New York met the fretful ones
"ho had been waiting on a siding.
ss, stenographers and others
whose daily bread depend? upon tfie'r
"?rostptr.es? had been cared for bv the
impromptu commuter service. Fifteen
?f the fretfil ore? were smothering
tteir erial
They vowed tnat they would not
desert the dinei ?* 1 the last demi
'???? had been Quaked, and the hungry
person? from | . could watt
?e p?s?enger? from \ew York pro
'"'ed ?nd reminded conductors, train?
men, everybody
?fee happen? j along in a uniform, of
'?>* promlie? ths stl made MB?
s ting at
Th? puzzled railroad men finally in?
carnent into the flood
Nsirelesi messages that rode the
*W> and in the midst of that deluge
*?* complex order? their ??uery was
?iecided without
?iiUtion that passengers who were
Id not be u,*errupted, but
Mioon a? ?? e fretful fifteen had filled
mus? e:ve up the car
era. The fift-en pre.
lHimpha-:\> from ?berry stones to
?-fee ?rreonds and made their escape
?A?.-e uncoupling
tht etr.
Although ,, ,eemed that not another
nrton could have edged his way into
'?"Hoboken terminal, railroad officials
Mgmtolsted themselves on a recent
order of the ('anadian Car and Foundry
Company laying off nearly 900 emplees
and msking it possible for the railroad
to take one train from the Roonton
Nerthorn Diviaiaa, Most of the em
ployes, they ?aid, live?) in New York
Hii.i many of them would h-?ve been
added to the crowd.
The fust tniin from Klmira, due in !
New York at 4:.>0 p. m., did not get in !
until 0:06.
The Krie was more fortunate, both as
to damage and an to methods of taking
cere of Its sommntera. it? trucks are
?bout a mile from the scene of the ex?
plosion, and by using the Susquchanna
:ia?ks n could get [fta (reins to Hack
enaack, where they could be ??witched I
to the Brie again.
Turing the rush hour the Erie took i
care of 11,000 persons, running trains
cut of Jersey City under a headway of
1 m?nate and in aeeoatfa, At that com- '
miners living between Jersey City and I
Hackensack found themselves some?
what inconvenienced, and many of them
teak the trolleys or braved the pros |
peel of n long trudge from the nearest
station.
FEW IN NEW YORK
AWARE OF BLAST
IN JERSEY PLANT
Some (iazed Idly at Smoke and
Paid No Heed to Rumbles
Flames Shot High
While thousands of bursting shells'
were wiping out a great factory and
threatening to destroy a Jersey town,
not more than ten mile? away, New
York City went placidly about its busi- ?
ries.? yesterday afternoon and gave no :
thought to what was occurring on the
Other side of the Hudson.
Not until the late editions of the!
afternoon p..per> boie news of the ex?
plosion did most of the dwellers in \
Manhattan know it liad occurred. A few
heard the distant rumble that contin-,
ued ?rrom 4 o'clock until long after dark,
and a handful in high office buildings
saw the great cloud of smoke that
piled up 0'.:t of Jersey and streamed
?.way to the south, clear across the
windows. But these only eaid idly that
there must be a ?ire somewhere, and;
turned again to their work.
Riverside Drive, where the best view ,
of the great smoiie was afforded, was
practically deserted all the afternoon.;
A few paused to look at the mighty
tiliowir.g cloud and listen to the far- I
away rumble, but the north wind was I
(o< stroiiR for them, and thev soon I
fled.
After dark those who dwell in apart?
ment houses along the drive watched
the crimso i glow far down on the sky
line. Those who used field glasses In?
sisted that they were able to see the
twinkle of shells bursting against the ?
1 black sky.
According to the police reports from
The Bron\, the blast was felt more
| heavily there than in Manhattan. On
Island and the King-abridge dis?
cuses were shaken and windows
smashed.
As far north as Mount Vernon and
New Kochelle the explosions were felt.
Dwellers in tiics?? '.owns called Fort
Sloeom on the telephone, believing that
the big guns were in action there.
The force of the explosion was felt
at Hastings, which is on the east bank
of the Hudson, twenty-one miles from
the (.r^i.ii ? ei 'ral S(at:on. The fire
lit ?-.y could also be seen from the top
of the hill there.
sverely were Westchester and
Rockland counties jarred by the mu?
nitions explosion that Ring Sing
prison'a old structures were shaken.
lilas?: In the outbuildings on Mm.
Thomas Fortune Rvan's connti-y place
in Suffern was broken.
The rumbhtifr? could be heard, the
shock felt and tne flashes seen by
, the convicts in the prison.
Yonkers foil the explosion for two
hours atid the police and fire depart?
ments' telephones were kept busy by
anxious persons.
?
:ITY TO REJECT BUS BIDS.
WILL ASK FOR NEW ONES
Hoard of FM i mate Will Seek Better
Financial Tonna
The franchise committee of the
Board of Estimate will recommend to
the full board at its meeting to-day
the rejection of the bids of the I'ifth
Avenue Coach ( onipanv and the Ne??.
York Motor 'Bus Company, Inc.. for a
franchise for new motor 'bus rou|es.
Mayor Mitchel paid yesterday that
the recommendation would be made on
the strength of the report of Duncan
Machines, chief accountant of the De
: partmenl of Finance, that the finan
' eial terma of both the applicants are
i not of sufficient advantage to the city.
The bids were received June 1. 1915,
' after many public hearings had been
held. "The Mayor sa?d that new terms
I would be suggested and the two rom
, panics invited to state whether they
i would accept them. Modifications in
proposed routes will also be sug
gested.
The Fifth Avenue ( oach Company
operates the existing 'bus lines. The
? New Yoik Motor 'Bus Company applied
for s franchise to operate competitive
lints.
The New ?upmoibi?le
Twelve month? ahead in
beauty?in refinement?in
all that is good. The World'?
Best Four made ?till better
by ?tyle element? that are a
full year ahead. Main Floor,
Automobile Show.
*k (- apdal-to-Capital Hapmo
?*- freak from its 20,000 mile
?durance lour to all the Slate
taPttali- n-i/,' be a big attraction
*?* the Automobile Show. See it.
Dealers desiring territory, ad?
jacent to New York ?hould call
on our wholesale representatives
at the Shov, at Room 635 Rili
more Hotel, or at 1764 Broad
n>ay, corner 57th Street
CrlAJU?ES E. ROSS it COhtPANY, Inc.,
T?Whoo. Cird. 1616. ?741 Broadway at 56th ?.
D,i ?.nil iurotiier*.
? aa-SUrS Arm B*rs**-?k.lr ?
M,? O/Kl * IBM
aa -Braafcsra PUh?. "?
Jersey Blast Demolishes
Shell Plant; Rakes Town
? <.ntlinie??l from page I
factory were questions to which a
uo'en an?wer? all different WON
gixen. Not one of the offlrer? of the
Canadian Car and Foundry l ompan\
would make a statement', and the I
guards of the factory, who aided the'
police in keeping back the curious as ?
well as those who believed that they
still had relative? SOmOWkorC within
that ahell-stormeii forbidden ground,
were equally reticent.
The C. C. and F. Company's plant
wa? being destroyed, that was all any
one I.new about it. And if wa? being
destroyed thoioughly. and to the 114
companlment of a racket which Verdun
alone might have equalled.
One Thomas Reed, an employe of ]
the company, told the most coherent
version of how the fire started. He ?
had been employed, he said, in the
cleaning room, where the bras? cases I
of shell cartridges are sponged in and
out with alcohol before they are j
charged.
Spark from (filing
"A spark came down from the ceil
ing," be said, "and then there wa? a
big flare of flame and I ran like the
?lev il."
Reed believe? that the insulation on
one of the electric light wires was
burned through and that the red hot
end of the strand dropped ?rito a tub
of alcohol. There were eighty men in
this building, according to 'mm. He
does not know how many escaped.
Few remember clearly what happenc?!
between the beginning of the tire ami .
the first mighty explosion.
Another story of the tire's start lays!
the blame to a bhellacing machine in ,
Huildin-f SO the "cleaning room" ,
this, it in said, was operated too rapid?
ly and became so hot thut it ignited 1
a pan of alcohol near it.
Whatever happened, the building wa? ?
in "ami? in an instant. Ten minutes
passed before the first and mightiest ;
explonion. In those ten minutes panic
broke loose in the plmit. It is believed
that there were 1,400 men working in
the factory. Fach of these realized
o.ild happen if fire caught hold
of any of a dozen isolated buildings.
Many Fight to Fscape
l hey started to get out. The entrance
to the building was by a narrow gate,
guarded by l?!-foot walls. In a me
tkis was jammed by workers,
. Italians and negroes, who fought
.itely to get away. Guards were
forced St lsst to drive back the mob:
stols and rifles.
Tkef broke Hnd scattered. Many of
them run to the rear of the plant, which {
is separated from the swampy meadow?
by a high barbed-wire fence. They
went through this like a drove o* cut?
tle. Frantic with terror, they paid no j
Sttentiofl to the wire, which cut some
of them cruelly, but went ploughing,
the whole terror-struck crowd, through
the mud and thin ice of the marsh.'
Many of them who reached ?olid groun?!]
and safety were plastered with slime
from head to heel. Many more were
noaked with icy water.
Then came the first great roar. It is
said that a building in which tks load?
ed shells were stored was the first to
go
The terrific blnst snread the panic,
which had hitherto been confine?! 10
the factory vard, to Kingsland and the
adjoining village of Lyndhurst. After
the first detonation came tie steady
roll of bursting shrapnel and high ex?
plosive shells. In a minute the
Jersey tOWUI were transformed t?> vi!
lages upon the Kuropean battle front.?.
Shells that had been intended for the
armies of the O.ar burst in terrific
salvos over the roof? of the houses,
shattered chimneys, riddled the car
repair barns of the Lackawanna Rail?
way, and set tv?o dwelling? on fire.
1 Women Ron (.antlet
Women grasped their children and
?iuikcd through the iron slent toward
.Men ran until they dropped
i panting, usskle to go further. And
; through thic fhell sprayed confusion
u tew walked ecltn an?! unafrnld.
To the west of the factory rises
Guinea Hill, so called because more
than a thousand Italians inhabit the I ."?0
i houses on its slope. Immediately after
! the first explosion shells began to fall
\ like rain upon them. Most of the In?
mates ran. belter skelter, raring for
: nothing. One old woman could not run,
' She was Mrs. Maria Frederici. ill in her
bed with typhoid.
Through the ternfied swarm of
Latins who ran down from Guinea Hill
came Father Thomas .1. Mcl'ermott, rec?
tor of the Church of the .Sacred Heart,
and pastor to most ai this punir
! stricken crew. He came walking calmly
i up the hill as they rush<d down. He
! bad remembered Mr?. Frederirl, had
telephoned for an ambulance to come
; and take her away, and was going to sit
I with her in the bombarded house until
i it arrived.
Priest Aids Aged Patient
He did sit beside the atneken woman,
while a house to the right and a house
to the left were Ignited by shell fire,
while the roll of explosion.-, quickened
and strengthened, until the ambulan
arrived Then he helped carry Ml
Frede -ici downstairs and rode on tl
ambulance through the uhower of h
Meid Id safety.
The girl at the nwitchboaril v. i
"pluggeil in'' Father Mcllermott'a <a
wus another who remalnod at h?r ????
despite (he reign of tenor. Tool
McNamara, operator of the h
Central, stayed in her revolving chai
with the receiver?? clumped to her eai
keeping the territ.'d tOWS ifl lOBI
with the outer world uiuil the wir<
were blasted away. Then she fainte
with her job well done, ami was t -.
lied ??ay to ?afetv by Fred Waltsl
of East Rutherford.
I'ollce Brase Shell lire
chief of Police Michael Mclatyrs
Lyndburat, with hi? force of seei
men. Ii responslbls for the t-l???rit
Of Kingslam!. The ihelll prpt? ll
expioduiR. .Some seared hig>
i? i, I lulling .?moke like roch?
i>ur--t high above the factor?, *??
wu.s now a solid Sheet of whirling ye
low flame. Others went off in tl
heart of the fire, sending; up gi?'.
shower?, of sparks. Others still can
hurtling out of the flame?? and e:
ploded in tree tops, in the road, I
the roof? at houses.
When Mclntyre, who is a form?
member of ?he New Vori, Fire DoMI
'. arrived, he found women an
children clustered on porches, croud
ing under trees, dazeil ami fearful t
move, i h.?y seemed to helloes thi
the shells were banting for them an
that their only hope of afetv ?vas i
standing still. Mclntyre and his me
-"ashed the) r en i liv< s, but ?
many hun?lred< to safety
After the Bral few minute- |
was no attempt to tight ths Br
When the blsSS VSS discovered a f?
of the men in the plant who kept thei
heads attempted to operate (he fa?
tory tire engine. The flame? pot froi
limier control almost immediately an
(hey fled. Later, when the Rmherfor
Fire Department appeared, shells wer
falling so thickly in the to***ta tha' I
attempt was made to enter it.
Refugee* Seek Bafot]
All sftemoon and until late at nigh
the dreary crowds of rsfogSSS, sic
wi(h fright, numb with cold, many o
(hem without knowledge of what ha
become ??! their families, drittel int
Rutherford and other nearby towm
Some of them carried children. Other
bore some pitiful I Ule treasures whicl
they had snatche?! irom their home
befare thalr flight.
In Rutherford the town hall, a mov?
ing picture theatre an?! other balldlng
were turned over to them. Th<?re the
sat all night long, many of then .?
dazed that they were unable to talk.
II. F. Tout?, who owns an underwea
factory near Kingsland, made a hote
of it for the homeless. Women am
children tilled the entire plant. Fo
these Toub furnished coffee and wha
food he could get.
All afternoon ami evening shell?, con
tinued to boom ami bang and to shat
?? - Kingi-land. By II o'clocll last nigh
thiee more houses had ?-aught I
a shell had bur?t H S hotel ran bj
Frank Brome-ki, tearing the bl
open. Sergeant Taylor, of th<
New York pollen, was riding in an auto
mobile with Melat-rrs and had sntere?
the district under fire when a shel
dropped through the tonnea?! Of thsll
car, destrering its entre rear r?>
tion, bat iloing them
Footers Work I nder I ire
Other horror- ? .??gured citj
"were piled ??poti Kingsland ?hen dus!
came on and looter: braved the shel
fire to steal from the homes of ref
BgOCS. 1 ':: Keen of these were arrest
ed early in the evening. Toward
night, when the fire had ?lackenec
slightly. Sheriff .lohn W. Courtei or
dered the men who were guaniing th?
town to shoot down every pi?
they met.
A ?-lo?*?! o{ several thousand person?
hung about the polic cordon moal el
'?? ng the tire ebb anc]
quicken .ind listening to the crashing
of ?hell?.
During the night a detachment ol
? police, deputy snoiifTa and civilian*
searched the raarshes as well a.
were able in the hope of f?TvJiiig som?
of (he men missing. It was rumored
that a number who fled from the burn?
ing plant were ?still in the swamp. This
was discounted by Chief Mclntyre, wh?i
said thet he believed those who sought
: to escape in this way were all brought
safely to Arm land.
In the Itauan cemetery at Kingsland
a group of mourners mat? gathered
; about n gravo into which a coffin was
about to be lowered when the explosion
i occurred. The coffin was hastily re?
placed in the hearse and the entire
i corteare fled at a gallop.
I.ate last nigh' 'wo more refugees
were brought in to Poli? | lleHilquarters
I sal Rutherford. They had been found
: sitting da/i-il m 'he middle of a ro.td
j in Kingsland. while i-hel?< burst about
j them. One of them is a brown hen and
j the other a large Plymouth Rock
I rooster. The police are caring for
1 them.
Snake Hill Asylum Inmates
in Frenzy: Calmed by Cake
Terrified by the explosion of t
'Canadian far? and Foundry plant,
Kingsland, two miles and a half aws
i 900 inmutes of the insane hospital ?
Snake Hill were thrown into a pan
which Superintendent George W. Kit
I could not quiet. He telephoned I
Freeholder James P. Meehan, chairms
of the committee in charge of th
asylum, who is well liked by the pi
tients, and asked his aid.
Mr. Meehan rushed to Snake Hil
with two automobiles loaded with ic
eream and cake. The prisoners wer
gathered and the food was distribute
among them while Freeholder Meehai
addressed them.
War la Over, He Sa>s
"Don't bo alarmed," be told them
"The War is over. The Germans havi
a little the best of it and they an
?elebratmg. That's wkat fOU hear
1 hey are having a few fireworks."
As Mr Ifeekan talked, the srewd, 44f?
or whom art women, calmed down.
Witti!n half an hour after his arrival,
believing everything be told them, they
W?re ready to go quietly to bed.
At the County Penitentiary, also at
Snake Hill, the 219 prisoners had just
come in from their outaide work when
the explosion occurred. The building
whs shaken and many of its windows
broker. Frightened by the detonations
and by the cries of scores of munition
workers, who ran for their lives across
the meadows, warning everyone to
leave the vicinity, the prisoners became
panic-stricken and it wa? with difficulty
that Warden James J. Kelly succeeded
in calming them.
Warden See?? Bombardment
From the roof of the prison Warden
Kelly declared that with a field glass
projectiles eould be teen dropping Into
the P?state River. He described tke
MSt to which the explosion ist fire,
aa resembling a gigantic display of.
fireworks. ?Ai hundreds of sheila ex-'
ploded the metal soared skywsrd to a
great height, leaving a trail of spar!
, like that from an immense skyrocket.
"I Semi want te see any more fir?
works, ?is long as I live." he declare
la.-t night over the telephone. "Can
you hear the explosion* now? Listel
there they go. We are all a littl
afraid, for the walls are shaking badl
and broken glass is failing with ever
; explosion. I wi?h I cuuld get awa
from here."
Patients in the contagious, isolatioi
and tuberculosis hospitals at Snak
Hill also suffered greatly from fright.
Jersey Officials Ask
Stricter Munition Law?
Jersey Citv officials last night de.
clared that the Kingsland catastrophe
might have beer pisvsated if proper
legislation had been ei SCted f?>!!o:ving
the recent Hlack Torn exploeion. While
.Jersey Clt] I iffered Only littl?
greatest loss keiag in broken windows
In tks Hi!- ?'? I itjf district, yesterday's
explosion proved that the menace of
munition plants ?till threatened its
citizen?.
Mayor Mark M. Fagan, who ?ent a
corps o" doctors and nurses to the
scene of the explosion on hearing of
the. accident, called the ocurrenre "ter
t.fying."
"It seems to me," he sai?l. "in view
of the terrible Ifsson taught bv the
Hlack Tom explosion, something should
have been done to prevent a repetition
of that horror."
(ieorge f. Rrensmger, ? ommissioner
of Revenue and Finance reviewed the
recent effort? of the c '? to lessen the
danger brought to the city by the con?
stant shipments of muniuOBS from the
neighborhood.
"The manufacture of explosives and
their tran?portation through congealed
territory snould not be permitted," he
?aid. "Following the Black Tom ex?
plosion Jersey City passed an ordi?
nance forbidding transportation of ex?
plosives through the city. The rail?
roads obtained at. injunction in the
MAP OF SHELL RAKED DISTRICT
??^??WMM^I?SSSSSS?SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSI I I
ScJ,L? ar ******** / I7\
? ??I Mate" M ' riel ? OU?l arid th?
ordinance was set ?side "
"III?' commission then sought relie!
v, ?th the i ? ommei cs Com.
n.ittee, but notkiug was done. Then w?
went to President Wilson. He ordered
the matter taken up by the New York
Herber Line Hoard, und ihey promised
relief."
"During the iast campaign the Secre?
tar** Of W.u. speaking in Jerst".
?/.???I conditions would be remed??''!
Now, the danger may be somewhet less
?ned, hut the menace still exists. "If
?a-' have anv moro explosions Jersey
City will Pe depopulated. If we had
obtaine.l th'> relief from the Federal
SUtkoritiei wihch we sought, in all
! ? ??lability the Kingsland explosion
would not have occurred."
\. Harry Moor.-, Director of Parks
i l'.ii.1; ? Property, ?aid tK.,t the peo?
ple were kegissiag to realise that mu?
nitions plants mus? be put out into the
apett country.
Since the outbreak of the European
war led to the sudden development of
the munition manufacturing industry
in this country more than fifty severe
explosions, many of them mysterious
in origin, have occurred in plants of
r and chemical compa
New Jersey has been ?carred and
. from end to end. Twenty-eight
.ijns were ? ilhin the
boundaries, not including yes
terday's disaster.
i a 11 y lists, necessarily incom
p?ete, of ? vplosions throughout th?
country total l'?.'i d?MU? and ?09 injured
At th'- plan!? ?if the du l'ont f'owdei
Company alone at 1? mer
have been killed and e -n'y injured
T'ait? of thi? eompany'i works at Ha?.
kell, N". J.. and fJsrSS - Poll . S, J..
have been blown up .several times, a*
has the plant of the /Etna Fxplosive?.
Company at Kmporium, Penn.
Most spectacular of all Ik? explo
rions an?l most levers -i th?1 material
damage it CSUSOd was that which
roared upon New York from Mack Tom
shortly after 1 o'clock on the morning
of July 30 ':,<?. Tk ? Bol:" ?f tl
of the two terrt'ic hlas's was heard in
titles more than 100 miles away.
Manhattan was rocked a? if by an
earthquake. Skyscrapers were swayed
and seres of plate-glass windows fell in
long jugged pieces into the streets.
Thousands of person? ran in terro ?
from building, and ?tood to wutch the
glare in 'he sky.
Dvssmite, cellulose sud shrapnel, ex?
ploding in salvos, caused the damage,
sstimated to exceed l25,tH)0,000. The
immigration Station on Filis Island and
the Statue of Liberty wre bombarded
furiously by Hying shells. ?Shrapnel
fell oil Governor's Island, while lower
Manhattan was covered with a tine,
white powder. On and m-ar Mack Tom
fifteen warehouses and icors
ean tsd barges were destroyed. At
least five persons were killed and ll?i
injured.
$85,(100,000 Shell Contract
Boomed Canadian Car Co
n.e (.anadian < ar ami Foundry Com
pany has been for the last year prac?
tically an ammunition factory of ths
Russian (?overnment. It was an $85,
tOOjMfl contract obtaine.l from I
for three-inch shells that stimulated
macen to the growth in baildingi
? -rcase in pro.luction which hav
marked its existence in the lait eigh
t?en months.
i Russia not only awarded the con
! tract to the firm, but in January, 1915,
when it ?i?? fourni that the company
ha?! not the working capital to carry on
tl| manufacture, lent it $10,000,
999, which put it on its feet.
In the soring of 191.*?, W \V. Rutler,
? ? -dent and managing ?lirector
of the newly organized concern, wer.t
abroa?! hunting munition contracts. He
rotumod to New York on June '?~l with
'he order on which the (.'ar and Foun
j dry Company has be?-n working ever
; ?mee.
r\.?n before his return the firm had
? quickened into tremendous activity
1 On its property at Kingsland, N. J.. a
! nn!e and a half from Rutherford, this
i one story buildings in which cxplos
?VUS were loade.I began ???
like mushroom*. During April i
?urned out 90,000 ikollfl a Week. I.
June it was charging J0O.0OO ever;
not reached th
limit of expansion. Sub-contractor
furnisked the emp". :???!? and the.??
were finished at the plant.
Since the awarding of the contract,
the Canadian t'ar ami Foundry Com
pany has turne?! ou* about 3.000,000
high sxplosivs ami 4,000,000 shrapnel
'hree-inch shell?.
The property of the company at
Kingsland i? a rectangle, ? mile long
and a half mile wide. Ti?
mor? than thirty buildings. mo?t of
them of ti?.- Itery, "pow
der kouse"
magazines, each with room enough for I
carload of "TNT." Tfcl? eas stored in
the car in which T SSm I I id Oalj take..
l rom it u needed. Three magazine
hou?es held t'n? hlacA pom dat.
The magasines were tj feet
apart and are almos' ?-?..i hundred yaids
from any oiher building of the plant.
Every precaution, ll Is is ?i. wai take-i
bv the company io protect against acci?
dent. Sixty-five uniforme?! nerds were
always in the employ of the eompaay,
and "until new Iks company i sa con-.
gratulated itself on the few accidents
that had occurred.
?POLICE WIRELESS
| AND 700 NURSES
HELD READY HERE
! Woods Eager to Help Newark
Police in Caring for the
Hlast Victims
Police Commissioner Wood5, notified
j of the Kingsland explosion by the New
j ark police, put into effect at once a
part of the preparedness plan which
j area formulated to provide against dis
? asiera in New York. As the New York
pollea eeald not croas the river into
: N.-w Jersey until after the New Jersey
| militia had been called upon for aid,
. there was no necessity to mobilize the
patrolmen or r.otitv the members of
! the Home Defence League.
l?r. Ldward T. Higgins, chief surgeon
of th-i department, and half a dozen
other police surgeons who happened to1
be at Hea?lquarters, were directed to
remain there on reserve. Messages
were sent t? more than TOO nurses to
be ready at a moment's notice to an- ,
swer a police call. For the first time
the police wireless was called on for
police work in an emergency.
As the message from Newark had said
that telephone and telegraph wire*
were down, Commissioner Woods hoped
that his wireless operator would be
able to find some amateur or commer?
cial station near the scene of the ex
pleeien with an apparatus which had
artthstOod the shock. Repeated calls got
no answer, however, and the project
was abandoned.
Sergeant Harry J. Taylor, therefore,
was sent in the Commissioner's auto?
mobile to gather what news he could
and report to Chief Inspector Schmilt
berger. The following report ws.s re?
ceived from him early in (he evening:
'So far as is known no one Is killed
The place is in tot?' darkness except
for the occasional giere of s small ex?
plosion, when you see tbe people run?
ning he It,er skelter.''
BENCKENDORFF. RUSSIA'S
ENVOY TO BRITAIN. DIES
Diplomat Played Important Part in
War Negotiations
London, Jan. 11. -Count Alexandre
Constantinovitch BenckendortT, Russian
Ambassador to Great Britain, died to
day. He was sixty-seven years old
Count BenckendortT at I,on<!on car
neil on for Rusois the momentous ne?
gotiations of July, 1914, when I
Britain's decision regarding the im?
pending war was still in doubt. He is
generally credited with having had
great influence in winning Britain over
to the side of France and Russia. At
the same time he is said to have
bluffed the Cern?an Ambassador a'
London into thinking that England
would remain neutral.
ENGAGEMENTS
Announcement of the engagement of
Ififj Cene', eve Butler, younger daugh?
ter of James Butler, of 2''?> Wt
I Street, to Walter |
Travers, was made last night.
Butler has keen I? society for several ,
years after completing her education
at the Georgetown Visitation Coi
in Washington. Mr. Travers
son of Mrs. F. H. Travers a
fated with t I brokerage kSUSO <??' H
Contest i Co. He is a ?MSS?U of
Jerome Travers. Mis? Huiler'- tor,
Mr D. Philip MacC lire, will entertain
her at a bridge i | I'uocday a",
the St. Regis. The tveddiag will take
piace in the spring.
Mn. HarejUis D Could, of 139 Madi?
son Avenue, Flushing, N. V., has an?
nounced the engagement of her daugh
t? r, Maud May Gould, to I?r. Fr.
Bryant Nile?, of Manhattan. No date
for the wediiing lias been set.
HEAR THE
VONDLRFUL
REPRODUCING
PIANO
KNABEiS^S?
Yells of Run! Run! Fire!
Warn Workers of Blast
Terrified Negroes Tell Kingsland Hospital Munitions Plant
Is on Fire and Blowing Up?Fleeing Nurse's
Glasses Blown Off
"Fue' " Pirol" 1
Two terrified negro workmen, scream?
ing tjiese fateful words as they flung
elves past the emergency hospital
building at the plant of the Canadian
Car & Foundry Company at Kingsland,
V J., gmve the first not?- of warning to
?asper I. W. Krack, of 61a. East lo.'.th
Street.
Krack i? a surgical nurse, having
?-harife of the hospital when the con?
sulting physician. Dr. John W. Clarke.
of I.; ndnorst, N. J., i? not there, as was
the case yesterday. Six patients were
in the hospital at the time. Their iu
? r?? minor ones.
Krach'S denk is near a window which
.-on? manda a view of the whole '??? acres
of the munition works. He sprang to
his feet. He took one hurried glance
out of the window. A Muck column of
smoke was curling from the buildings.
Krach made a wild leap for his hat and
coat.
"RunI run!" he jelled to his assist?
ant, a boy of fourteen, and to the pa
They did not have to be told
twice. Two bounds carried Krack to
the stairs that lead over a bill, down to
Valley Brook Avenue, through Kings
land, l.yndhurs*. and finallv to R?ther
ford.
Krack did not stop runnin?- until ho
reached Rutherford. He looked back
a few time*, once when the force
of the first explosion he was a quart-ir
of a mile from the plant by that tirr.s
?aired him M that his glasses mpga)
knocked off and broken.
An automobilist was the f.rst person
ba saw when he reached Rutherford.
He had been running almost two miles.
He had just breath enough left, to gasp:
"Munition factory down the road is
burning. Fnough high explosive there
to blow this town off the map. Beat it
for Newark!"
He climbed into the automobile. The
car -nend on. Newark reached, Krack
(?id not delay. He caught s train to
Now York. He reached hi? home in 1
hour and 10 minutes, he said. The trip
usually requires two hours.
Last night at his home be graphically
told the story.
"It was at 4:15 o'clock thai I heard
the negroes shouting. That, hill is 250
feet high, but it did no*, take me a
minute to bound up the steps. About
thirty-tive men were rushing out with
me at the time. I was close to the exit
there are only two. the roadway for
teams which leda into Valley Brook
Avenue and the steps over the hill by
which the same road can be reached -
so I was one of the first ones out,
"When I saw that fire, I, and every
Other man working In the place, knew
the danger. There were 400,000 high
explosive shells, packed arid ready for
shipment to the Russian government, in
the forward part of ?he works. The
cases were piled to a height of fifteen
feet or more, overtopping by two or
three feet the lew wooilen shed? in
which the actual won. is d??ne. And we
knew, too. that ??ored il ?ne Iva maga?
zine? in the southern end of the plan*
was enough pov.der to blow most of
Jersey to kirg'lom come
"You eevef law ?uch i panic. After
I began to run ?lown the h-1!. the fire
whistle at the plant sounded. I did not
look back. When I reached Kingsland.
people were pouring out of the doors of
their hou?e?. They are rnos* of then?
Italian labo-'
"Worn.- weie running ou' .nto tkc
roadway, screening ard d tagging ?h*i:
???rrifieij ekildrei * th tkem. Men.
half-clothed, many ?>f them, began to
run and to fall over themselves in the"'
mad haste.
"There were '?',.'.00 ir.on employed by
the company, and mo?t of them were
at work wken I ran from the hos?
pital building the 126 in Building No.
30 were beginning to rash from the
smoking shed.
"I've been tr..ing to get into eommu
aication witk my brother Arthur. wh?>
lives at 512 Third Avenue, I.yndhuks*.
and is an iuopoeter, but I haven't bean
able to. The ?ires are dowi at I.ynd
hurst, Rutherford, Kingsland. Seeauru?
and the other towns near the:
I've tried.
Kracke explained that lack of ?hip
ping facilities had caused the piling of
the cases of shells smonc the ?
irgs. There were, he thought, no csr?
of the Del?? ? s, i a Icawa? > I
e rn 11
plsnt in wkich Ammunition kad beer
1? aded. The contract was t?> hav?
f rushed within a l ss.?i a- i
the plant was turning out 10,000 shells
a day.
The origin o:' tke fire wa? s great
mystery to Kia??e. He said that the
strictest ?upe."'?ion was maintained,
that all employe? were searched when
ame to work, and that even the
carrying of matches wa? forbid?)- :
any part of tk? iBClSSBfS. Pe'ective
insulation in one of the motors in
Building ;:?'i a fi-:i.?hing building, u.
eidentaUy, where paper caps are
on the shells?may have, he heifer??
started tk? flame.
The R trament, Krach ?aid
had int? tklu a month to take
over the factory and run it for two
11" '?a?ei! tin?, conc'usion, ht
said. upor. the fed that a Russian colo
nel had made overt'ire* to hint, asking
him to sign a contract to continue h
his presen* position '"r 'h?- next two
! year? umler th? Russian managemen*
With their clothing caked with nvi<1
1 and fresen tiff, 'heir liand? numb and
their strength exkaeatfd by their i ine
l mile n a, six workmen from
j the Kingsland platt explosion reached
: the Jersey City Hospital early last
I evening. Some of them ?till wore the
I gas mssks with which they had pre?
1 tec'e.l their face-, while working with
I explosives.
"Rarely has there been offered for public
competition so many Modern Paintings of im?
portance and ?Artistic .Excellence."
The American Art Galleries
Madison Square South, New York
NOW ON FREE VIEW 9 A. M. UNTIL 6 P. M.
SPECIAL EV1?N1NG VIEW
Thi? (Friday) 8 to 10 o'clock
To Be Sold at Unrest net **d Public Sale
By Direction of Executors, Attorneys and Private Collectors.
On the Evening's of Tuesday & Wednesday of
Next Week, Jan. 16 & 17, Promptly at 8:15
In the Grand Ball Room
of the Hotel Plaza
\ dm im loa b? card to b?> had tree nt the msns|an
Exceedingly Valuable
Modern Paintings
Included among which are
Many Important Works of Artistic Distinction
By the Masters of the Barbiion, Modern French,
Dutch, German and American Schools,
and the Remarkable Group of
Impressionist Paintings by
Claude Monet
CeUecletl Dann?? la? Past T.1-I7 Years b- 1st late
Mr. James F. Sutton
V Profusely Illustrated Catalogue muled on receipt of One Dollir.
ALSO ON FREE VIEW
To Be Sold at Unrestricted Public Sale
At the American Art Galleries
Tomorrow (Saturday) An Eateniive Collection of
Afternoon at 2:30 Antique Chinese
Fine Old Porcelains
A Large number of Jadee, Pot
Japanese Bronzes ?ery> i*n.mei., *?"? Botti...
r Ivor?, Carving?, Greek and Ro
aft-Ll rs s ? man Glass, Eccles iasticaJ Vest
Antique Chinese Porcelains, m.nU aod . number oi
Enamels, Ivory Carvings, CI.? ?.L T,??..*-?....
~, . c?, w . u rlemisn lapestnes
Objects m Silver, INetsukes,
Lacquers, and a num?ber of
Fine Old Kakemonos
Or I i>>-,|... Va? latr?a, aod
From the Collection of the Ute u.u.h.n..-en I? .
Ml c C aa To Be Sold on Monday and
r. James r. ?button .. , , - . '
the rive following afternoons
Tor nun? .earn Henlot M??nib?r ef _< Next Week at 2*30
tbe "?iinTl.aa An Asaxx-fcatlon. '
Ths ?ale? will be conducta)?-! by MR. THOMAS E. K1RBY
and l?i* aasaUleist, Mr. Olio H?-rna>l. ol
AMERICAN ART ASSOCIATION, Managers
Madls-un Sq. ?leutls. K-itrt.**? <? S I*. : 1-1 Vr?'t. Nr.? -ji.r?.
Ma-ln? thai Pranix-rl?
Mr. Edson Bradley