The San Francisco call., 1898-12-06
MUT|LAT|ON AND DESTRUCTION AT
 FLEMING POINT Charles D. Kennedy
 Killed. HE WAS SUPERINTENDENT FIVE CHINESE ALSO BLOWN TO
 ATOMS. The Cause of the Explosion Is Mys- tery-Kennedy Was in Charge and He Was a Careful
 Man.
THE VICTIMS.
Charles D. Kennedy, Super intendent.
 Five Chinese employees.
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 A building lifted into the air and in- stantly torn to fragments a cloud of dust and smoke, a roar resembling thunder, six human beings sent into eternity-such in brief is the story of an explosion at Flemmings Point last evening.
 Since the Government placed many large contracts with California powder manufacturers, explosions are no longer uncommon, but that of yester- day will be remembered longer than many others. It robbed the community of one of it's most worthy men, one whom Hon. w. W. Foote characterized as lone of Gods gentlemen" He was Charles D. Kennedy, superintendent of the works.
 It was half-past o'clock yesterday afternoon when the gelatin plant of the Judson Powder Works, near West Berkeley, exploded.
 The shock was terrific. It covered an area of several miles, being felt in San Francisco very distinctly, and over the greater part of Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The report WdS HedTO IOf lilies around. Iner0 were six men killed-the superintend- ent and five Chinese.
 The place where the explosion oc- cured is about two miles along the bay shore from West Berkeley. It lies on bleak, marshy land, several hundred yards inland from Point Ysabel, and just north of McKeiths hiII in the re- zion of which most of the factories for
 
 stands at some little distance from the railroad track, and little over a mile this side of Stege, in Contra Costa. County.
 Nothing but a mass of ruins is left to tell the tale of the catastrophe. Every human being on the place was killed instantly, so that nobody remains who can give the slightest clew as to it's cause. For hundreds of yards around lies scattered huge mass of debris. in which are mingled the remains of the men who met their fate. Pieces of boilers, copper vats and parts of ma chinery, all twisted and turned into every imaginable shape, and thrown about in all possible directions. stand mute witnesses to the terrible force of the upheaval.
 AS TOT the cause OI the 6XDlOS1OQ nothing can be advanced with certain ty The building in which the men are known to have been at the fatal mo- ment contained large vat of nitro glycerin, surrounded by intricate ma chinery. It was hanked on two sides by mounds of earth, twelve feet through at the base. A few feet away stood the shed used for the manufac-
 FTNI- yIs were connected with machinery. and the workmen were in the habit of pass ing to and fro between them. Sur rounding the vat of nitroglycerin was a large tank of water for the purpose of keeping the explosive at the right temperature It is suggested that the water around the vat may have become overloaded before the workmen had reason to suspect that the temperature had risen. It is equally possible that some part of the machinery may have got out of order in which case friction would have developed sufficient heat to put the explosives in danger. The lat ter explanation seems the more prob able, and was generally accepted by experts viewing the scene Of the ruins.
 As in all other explosions the work of destruction is so complete that the only solution of it's cause can be but conjecture.
 People who happened to be in the vicinity of the plant at the moment of destruction describe it as coming with one great shock. They heard thunder ing report, and at the same instant the whole of the gelatin building seemed to be lifted high into the air, and imme- diately to be rent apart into thousands of pieces and scattered to the four winds. The two earthen mounds at the Hanks were blown down and their dust mingled with the scattering fragments of iron and wood. The guncotton shed at the side became total wreck. Every board and plank was torn from it's place The roof had been completely