Albuquerque citizen., 1908-01-06
KANSAS CITY EXPLOSION
MYSTERY MAY NEVER
Be SOLVED
Authorities Are Unable as Yet
to Say Whether 1t Was
Bomb or Gas.
WOMEN SAW SMOKE AND
SCREAMED AND RAN

Kansas City, Mo-, Jan. 6.--No mo-
tive for the dynamiting of the First
National bank building In the base
ment, which explosion occurred Sat
urday at noon, had been found up
TO this morning and the matter may
| always remain d mystery.
Several experts still insist that
something explosive was set off while
others hold TO the belief that the ex-
plosion was from natural causes,
probably accumulated gas. No ar
rests have been made. None of the
injured are in serious condition.
The first theory advanced by Off
GERS of the bank was that the ex-
plosion was caused by a bomb put
in the place by a crank.
Debris Was Everywhere.
AS it stood following the explosion
the toilet room was the first room
at the foot of the stairs under the
north end of the bank room. There
was an lS-inch brick wall set in
cement just north of the toilet room,
separating II from the engine room.
In the toilet room were a row of
closets along the north wall. Ten
feet farther south, running along the
south wall, was a row of washstands.
All of these things are obliterated
now. All that remains of the parti-
| tiOn Is a 9-inch steel beam that Is
cured near the middle six inches out
OF line, and great pile of broken
marble, water pipes and brick and
cement
The place where the explosion
must have occurred was i'm the clos
ct next to the east partition only a
few feet from the door. At this
! point there is a hole several inches
] deep in the concrete floor. 1t is ir-
regular but nearly round and fivs
or six square feet of surface was
| torn up.
The floor was the best kind of
concrete construction covered with
! tile and shows a terrific downward
! force i'm the explosive.
Tore OF a SiN-Inch Pipe.
Connecting with this hole In the
! floor is the hole through the brick
wall. 1t Is about two feet square
and every brick that was knocked
out was broken, When this debris
went through the boiler room it took
part of the siX-lnch iron water
/ pipe, including an elbow joint of
| the pipe, which was broken in two.
All the debris was thrown some dis
/ tance along the floor and part of II
| was carried to the north wall Of the
| boiler room about thirty feet. Chas.
| Grant an employe, was IN the way
! of the mass of the debris and was
/ carried with ii a few feet, but was
/ not very seriously hurt.
The force Of the explosion tore
| out all of the partition between the
/ toilet room and the little haH and
another partition to one Of the
rooms where valuable papers are
/ kept went with Il.
South of the toilet room and west
Of ii under the sidewalk was a long
alley with lockers on each side fer
the use of employs These lockers
are Of sneet steel. The partition was
all destroyed and the lockers are
/ broken, twisted, knocked down and
generally damaged. The iron win
dow gratings along the sidewalk on
the west side were knocked out and
one OF them went through a window
on the other side of the street. Peo-
! pie across the street who were near
say a gust Of white smoke came out
of the windows after the explosion.
Thrown Through "a Window.
IF 1t was a dynamite bomb that
caused the explosion, and this seems
the only explanation, 1t must have
| been thrown through a basement
window on the west side Of the
building" said r. +. Swinney, presi-
dent of the bank. There are two