Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume], February 01, 1911, LAST EDITION, Image 1

About Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916

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ESTABLISHED 1832. ONE CENT. NEWARK, N. J., WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1911. —14 PAGES. PROBABLY RAIN TONIGHT OR THURSDAY.
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DYNAMITE BOAT
DEALS DEATH AT
JERSEY CITY PIER
Explosion Near New Jersey Central Communipaw
Terminal Wrecks Luildings and Rocks
Manhattan—At Least 15 Dead.
EVERY AVAILABLE SURGEON IS RUSHED
FROM HOSPITALS IN NEW YORK
Sky-scrapers in City Sway as Blast Shatters
Windows, Showering Glass on Pedestrians.
Ellis Island Feels Full Force ol Explosion.
NEW YORK, Feb. 1.
A DYNAMITE explosion of titanic force on the Jersey City water front
at noon today caused an unknown (as yet) loss of life, at least fifteen,
shook New York city and Its vicinity for miles around to Its very
foundation, and caused heavy financial loss. The explosion occurred as the
dynamite cargo of a lighter moored at a Jersey Central railroad pier was
being unloaded into a freight car.
Vioe-Presldent and General Manager W. G. Beeler gave out a statement at
2:80 this afternoon to the effect that several people had been killed and Injured,
the exact number being Impossible to fix at this time. From other oftlclals It
is learned that there were at least fifteen and probably twenty persons killed.
Mr. Besler further explains that the calamity occurred while dynamite
■was being removed from the lighter to a freight car at pier 7, Jersey City.
Blames Boilers for Blast.
Captain Lamb, of the marine department, who has an office on pier 8,
witnessed the accident and says that In hts best judgment the boilers on the
lighter set off the dynamite.
Everybody working on the lighter, on the freight car, or on the dock
nearby is dead, still floating under the docks or Injured and removed to two
hospitals nearby.
The freight car in which the dynamite was turned a complete somersault
In the air, the water edge of the dock was blown away and several other
freight cars In the vicinity were badly damaged. So far as Mr. Besler knows
none of the passengers of the ferryboat were Injured except by flying glass.
The dynamite In boxes was being carted from the freight cars to the boat
at the pier. It was being handled with all the precautions usually adopted
in unloading explosives. It Is dbubtful If anyone near enough to see what
ha' 'tned is alive to tell Just what detonated the explosives. Many of the
injured were blown into the river, from which they were rescued by tugs and
taken to hospitals. Father O'Reilly, of Jersey City, who was near the docks,
says he administered the last rites or the Catholic Church to five men and
saw one headless corpse near the pier.
The explosion wrecked everything In the vicinity of the pier and shook
Manhattan Island, Brooklyn and the country within twenty miles of Jersey
City. Window glass was smashed In thousands of skyscrapers In New York,
including the financial district. Panic followed In a score of big buildings,
but no casualties from this souroe are reported.
>
Ask New York for Aid.
The Jersey City police have asked the New York police department to send
all the available medical assistance possible to Jersey City. The same request
was made to police headquarters from the United States Express Company In
Jersey City. It was said that many Injured were there waiting assistance.
Commissioner Cropsoy, of New York, ordered all available police surgeons dis
patched in haste to Jersey City.
Difficulty was at first experienced in locating where the explosion had oc
curred, and for a time It was thought It was located at the Standard Oil plant
at Bayonne, N. J.; at Governor’s Island, the military post, which Is the
headquarters of this department, and In the subway. It was not until the
Jeisey City police appealed to New York for surgeons that any official knowl
edge of the scene of the disaster was made known. This was nearly an hour
after the explosion.
The concussion sot off fire alarms In many parts of the financial district
of New York, and the clutter of Are apparatus and the shrill shrieks of the
fire engine sirens added to the confusion. Men and women swarmed out of ;
the buildings, some of them by the Are -escape route, and added to the con- I
fusion. The firemen hunted In vain for a blaze. Instead they found the streets
dangerously crowded and the sidewalks covered with broken glass, while ;
frightened storekeepers guarded their exposed wares.
Communication Is Crippled.
The shock caused some trouble in the telephone exchanges, resulting lr.
difficulty In transmitting accurate news of the disaster.
The explosion caused as much commotion on the water as on land. New
York fire boats and police patrol boats crossed the river to the sceoe. and the
Jersey Central tugboats ajid other craft hurried to the foot of Henderson
street, where what was left of the dynamite boat lay.
*The damage lay heavy In many sections of Jersey City, and the result of ;
the explosion resembled the visitation of an earthquake. Glass was blown
out of windows of business places and private houses. In some buildings the
ceilings fell and ornaments were shaken from mantelpieces.
May Never Know Cause.
The dynamite boat Catherine C, was unloading at the Jersey Central pier
when the explosion took place. Just what caused It may never be known.
Train schedules on the Jersey Central railroad were interrupted for a
short time. Windows all over the station were shattered and passengers sub- [
Jected to the danger of falling glass. A number of them received Injuries !
more or less serious. Portions of the station facing the water front were
badly damaged.
The ferryboat Somerville, of the Jersey Central line, with a big load of i
passengers on board, was close to the scene of the explosion when It oc- j
curred, and many of her passengers were Injured. When the Somerville '
reached the ferry-house at the foot of West Twenty-second street on this
side of the river a temporary hospital was established In charge of a New
York hospital surgeon. j ;
The boat was about 200 feet from the slip on the other side of the river
when the explosion occurred, and was crowded with passengers from the
noon train from Philadelphia. Many of these were injured by flying glass
and splinters. Among the Injured were the Kev. Dr. Ernst Saunders, of
Rhlnebeck, N. Y., and Mrs. Saunders, his wife, and David Ladd, of Dorchester,
Mass. All those Injured were suffering from cuts about the face, limbs and
body from flying glass and splinters.
Several buildings were razed and the<S‘-—--|
Jersey City Are department has be^n j
summoned. It Is reported that several i
persons are buried in the debris of the I
wrecked structures.
According to the harbor police the
explosion occurred at the coal docks
at th4> foot of Henderson street. Jersey
Ci»y. The dynamite boat Catherine C-.
owned by a contracting firm and lying j
at the slip there, blew up from some I
n cause. The Catherine C. wa'|
-,td, the pier was completely I
j. HgkS
wrecked and many other boats lying
nearby were badly damaged.
NEW YORK, Feb. 1.—Several per
sons are reported to have been killed
by the explosion and a number o£
bodies were said to be on their way toj
Manhattan Island, on board one of
the police boats which visited the
scene The first police boat to coine
in from the place of the explosion
brought a man named Harry Ford, 29
- r
(Continued on Second Face.)
I
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SCENE OF ACCIDENT. CROSS MARK SHOWS TUBE DOWN WHICH HEAVY BUCKET PLUNGED, CAUSING THE DEATHS OF MANY WORKMEN.
NEW MYSTERY IN
THE UNEXPLAINED
DEATHlOFWOlN
Sisters Confirm Report of Miss
Duryee’s Death—Leave
Their Mission Post.
Cablegrams received today confirm
the fears of relatives »hat "Miss Alice
l Darijee," the missionary who died In
| the Yellow Sea last Friday, was Miss
Alice Duryee, member of an old New
ark family, prominent particularly In
■ the North Reformed Church, from
! which Miss Duryee went to China as a i
missionary seven years ago. No sooner :
| was the identili ation made positive, 1
howevtr, than a mystery developed, for
although members of the family refuse
I to believe Miss Duryee took her own
life, the original cable d spatihes de
1 clare the missionary committed suicide
j by casting herself overboard from thi
Pac'fic Mail steamer Manehur.a.
while the vessel was proceeding to
! Nagasaki, Japan.
I No attempt to dispt) the mystery
l was made by the senders of either
cablegram received today, for they
' merely confirm the report of Miss Dur
j yee's death and do not state the causf
! It Is learned through the cablegrams,
however, that Miss Duryee was accom
panied on (he Manchuria by her sisters,
Mrs Ahined Fahmy and Miss Lillian
Duryee, and it Is r garded as significant
that the three missionaries left China
without Informing either their relatives
or the Reformed Church Foreign Mis
sions Board, In New York, of their In
tention to return to America
MeannK^ from Slstera.
The cablegrams that arrived today
were received by the Rev. J. L. Amer
man, of Now York. One was from
Miss Duryee’s recent associates at
Amoy, confirming the departure of th;
three Duryee sisters from Hong Kong
for Shanghai. The other was from
the surviving sisters, sent from Yoko
hama. This message merely confirmed
the report of Miss Alice I.uryee's death
and stated that Mrs. Fahmy and Miss
Lillian Duryee would tall for San
Francisco from Yokohama today. They
did not state whethfr they .are bringing
their sister’s body with them. At thin
time of the year the voyage to America
should consume about three weeks.
Miss Duryee was the daughter of the
late Rev. Dr. William Rankin Duryee,
doctor of theology at Rtitgers, whose
death occurred in New Erunswick sev
eral years ago. She was a graduate of
Smith College and previous to her de
parture for China made her home wtth
her aunts, the M'sses tmy, ^nn. and
Mary Duryee, of 30 Wash Intern place,
this city. Miss Duryee became in
terested In mission work when 18 years
old, and seven years ago agreed to go
to China, at her own expense, as the
representative of the North Reformed
Church, this city.
ARM CATCHES; SAVES HIS LIFE.
COLUMBIA. Feb. 1.—Clarence Daven
port, 60 years old. a section foreman of
the Lackawanna railroad, while cross- !
ing the bridge over the Delaware river
between here and Portland, Pa., was1
■truck by a constructor train. His 1
arm caught In the pilot o Ye Income- :
tlve and he. was dragged a considerable I
distance before the train could be
stopped. Had his arm not caught he
would have been thrown more than 100
feet into Jie river. 1
CMSTHOFHE DUE
10 NEGLECT, SGYS
SUP!. R MELVIN
Blame Placed on Carelessness of
Workman Who Neglected
to Secure Bcrt.et.
Robert Melvin, the McMullen super
intendent In chafee of the work, gave
out a statement today In which he de
clared there was no mystery surround
ing the accident, and that It was simply
i a ease of carelessness.
He said: .
“The only and true explanation of the
'accident i.s that through carelessness
■ the pin was not properly put Into the
shackle when the bucket was connected
with the cable. The bucket passed
through the bottom lock and before
reaching the top lock, which by that
time was open, the pin dropped out per
mitting the bucket to fall through. This
allowed the compressed air to escape,
filling the space, which is 6 feet 2
inches in height.
“The four men that escaped did so
only because they were near the man
hole. U ho is responsible for the care
lessness I cannot say. It was done in
the bottom of the caisson by one of
the victims or one who escaped when
the bucket was transferred. We showed
representatives of the prosecutor's
office that neither the shackle nor the
pin was defective, and if the pin had
been properly adjusted the weight of
the bucket would have kept It In posi
tion. It is ridiculous to say that the
locktender ran away when he saw the
bucket drop. Tho men In the caisson
could not know of this, and It was fool
ish for them to make such a statement.
As a matter of fact. John Green, the
only white man working at the caisson,
was the first one to give the alarm. The
other locktender was Aaron Bryan, a I
negro."
LITTLE CHANGE IN THE
NEW YORK SITUATION, j
Some Republicans Seek to Hold
Conference.
ALBANY. N. Y„ Feb. X —“Practical- '
ly no change In the situation," was the !
word that came from the rival Demo- j
eratlc camps today concerning the j
deadlock in the legislature over the j
election of a United States senator.
While re; orts of a compromise con- J
tlnue, there appears to be little pros
pect of a settlement this week. Some
of the Republican legislators continued
th> Ir efforts today to bring about a
conference to discuss the situation,
holding that agreement upon a candi
date acceptable to the Insurgent Demo
crats was possible. Among the names
mentioned in this connection wer
President Jacob Gould Schurman, of
Cornell I'nlve s:ty. aud Pr-si lent M.
W. Stryker, of Haml'ton College.
There have been many inquiries as
to the attitude of Wl'liam Barnes, Jr., ,
chairman of the Republican State Com
mittee. toward the proposed conference,
but as Mr Barnes is 1H at his home no ,
word has come from him.
FIRE UESTROYS HOTFL.
BERWICK, Pa.. Feb. 1.—Fire caused
the tola! destruction of the Hotel Hart
at Berwick. The loss to the owners of j
the building- is $5,000. ■
BROWN TELLS OF
FIGHT FOR LIFE HI
crayoTM
Workman Penned Under River
Describes Hfs Valiant Strujj*
file for Air and Life.
One of the saddest things In connec
tion with the disaster was the grief of
Thomas Boyd, of 121 East 127th street.
New York, a brother of Samuel Boyd,
the last victim to be taken Iron) the
caisson. Thomas Boyd was himself to
go to work in the caisson this morn
ing, and knew nothing of the accident
until he reported for work at 7 o'clock.
He hurried to Mullln’s morgue, and
when the body of his brother was not
found there he was satisfied that he
was one of the few that escaped.
Shortly after 10 o'clock he came back
to the Centre street bridge, Just in time
to get word from Superintendent Mel
vin that his brother’s body had been
found In the caisson and was socn to
be brought to the surface. For an hour
and u half he waited in the little dress
ing-room oi the workers, and wh- n the
body was brought from the top of the
shaft ho collapse^ and had to be led
away.
Jahue Brown, 61 Summer avenue,
one of the four men who escaped,
haunted the scene of the accident all
morning, as did Dick Corbitt and Will
Clements. Brown was the last man to
start up the ladder In the alrshaft and
does not know how he reached the top
His face, arms and legs are badly cut
and bruised, but he says he does not
know how he received the Injuries.
Feels Alr-Fressure doing,
"I was working aoout five feet away
I from the bottom of the alrshaft," says
| Brown. “Suddenly I felt the air pres
sure going and knew something was
wrong. I didn’t wait to find out what
It was, but Jumped for the shaft. So
did a lot of other men and three got on
the ladder ahead of me. By that time
(he water was up to my neck, and It
I kept climbmg up Just as fast as I did
up the ladder.
"When the shaft was opened I was
shot up in a hurry, and I think I was
the first one to land at the top. Don’t
| ask me how 1 got there. I don’t know.”
This Is not the first experience of
Brown In construction accidents. He
was blown out of a railroad cut near
Elkton, Md , eleven years ago, and al
most killed.
“Going to gult the business now?" he
was asked this morning.
“Guess not," he replied, “you can’t
scare me out. Down there In Maryland j
I was working In an open cut when a i
charge of dynamite went off right 1
behind me. About a dozen of the boys j
were killed but I was the closest to
the charge that went off. When 1 came :
uj I was on top of a hill about 200 feet
away and didn’t have hardly any
clothes on. I didn’t have any bones ,
broken but there wasn't a spot on my i
body that was not sore.”
Brown was at the scene of the acci
dent when the body of Boyd was
brought out this morning. “Poor fcl- j
low,” he remarked, as he looked at the
body dangling in the air as It was be
ing lowered from the top of the alrshaft
to the .undertaker's wagon. "Hq didn't j
have a chance for his life. He was j
working In the far southeast corner of i
the caisson and was sitting down drill- i
(Ceatlaued os Secead Pace.)
*
FIFTEEN TRAPPED
BENEATH PASSAIC
BATTLE FOR LIVES
Submarine Work on Pier? o! Pennsylvan’a Rail
read Bridge at Centre Street Takes Heavy
Toll O! Human Lite.
THE DEAD.
JAMES JACKSON, 40, foreman In charier of the eataaon, married; lived la
Kenilworth.
JANIES HOUSTON’, 40, married, and leave* three ehlldrea; lived In Kenil
worth.
JOHN MeKAMEY, 37, married, and leave* three children; lived at fro**
and Offden atreetN. till* city.
FREDERICK HAILEY, 35, married, lived at Second avenue Had I22d
afreet, Yew York.
JOIIY REED, 32, alnirle; lived nt 541 Seventh avenue, thla city,
WILLIAM SHANES, 40, married; lived nt H\f 11 Ik H afreet, thla city.
JOSEPH C LINTON, 35, known In uelislihorhood of Seventh avenue and
IllBh atreet a* “Baltimore,**
RICHARD JOHNSON, 135th atreet and Lenox avenue. New York*
SAMUEL BO YD, of 122 Enat 127 th afreet, New York.
MICHAEL CLEMENS, 45, aOdrraa not known.
JAMES STEVENS, 21; lived with John MeKnmey, another victim.
THE SURVIVORS.
RICHARD CORBITT, 110 Emit 12flth street, New York.
WILLIAM CLEMENS, 212 Eaut I2flth atreet, New York.
JAHl'K BROWN, HI Summer avenue, thl. city,
"CTIiA," the only name by which the fourth .urvlver I. known.
ELEVEN men employed In possibly the most trying as well
as dangerous pursuit known to the modem world, died at the bottom
of the Passaic river at Centre street late last night through the care
lessness of one of their number. Four fought their way to
safety when a steel bucket weighing over a ton crashed down in the
air-tight chamber. Many times caisson accidents have claimed lives, one,
two and three at a time, but never before have there been so many soule
ushered Into eternity through one mishap of this character.
All of the fifteen men In the compartment when the accident occurred
were negroes, and In their homes, several of them were Newarkers, there Is
today unutterable woe, grief that is only heightened by the knowledge of their
families that their work was of a sort that might bring death at any moment.
The loss of life, horrible enough In Itself, sinks Into insignificance when
the terrible battle for life among the entrapped blacks Is known. Not until the
water filled the caisson, drowning all who could not reach the shafts that
meant escape, did the brutal struggle umong the men cease. Then four of »he
men had fought back those who tried to climb up ahead of them and had
saved their own lives.
Attempt to Fix the Blame.
The prosecutor's office was at work early today in an effort to fix tha
! blame for the accident, but It Is probable that culpability will be fixed upon
someone now beyond the reach of earthly justice. It Is rumored that the
| officials of the company doing the work are in possession of the name of the
workman responsible, but will not divulge It, because the man Is dead. The
! eleven deaths were caused by the fact that this man did not properly adjust
the pin by which the death-dealing bucket was attach' d to the hoisting tackle.
The caisson In which the men r- ;t their death was part of the construc
tion of the Centre street bridge for the new short line of the Pennsylvania
railroad. Only yesterday had the construction progressed to the point where
! the workmen could begin their work of setting the piers for the span, and
the men had been at work but a few hours. The accident occurred shortly
after 10 o'clock, as the watch of one of the victims was found to have
j stopped at exactly 10:08 o'clock.
The caisson In tfhlch the men were at work is an oblong box of 12xl2-lnch
timber. The chamber Is fifty feet long, twenty-five feet wide and between six and
seven feet high. Because It Is below the surface of the water It Is neces
sary to keep the air within a high pressure to prevent the water from rush
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