New-York tribune., 1903-02-26
HISIEG BLOWN OFF.
Driuer Was Charging Si0hon 10 Oct
a Cigar.
EXPLOSION WRECKS A CANDY STORE.

By the explosion of siphon which was being
charged with carbcnic oxide gas William Muir
ply twenty-one years old, of No. 101 Goerck-
ST. had his left leg blown off yesterday, IN the
confectionery sto.e of Louis Schechwitz, No. 10
LeWis-st. Murphy, who is a driver for the
Bishop e Bahcock company, at No. A. Great
Jones-st-, is in Bellevue Hospital in 6 critical
condition. The explosion wrecked the store and
created panic among the twenty-six families
in the dwelling above it.
Murphy took 10 the store in a wagon a large
iron tank weighing 80 pounds, and containing
carbonc oxide gas pressure of $50 pounds
TO the square inch The siphons that placed
in the soda fountains charged from this
tank. a connection is made between the tank
and the siphon, which is alright a cock is
turned on, and the gas flows until the water
has been sufficiently charged. This work has
usually been done by the proprietor of the
store or by Miss Katie Reichenthal, seventeen
years old or her brother Joseph. they having
an interest N the business Miss Reichenthal is
soon to become the bride of Schechwitz. Oc-
casionally Murphy has done this work which is
tedious, and has received cigar for his trouble.
When he entered the store yesterday with the
tank Mr.. Schechwitz out and Joseph
Reichenthal was just about to go out The lat
ter said he would wait and charge the siphon,
Go ahead, if you are going, I'll charge the
[ sphon for a cigar"
This was agreed to. He took the iron tank
! into little room in the rear and Miss Reichen-
\ thai helped him make the connection. The gas
had been flowing for some minutes when she
! heard a strange sound and told Murphy to turn
| off the gas. He laughed and told her not TO
be frightened. The sound continued. and with a.
second warning TO the driver the girl jumped
| toward the door leading into the store. Just
she .assed through it there a terrible ex-
pIosion, the force of which threw her to the
ground. Every window in the store was shat
tered The plaster was knocked from the walls
showcases filed with candy were blown from
| the counters, and the store was literally
wreck The explosion had been heard by the
families in the apartments on the floors above
and they rushed down the stairs panic stricken
As soon as the girl recovered she went back to
the room where she had left Murphy, but could
not see him. Then she ran out of the store.
She was told to call an ambulance, and did So
As she returned to the store she met Policeman
Hiber of the Union Market station He went
with her to the rear of the store, and there they
found Murphy under pile Of debris. He was
bruised and stunned, and his right leg below the
knee was missing. The policeman bound the
stumn with A piece of rope to prevent him from
bleeding death.
After the driver had been taken to the hos
pital Policeman Hiber arrested Miss Relchen-
thai on a charge OF violating corporation ordl-
nance i'm allowing the tank to be brought into d
tenement house. Magistrate tlammer. In the
Essex Market court, found that the ordinance
had been amended so that ii was permlSslpie 10
bring such a tank into tenement house when
it was to be used for charging siphon, ana the
girl was discharged