Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-01-30
DYNAMITE LET'S GO
AND TERRIFIC HAVOC Is
WROUGHT IN NEW YORK.
ANOTHER TUNNEL HORROR
Eight Persons Killed and Over One
Hundred Injured While the Prop
erty Less Will Reap Over Million
Cause of Explosion Not Yet
acknowledgement Arrested.

New York, Jan. 28.-The reserve
supply of high explosives stored at the
Park avenue shaft of the rapid transit
tunnel, now in course Of contraction,
blew up shortly after noon yesterday.
The giant blast killed eight persons,
injured 100 others and seriously dam
aged all property reached by the fly
ing debris and vibration Of the shock
The sunken approach to the street
railway tunnel used by the Madison
avenue line cuts through Park avenue
and the shaft for the rapid transit sub
way was run down beside it at an in
tersection east of Forty-frst street.
The street railway approach was
housed over with a superStructure used
for operating the plant by the rapid
transit contractors. Temporary build
ings for storage purposes were thrown
up against the superstructure at the
mouth of the shaft and there the eX-
plosion occurred. 1t tore a great
gorge in the street, demolished the
temporary buildings and part of the
superstructure, and sent a mass of
earth, splintered timbers and twisted
iron high in the air. Much Of it went
battering against the front of the Muir
ray Hall hotel and although the walls
and main structure of the building
stood the shock, nearly every room in
front of the house was wrecked.
The Manhattan eye and ear hospital
on the east side of the avenue Jared
nearly as bad and had to be aban
doned The Grand Union hotel lost
all it's windows and glass partitions
and practically every front window in
the Grand Central Station was shat.
tered. The great clocks ON it's front
towers were blown from the cases
Thousands of windows, some of them
seven blocks from the tunnel shaft
of broken glass and falling debris that
| injured the greatest number.
General alarms brought firemen, pc
| lice reserves and every available am
| were speedily cared for. A majority
| of the injured were treated on the spot
| and surgeons worked for an hour il
| the debris-strewn street. The cause
| Of the explosion and quantity of explo
| sives that blew up are not definiteI.
| known. Several causes were ad
vanced, but it will probably take al
| official investigation to reveal the
| truth. DISTRICT Attorney Jerome Wis
| tied the scene and made an investiga
| ton to guide him in the official inquiry
and possible criminal prosecution thai
will follow.
| Ira A Shaler, the engineer in charge
| of the work at Park avenue; Joh1
Bracken foreman, and Martin Nc
Grath, assistant foreman, were arrest
| ed and charged with homicide.
The damage may exceed a million
| dollars. The first estimated on the
| Murray Hall hotel placed the loss al
100000 but later the hotel was aban
| doned as unsafe. If the building is
condemned the loss on it alone will
approach $1,000,000. The damage e
the Grand Union is estimated at $40,
900 and the Manhattan hospital r-a.
900. The loss at the Grand Central
station was entirely in glass as was
that of the 100 Or more other buildings
affected by the explosion. No estimate
was made of the losses sustained by
the rand transit contractors