New-York tribune., 1916-07-31
PANIC ALL DAY
IN JERSEY CITY
Many Citizens Still Fear
TO Return to Their
Shaken Homes.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS
GREATLY DAMAGED
Schools, Churches and Hospitals
Heavy Sufferers-Wreck-
age Litters Streets.

With n pail of smoke from the burn
ing piers Of the National Storage Com
pany hanging over the city, the nos
pitfalls filled with wounded and the
streets Uttered with wreckage, Jersey
CITY. which bore the brunt Of the two
explosions at Black Tom earlier in the
day. was still in panic last night
Persons who had rushed from their
homes when the first detonation rocked
the CITY at 2:l0 in the morning ap-
proached their houses, many OF which
were shaken to their foundations, with
fear and trembling. All over the down.
town section Of the city litter from
broken windows and falling bricks clut-
tered the streets. although the Street
Cleaning Department had been busy all
day.
The City Hall, fire houses, schools
and churches were seriously damaged,
and it is estimated that the restoration
OF public buildings alone will cost sew
eral hundred thousand dollars. 1t will
take several days to appraise the fuii
damage done to the city, but It Is
roughly estimated that the total Will DO
not less than s1,0O0,000.
City Hall Badly Damaged.
The City Hall, built at a cost OF
sl,OO0O00 under the old political re-
gime. suffered the most. The Assembly
Chamber and First District Court are
wrecks. Ceilings in both rooms went
down at the first explosion, carrying
the huge chandeliers and piling wreck
age 10 the height of six or eight feet.
Crevices line the walls of all the de-
partment rooms, floors have buckled
and window easements sag. A. harry
Moore, director OF parks and pubic
property. estimated it would cost more
than $4,000 to make repairs.
Bergen, Ocean, Jackson and Monu-
cello Avenues were literally covered
with broken glass all through the busi-
ness section. Newark Avenue was
mass of wreckage. Nearly every store
in these sections was more or less dam
aged. whole windows being blown 10
the sidewalk, though here and there a
store escaped while it's neighbor did not
have a window left.
Although all the churches were dam
aged TO some extent, the Lafayette ne
formed Church was the greatest sut-
ferer. Twelve stained glass memorial
windows were destroyed. great por-
tions of the ceiling fell and the in
terror was so wrecked that no services
could be held yesterday. The Lafayette
section was one of the severest suf-
ferers, many Of the doors OF houses
being split in two and others torn
from their hinges, and in hundreds oil
houses the windows were shattered.
Hospitals Suffer.
The Free Library, in Jersey Avenue,
was damaged badly, the first floor WIN
dows and transoms of the CITY Hos
pital were ripped out and the windows
and plaster in the Maternity Hospital
fell The large colored window por-
traying Christ bearing the Cross. back
of the main altar in st. Joseph's ko-
man Catholic Church, Baldwin and Pa
vonia Avenues, was shattered by the
explosion. =.
The large memorial window in st.
Aloysius's Church. on West Side Ave
rue. valued at thousands OF dollars,
was destroyed. The Public Service
Building was badly damaged, many or
the plate glass windows beng de-
stroved and metal work twisted. Along
the Hudson Boulevard windows were
wrecked. and the same thing occurred
on West End Avenue. where the dam
AGO will run into thousands of dollars.
Damage in the Greenville section was
very extensive. Storehouses and manu-
factories suffered to such an extent
that the property cannot be repaired
for weeks. The Hamilton Park section
shared with other sections of the city
in the destruction. Scarcely street IN
the whole Bergen section escaped.
Panic After Second Explosion.
When the first explosion occurred al
most the entire city was awakened and
there was a rush TO doors and win
dows. Lights from the fire played over
the sky, and it was generally supposed
that al danger was over. For that rea-
son only the inquisitive left their
homes. But with the second detonation
panic ensued, which was added TO when
the shells stored on the barges exploded
at intervals.
All over the city houses rocked and
showers of glass fell to the sidewalks.
Fearful that their homes would fall on
them, thousands of persons dressed rap
idly and rushed into the streets. When
they tried to return they were stopped
by the police.
In many sections of the city women
with babies in their arms, and others
dragging small children, hurried out
into the night. At this time timbers
were falling and there was a constant
rattle of glass on the pavements. The
police were quickly at work and warned
the people to keep away from the side
walks and look out for falling walls.
Churches Crowded by Supplicants.
In all sections professions of citi-
zens, some only partly clad, marched
in the middle of the streets, which
were bright from the fires At the wa
ter's edge. Hundreds hurried 10 the
churches. which were thrown open. and
remained there in prayer for hours.
A crowd besieged the Polish Church in
Essex Street. where the doors were
closed, and many became hysterical
Men and women were weeping and