New-York tribune., 1911-02-02

terrific explosion OF ny
freight Pier No. of the New Jersey
Central Railroad. in Communlpa"' a'
roon Yesterday, caused the loss OF nearly
,t,ir,v lives and left in its wake a scene
If devastation covering an area Oh sew
oral miles in every direction.
All the men who we're engaged III
loading the dynamite from freight cars
-, The end Of Pier into two lighters
alongside the pier where the explosion
occurred were killed outright. lheEe
were supposed TO be twenty or twenty
e,e mon working IN the immediate VI
Unity and all Of them are missing IL ~
supposed their bodies were blown 10
pieces. ~,
ono theory advanced TO explain the
cause Of the explosion was that laporei
IN bis haste 10 quit for dinner had De-
come careless in handling box OF oyHd-
mite and allowed il to slip from the run
wav of a freight car to the hola OF 'iio
lighter.
Co violent was the concussion or the
shock in lower Manhattan that so'he
Of the large office buildings rocked 'iiou.
sands Of panes Of glass were sna''eieu
o,d ,enonts rushed out Of the offices De-
uo,,,np that thc city had been visited oy
an earthquake. Everything in the i'ii-
mediate vicinity of the explosion was
blown literally to pieces. the pasSe,iee,
a.o.,or of the Jersey Central. shotI
,,a,ooo owav was strewn with wreck
oee and nying debris and many paSSei'-
GERS and employees had narrow escape'
from death. ,,.o,
Everv window in the building was
,,oyn ont skylights tumbled INTO tho
bie waiting room. and the walls OH '"s
south side of the station were crach1u
IN several places. The face Oh '"e O'e
o,oo, On the front Of the building was
.,,aa but its twisted hands pointed
% the hour Of 1902. The clocks III 'Ne
s,at,on stopped at the same time.
Scores of passengers on board inc iei
u,.hoo,s somerville and Lakewood WHICH
,rere tied up 10 the slips were lhJureu o'
ev,ng sp,,nters and glass. The "ifldo"'
.nd frames on the sides Of these poau
facing toward the freight pie'
flown IN. and heavy saloon doors u'
stroved The pilot houses on inc ie''S
boats were wrecked.
Tho force Of the explosion was le''
within a radius Of forty hlIes' ~
sbock was felt distinctly as far soU'''
aa Long Branch and eastward III Day
i'm Long Island, and Intervening poN'tS
T., ,b.+ direction. The concussion shooH
,,,,,,d,ros north of Tarrytown. ana Tue
ehtck was 80 great In sections OF He
Rronx that hundreds of girls enp'oyeu
tn tbo large factories IN Willo" avenue
,a.. their work and rushed from the
huud,nqs manic stricken. The buildings
trembled as If an earthquake had sh"-
ken them.
rueboat Men Blown Overheard
Cantain Robert Barbour, OF the tug
boat John Twohey. which was tied UP to
tho nier AT the foot Of Sussex street.
yearly q mile away from the scene OF the
oxplosion, was blown through the pi'o'
house and dropped into the river win
fractured skull. He died few hours
later in the Jersey City Hospital TWO
deckhands on the Twohey also were
blown overheard and badly ihJuieu
Thev were taken TO the hospital.
great cloud Of white smoke shot UP
- .ha air as seen from the Manhat-
%, side Of the river. Just as the noon
whistles were blowing. II hung hKe
nall for some time over the railroad piers
,s u cleared away the deathiike still
r.ss which prevailed for moment after
,,a exnlosion was broken by the cries
~ injured men on the piers ana pahoe-
moniun let loose everywhere IN 'he
neighborhood.
patrolman James Carey, Of the Jersey
c,,y no,ice force. was In the Jersey Cen
ira, station in the act Of telephonlng his
roon report 10 Headquarters "hen the
axn,osion occurred. He was respohsloie
,or the first alarm sent to the police hre
haadouarters and the hospitals.
In a few minutes all the amoulance'
and available physicians from the jersey
city hospitals. 81. Francis Hospital ahc
Chr,e, Hospital were on the scene. Am
hu,ances and surgeons from Bellevue
Hudson Street and New York hospitals
| IN this CITY we're soon on hand.
Danutv Police Commissioner Driscoii
r,re commissioner Waldo and Fire Chie
croLor FASTENED TO the scene. The New
vorrer and other freboatS stationed OF
,,is side hurried across the river. But M
era followed the explosion. The neigh
| ,o-,rc p,ers to No. were all included
- tho deluge Of water which was throw'
Nm from the river by the force OF the eN
rIos,on and drenched them.
Dr. John ]. Brod=rick, president OF tn
,ersev City Board of Health and actln
az surseon for the Jersey Central, and
,orns Of assistants cleared small room
in the railway station. the room leas
damaged by the explosion. and treate
the wounds of 'Ile injured as they wer
brought in. Some forty or fifty person
were cared for In this way. most Of ther
suffering from cuts and bruises cause
nv fvlng glass and splintcrs. There wa
hardly any one in the station at the TIM
who escaped without some injury.
II will probably never be known JUS
-. .a.saa the Axnlosion w. q. BreS