Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-12-21
GAS UNDER THIN CITY.
Lower New York May Be Blown
Sky High Some Day.
MYSTERIOUS EXPLOSIONS.
Nobody Knows Exactly What Caused
Them, but Experts Think the Eiec-
trio Snbways Are Full of All
Sorts of Dangerous Gases.

New York, Dec 21.-The cause which led
10 the explosion late Wednesday night in g
manhole, at Nassau street and Maiden lane,
is mystery, and nobody seems TO be able &c
say just why such things should happen
when every precaution against such accident
Is supposed to be used in the construction OF
the subway's pipes and wires.
Many experts with whom reporter talked
advanced the theory that the accident was
caused by the igniting of the foul gases in the
manhole by spark from an electric wire,
while others thought that the explosion was
spontaneous combustion due to faulty con
struction of the gas pipes.
1t is not a pleasant thought that at every
moment one may be thrown into the air and
scattered about in small sections for dis.
tance of several blocks, but such things ara
quite likely to happen if one may judge by
past events and from the statement made by
an expert that New York city, particularly
the, older parts below Fourteenth street, un-
derground is bed of gases liable to explode
at any moment
sSome months ago, during thunder storm
rnanboie on lower Broadway exploded with
such force as to tear up considerable por.
tion of the street and scatter the heavy paw.
ing stones all over the street No attempt
WAS made to explain the explosion and the
people generally accepted the theory that
the manhole had been struck by lightning
The explosion of Wednesday night shat
tered heavy glass windows in the vicinity.
tore up the solid pavings of Nassau street
and Maiden lane and burst the heavy man.
hole oover into hundred pieces.
As in previous cases. electricians and ex.
perts are not sure what causes these explo-
sions; but the superintendent of the United
States Illuminating company told a reporter
some interesting facts about the subways,
and at the same time advanced some theories
concerning the explosion last night.
The Edison company is the only electric
light company which has up to the present
time put its wires underground, and if the
electric light wires are in any way connected
with these explosions they belong to this
company.
The superintendent of the United States
company said the subways and manholes are
simply channels for the foulest and most ex-
plosive of gases which permsats the ground
under New York. The only way in which
men can work in them at all is by having
fresh air constantly forced down by means of
pumps.
A grounded electric light wire might have
come in contact with gas pipe in tie sub
way, or any other piece of metal that would
act as a conductor, and ihe sparks caused by
this contact might hay eause1 the explo-
sion.
The electric light wires are not laid in the
subways with too much care, and in more
than one instance the action of heat, water
and gas in the subways has rotted and eaten
away the metal casing of the wires, leaving
them exposed and useless and fit only to ig-
mite the gases.
After rain the subways are filed with
water, which becomes stagnant and generates
gases, which rapidly destroy the coating OF
all the wires-electric, telephone and tele-
graph-alike, and one cable on Park row, be-
longing to the Western Union company, was
so badly eaten up that it became nothing but
pulpy mass, unfit for use
Then, too, the gas pipes under the best cir
cumstances will leak, and the gas from them
mingling with the natural gases makes the
subway one vast gaseous channel where q
slight spark will create great amount OF
damage.
In laying the electric light wires under
ground much trouble is also made by the
crossing of gas and water mains. The cleo
trio light cables have to cross these pipes,
and when the coating of the cables becomes
eaten away there is nothing to prevent the
wires from making circuit with the gas OF
water pipes.
The idea of insulating the underground
wires was given up soon after they were put
under ground, and now they are simply in
cased in lead pipes and placed in a bed Of
cement through the subways
Some difficulty may have been met with
In laying the wires at Nassau street and
Maiden lane, because of the gas pipes, and
the usual result, OF damage to the coating
following, an electric spark may have ignited
the gases, or the explosion may have resulted
from ths escaping gas in the pipes, owing tc
faulty construction. Again, it is snot impos
sible that the natural gases, with which the
ground in that vicinity is charged may have
spontaneously expioded.