The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-12-21
BY GAS EXPLOSION
l~eterator House Of New York Civ
Gas Company Destroyed.
IEUR OTHERS BADLY INJURED

fsssss Shaker For BfscEs And People
Terrified by tho Conclusion So Police
Experienced Great Difficulty In Keep.
ing the Crowds Back From the Regior
of Danger.
New York City.-One workman was
4 killed and four others were badly in
| jured in an explosion in the generating
|; house of the Consolidated Gas Com
pany's plant in West Forty-fourth
street between Eleventh and Twelfth
avenues. Great streets Of fame shot
out from the windows on Forty-fourth
street and from those on Eleventh ave
nue., terrifying ~passers-by, many OF
whom were thrown from their feet.
The explosion shook the houses for
two blocks, waking late sieepers and
sending others into the streets to find
out what had happened. Sergeant Nc.
Cam, hearing the report in the West
Forty-seventh street police station, hur.
ried the reserves to the scene Of the &C.
cident. They had considerable diff.
Guilty in keeping the crowd away until
they said that any n Of the great
tanks in the neighborhood vas likely
to explode. This cleared the streets.
. James T. Kane, seventeen years old.
Of 676 Eleventh avenue, died in the
Roosevelt Hospital two hours aftel the
explosion. His skull was fractured.
Others who. were taken to Roosevelt
Hospital were: :
Patrick Barry. th%irty-nine years old,
Of $40 West Fifty-second street, who
had decorations Of the right hand and
left leg.
James Burns. twenty years old, Of
554 West Forty-eighth street, who was
severely burned about the face and
hands.
John Noonan. t%wenty-one years old.
Of 40 West Forty-ninth street, who
was badly burned about the face and
hands.
David Mcmahon, forty-one years old.
of COS West Forty-third street, whose
arms were lacerated and who suffered
many bruises.
Two other workmen refused to 80. to
the hospital. although they were pain
fully hurt. William J. Hawthorne, the
superintendent in charge at the time Of
the explosion, was painfully bruised
and burned, but refused to leave the
wrecked building until the damage to
the generating machinery had been re-
paired. He then went home to nurse
his injuries.
According to the people in the neigh.
borhood the explosion which caused all
these injuries was preceded, at 4
o'clock. by a lighter one. They say
that after the first explosion carriages
were summoned and three men were
taken to their homes. A policeman
who was near tells the same story. but
it was denied at the Offices of the com.
pany.
Because Of recent troubles and conse.
quent repairs workmen had put wood.
en- caps instead Of steel caps in the big
main that carries the freshly made gas
from the generators. One Of these
caps Is at the end of the main nearest
Eleventh e Another is near
Forty-fourth street. When the explo,
sion occurred Kane, who was killed,
working over that cap. The cover
blew off, crushing bis skull, and the
explosion hurt several who were near
him. ...
Some Of the forty workmen in tile
place were hurled yards away by the
explosion.
The building lost all Of its windows
and its big skylight. The generators
and the main were repaired in a few
hours. There was an abundance Of
gas in the tanks, and the supply to the
neighborhood was not even slackened.
Superintendent Hawthorne said that
he didn't know what had caused the
explosion. One workman said he
thought a spark from q gas engine had
all the trouble.
Superintendent Hawthorne was ar.
rested on a technical charge of homi.
eide. Coroner Scholer accepted $500
bail for him. @