The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-01-17
TWO KILLED.
And Two Injured by the
Bursting Of a Fly
Wheel.
SAD ACCIDENT At LoRILLARD's
Engineer Who Only Gould
Know How It Happened
Is Dead.

A fatal accident occurred TINS morning
in the snuff works of Lorillard & Co, at
Warren and Bay streets. The main ny
wheel burst, wrecking the walls of the
building. killing two persons and badly
~injurins two more.
The dead are;-
James Delaney. So years old, of Second
street near Erie street, assistant engi-
neer; body badly mutilated.
Nora Mccarthy, II years old, of No. aO5
Second street.
The wounded are:-
Mary Dillon, II years old, of No. 1853
Railroad avenue, both legs broken and
otherwise injured; st. Francis Hospital.
Mary Hickey, Is years old, of No. 1874
Ninth street, badly injured about the body
by falling bricks: st. Francis Hospital.
There were 100 people employed in the
building at time of the explosion, but
none except Delaney and Miss Mccarthy
were hurt. The two injured girls were
not in the building but happened to be
walking near it when the accident oc-
Cured.
The fywheel weighed eighteen tons. 1t
was forty-two inches wide and eighteen
feet in diameter. 1t made a terrible en-
.gine of DEATH. Huge pieces of iron were
hurled in all directions, tearing stone and
wood alike as they flew. How the accl-
dent happened is a mystery to the ohcers
of the Loriilard Company. The greatest
Of care is taken of all the machinery IN
the big tobacco and SNUFF mills. Acel-
dents, even minor ones, are OF rare occur
renee. The building in which the snuiI
is manufactured is a large structure OF
brick. seven stories tail. As 1t is Wen
known that a wheel. when it breaks, HES
in all directions. the greatest care was
taken in the placing OF the machinery
in all the Lorillard buildings. ..s...
In the snuff works the boiler and ma
chinery was placed in the eastern end OF
the building. On the floor above II mo
one was permitted to work. On the thlfd
floor almost as great caution was OBJ
Served to guard against any possible ca
tastrophy. The walls of the building are
thick and strong. Just how the accident
occurred will never be known, for De-
laney. who was killed, was the only man
in the boiler room at the time. From
the position in which his body was found
it is believed by DIR. Leonard j. Gordon,
of the Lorillard Company, who was early
on the scene, that Delaney was trying
to stop the machinery when he met his
death. He probably had a warning that
som ething was about to give way.
The first intimation those in the build
ing had that aught was wrong was the
sound of tearing timbers and the rush
of STAN that came to their ears. A panic
was only averted by the GOODNESS of the
heads of the various departments. The
damage done by the flying pieces of the
ponderous wheel was terrible. The pieces
flew in all directions. One huge piece tore
through the wall of the building and fly
ing fifty feet across a court yard damage
the wall of another building. Miss Dillon
and the Hickey girl were walking through
the court yard when the explosion oc-
CURED. They were injured by flying
bricks.
Another large piece of iron was hurled
directly upwards. 1t tore through the
ceiling to the first fooor and shot on up
to the third floor. Miss Mccarthy, it is
said, was on the third floor directly over
the engine. h was struck by the flying
iron and her body fell to the floor through
the hole that had been torn through the
building.
A heroic act was performed by John
Franklin. foreman of the snuff works
The machinery did not cease revolving~af
ter the fywheel burst. To add to the
danger of the situation steam was escap-
ing at a fierce rate. Franklin crawled in
to the boiler room and shut off the en-
CINE.
The first report of the accident received
at Police Headquarters gave the number
of dead and wounded as much larger
than it really was. The ambulance was
sent for and the reserves of the Gregory
street and Seventh street stations were
sent to the scene in patrol wagons Hun,
dreds of persons gathered at the scene o.
fhe catastrophy. Anxious parents anc
relatives of those who work in the Lor-
lizard Works were there to look afteI
loved ones.