The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-04-18

EarKO a JOS Ou1cos San FramctScO-A
Remedy Against Snch Disasters-An.
other wyoming Hotel Affair.
The frlghtful disaster which occurred on the 18th
April, in or near the office of Wells, Fargo & Co 3
Express, in the city of San Francisco, killing in.
stantly fifteen to twenty persons and dreadfuliy in
juung many others destroying nearly whole block
of buildings, and resulting in damage OF more than
two hundred thousand dol ars, is, beyond douDt the
result OF the explosion of nitro gycenne, blasting
according to information taken here lin New
York; the superintendent of New York mining
company, whose Office was in the building No. 26
Pine street. where also the Office of the New York
Ntro-JlHcerne or Blasting OIL Company is situated,
bad sent some weeks ago, to san Francisco, by the
Pacific Mail Company. several boxes of nitro-glyce.
rne, weighing about TWO hun lred pounds, 1m0orted
from the factory OF MIR. Alfred Nobel, OF Hamburg,
Germany.
In was intended to sell this oil to the mining com.
panes in Nevada. Idaho, and Colorado, the immense
exploding power of the ne che nical compound OF
ierinG great ADVANTAGES not only in the saving OF
labor of drill holes, but also in freight because
pound OF this blasting oil does the destructive
work as twelve to fifteen pounds of common blasting
The Herald was the first paper which called the
public attention TO this wonderful and dangerous in
ven!ion, ON occasion OF the wyoming Hotel Green
OF November 1866. The writer of the Herald article
giving chemical analysis OF the conn ound, ex.
posed the great dangers which could under certain
circumstances result from the transport and storage
OF tnis really 'oemomac oil ;" He pointed out the
dangers of shipping this "eXp0sve" by the Euro,
pean steamers or emigrant vessels showing that one
pound, exploding by some unforeseen accident, on
board oil Thousand ton VeSSel, would tear the
vessel to pieces. and tnat If cargo Of fifty or one
hundred pounds should explode board, the
greatet ship, with all ner freight and hundreds of
living beings would disappear from the surface or
the ocean, not leaving wreck TO testify the de-
struction, or human soul to tell the sad storyA
The blood stirs II we think that the two hundred
| pounds sent by the Pacific mail steamer had eX-
| poded during the sea voyage tearing 10 pieces and
passengers on board. And could not the accident
which took place at the freight office of Wells s.
Fargo's Company, in San Francisco, without any
rnnf ha nod nnifn xuan
board OF the steamer which carried the mysterious
and dangerous ireightI ...
| pound, Mr.. Alfred Nobel, Swedish engineer,
swered our article on the Wyoming Hotel accident,
in very good humored letter. stating that accord
| ing to numerous experiments he and hundreds of
miners and engineers had made his oil was without
danger OF selfiPnItion, and would even not take fire
| il in contact with burning match, requiring for
ignition a special gnitOr, also the invention of the
| patentee. But he seemed to ignore that a
| new chemical compound may be subject to
| quite unforeseen chemical influences under
which 1t may change It's character com
not think dream Of and which only long years of
experiments can bring to light 1t may be decom-
posed by constant contact with the tin cases or
the glass bottles in which 1t is transported by the
intense heat in ships hulk in tropical climates
may be affected by other chemicals, or chemical va
manufacture of this kind of chemical compounds is
subject to accidents and circumstances quite beyond
| tine control oil the manufacturer.
In the small city of Bochum in one of the coal
districts of Westphaia, Germany, storekeeoeT kept
Tor sale 70 the miners some stock OF N00eIs nitro
gYcerine One morning s iner came 70 buy two
pounds and brought with hlm tin can, to carry it,
the glass bottles in which it was sold beng neon
venient Tor him. The clerk opened the bottles, and
poured the oil into the tin can; but, 10, in the
moment 1t exploded, tearing to pieces the poor
clerk, killing the miner, and destroy ing the store
| The Prussan Government appointed Commission
to investigate the matter and 1t was found that the
TIN can had contained turpentlne Oil and that tur.
pentine oil in contact with nitro-glycerine possibly
would occasion q sudden explosion. SingularlV
enough the accident happened on the same day that
VUrnu VIa In
Near GIatz In the Prussian province of Siesia, a
| laborer who occupied in blasting away some
rOcts on the railroad track, came very early in the
morning January 6, 1865 to his work. He was to
pour Oil in his dril-hole but found 1t hard frozen
| over night-the oil having the peculiar quality of
freezing six degrees above the water Teenng point
The oil was in guta.percha flask, and little being
| lett, the unfortunate workmIn cut open the flask
| and took hatchet to cat off piece of the frozen
| oil. The moment the hatchet touched the frozen
| lump it exploded. killing instantly the poor man
whose limbs were scattered in fragments, aud found
| two mes distant from the pace where the accident
| happened.
These and many other similar accidents which
might be stated prove that NobePs oil is really not
quite innocent as the inventor alleges but, the
| contrary, very dangerous to medde with.
We call, therefore, the attention of the competent
authorities to these facts and hope the law VIII
teriere to regulate the transport and storage of this
| powerful destructive compound. 1t would be the
surest to adopt simply the PIussian law, regulaun
the transportation of nItro-glYcerine oil on puoltc
roads, because this law is the work OF some of the
having been composed OF three professors of che
mistry three directors of insurance companies, and
| three freight superintendents of railroads.
Our busy legislators a. washington, ne t VINO passed
/ and storage Of petroleum, will probably take the
matter in hand without delays the more so as it is
ascertained that negro was one OF the sufferers
/ by the San Francisco disaster ~. Y. Herald.
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