The citizen., 1899-04-28
TIE WORK 0F BENZO|L.
Terrific Explosion in Labora-
tory of FIeer'S Chewing
Gum Factory.
LIKE AN EARTHQUAKE.
Two Men Killed and Many Injured
Factory and Surrounding Property
Smashed to -SmithereenS.

All the Hospital AmbuIances in Phila-
delphia RnslIed to Scene of Disaster,
and Few of Over Four Hundred En-.
ployes Escaped Iniury-Two Dead Bodies
Removed From Ruins.
Philadelphia, April 27.-An eXplo-
sion of benzoil completely wrecked the
laboratory on Callow Hill street, near
Twenty-fourth street. One man was
killed, another is supposed to be dead
in the ruins and about Il hundred per
sons were injured \ score of build
in@s were completely demolished.
Their We're only five persons at work
in the building at the time of the eX.
ploSion. Three of them are under the
care of physicians, one being. perhaps
fatally burned; the fourth mans body
is mt the Morgue, while the remaining
person is unaccountcd for. This body
is believed to be in the ruins.
The entire front of the chewing gum
factory was blown out into the street,
and then the roof and upper floors fell
into the basement. \ cloud of steam
and n column of black SmoNe shot up
into the air, and almost at the same
moment a more violent explosion oc-
cured. and all the buildings within
two blocks shook as though an earth
quake had rocked them. Bricks were
hurled through the air, smashing
glass and battering in windows and
doors. An alarm of fire was turned in.
Flames were bursting from the ruins
in half a dozen places. This alarm was
followed by second alarm and by
ambulance calls.
Chief Baxter quickly reached the
scene and with about 100 policemen
kept the crowd away from the ruins.
Some in their fright did not seem to
know enough to get away from the
t0ppling walls. and the policemen
were obliged to take them to places of
safety. Children. many cut by flying
glass. cried for their mothers until the
policemen carried them away and
tried to find their parents. Women in
some instances tried to force their
way back through the police lines to
hunt for their children.
Not n house on the block escaped
damage. For two blocks around win
dow glass was shattered and in some
instances had been driven with tn"
frames into the buildings. AS soon as
the firemen conld force their way INTO
the ruins they went in search of the
bodies of the dead. although there was
danger of falling walls.
The full force of the explosion was
felt i'm the houses around the factory.
TO the west George NJ. Dunlap has
grocery store, and the side walls and
part of the front were blown into the
street, together with much of the stock
in the store. Furniture on the upper
floor was blown into the street. and
some fell into the wreck of the chew
ing gum factory. At Conrad Goetz'S
repair shop and store the front wall
was bulged out and the roof torn loose
from the ioists, while within the fur
niture stock was piled up in con
fused mass. On the corner of Twenty
fourth street Antonio WOOdside con
ducts barber shop. The force of the
explosion blew the mugs mirrors and
furniture up against the Twenty
fourth street wall. Two wagons were
passing at the time. One, small.
unmarked one. was fattened by the
fall of the wall. The horse and driver
escaped. The second was a large de-
livery wagon of Armour & Co., and
this was caught by the blast and
driven up against the house on the OPP
posite side of the street What became
of the horse and driver nobody
seemed to know, but had they re.
mained with the wagon they would
have been killed, as a boiler for boil
ing candy was driven through the bot
tom of the wagon and bricks were
piled up on it. Piled in the street were
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