Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-01-17

NOW 1Ork, Jan. lo.-fOuT HleH were
killed and 10 were injured in terrific
explosion inside of the United States
navy submarine E-2 at 10 o'clock Satur-
day afternoon in the drydock of the
Brooklyn navy yard.
Up to midnight Saturday the navy yard
officials had been unable definitely to as
certain the cause of the explosion, al
though Rear Admiral Usher, command
ant of the yard. appointed special
board of inquiry early in the afternoon
to make an immediate examination.
The dead.
seaber, r. B., electrician, second class.
Cleveland.
Peck, James H.. civilian: general help
er. Brooklyn.
Schultz, J. p. civilian; machinist.
Logan, Joseph, civilian; general helper.
Brooklyn.
The injured:
Miles, L. L., chief electrician. Brooklyn.
Otto, Ramona, electrician, Middleburg,
Md.
Clark. Guy H., Jr.. Frankfort. N. Y.
Holsey, John. Baltimore.
Lyons, James, civilian.
Zoll, Henry, civilian.
Hasert, Otto, civilian.
Heyne, Richard. civilian.
Peyser. Michael, civilian.
kapin, August, civilian.
Interior Wrecked
The force Of the explosion Of unknown
origin was SO great that it left the whole
interior of the large undersea boat COM
plete wreck. The mechanism of the boat,
as delicate as watch works when in rum
ming order was a chaotic mass of debris
when rescuers, in oxygen helmets, went
to the aid of the suffering men inside.
Rescue work was made almost i'm
possible Immediately after the accident
by the dense and pungent fumes and
smoke that filled the boat. 1t was not
until five electric ventilating machines
used to dispense fumes in these boats
had been pressed into hasty service
that the rescuers were able to dig
into the debris and drag out the dead
and wounded Most of the latter had
been pinned beneath wrecked ma
chinery and overcome by fumes.
The bodies Of the dead were so bad
ly mangled that they were almost be-
You'd recognition, and it was not I'M
til late in the evening that the Off
Gals were able to identify an enlisted
man among the dead, while a civilian
workman, the last man to be found in
the debris, could not be identified I'M
til later. His body had been dismem-
bered by the explosion, and the torso
was found in a different part of the
boat from the two lower limbs, which
were not discovered until nearly $50
o'clock.
The officers investigating the acct
dent hoped to be able to discover in
just what section of the boat the eX-
plosion originated by learning from the
other workmen in just what part of the
boat this man was working at the
time, but the men who might have
given this information Saturday night
were in hospitals and too seriously in
jured themselves to be questioned.
Daniels Notified in New York
Secretary Of the Navy Josephus
Daniels was in New York at the time
Of the explosion. having come here
from Washington to speak on pre-
paredness before the members of the
National Democratic Club, and he was
notified of the accident over the tele-
phone by Rear Admiral Usher as soon
as the commandant heard of it. Secre-
tary Daniels was then at the club and
was scheduled to begin speaking in
few minutes. He gathered what in
formation he could and delegated his
naval aide. Commander David w.
Wurtzbaugh. to keep in touch with
Rear Admiral Usher for further in
formation but he made no reference
to the accident in his talk to the
diners.
Rear Admiral Usher was as much
at sea regarding the cause of the ex-
plosion as were any Of his men. Four
possible causes We're suggested by the
naval men and others who investigated
the wreck.
Hydrogen Blamed by Many
That the explosion was caused by the
ignition Of a large quantity of hydro
gen that had escaped into the boat
from the new Edison storage batteries
that were being tested on this subma-
rine was the explanation most gener-