New-York tribune., 1902-01-30
REPORT ON EXPLOSIVES.
RAPID TRANSIT BOARD TO
KEEP CLOSE WATCH.
WILLIAM BARCLAY PARSONS SAYS HIS
INVESTIGATION WAS HINDERED BY
THE CORONER - INSURANCE
COMPANIES MAY SUFFER.

tOMPANlES MAY SUFFER.
There was no relaxation yesterday on the mart
Of the city and subway officials in their efforts
10 fix the responsibility for and TO determine
the causes Of the terrible explosion of dynamite
al Forty-frst-st- and Park-ave. on Monday No
definite results have as yet been reported from
the Investigations. No one seems certain as to
how much dynamite exploded in front of the
Murray Hill Hotel, OF why il blew up Every
reasonable effort is being made to get al facts
concerning the disaster.
The Rapid Transit Commissioners yesterday
afternoon began an investigation into the causes
o. the explosion They met at the Office of the
commission, No. 800 Broadway. Those present
were Mayor Low, Controller Grout, John B.
Mcdonald contractor: William Barclay Parsons,
chief engineer Of the Rapid Transit Commits
sion; George s Rice, assistant to Mr.. Parsons;
=. B. Boardman and E n. Shepard, Of counsel
for the commission; Commissioners Alexander
E Orr, Charles Stewart Smith, Woodbury. Lang
don, John H. Starin and Morris K. Jesup.
THE MAYORS RESOLUTION.
Mayor Low introduced the following resou-
ton:
Resolved. That the chief engineer be requested
10 give such instructions TO the division engt-
neers as VIII result in his receiving daily re-
port Of the amount Of explosives on hand at
each magazine along the route OF the subway
Immediately after the receipt OF a days supply.
and whether the detonatOrs are properly
separated from the supply Of explosives
Resolved further that the chief engineer
make q report on this subject at each meeting
Of the board.
Chief Engineer Parsons, who arrived at the
scene thirty minutes after the explosion. read
report, in part, as follows:
On my arrival al Forty-frst-st and Park-ave.
7 at once assumed control Of operations. I
placed Division Engineer Carr in personal
charge Of the work and directed him TO make
safe the damaged scanolding, stone bins and
hosting machinery standing over the depressed
track OF the street railway. In this work the
Metropolitan company Co-operated with a large
force Of men. BY 800 ?. m. streetcar traffic
was resumed.
My Investigation was made much more diff
cult. and not only that, but the safety Of the
EUpersJruc-ure was imperilled after the explo-
sion by the peremptory action Of the coroner
in removing from the work the sub-contractor,
Mr. Shaler and his foreman. They were the
TWO men who had the detail knowledge Of the
work the vvberea bouts of men tools and ma
terial. and other necessary details and local in
formation. Their instant and continued pres
snce al so critical a time was Of the utmost con-
sequence. Their removal by the coroner to the
Criminal Courts Building about three hours af-
ter the accident and, so far 1 know, without
the slightest reason 10 suppose tnal either OF
them would run away Il II should turn out ne
was in any way responsible, a proceeding
against which as chief engineer of the rapid
transit work. and having Immediately after the
accident assumed charge Of the situation, feel
called upon respectfully TO protest. II Mr..
Shaler and his foreman could have been left
upon the ground. the work of making the
roundi1gs safe would have been very greatly
advanced. and I should have been better able
70 speed the Investigation which at once knew
you would require me TO make.
President Orr Of the commission. who had
twice visited the neighborhood Of the explosion
spoke at some length to the board.
NO CAUSE FOR ALARM
After the adjournment Mr.. Parsons denied the
report that large stores Of dynamite were kept
near the Thirty-fourth-st. opening Of the Park
tunnel He said enphaticaI1y that citi-
zens had no reason TO feel alarmed over the
existence Of small amounts of explosives about
the subway Mr.. Parsons viii continue his in
vestlgations as TO the cause Of the explosion
Yesterday morning Mayor Low received
reply from M Orr to the letter sent to the
president Of the commission Tuesday. The
Mayor declined TO divulge the contents Of Mr..
Crrs letter.
Moses Epps the colored man who had charge
OF the dynamite which spread such ruin. yester
day morning was taken from Flower Hospital,
his head swathed with bandages, and arraigned
on q charge Of homicide at Yorkville police
court. Magistrate Mayo held him in $4,000 bail,
To be examined on Friday John P. Delaney, Of
No 671 East One-hundred- nd-fortieth-st, fur
rished bonds While waiting TO be formally ar
raigned he said positively that six hundred
pounds Of dynamite were stored in the shanty
at the time Of the explosion The dynamite. he
said was set on fire by burning paper, ignited
by a lighted candle. According TO his story,
there were twelve boxes Of dynamite in the
building. each box containing about seventy
Ave sticks. Between five hundred and six hun
dred sticks Of dynamite he said. were used
every day.
Il an Virginan. twenty-seven years old. I
live al No. West MISUNDERSTANDING sixth
ST." he said Just before the explosion one
Of the worxren ran out Of the dynamite shanty,
shouting There's a fire in the powder house!
Tubbs who was killed. and I got buckets Of
water They did no good. I had run away only
forty feet when was blown over"
Justice Gildersleeve. in the Supreme Court,
yesterday discharged Edmund McGrath, the la
borer held by Coroner Goldenkranz on the charge
OF homicide, as being jointly responsible with
Mr. ShaIer the sub-contractor, and Mr.. Brack
en- the foreman for the explosion. r. W. Z.
yelling OF No 2 WalI-st, his counsel. secured
The discharge on the return OF writ Of habeas
corpus The coroner had held McGrath in
$4,000 10 await the action of the grand jury
McGrath could not furnish bail, and was locked
and torn overaIls he in happy frame of
mind
4 don't know" he said what caused the
plosion. I wasn't on that part Of the Job be-
longing TO the Degnon-McLean Company on the
section below I was going to the Toulouse.
When I came 10 I found I had lost 45 cents
There was a jumping around me. They
said he was the coroner. I enjoyed my stay at
the Tombs"
Perez n. Stewart. Superintendent Of Buildings,