Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-10-05
EXPLOSION VERDICT
Jury Finds Griffith's Death
Was Accidental.
WITNESSES ARE CALLED
Lieut.. Craft Says Every Precaution
Was Taken at Navy Yard.
DANGEROUS EXPLOSIVE IN USE
Decorator Is Believed to Have Gone
Off in the Hands of
Cademartori.
DANGEROUS EXPLOSIVE IN UsI

Cademartori.
Accidental death was the verdict oil
coroner's jury at the inquest at the
morgue today in the case of James f..
Griffith. one of the victims of the navy
yard explosion yesterday afternoon.
The three men who figured in the traG-
edy were experienced in their work they
did not disregard the safety rules. pre-
cautions had been taken to protect then
from accident. but they were handling a
high explosive, not as sensitive but more
violent in its action than illuminate of
mercury-such was the story briefly told,
with scant particulars. to the jury. COM
posed of j. NJ. McCauley. S. Porter House,
Charles F. Burke, E. r. Brooks, r. Ed
win Joyce and j. +. Jesse. The family of
Griffith was represented by Attorney E.
&. Dutton, who croSs-eXamined some of
the witnesses.
Lieut.. Ralph p. Craft, l. S. ~. under
whose supervision the work OF the dead
and injured men was conducted. was the
fist witness He said that four men were
employed in the shop loading and as
embling fuses. Cadcmartori, Griffith and
Scheide were in the shop at the time
of the explosion. The fourth man, named
oxford. who had come from Newport.
was not in the building. but grinding COM
pound elsewhere. Each operation, Lieut..
Craft said. was conducted under Il steel
dome two inches thick. SO arranged with a
looking glass that the men had only to
look into the glass to sec what was going
on. They were, ne thought, amply pro-
teCted from accident.
There was no time when they had to
look under the dome. He examined it
when he entered the building, but it
really did not require inspection.
Last Stage Of Operations.
The men at the time of the explosion
were employed on the last stage of the
operations, which is considered the least
dangerous. 1t was that of putting the
detonator into the sieve and screwng
on the cartridge. The substance used i'm
the detonator. the witness said. was a
decorating compound manufactured by
the du Pont Powder Company and bought
by the government from it. 1t was not
as sensitive as illuminate of mercury,
but its action is much more violent
Lieut.. Craft said he did not regard the
work as dangerous or extra hazardous
under ordinary precautions. which had
been taken. The decorating compound.
he said. would not go off unless struck
with q blow. He described the building
in which the work was done as an OBJ
long structure sixty feet in length, with
concrete foundation and steel orders He
could not say without further investiga-
ton what caused the accident. He knew
Grifnth to be very careful man.
John =. McKenna of I'D ID street
southwest. an ordnance man in the navy
yard, of many years experience and q
shopmate of Griffith, testified that he was
working i'm shop not far from the
building in which the accident occurred.
He heard the report of the first explo-
sion, and ran out, knowing what it was,
in time to see the second explosion. He
ran up to the fuse and primer shop. and
saw Scheide. who had gotten out before
the second explosion, walking toward
him.
When he reached the inside of the shop
he found Cademartori face downward on
the floor, with blood all around. and Crit
fifth i'm STOPPING position, his face hang
ing down. as if he were trying to assist
Cademartori. McEenna said he got Grit
fifth out and warned the others. who had
come to get Cademartori. to run. because
sion had taken place and he knew that
something worse than dynamite was
stored there, and he feared second eX-
poSion.
Continuing. the witness said the two
men who were killed were working side
by side at a table. and Scheide with his
back toward them. was working at Sec
ond table few feet away.
Testimony of Surgeon.
Surgeon L. W. Spratling. L. S. n,
detailed for duty at the navy yard, tes-
titled that Cademartori and Griffith
were taken to the dispensary between
and / 80 o'clock, after the explosion.
Both were severely burned and wound
ed about the body, head. chest and
arms, and were suffering from shock.
DIR. Edward j. McGovern Of Casualty
Hospital treated Griffith on his arrival
at the hospital He said he was COW
cred with wounds from his thigh to
his head, and they were ragged on the
edges. Griffith was unconscious when
he arrived at the hospital and died OF
DIR. Charles Stanley White. deputy coro-
ner. performed an autopsy n the body
Of Griffith. He said the body was badly
marked by powder wounds, burns and
black There were lacerated wounds
varying from a pin point i'm size to a
bean from the legs to the top of the
head. Dealt, was due, he said. to the
violence OF the shock and concussion
The wounds were all superficial, none of
them deep and none of itself sufficient to
cause death.
The jury soon agreed on the following
verdict: I'VE find that James f. Crit
fifth came to his death October 4. 1910
at the Casualty Hospital from burns Of
the DodE caused by an explosion at the
United States navy yard while working
with high explosive compound We
believe that death was due to accident -
No Official Report Yet.
While the official board Of inquiry at the
navy yard has not yet submitted its re-
port. it is the belief of those who heard
the testimony at the inquest that one of
the decorators exploded while in the
hands of Cademartori, and that while
Griffith was endeavoring to assist him
the second explosion followed which
caused his death.
Cleveland Griffith. son of the deceased.
says his father had been apprehensive of
d y and that hl. lad Suffarad