The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-04-22
Tbe San Francisco E1pIosion.

u
/ nearly a whole block of buildings, and
resulting in a damage Of more than
two hundred thousand dollars, is, be-
yOnd any doubt, the result Of the ex-
plosion Of nitro-glyeerine, or blasting
] oil
According to information taken here
! lin New York;, the superintendent of
I New York mining company, whose
Office was in the building No. 20 Pine
! street. where also the Office of the New
York Nitro Glycerine or Blasting Oil
| COMPANY is situated had sent, some
weeks ago, to San Francisco, by the
| Pacific Mail Company, several boxes Of
/ nitro-glycerine, weighing about two
hundred pounds, imported from the
factory Of Mr.. Alfred Noble, Of Ham
burg, Germany.
IL was intended to sell this oil to the
mining companies in Nevada, Idaho
and Colorado the immense exploding
pow er OF the new chemical compound
offering great advantages, not only in
the saving Of labor to dIiIl holes, but
also in freight because one pound Of
this blasting oil does the same desruc
tive work as twelve 70 fifteen pounds of
common blasting guDpOwdeT.
The Herald was the list paper which
called the public attention 10 this won
drous and dangerous invention, on Oc-
casion Of the wyoming Hotel ('ireen-
wich sireet) explosion, which took place
on the SIN OF November, 1868 The
writer OF h. Herald article, giving a
chemical analysis of the compound,
exposed the great dangers of shipping
this explosive by the European
steamers or emigrant vessels, showing
that one pound, exploding by some IN
{ reseeu accident Oh board Of a two
thousand ton vessel, would tear the
vessel TO pieces, aud that If a rgo OF
fifty or one hundred pounds should sX-
plode on board, the greatest ship, wish
All her freight and hundreds OF living
beings, would disapper from the surface
OF the ocean, not leaving a wreck TO
testify TO the destruction, or a human
soul to tell the sad story.
The blood stirs if we think that the
two hundred pounds sent by the Pacific
mail steamer had exploded during the
sea voyage, tearing 10 pieces aud bury
ing 10 the waves the seven OF eight
hundred. passengers on bOsrd. And
could not the accident which took
place at the freight office of Wells a
Fargo's Company, in San Francisco,
without any apparent cause, have hap
pened quite as well on board of the
steamer which carried the mysterious
and dangerous freight
The inventor and patentee OF the de-
d A ~.
a Swedish engineer, answered our ar
ticle on the Wyoming Hotel accident,
in very good humored letter, stating
that, according 10 numerous expert
ments he and hundreds of miners and
engineers had made, his oil was with
out danger Of seliigniLion, and would
even not take fire IL in contact with a
burning match, requiring for ignition a
special ignitOr, also the invention Of
the patentee. But he seemed to ignore
that new chemical compound may
be subject TO quite unforeseen chemical
influence under which It may change
lis character completely, influences of
which science cannot think or dream
of, and which only long years of expert
ments can bring TO light IL may be
decomposed by a constant contact with
the tin cases or the glass bott es in
which il is transported, or by the in
tense heat in a ships hulk in tropica
climates; it may be affected by other
chemicals, or chemical vapors of
goods stored in the neighbOrhood
Even the manufacture Of this kind of
chemical compounds is subject TO acct
dents and circumstances quite beyond
the control Of the manufacturer.
In the small city Of Bochum, in one
of the coal districts of Westphalia, Ger
many. a storekeeper kept for sale to
the miners some stock OF Nobels nitro
glvcerine One morning a miner came
to buy two pounds, and brought with
him 8 tin can, to carry it, the glass bot
ties in which is was sold being incon-
venient for him The clerk opened the
bottles, and poured the oil into the tin
can, but, 10, IN the same moment iJ ex-
ploded, tearing 10 pieces the poor clerk,
killing the miner and destroying the
store The Prussian government ap.
pointed commission to investigate the
matter, and 10 was found that the tin
can had contained turpentine, and that
AAAA klNANANE AAA III A4AAAAAA WIN AAAAn-
glyceriue possibly would occasion q
sudden explosion. Singularly enough,
the accident happened or the same
day that the Wyoming Hotel accident
took place in this city
Near Glatz in the Prussian province
! OF SIlesia a laborer who was occupied
| n blasting away some rocks on the rail
road track csme very early in the
morning (JanuAry q, 1867 20 his work
/ tie was to pour oil in hIs drill hole, but
| found IL hard frozen over night-the
OIL having the peculiar quality OF
4 freezing SIX degrees above the water
/ FIRE, zinC point The oil was in gutts
percna flask, and little being left the
unfortunate workman cut open the
| flask, aud took "a Ratchet to cut of
/ piece OF the frozen oil The moment
/ he Ratchet touched the frozen lump lt
! exploded, killing instantly the poor
man, whose limbs were scattered IN
/ fragments, aud found two miles distant
from the place where the accident hap
pened
These and many other similar acct
/ dents which might be stated prove that
I Mobiles oil is really rot quite so iano
I cent IS the inventor alleges, but on the
contrary very dangerous TO NEEDLE
with.
We call, therefore, the attention Of
the competent authorities to these
facts, aud hope the law willinteriere to
regulate the transportation snd store
| age Of this powerful destructive com
pound It would be the surest 10 adopt
simply the Pussian law, regulating the
/ transportation Of nitroglyoerine oil on
/ public roads, because TINS law is the
work of some of the best scientific au
thorines OF Europe, the committee
I having been composed Of three profes I
sors OF chemistry, three directors orin- !
surauce companies, and three freight |
superintendent of railroads
oar busy Legislators st Washington, /
who passed some days ago law recu- /
laung she transportation and storage Of /
/ petroleum, vail probably take the mat /
ter in hand without delay the more so /
as u Is ascertajneu that 3 negro was one /
OF the sufferers by the san Francisco 1
disaster-N j. Herald