The Penn's Grove record., 1889-11-16
A LABORATORY EXPLOSION.
THREE PERSONS KILLED AND SEW
ERAL OTHERS INJURED
AT THE CHEMICAL WORKS OF WILEY
b WALLACE, ON SEVENTH
STREET. ABOVE ARCH.

Al THE CHEMICAL WORKS OF WILEY
WALLACE, ON SEVENTH
STREET, ABOVE ARCH.
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 11.-By ar
explosion, supposed to have beer
caused by s'lash- light" powder, at the
chemical laboratory of Messrs. Wiley
& Wallace, No. 1913 North Seventh
street, yesterday afternoon, three per.
sons were instantly killed and several
others were severely injured. Those
killed we're:
Joseph Wiley, the senior member oil
the firm, aged 80 years, who resided ct
No. 723 North Twenty-ffth street.
Charles r. Rhinedollar, foreman OF
the chemical department, aged 20
years, of 800 Lebanon street.
Rudolph Lippman, an employee In
the chemical department, aged II
years, of 1919 Carlisle street.
Those injured were: William Kidd,
aged 81 years, a packer, residing at
625 Filbert street, badly cut about the
body and legs by flying pieces of
glass.
Joseph Brown, 20 years, employed In
the drug department, cut about the
head and arms, but not seriously.
Joseph Thomas, az years, of 2342
North Twenty fourth street, messed
wounds of leg and arm.
Thomas Haslam, bookkeeper, slightly
cut in the face. 45a
Alfred Moflett, engineer, badly cut
about the face.
Several other parsons also suffered
slight cuts about the head and arms
from flying glass.
1t was about quarter before 4 O'Clock
when people passing along Seventh
street, between Arch and Race streets,
and on other streets In that vicinity,
we're startled by the report Of a heavy
explosion, which seemed TO shake the
ground on Seventh street. The report
was followed by a crashing of glass
and a cloud of dust, and what appeared
to be smoke issued from the upper win
dows Of the laboratory of Messrs.
Wiley & Wallace. At The same mo-
ment q number of the employees OF
the establishment rushed out of the
Office door to the street, and
the gathering crowd of peo-
pie, attracted to the scene
by the report of the explosion, were
Mortified to see q number of girls at
| the windows of the third floor, who,
| apparently. were getting ready to jump
from the building. Men shouted TO
them to remain where they we're, and a
ladder having been procured it was
placed against the building, but it was
found to be too short, by about three
feet, to reach the window where some
Of the girls were standing. Then they
were told that there was no fire, and
that 1t wOnld be safer for them to walt
until relief Ca he. BY this time sew
eral ~cool-headed men ian Into the
building, and tie girls we've all taken
down a back stairway TO Cherry
| stt eet
in the meantime Poi ,eman Man
| ming, OF the Sixth Ward. Station, had
turned In an alarm, and the arrival of
the FIRE engines helped to increase the
excitement. Lieut.. Burk, of the same
station, also hurried to the scene with
/ squad of policemen and started q
search through the building. The first
| place visited was the basement, and,
in the extreme rear, in an area way.
the searchers found three bodies, all
shockingly burned and mutilated.
One body, from which both arms
and legs had been torn, vas discovered
wed2ed behind some barrels. The
clothes we're burned, the face black
ened and disigured, and q portion OF
the breast gone. From the position in
which the body was found and from
certain marks it was believed to be
chat of MI. Wiley. The other bodies
we're found laying nearby in the area
way, N across the other. Both were
badly jisfgured, and were nearly strip
pad of clothing. These were subse-
quently identified as those Of Rhine
dollar and Lippman.
The bodies were taken In a patrol
wagon and a Pennsylvania Hospital
ambulance to the police Station. on
Fifth street, above Race.
Thomas Was taken In an ambulance
to the Jefferson Hospital, and after his
injuries had been attended to he was
sent home.
Kidd was taken TO the Pennsylvania
Hospital. where last night he was sta
/ ted to be in an improved condition.
The other injured persons were able
to 90 to their homes.
Fire Marshal Thompson and Inspec
tor McDevitt, Of the Insurance Patrol,
made an inspection Of the laboratory
and took the statements of several oil
the employees. From the appearances
Of the intel ior of the building, the
lorce Of the explosion must have been
very great, scarcely a whole pane oil
glass being lett either In the front OF
the rear Of the four floors Of the lab.
oratory.
In the rear there is q blind alley,
about six feet wide, that portion back
Of No, 1913 containing an areaway
covered with an old door, supporting
several barrels OF mineral oil. This
door and the barrels we're wrecked,
and the brick wall surrounding the area
was blown down. Just inside the rear
door the floor of the laboratory was
forced up and broken, and the upper
floors were covered with broken glass,
and the piastering on the ceiling torn
off. In the basement things wert
blown about and piled up in a confused
mass, and In the area. where the bodies
were found, was u mass of debris,
mixed with which were portions Of The
clothing OF those killed.
The effects of the explosion were no,
confined TO the laboratory building, but
caused considerable d~amageto the ad-
joining properties. Nc. 1875, occupied
by Edward Stern & Co., printers, ant
the Garfield Manufacturing Company
had the windows in the rear wrecked
and across the rear alley way oil thu
side windows OF the three.story unoc
cupied building. No. 629 Cherry street
were broken.
"A freight train on the Pennsyl
vania Railroad parted on the evening
of the 9Th at Chickies, Pa, and theI
collided with terrific force. Thre1
loaded cars were hurled into the cana
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