The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-01-28

injured were treated on the spot and am bulance surgeons worked for an hour 1T the debris strewn streets. Police lines were thrown across either end or Parf Avenue and across the intersectinf streets. Several times the police cleared the street of people in front of the Mur' ray Hill Hotel.
 Torrents of water from broken mains poured into the tunnel shaft. while the wreckage was being cleared from the street railway subway, and it was feared that the street might cave in.
 The cause of the explosion and the quantity of explosives that blew up are not definitely known. Several causes have been advanced. One was that a fire started near the powder room and that Master Mechanic William Tubbs lost his life in desperate attempt to quench it before it reached the deadly fuel. Another is that it started from a spark produced by a stray current of electrici- ty. A third placed the blame upon a blast in the tunnel. Still another gave gas explosion from electrical contact in the trolley conduit in the street rail way subway.
 Several men who were very close to the shaft escaped, while others. hundreds of feet away were knocked down and seriously injured. District Attorney
 
 investigation to guide him in the offical inquiry and possible criminal prosecution that will follow.
 Ita A. Shaler, engineer in charge of the work at Park Avenue, John Bracken, a foreman, and Martin McGrath, an as- sistant foreman, were placed under arrest charged with homicide William R. Parsons, chief engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission. said that Shaler was one of the most competent and careful engineers he ever knew.
 The damage may exceed $1,000. GOO. The first estimate on the Murray Hill Hotel placed the loss at s100,0OO, but later the hotel was abandoned as unsafe. If the building is condemned. the loss on 1t alone will approach $1, 100000. The damage to the Grand Union was estimated at $40,000 and that to the Manhattan hos pital at $250c0. The loss at the Grand Central station was entirely in glass as was that of the one --4ndred or more other buildings affected by the explosion
 No estimate was made of the losses sus- tained by the rapid transit contractors.
 There was a clash in court this after noon between District Attorney Jerome and Coroner Goldenkranz, resulting in the former being struck in the face by a clerk.
 MT. Jerome was In his office examining Shaler. Bracken and McGrath. the men under arrest, when a policeman assigned to the coroner's office entered, and, under the coroner's instructions, demanded that the prisoners appear before that official. MT. Jerome allowed them to go, but he and his assistants followed The District Attorney told the coroner that there was no information in the patrolman's affida- wit on which to hold anybody, and there vo a oy1exla t~at-u IL. In spite of protests the coroner gave the case to the iurymen, who returned a ver- dict recommending the discharge of the prisoners.
 The coroner then opened court as a sit- ting magistrate, had the men rearrested and held them without bail. More pro- ttests came from MT. Jerome, and the cor oner changed his decision, holding the men in $0,000 each.
 All this had worked up the feelings of everybody so that that there was a free fight. Mir. Jerome received blow in the face from coroner's clerk, who, in turn, was beaten by two of the District Attor- ney's detectives. Then the detectives and the, clerk had each other arrested. but soon better counsel prevailed and all charges were withdrawn for the present.
 Moses Epps. a powder man in charge Of the shanty where the explosion oc- cured is at Flower Hospital suffering from contusions and shock. He said on going to the shanty about noon he found candle, which he had left lighted on shelf. lying on the floor, and some paper which about about 1t was on fire Close to this burning paper were thir- teen boxes of dynamite cartridges. each box containing for sixty to seventy-five cartridges. Epps threw a pail of water over the fire and ran to get another one, On coming back he says that the flames were close to the dynamite and dropping his pail he tried to get away. Then came the explosion and the next he knew he was patient in the hospital.
 This evening Epps was practically a prisoner, a policeman having been as- signed to guard him.