The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1911-02-03
80 KILLED BY
MONSTER BLAST
THREE INVESTIGATIONS INTO oI.
GANTic N. Y. EXPLOSION.
23 ARE BLOWN TO ATOMS


plosion Of $4,000 Pounds Of Dyna-
mite Placed Around the Million Dol.
lar Mark-Greatest Blast In History.
New York, Feb 2.-Three separate
Investigations were started today to
fix the responsibility for the dynamite
explosion in New York harbor yester
day. One will be conducted by cor
oner's jury under Coroner James M
Houghton of Jersey City; another by
Inspector of Combustibles James NJ
Connolly Of Jersey City, and third
by Public Prosecutor Pierre p. Garven
of Hudson county, New Jersey. Def.
mite estimates of the number of dead
are still impossible. The total of dead
and missing is thirty The list of
dead in the hands of the coroner is
seven and it is that officials belief
that most of the twenty.three men
whom he classes as missing" were
blown to atoms.
The property loss, according to va
rious official estimates, will be be.
tween $750,000 and $1,000000. The
heaviest sufferer in this respect is the
Central railroad of New Jersey, at
whose docks the disaster occurred.
Mr. BesleT sets their loss at about
100000.
The United States government is
also heavy loser with $4,000 dam
age at Ellis Island and an additional
$4,000 or $4,000 at the army head
quarters on Governors island and at
Bedloes island, where the Statue of
Liberty was shaken bare or many win
dows and big electric lights.
The blast was probably the largest
explosion of dynamite that has ever
occurred anywhere, Intentionally or by
accident. Fifty thousand pounds went
up in the single detonation.
Criminal Negligence Hinted at.
The declaration of James Connolly,
inspector of combustibles in Jersey
City. that dynamite from powder
plants in New Jersey had been han
died at Cummunipay without proper
license and In violation of the local
ordinance, caused particular interest
TO be attached to the investigation he
purposed taking.
Public Prosecutor Garven OF Hud-
son county, New Jersey, in whose ju-
risdiction the explosion occurred, was
engaged today in his investigation of
the calamity.
"All can say" said the prosecutor,
''is that it may be several days before
all the facts are in shape. If these
facts disclose there has been criminal
negligence we will place them before
the grand jury"
A revised list of the dead so far as
known, made public today, is as fol.
lows:
Many Are Missing.
James Armstrong of Jersey City,
captain of the powder boat Whistler.
Robert Barbour of New York City,
railroad passenger
Robert Bennett of New York City,
captain OF the tug John Tuouhy.
James Lundigan. captain of the pow
der boat Katherine w, address not
learned.
Charles McNeill, engineer of a
switch engine in the New Jersey cen.
trail yards.
Giantonomo Moro of Brooklyn,
stevedore.
Michael Morrow, cousin of Gianto-
nomo, stevedore.
Oscar Stolpe, mate of the Katherine
w.
Only five bodies had been recovered
up to this noon, and the names of only
nine men missing are known. Nearly
a score of labOrers, names unknown,
who were on the end of the pier when
the explosion occurred, are unaccount-
ed for.
A round made To-Day of the hos
pitfalls in Jersey City, in which victims
of the explosion are lying injured, re-
vealed that no additional deaths had
occurred.
Because of grave danger in handling
dynamite in the dark, the work of
clearing away the wTeckage and
searching the ruins on the Jersey Cen
tral pier was abandoned last night,
but it was resumed early today. No
additional bodies were found during
the afternoon.
The time for the beginning of the
coroner's inquest into the disaster was
today set for next Tuesday.
No Election in New York.