The record-union., 1898-09-12
Caused by a Gasoline Explosion In a
Basement.
Four Bodies Recovered, but Many
More Lives Supposed to be Lost
Wounded Taken to All the
Hospitals Within a Mi1e-The
Upper Stories of the Houses
Were Crowded With Families.

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 11.-By the
explosion of forty gallons of gasoline
in the cellar of a grocery store at 1444
South street tonight four and possibly
dozen lives were lost. AS an imme-
date consequence of the explosion the
building where it occurred and those
adjoining it on either side collapsed
and up to 10 o'clock, four hours after
the occurrence, four bodies had been
recovered from the ruins and three of
those identified are as follows: Samuel
Schattenstein, keeper of the grocery
store. His ten-year-old son, Abraham
A ten-months-old child named Gold
berg.
The fourth body was that of a girl
about 10 years.
How the explosion occurred is not vet
known. The front of No. 1444 was i'm
mediately blown out and this was fol-
lowed by the collapse of that structure
and No. 1442, occupied by Morris Gold
berg'S furniture store and No 1446
Louis Sallinoe's shoe store The west
wall of 144O, occupied by L. Wagners
clothing store, was blown out In the
confusion and excitement following the
disaster it is as yet impossible to Sc
cure anything like an accurate census
Of the occupants, but it is generally
stated that the upper stories were
crowded with families, huddled to-
gether in tenement fashion
Coming as it did at the supper hour,
it is feared that loss of life will be
heavy. The list of injured will be long.
They We're taken to all the hospitals
within radius of mile.
A ~
the authorities decided to postpone the
search for additional victims until to-
morrow morning, thus obviating the
dangers and delays of working upon
the mass of debris and wreckage in the
darkness.
The corpses of Schattenstein and his
son were picked up on the steps of No.
1444. The unidentified ten-year- -old
girl was found pinioned by a mass of
timbers in the rear of the same build
ing, and the Goldberg child died while
being taken to a hospital.
The injured at the Howard Hospital
are: L. Schattenstein, aged u, broken
nose and laceration of scalp; Alexander
Schattenstein, aged &, lacerated scalp,
contition serious; Mary Healey, aged
So, fractured leg; Annie McPhilomy
aged 40, confusion of ankle; Harry
Rothmel. aged u, lacerated scalp;
Maggie Goldberg, aged II, lacerated
scalp; Sarah Goldberg, aged IA. lacer
ated scalp and confusion of ankle.
At the Jefferson Hospital are A. E.
Fish. aged 80, fireman of Truck Com
pany D, lacerated wound of scalp, and
Yetta Goldberg, aged 8. confusion of
leg and back and lacerated wound of
scalp.
At the Polytechnic is young Schatten-
stein, lacerated finger; the en-months-
old child of Max Goldberg, son of the
furniture Storekeeper.
Estimates of the number of missing
vary from eighteen to sixty.
The accepted theory of the accident
is that Schattenstein went into the
cellar with a lighted lamp, which ig
nited the fumes of the gasoline. From
the position of his body and that of his
son on the front steps it is thought they
were emerging from the house when
caught by falling walls. The collapse of
the building occurred within two min
utes of the explosion and the occu-