The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-12-27
BROKE WINDOWS FOR
 TWENTY NILES AROUND
EXPLOSION OF POWDER TEN
 MILES FROM HALIFAX.

Twenty Men Leave works Just in the
 Nick of Time-Thrown Violently to
 the Ground and stunned-arnny
 Large Plate Glass Windows Broken
 and Locked Doors Thrown Open in
 HaIifax.
 Halifax, N. S., Dec. 2s.-A portion of the Acadia Powder company's works at Waverly. ten miles from this city, blew up to-day and the concussion shook the country and broke windows for twenty miles around. Fortunately no one was killed or even seriously in- jured, although about twenty of the employees who had scarcely left tho building. which was demolished, were thrown violently to the ground and stunned.
 The plant is situated mile outside of Waverly, yet every window in the town was broken and many people on the streets were cut by the shower of broken glass. The property loss at the Acadia works was estimated at $25.OOO.
 The explosion occurred at 10:S0 o'clock this morning in small build ing known as the dry house, in which about ton of powder was stored, and is believed to have been due to over- heating, although President T. R. Cue of the company stated this afternoon that shortly before the accident the thermometer registered only 150 de- grees.
 About twenty of the men, one-ffth of the ordinary force employed at the works, had just left one of the build- ings and were several rods off when the dry house blew up. The concussion threw them violently to the ground, demolished half dozen other build ings close by the dry house but did not explode the powder in the magazine, although that building was partially wrecked. A hole several feet deep was blown in the ground.
 The men regained consciousness af- ter a few seconds, and expecting other explosions, ran off to a safe distance. They returned later to see what dam age had been done. About quarter of mile. off was the house of Robert Layton, the manager of the plant and this was very badly damaged. All the windows were blown out, while the plaster in nearly every room was shaken down. Miss Margaret Layton, who was sitting in a room on the sec4s ond floor, was hurled from her chair and rendered unconscious but recover ed later.
 In Waverly windows were broken, and the glass falling outward, as is usual in explosions, was showered up- on passing citizens, and many received small cuts. People in that town rish- eded from their houses fearing that other explosions would follow and that the town would be wrecked, and 1t was some time before they were re-assured.
 The effect of the explosion in this city was quite marked and for while it was thought that an earthquake had taken place. Later came the word from Waverly of the explosion.
 The shock was severe enough in this city to break many large plate glass windows in the business section, and throw open locked doors. At one of the houses of the fire department the large front doors were burst open and par- tially damaged. Tn many houses arr ticles were thrown to the floor from tables and shelves and in some in- stances furniture was broken. | Similar reports were received from Bedford, three miles from the powder plant, and from Renfrew, Oldham and other small towns situated up the val- ley toward the scene of the explosion. It was feared that some of the em- ployes had been killed but later in the | day allgwere accounted for, and so far as known tonight there was no ona else about the works or in the inlrae- diate vicinity at the time. Had the explosion occurred on an or- dinary working day many would un- doubtedly have been killed.