West Virginia daily oil review. [volume] (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1894-1902, 1902-01-28

fell in fragments. 1t was the shower
Of broken glass and falling debris
that injured the greatest number.
Time of Occurrence Fortunate.
Fortunately the explosion occurred
at the noon hour. Not more than a.
hundred persons were in the main
waiting room of the Grand Central
station, though in the smoking room
at the southwest corner a number of
men were lounging. Some 0 fthese
were slightly injured by bits of glass
Four ticket sellers were injured. They
stood In the pathway of this blast
and were all cut about the heads and
arms with hying slivers.
The electrical force in the execu-
tive Offices CT the New York; New
Haven and Hartford railroad which
occupy the floors above the first, in
the eastern wing OF the depot, were
thrown about by the shock. A. T.
Turner, record clerk inWSuperin-
tendent Shepard's Office, was thrown
from his chair and his hands were
badly lacerated.
In the next room to Turner's Chief
Dispatcher G. H. Wilson and his four
assistants, who were directing the
trains of the New Haven line, having
several hundred trains to look out
for, were scratched with flying glass,
but did not leave their chairs, even
when they could not see their instru-
ments because of the smoke. One
man, Foster, who was watching a
single track strip in Connecticut, did
not even get up to look at the ruins
al
The station last night presented
mantled castle, with the big windows
only ragged holes.
General Alarm Sent In.
General alarms brought firemen,
police reserves and every available
ambulance to the district and the in
jured were speedily cared for. Al
majority CT the injured were treate L
on the spot, and the white-eoated am
bulance surgeons worked for an hour
in the debris Strewn streets Police
lines were thrown across either end
OF Park avenue and across the inter
secting streets. Sevral tins the po-
lice cleared the street Of people in
front Of the Murray Hill hotel. Tor
rents of water from broken mains
poured into the tunnel shaft while
the wreckage was being cleared from
the street railway sub-way, and it was
feared that the street might cave H.
The cause of the explosion and the
quantity Of explosives that blew upI
are not definitely known. Several
causes have been advanced One w s
that fire started near the powder
room and that Master Mechanic Will
liam TubbS lost his life in a desper-I
ate attempt to Quench it before i'll
reached the deadly fuel Another was
that 1T started from a spark produced
by a stray current Of electricity. A
bird placed th3 blame upon a BLAST
in the tunnel Still another gave a.
gas explosion from electrical contact
in the trolley conduit of the streeti
railway subway. 1t will probably
take an official investigation to reveal
the true explanation. Several men
who were very close to the shaft es-
capped, while others hundreds of feetI
away were knocked down and seri-
ously injured.
Mayor Low said last night that heI
would write to the Rapid Transit
commissioners requesting that thew
ascertain the sub-contractOrs' method
OF handling and storing explosives
The mayor remarked that "famil-I
larity breeds contempt" and possiblyI
the contractors in handling explosives
had become careless as time went on,
until the accident happened.