The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1902-02-07
A Terrible Explosion.

The nitrOSlYcefln nou Sc oi Iue Se'oe
rite Manufacturing Company between
Ardwick and Landover, in this county, on
the Pennsylvania railroad. and nine miles
from Washington, was blown to atoms by
an explosion of the chemicals it contained
at $50 o'clock Tuesday morning. The
shock created CONSERVATION in many parts
of the State, and telegraph offices were
sought to learn the location and cause OF
the shake up Only one person, Mr.. r. ).
Martin, the superintendent of the works,
was in the building His body was blown
into shreds. Lcmuel Hamlet, engineer,
was hurt by being blown through win
dow; Raymond Watts, hurt, but not serl-
ouslv; Frank Watts, hurt, but not serious
ly.
Intense excitement followed the explo-
sion, which developed erroneous impress
sious of an earthquake disturbance For
a radius of more than half a mile from the
partially wrecked plant houses were shak-
en- and windows broken.
When the fragments of Mr.. Martins
body were gathered up no single piece
more than six inches was to be found
tiny portion of flesh was found hanging
in distant tree. A portion of the scalp,
to which the hair still chung, was found on
the snow. The largest of number of
bits, all of which did not half fill an empty
cracker box. was portion of the bone of
a forearm, found several hundred yards
from the scene Of the wreck.
When Martin left home on the morning
of the accident, he took with him about
5000 in grecnbacks. Not IA vestige of the
money was to be found anywhere near
the building.
Mr. Cuno II. Rudolph. one of the di-
rectors of the plant, said: AFTER careful
Investigation we came to the conclusion
that Mr.. Martin slipped and dropped
bucket of nitroglycerin. The accident
occurred at the threshold of the building
in which the ntroglycerin used in MIN
ufacturing cerberite is prepared. We con-
clude from statements made to US by those
who were at the plant that Martin was on
his way from the mixing tank i'll the nj
troglycerine building with bucket of the
explosive, which he intended to take to
another building, when it is mixed with
certain materials in making the
cerberite. that he slipped at the
door, and the conclusion caused by the
bucket of nitroglycerin with the floor
produced the explosion.
The officers of the company estimate
the damage at $4,000. principally
to stock in the nitroglycerin house.
1t contained ten drums of acid. nitric
and sulphuric. worth about $500,
and about 1000 pounds of glycerin.
About 800 pounds of nitroglycerin, which
had just been made, exploded Twenty
thousand pounds of ceberite, the finished
article, was stored in the magazines, but
escaped injury. The side of one of these
magazines was wrecked by flying timber.
and some of the sticks of cerberite were
broken, but none is said to have exploded.
Had it done so, very little would now re-
main of the towns of Landover and Ard
wick
All the injured men lived in Landover.
Mr. Martin was a native of Scotland, and
had familiarized himself with the manu-
facture of all kinds of explosives. He
was one of the most experienced nitro
glycerin manufacturers in the country,
and was for 10 years superintendent of
the big powder mill of the Ditmore Power
Works, at Farmingdalc. N. J.. He also
lived at Landover, with his family, a
wife and six children, the oldest II years
old and the youngest babe of little more
than a year. The directors If the COM
pany visited Mrs Martin and promised to
look after the funeral arrangements, as
well as to arrange for the future comfort
of the family. Her relatives live in New
Jersey
Coroner Carr. of EVANSVILLE, after WIS.,
iting the scene decided the circumstances
did not warrant holding an inquest. He
issued the ordinary certificate of death
and signed a permit for the removal of
the remains.