The San Francisco call., 1910-07-19
DEADLY PAPER
WEIGHT EXPLODES
PrOiectiIe Tears Away Phone
Employees Hand and Almost
Causes Panic

The explosion of projectile taken
from a shell such as is used in Hotch-
kiss field guns, but which for the last
two years has been doing service as a
paper weight tore away the right hand
of 19 year old Chester White yesterday
afternoon in the basement of the build
ing occupied by the Pacific States tele-
phone and telegraph company at Thir-
teenth and Mission streets. The explo-
sion shook the building and a panic
among the employees nearly resulted.
Quiet was quickly restored
STRUCK AGAINST BENCH
Young White is employed by the
telephone company as a rackman. and
shortly after 1 o'clock. while lettering
in the storeroom in the basement of
the building, he picked up the pro-
jectile and struck it against bench.
Instantly there was a deafening explo-
sion, and when A z. Seifke and ]. H.
Tenant ran into the room they found
White lying on the floor with practi-
cally his entire right hand gone and
numerous cuts about his face and blood
flowing from all the wounds. White
was rushed to the emergency hospital,
where his hand was amputated and a
score of small fragments of the eX-
ploded projectile removed from his
face, arms and legs. Immediately fol-
lowing the explosion and during the
time consumed in reaching the hospl-
tai and preparing for the operation
young White never so much as whim-
pered or became faint, and his remark
able pluck was the talk of the hospital
attendants His home is at 554 Bruns-
wick street.
WAR SOUVENIR
Just how the projectiIe came into the
building Of the telephone company is
not known, but it is supposed that 1T
was brought in by some one of the en-
ployes. as hundreds of similar pro-
jectiles are scattered through the city
as souvenirs of the Spanish-American
war. having been brought back by the
soldiers and given to their friends.
The men who work in the storeroom
of the telephone company have been
using the projectile as a paper weight,
TO hold doors open, to play catch with
and on numerous occasions 1t has been
used as hammer to drive nails. 1t
was Whites I'll luck to strike the pro-
jectile in such a way as to cause the
explosion.
It is certain that the long time the
proiectile has been loaded caused a
deteriorat tion of it's explosive force, as
under ordinary conditions freshly
loaded shell would have torn young
White to shreds and caused great dam
age to the building.
Accidentally Shot
Elmer Cuardo. 19 years old, "didn t
know it was loaded" and pulled the
trigger of a SS caliber pistol. The
bullet entered his left leg below the
knee. He was operated on at the
central emergency hospital yesterday
afternoon and the bullet was removed.
The young man is employed in an all
around capacity at the Crows Landing
creamer. 1850 McAllister street, and
yesterday he picked up the pistol, which
he kept in the rear of the creamery.
He snapped the trigger twice without
any result, but the third time there
was a report and bullet sped into
his leg above the knee, struck the side
of the cap and buried itself next to the
bone below the joint. Doctor Calnon
of the emergency hospital extracted the
cartridge head and the boy was taken
to his home, 3S Albert lane.
Auto Crank Breaks Leg
irwin McKesver, a mechanic en-
ployed at the Schnerr & Lyon garage,
7SO Golden Gate avenue, met with his
third mishap this week yesterday aft
ernoon when an automobile starting
crank few back, breaking his right leg
about midway between the knee and
ankle.