Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-12-19

AitIRIF -
opposite the power-house. ia men and
women who were on their way to
breakfast were thrown to the floor D.
the blast. Many of the men II
women were injured. and several of
them were taken to hospitals. All the
windows in the building were blown
in and the ceilings fell.
The damage to the power-house and
other buildings has not been estimated,
but Il was stated that II viii hkeiy
exceed $500. 600.
The police making an investigation
IA the ruins are of the opinion that the
explosion occurred in some gas tanks
which communicated. it is reported, TO
some dynamite which one of h OIL
.ials of the New York Central rail-
road said be understood was stored
near the power-house.
A workman, standing on a scaffold on
the top of the power-house when the
explosion occurred. had the seaiiolu
wrenched from under him, N as ne
fell he blindly grasped a dangling rope
he hung there until rescued by nre-
men.
Of the fremen in he fire
house opposite only II man was IN
iured. though in adjoining buildings
scores were thrown from their feet n
injured.
A little schoolgirl was about to en-
ter 4 candy store on Fifty-1rst street
hen the blast came. She was picked
m bodily and carried through the
n~late-slass door of the store ana
dropped uniniured in front Of the CANDY
counter. There was not q scratch on
her.
There we're many rescues by the po-
lice and passers by. Six men were
hauled from a smoking hole by a pa
trolman.
Fire ef Croker said that it viii
he at least a day before his men can
ret at the bottom of the debris cover
ing the battery-room, where the ex-
plosion occurred and where the bodies
of the five missing workn1en are sup
posed to be Inferred.
District Attorney Whitman visited
the scene of the disaster and conferred
witt a number of officials of the Ne"
York Central. He said the explosion
was caused by illuminating gas. Cor
nelius Vanderbilt was also at the scene
and made an investigation.
There are numerous theories adj
venced to account for the explosion OF
the gas. One is that a crowbar falling
on the third rail caused 9 short CIR
cut and ignited soTne gas escaping
from a tank. One workman saw smoke
coming from a motor car and thouent
that sparks from the fire set off the
sas.
Patrick Jordan. one OF the dead men,
was u general foreman in the track
department. and when the explosion
occurred was working on a car derali-
nent near the power station He was
blown to pieces.
AT least two of the injured III the
Flower Hospital are so severely hurt
that it is believed they will die. These
are Mrs. Belle Hawkes., both legs
broken and severe internal injuries;
Andrew Harris, collar-bone and shoul-
der broken and internal injuries.
Patrolman Toomey was in Lexington
avenue when the shock came, Just
ahead of him a girl was killed, one of
her legs being blown off, while Tooney
himself was blown clear across the
street and his uniform almost COM
pletely torn from him. He got up and
was starting to help in the rescue work
when he fell unconscious.
BriekIayers Hoistcd to safety.
A gang OF more than fifty bricklayers.
: 5xtE feet in the air on the big power
building near the scene of the eXplo-
sion. had a remarkable escape from
death or serious injury. An air cush-
ion, formed by the explosion below.
hoisted UP the big scaffold on which
they were working. tilted il inWardly
and tossed the men over the wall they
were building and upon d firm scaffoid-
ing on the inside. Only one man Of the
gang was injured and he only slightly.
One woman in the wrecked trolley
car had her hair caught and held in d
firm grip between jamned portions OF
the debris. She had tainted and could
net be lifted out. Fireman Hoffman
took his penknife, and while a fellow
fireman adjusted the hair so that the
woman would be caused the least pos
sible pain. Hoffman hacked off the coil.
The woman was released and taken to
q hospital. where she was found To
be only slightly hurt. The long coil
of hair is at the flrehouse awaiting its
Injured Placed at 200.
Late estimates were that at least 200
persons in all were injured. Temporary
hospitals were established in fire engine
houses, dwellings and stores In the
vicinity, where emergency treatment
was given to the injured.
Clamoring hundreds besieged the
Fifty-flrst street police station, where
the dead we're taken. There were many
painful scenes as the identifcations
were made and the police had all they
could do TO calm anxious mothers,
wives and relatives of persons who
were thought TO have been In the vicin-
ity at the time of the disaster.
What was left Of the walls of the
power station stood like masonry that
had been exposed to q fierce mo
ade, with a pail of smoke overaangiug
the scene. When this had been dIssi-
pated and streams OF water poured
upon the ruins the work of delving for
bodies vas begun in earnest.
sees TeD PROSTATE la Yards.
John J. Quinn, one II the workrnen
on tho adjoining building. said that
Just az the first shock of the explosion
had passed, he saw nearly a dozen men
PROSTATE in the railroad yards.
A short time after the explosion an
official examination into the causes Of
and the responsibility for the accident
began. Assistant District Attorneys
Rubin and Strong, of Mr.. Whitman's
homicide bureau. appeared at the East