The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-09-11

The cause of the explosion during the
fire yesterday morning is as yet a mys-
terry. The fremen believe that it was
powder, while the Mine &, Shelter Sup
ply people maintain that they had no
powder arc that the explosion was
caused by chemicals which We're stored
in the basement by the vault. Among
the chemicals which were stored in the
basement were surphuric acid, nitric
acid, hydrOchloric acid ammonia, BIZ
carbonate of soda and soda ash Ac-
cordlng to the statement Of }. l. Hin.
ton. VINO had charge of the assay de-
partment of the store, there were thirty
barrels containing nitric and sulphuric
acid in glass bottles stored away in
the basement between the vault and
the north wall between the Mine &
Smelter Supply cOmpanys store and
Spencer Clawson's store. There were
also ammonia and soda ash, he said,
stored in the same place, and the Mine
d Smelte: Supply people maintain that
these chemicals, becoming mixed by =
breakage of the bottles from the heat,
caused the explosion
City Chemist Herman Harms, when
Aasked in regard to this theory or the
explosion, stated that those chemicals
under certain conditions could easily
have caused the explosion OF those
acids said he. the nitric was the
most dangerous, and when ammonia is
mixed with it even in very small guam
titles, it is always attended by an eS-
plosion and the evolution Of great heat.
w hen heated, those acids Vaporize rap
idly. and when mixed with sulphuric
acid fumes in a confined place, as they
would be in the basement CT the Nine
& Smelter Supply company. they be-
come sufficiently explosive to wreck
the strongest building. 1 VIII not say
that those acids caused the explosion
at the fire, but they might nave done
so easily under the conditions there.
: MIR. Harms stated that an explosion
of giant powder or dynamite always
acted with a downward effect, while
the entire force of exploding acids is
4 upwards 1t was noticed that appar-
( entity all the effects of the explosion at
) the fire were upwards.
j Despite this the four nremen VINO
7 were in the basement of the building al
the time of the explosion. and those
who were injured, declared that they
detected the odOr of powder just foi-
lowing the explosion, and could taste
the powder smoke for an hour or more
/ afterwards. When their attention wa:
! called 20 the acid theory, one of then
smiled and remarked: I guess 1 have
handled gun long enough to know
powder smoke when smell It. Ihen
too. If the acids had eNpiodes
there surely would have been SOM
signs of it where the acids were stored
but the &leepers of the floor over whef
the acids were stored were not ever
displaced"
Among those who examined tn
ruins it was the expressed belief tina
the explosion had been caused by pow
der, either in the vault or between
and the south wall.
The Mine & Smelter Supply peopl
strenuousIy deny that there was an,
powder of any kind stored in tine build
ing. The inspection book of the fir
department for year shows that fus
and caps were kept in the vault, bu
does not shaw that any powder wa
kept about the place.
Warren c. Bogue. local manager @
the company, said in regard to havin
| any powder in the store: There ha
never been pound OF powder OF an
kind stored in our establishment an
we took all the precautions that scienc
coul devise 70 guard against fire froT
the chemicals carried in stock. W
have our powder magazine four mile
. from the city. and there is neither rea
! son nor justice in the statements tina
are being made to the effect that tn
explosion was caused by powder TIL
men who said that they smelt powde
at the fire don't know what pOwde
, smells like. Soon after our place wa
Z started I went to the chief Of the fiji
department and told him about tn
= acids in store and asked him to sen