The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-11-14
CHEMIST DIES
IN FATAL TEST:
27AREINJURED
Heavy Laboratory Explosions
Wreck Bcckers' Aniline
Plant i'm Brooklyn.
TWO WOMEN HURT
IN ADJOINING HOUSE

IN ADJOINING HOtS
series OF four explosions in Rockers
A..l.1e and Chemical Works. lo7 Under
l' t,pnuc. Brooklyn. wrecked the plant.
...f.. the chemist whose experiment il
Thought 10 have caused the first explosion.
a.d njurpd twenty seven persons yester-
day afternoon.
The dye works is between 81. Marks ave
me and Prospect place. Glass was broken
10 buildings a. far AS three blocks away
..I he explosion was heard more than
. ,.uc. II is thought TO have been caused
rs. apartments through which the chemist
..., tying TO produce German dyes
v..icn have not been obtanable since the
war pcgdr.
The Dead.
HARrEN WALTER ERNEST. q chemist,
is' west 1876 street. Manhattan, burned
IN death.
Tho more seriously injured are:
BE-KCRS. DR.. WILLIAM. 80. owner 81 dye
vrrh. o. Eighth avenue Brooklyn; face
tI-H.d. 'ralp aud face lscerated, right ear
t.-.f on Taken TO Jcwish Hospital
wuLrERs. ADoLrH 81. laborsr. a Ster-
HHS pace. BROOKLYN. burned about face.
neck and body. ier hand torn OF. Taken
m cumberland Street Hospital
DAVID Sidney r.. IS. manager New Eng
land branch. Boston. decorations OF left
% nd face. sent 20 hts hotel
HAErwtGER joins. %. foreman, li3
vuIrruiv avenue. brooklyn; burned about
face. mex and arms. Taken to Holy
Ftn'f Hospital.
MILLER WILLIAM T. o.. manager. ,si
vi1,tt avenue Richmond Hn}, l.. l.;
Is ,-,,'.ons ~ LEFT hand and arm. Taken
10 cumberland street Hospital!
VII. ELMER. u. clerk. 80 Cornelis street.
E-,ok,yn; burned abou, arms and head.
Taken 70 Cumberland street Hospital and
later 10 his home.
sTofZ. MRS ELLEN. rs. uj Underhiil
...uu" brooklyn. decorations Of face and
hands Taken 20 Jewish Hospital.
cJNNtNGHNN, MISS HANNAH 20. lis
uuIothiU avenue, Rrool'yn. decorations
Q. ta." Taken TO swedish Hospital.
PRU'HrGR. JOSEPH Is clerk. "a. New
Js..ey avenue. Brooklyn: arms aud hands
bl-uaI Taken TO Cumberland street
Hospital and later to his home.
YAGHONE. PETER. 80, Iaborer. eSi Powers
street. BROOKLYN; face. eyes and abdomen
burned. Taken 20 Holy Family Hospital
BENSNN, WILLIAM. %, laborer. Nostrand
s,cuuc. BROOKLYN: burned about face. neck
heai and arms Taken TO Cumberla nd
Street Hospital.
None Escaped Uninjured.
There were twenty-siX employees in the
dye works: one OF them was killed and
all Of the rest injured. The two injured
women lived in the house next door
which was shaken and racked. although
!. did not fall The most seriously in.
iured We're in the rear Of the dye works
IN the laboratory. where the explosion
occurred. This part OF the building wa,
RACED and the injured We're buried under
the bricks and plaster,
Walter Ernest Harren. the young re'
.earch chemist who was killed. was grad
Iated from Brooklyn Polytechnic 1nstitu;,
in the class OF 1913 lie was the son 81
John H. Harren of 1874 West lalst street
Manhattan. and made his home at tina
address His brother identified the body
las. night 1t was charred almost beyonc
recognition.
The dye works is owned by Or. william
Heckers who was seriously injured In thu
explosion. Just how the explosions oc
cured will probably never be known. bu
the large explosion, which was the secon'
one, IL thought to have been caused by
smaller explosion OF chemicals with whicl
Young Harren was working In the small
research laboratory on the second floor
II is believed that the more serious eN
pic ION in the large laboratory OIL tn
ground floor came With the breaking o
retortS and glass containers as result o
The first shock.
n Beckers. according TO the story toll
n" some of the injured employees. re
Gently returned from Leipzig. Germany
Most OF the fine dyes used In colorin
textiles have been imported To Amrric
'-oin that city. He saw these dives manu-
tactured, and when the war stopped I'm
ro?iation II" began n series OF experiment
n his Brooklyn plant. attempting 10 pro
duo" a aye that was equal TO the Gerna
n'Oduct
His chief chemist went on vacatio
gently and DR. Beckers was conti1uir
III" experiments with his young assistan
Harrcn
Left just BEFORE Explosion.
Ho had just left the research laborator
Yesterday afternoon and was on his wa
% tho front office on the first floor whe
here was an explosion in the small lat
'"atory followed quickly by another
NJ dye works down stairs.
l'r. BeCkers and his employees eithe
an out or Here blown into the street
hey don't remember which--by the sa
md explosion. The building was in
H"lptoly iu flames. There were tW
mailer explosions a few minutes later
llarren was probably killed by IL
7-. explosion. His body was recovere
l'cr
TN" first explosion was a, 39 y.
The clock in Arthur Lanning's delicatesse
'tor" across the street at l0f Underhi
avenue, stopped at that time.
Fire Marshal Higgins Inquiry.
Fire Marshal Thomas Brophy examine
several witnesses last night to determii
the cause OF tho explosion. They cou
not "EliGhten him and he could tell NIT
about H. he said. until the debris ",
cared away this morning Sidney
David. manager OF the Boston branc
told Mr. Brophy that he was in the r
search laboratory when the explosion o
CURED and that he was blown throut
the window into the street.
William T. Miller the manager. al
Harry A. Guilfoyle OF Providence sa
they jumped from the second story VII
dow They said no explosive chemica
yer" kept in the place and that the e.
ploslon must have come from the boiler
FORD BUSINESS DOUBLES.
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