Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-02-28
Many Crushed as Walls
Of Candy Factory
Collapse.
CAPT. GASSER DECLARES IT
WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT
Owner OF Plant Declares He Was
Often Threatened by
Enemies. n

completely wrecked the four-sfory
brick building at $50 Springfield ave-
nue., doing damage which Is rougbly
estimated 10 be more thnn $4,000, sew
erai persons were injured, others were
thrown from their beds, windows were
smashed for blocks around. while
dishes and pictures ratified to the floors
OF houses, giving residents the idea
that an earthquake was upon them.
Captain G. Albert Gasser, head OF
the bureau of combustibles, said late
today:
An explosion of this character is NOT
the result of gas, neither would 1t be
caused by the alcohol contained in four
barrels of vanilla 1avoring. which was
IN the cellar In my opinion the place
was deliberately blown up"
James Floros, aged 25, an employees
of the Palace Candy Company. was
severely burned about the hands and
face, and Is in the City Hospital. where
he Is under police surveillance ana
Where Captain CT Albert Gasser has
given instructions that none shall be
admitted to see hin. His statement
given to Captain Gasser is to the effect
that he lives at "A Springfield avenue,
where he was asleep with other for
eigners at the time of the explosion.
On getting into the street and finding
his employers place on fire he attennt-
ed to enter and was burned. He saws
that there We're three distinct explo-
sions, which bears out the statement
made by others In the neighborhood
de says that there were two barrels OF
alcohol in the cellar.
4 fa-.t
when the explosion occurred, and heroic
| fescues marked the work of the fire.
men and the hurried exit of the people
in the nefghborhood. Falling walls
scattered bricks along the only means
OF egress OF the residents of ~ Spring
field avenue. and Mrs. Stanislaus H.
zaJas was seriously injured by being
struck as she was carried to safety by
her husband beneath the toppling
walls Eremen were struck with
bricks and beams. and say that their
metal helmets undoubtedly saved their
lives in many cases.
George Pappas, OF y sidney place,
who Is the owner of the Palace andy
Company, today ssid that while he haI
been frequently threatened by dis
charged and dissruntled employees, sIso
by enemies he had made In the Greek
Church, he Is satisfied that the expIo-
sion was purely accidental
lie said that one night his brother.
who had been mistaken for him, Ind
been held up and that he had received
a Black Hand letter. He also said tbnt
his place had been robbed three times
in the past six months, and that fre-
Al"
for large sums of money.
i left the store last night about II
o'clock in the company of my head
clerk, Peter Petrelish. He went to his
room at "a Springfield avenue, and 4
went on home. Petrelish has been in
my employ for about two years"
Asked If he had any alcohol in the
cellar, he said:
NO. had four barrels of vanilla
containing about so per cent alcohol /
made this up myself. have no gaso-
line engine in the place, but L have a
large gas stove, which is fed by an inch
and half gas pipe also have cleo
trlc current, which runs the carbona-
tor The gas stove has ten plates, and
can boil twenty gallons of molasses
III ten or fifteen minutes. The gas
meter in my cellar is the largest In
the city. | was in the cellar yesterday,
but did not smell any gas leaking. /
went down to fix some of the cans of
carbonated water. ! was notified of the
explosion by James Floris, who came
running to my home with his hands
and face badly burned. | then called
up the police department and the pa
troll wagon came and took the injured
boy to the City Hospital"
Investigation by the tiremen led them
TO believe that the explosion was caused
by gas which had leaked from a gaso-
line engine in the basement, where it
was used by the Palace Candy Com
pany. From the clean manner in
which the building is razed to the
ground, Battalion Chief William Exall
concluded that the rumor that dyna-
mite had been used was out of the
question, that four barrels of alcohol
which were said to have been stored
in the cellar could not have caused SO
forcible or general wreck, and that
the only reasonable explanation was
that gas had leaked until it permeated
the entire building and then upon com
ing In contact with naked flame ex-
ploded.
Deputy Chief Joseph e. Sloan also
attributed the explosion to gas and
pointed out that where the gasoline
engine was located there was an almost
clear spot. while TIE walls and debris
were thrown away from there.
When the first explosion took place
Leo Singer and his father, of 5 South
Orange avenue. were passing the build
ing and heard the detonation and
oh ~ ~ n ~
men Noble and Deering, of the First
Precinct; Roger Mcclure, of the
Fourth, and Arthur Collins of the
First, all OF whom were within a few
blocks, also heard the noise.