The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-20
Backbone of Manhattan IS- land Is Badly Shaken
 With Great Loss
NINE PERSONS ARE DEAD
 AND SEVERAL MISSING
Auxty,arx Power House of New Grand Central Station Is Scene of Wreck and Surrounding Prop
 erty Suffers

New York, December 19.-The very heart and backbone of Manhattan island was shaken this morning by a terrific ex- plosjon of Illuminating gas in the auxil- iary power house of the Grand Central station. Nine persons, two of Ahem women, were killed, 125 were injured. and property was damaged to the extent of s50o,000
 Four workmen who are missing are be- ,ieyed to have perished and of the 125 injured, ss were removed to hospitals. Of those eight may die. An investigation by the police, the district attorneys or fee and the coroner's office is under way. Traffic on the New York Central railroad |, ceased entirely for some hours, and was djsorganized for the remainder of the day, but the new station itself, now in process of construction, was not dam aged. The dead:
 Ni1ocai Galussi, 1aborer.
 Patrick Jordan, laborer.
 B. Livermore, pullman car inspector. c. MeMarrow, laborer.
 Edith Offner, stenographer.
 Mary B. Pope. Boston.
 Charles Roberts, express man.
 Frank Stagg, watchman.
 John Ryan, laborer.
 The injured included laborers and other employees of the railroad. pedestrians, by islanders and others in the vicinity of the accident.
 Car Lifted From Tracks
 A passing surface car, carrying seven passengers, was lifted from its tracks . and hurled into an automobile runnu 2 alongside. Four of the seven passenge E were killed outright, but the chauffeur os the motor car was only cut and bruised. Of the nearly 10b In hospitals, the follow ing are the mostsseTieusly injured:
 Unidentified woman, fractured skull and internal injuries.
 Yetta Abrahamson, fractured skull and Internal injuries.
 Theresa Lotta, fractured skull antd shoulder M John Smith, injuries to the head. Francis Kelly. policeman burned and bruised.
 John Cunningham, burned.
 Unidentified man, internal injuries. For some hours 1t was believed that dynamite alone could have wrought such instantaneous and pulverizing havoc, but late in the afternoon Fire Chief Croker saio he was convinced that the whole ex- plosion was due to mixture of air and Illuminating gas. used in lighting rail road cars, touched off by an electric spark.
 Gas Had Accumulated
 The gas had accumulated In the auxil- iary power house from a broken pipe snapped off by runaway passenger car.
 The force of the explosion ran north and south from one to two miles along the rocky ridge that is the backbone of the island, and east and west laterally for a mile. Foundations were jared walls were shaken out of plumb. winecws were blown in by the thousands. ceilings came crashing down on the heads of those beneath and the pavements were s filtered with crisp tinkling fall of pull verized glass that topped the shoe soles. The full amount of property damage is estimated tonight at from s2,000O0O to $3,- DoO,000
 The loss to the New York Central Rail- road company includes the physical dam age done to the power house, which was utterly wrecked; the delay to construc- ton work and the damage done to the cars standing near the power house. The loss to shopkeepers and property owners in the vicinity will spread over a wide range of items Christmas displays were blown backward into the shops, sucked into the street or cut to ribbons by fly ing glass. Whole fronts of buildings were left without window, like sight less masks.
 Fire Breaks Out
 Fire broke out in the shattered ruins of the power house again late tonight but with a great corps of police, search CTS and firemen on the scene, the blaze made little headway before checked. It was a wierd scene in and about the sta tion as the night wore on. No additional bodies were found, but in a hospital Guthe'f Johnston. an electrician. sue cumbed to terrible injuries received Tn the explosion, bringing the death list up to ten.
 Hurried estimates during the day placed the damage at not more than $500, 900, but a canvass of the neighborhood shows that few structures had escaped. Win dows were smashed literally by the thousands, and a nice problem is raised as to the liability of the insurance com panies under the circumstances. balsD- somo business fronts were dccoratec With blankets, sheets, neWpapers, enrlafa of old rags as the quiciSes' snnsntote fer window glass. Several isa ltutsns in the neighborhood have appeaica fpF aio io effect repairs and order Nil rcs De rs- stored for weeks.
 Damage at Tinenza
 The Tiffany studios at FoIty-fe. tn street and Madison avenue, nAlY hair ' mile from the scene of the catastFop oplle euffered. Valuable stained siasN viH dows valued at $10.OO0 were sn Aspeas y1is of the glass windows was 'e3lr ]. piece worth $SOOO; another f4gMtlHs 7 Astsirea <r'>rz srindow. on the I, St@f p' hA n.iidtl rom the explos WI
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