Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1889-09-13
THREE HUNDRED KILLED.
One Thousand Persons, Mostly Women, are
lnjured-The Explosion Caused by TAX
ing Old Cartridges to Pieces.

One Thousand Persons, Mostly Women are
lnjured-The Explosion Caused by TAX
ing Old Cartridges to Pieces.
The explosion in a dynamite cartridge
factory in Antwerp, on Friday, caused
the loss of 300 or more lives, and the
wounding of nearly 1000 persons. Every
employe in the immediate vicinity of the
first explosion was blown TO pieces, so
that it is impossible to tell how the acci-
dent occurred, but it is probable that
some one dropped a package of the ter
rible explosive. The cartridge factory
was situated behind the docks upon
which millions of cartridges were being
loaded. 1t was adjacent to the petroleum
stores, and two large Russian petroleum
warehouses were set on FIRE and destroyed
with their contents. The bourse is in
the near neighborhood, and the building
was struck by flying fragments and set ON
| fire. The structure was crowded with
bankers and business men and they rushed
out trompling one another down in their
fright. The factory was completely torn
to pieces and all the building IN the
immediate vicinity shattered. The dam
age to property is enormous, but is light
ly regarded in view of the dreadful loss of
life.
4he police, eendarmes and troops were
at once summoned to assist the tiremen
in extinguishing the flames and extricat-
ing the wounded and the bodies Of the
dead A strong Gordon of troops kept
hack the crowd, but outside of this wall
of bayonets was pitful throng of weep
ing wives and mothers. A large number
of the employees were girls. The roll of
the dead is si2nply the list of employees
the building, less those found among the
wounded anG the few who returned to
! their homes. OF the killing there is but
! a mass of dismembered limbs and man
gled trunks of bodies. The wounded
are also horribly disfgured and many will
die AS the wounded were brought out
they were taken in charge by the priest
and sisters of charity. All that the for
mer in many cases were able to do was to
shrive the dying. They were conveyed
to the hospitals and everything possible
done to alleviate their suiferngs.
The explosion occurred in workshop
where old cartridges were being taken to
pieces Men and women were actively
engaged at breaking them up, and 25, ,000,-
600 had been partly broken.
The dense black smoke trom the burn.
ing petroleum hung all day like pail
over the city and Friday night it reflected
the glare Of the flames which are still
raging. The fire now covers two acres.
the flames shoot up to an immense height.
Amid the roar of the flames there is con-
unuous succession of loud reports, sup
posed to be from the ignition and explo-
sion Of packages of cartridges. Beyond
the Russian tanks and Noblcs sheds there
are numerous houses burning. The ship
ping at the African and American docks
is in danger. 1t will be impossible to eX-
tingush the flames in less than twenty
four hours. Several vessels have been
burned. Owing to the intense heat the
firemen are unable to approach the flames
nearer than one hundred yards.
The explosions continued until after
midnight. At the American docks all
the ships have been saved owing to the
favorable direction of the wind. The
stained windows of the cathedral are
smashed and it is feared that the stceple
will collapse. The whole vicinity is
strown with debris. The dock sheds and
hydraulic cranes are greatly damaged.
The soldiers of the garrison and large
number of citizens are assisting the fire
men. Many are dropping from suiroca-
tion. The scenes of the hospitals are
heartrending. King Leopold has sent
telegram expressing sympathy and asking
for particulars.
The explosion occurred in the Corvilei
an Cartridge factory. This establishment
had been condemed by the Communal
Council, but the dcputation permanente
allowed work to continue The people
are incensed at the deputation permante
for allowing work to continue in the cart
ridge factory.
The victims are mostly factory girls.
Windows three miles distant were shat
tered by the explosion.
what Woman Can DO.
She can come to Il conclusion without
the slightest trouble of reasoning on it,
and no sane man can do that.