Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-06-21
STORM UNROOFSA
FACTORY BUILDING
IN ITS GREAT FURY
Huge Piece of Tin Rolled Up
Like Carpet, Exposing In-
terror to Rain.
RESULT IS BANISTER
EMPLOYEES CANNOT WORK
Firemen Declare Downpour
Worst in Their Experience.
Trolley Service Crippled.

Employees of the Shade Tree Com
mission and the street department
were kept busy TODAY removing the
trees. signs and fences which were
blown down by the terrific thunder
+, storm of last night. The Public Serv-
ice Corporation also had several corps
of repair men at work fixing the
trolley wires and poles which were
blown down and the numerous fuses
which were blown out
The high wind which accompanied
! tvs storm tore the roof from the plant
OF the James A. Banister Company,
shoe manufacturers, at 1856 Washing
| ton street. The Plane street end of
the factory is six stories in height In
this division most of the machine
work ls done. The wind caught the
| roof on the west side of the building
and rolled it up as neatly as carpet
| 1t is estimated that the damage to
stock and the cost of repairs to ma
chinery viii amount to several thou
sand dollars.
Interior at Mercy OF Storm
| The mass of tin measuring 50x50
feet, was hung over the side of the
building, leaving the interior of the
building at the mercy of the storm
At that time the rain was coming
down in sheets. and the machinery
and a large amount of stock was
deluged with water Holes were cut
! through each floor and basement, to
allow the water TO escape.
Tarpaulins were spread over the
machinery on the top floor by men,
bers of the Salvage Corps. AS a re-
suit the plant could not be operated
today, and when the 300 employees
reported for work they We're sent
home. This is the second time within
six months that the roof has been
torn from the building by a storm.
At the offices of the company it was
said that the plant will be in full
operation Monday
Damage to Crops.
In the outlying districts it was esti-
mated today that the damage TO the
crops was very great. The fruit trees
bearing early fruit also suffered from
the large hailstones that fell early
in the storm.
Passengers on a northbound Kinney
car on South Tenth street, near Fif-
teenth avenue, were thrown into a
panic when the lightning set fire to
the car. An overhead wire was struck
and acted as a conductor. The rear
part of the vehicle was in flames be-
fore the passengers realized what had
happened. Several women on board
made a wild dash for the front door
apd otbarc Iaoo mo bUctaripal
Sergeant TulIy Injured.
Sergeant Michael Tully, of the traf-
fic squad, was a passenger on the
car and tried to calm the frightened
women. Instead of listening to him
the passengers rammed him through
the front door in the rush to escape
and the sergeant was cut about the
hands and arms His wounds were
dressed at the office of DR.. Stanford
Ferris, of 312 South Ninth street. The
fire department was summoned by
the blaze in the car, which was ex-
tinguished before the firemen arrived.
The binding flashes of lightning,
accompanied by the high wind and
loud claps of thunder, sent house
I keepers through their rooms to close
windows which had been left open
during the warm day. Many homes
lighted by electricity were thrown
into darkness for brief periods when
the electric current was affected by
the lightning. A number of pedes-
trians were caught on the streets
when the storm started and were
drenched before they reached places
of safety. The water came down in
such torrents that in numerous places
the sewers could not cope with the
flow. creating miniature lakes in va
rious parts of the city. The basement
of the City Hall was one of the places
flooded by this cause.
street Cars Held Up.
Different street car lines were held
up by the storm, causing much delay
and confusion. The firemen were
kept on the jump after the lightning
got in it's work They reported the
storm to be one of the worst they
were ever called out to face. The
rain came down in such torrents that
| it was like running through a pool
the firemen reported. The lights of
the Salvage Corps automobile were
put out by the water, which came
over the hood of the machine, MAX
| ing 1t necessary for the driver to
proceed at low speed.
First Fire at 1913.
The first fire alarm was sounded at
| 7:1S O'Clock from box 1853. when the
garage of H. Koch & Son, at As Wick
! life street, was struck by lightning.
The damage amounted to S25. A min
ute later box 462 was sounded. The
office of George Brown & Co., at no
Passaic avenue, had caught fire and
was extinguished with 500 damage.
CONTINUED on Page 2. Column A.