The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-01-06
at the Height Of the Rush Hour
OF Early Morning In the
City of New York.
PANIC AND CONFUSION
Causes Police to Issue Report
That Twelve Persons Are
Victims as Result.

NEW Y DIRK, Jan, s More than one
hundred persons were overcome by
smoke. cut by flying glass, bruised
and otherwise injured in q. Are aboard
10 train in the subway at the height
Z OF the rush hour this morning.
In the panic and confusion which
cnsued police headquarters issued a.
report that ewelye. persons had lost
their lives but this later proved to
be unfounded and only one known
death was recorded.
The entire fire fighting force OF
Manhattan, every ambulance in the
borough and every coal motor that
could be found were brought to the
ecene
The fact that scores OF persons
were unconscious led to the early re-
port that many had been killed.
X Later Police Commissioned Woods
and Fire Chief Kcnlon announced that
so far as they knew there had been
no fatalities.
a surgeon attached to the Poly
clinic hospital reported that one in
jured woman had died in an ambu-
lance on her way to the hospital.
Two hundred persons in all were
taken to the Polytechnic, the surgeon
said, but as far as he knew with this
one exception none had been fatally
< injured. 3
The fire was said to have been due
to AN electrical explosion in con-
Ninth street stations. The noise,
flames and smoke terrified the 700 or
more passengers of two downtown
trains stalled nearby and in their eff
forts to escape scores were badly
bruised many knocked unconscious
and still others were overcome by
smoke The subway service, accord
ing ito Commissioner Mccall of the
Public Service Commission, may be
tied up for several days. II this
proves true 1t will mean that more
than q million persons d day carried
by the subway trains will stts divert
ed to the surface and elevated systems
and cause a congestion without par
aliel in the history Of the city. At
I first It was thought there had been
a terrible catastrophe and reports
reached police headquarters that at
4 least score had been killed. The
entire fire department and all the am
balances in the city together with the
pu1motor squad were rushed to the
scene. Smoke was pouring out of the
subway entrances, manholes and ven
tilators. It turned out, however, that
while police and firemen had all they
could do in bringing out the uncon-
scious including a score or more
women, who tainted. the early re-
ports had been exaggerated.
1t was more than three hours af-
ter the accident that the last pas
senger was rescued and during that
time In the streets nearby there was
q continuous procession OF ambu-
iances and private automobiles re-
moving the injured to the various
hospitals. The accident was de-
scribed by the police as the worst in
the history Of the subway.
During the first excitement the au-
thorities seriously considered blow
ing up sections of the street on either
side Of the scene OF the accident to let
fresh air into the tube. AS 1t was.
gangs of men were set to work with
flame blow-pipes boring holes in the
concrete while others got to work
said that when his men entered the
two trains they found many of the
passengers sitting in their seats un-
conscious, others lying In the aisles
and everywhere evidence of terrific
panic. The floors were strewn with
hats and torn clothing. Still other
passengers were found lying on the
ground beside the tracks. Practically
every window of the cars was
I broken.