Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1897-03-27
BLOWN TOaPIECES.
FFiRhtful Death of Three Men
Caught by an Explosion.
AWFUL woRKor NIrRo-c LYCERME

Remains of the Dead Gathe red Up in Two
Buckets Head Of One Blown on. and
An Terribly Observation-Disclosures Occurs
Just Before the Whole Force Went 20
Work or the Fatalities Would Have
Been More Numerous.
Philadelphia, March 27.-Three men
were blown to atoms, and ten other
persons injured by an explosion Of nj
tro-glycerine at the Repauno Chemical
works. near this city. yesterday. The
dead are: James Hamilton, aged 30
years: Charles Wright, aged 25; ]. T.
Stiles, aged %. All were married men.
The injured are: John Langford. Will
lam Gardiner, William Tussey, John
Jefferson, Peter Fellman, John Williams.
Joseph Donnelly. Charles Madeira. Liz
zie McGinnis and Emma Bates. The in.
juries were sustained mainly from con-
cussion or from broken glass. They are
not serious. The works are situated on
the New Jersey side of the Delaware
river, one and one half miles from
Gibbstown. The dead men belonged in
Paulsboro. and the injured live in
Gfbbstown. All were employed in the
works. the women in the casing house.
Exploded When Few Were in Danger.
The explosion occurred at 1924
o'clock, when the workmen were re-
turning from dinner. Most of them had
not reached their posts or the loss of
life would probably have been greater.
The conclusion was felt for miles
around, and a plasterer at work on a
scaffolding three-quarters of mile
off
element had subsidized guards were
posted and outsiders excluded. Mean
while corps of men was put to work
among the ruins, and after much
| search the mutilated remains of the
three victims were gathered in two buck
cts. Wright was identified by ring
| on one Of the fingers and Stiles by his
| shoulders, from which the head as well
| as the lower part of the body had beer
| torn.
Tore a Big Hole in the Ground.
The explosion was of such terrific force
that besides totally destroying the two
houses it tore a hole fully eighty fee
long and twenty-five feet wide in the
| ground upon which they had stood. L
| was learned that Stiles was in the sep
arating house and Hamilton in ths
| weighing house when the explosion oc
CURED. Wright's duties kept him go
ing from enc to the other of the build
ings, and he may have been in either
The cause is assigned to excessivel!
high tempera ture in one of the houses
| quantities of the explosive being in boil
at times. The company is engaged il
the manufacture of dynamite, which
| necessitates the handling of nitro
glycerine, wood pulp and nitrate o
| soda.
Another Fatal Explosion in 1884.
| Its plant covers about 600 acres, ant
in consequence of the character of tn
| work carried on is almost completed,
| isolated from any habitation. The plan
| comprises about seventy separate small
frame and iron buildings. On Marcl
"a, 1884, an explosion occurred by which
nearly the entire plant was destroye,
and six men were killed. That explosion
| was caused by the generation by nitri
acid CT excessive heat, and among tn
killed was Lamont Dupont, president o
the company. He was the second Of tina
family to meet death at the works, tn
first being Irene Dupont, who was kille,