The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1916-08-04
SUSPECT PLOT
IN EXPLOSION
Damage in Jersey City Blast
Estimated at 20 Millions
AMMUNITION DESTROYED
Shrapnel and Broken Glass
Death List Will Probably
Be Small.

New York-Property loss estimated
at S20,000.000 was caused early Sun
day by series of terrific explosions
Of ammunition awaiting shipment to
the entente allies and stored on
Black Tom island. a small strip OF
land jutting into New York bay off
Jersey City.
II will not be determined definitely
the loss OF life until there has been
! opportunity TO check up the work
men employed on the island and on
boats moored nearby. Two are known
/ TO be dead and at least two more
are missing. Scores OF persons were
injured. some of them probably ia
! tally.
The detonations, which were felt
in five states, began with contin-
uous rapid fire of small shells, then
the blowing up of great quantities
! Of dynamite, trinitrotolune and 9TH
er high explosives, followed by the
bursting OF thousands of shrapnel
]
country and waters for many miles
around.
Fire that started soon after the first
great crash which spread death and
desolation in its wake, destroyed 13
OF the huge warehouses of the Ma
ton. Storage Company on Black Tom
island in which were stored merchan-
disc valued at between $4,000, 900 and
$l5.000,00O. The flames, shooting in
to the clouds, were reflected against
New Yoyks skyline" of towering Of
fee buildings, which only few mo-
ments before were shaken to their
foundations as by an earthquake.
Miles Of streets in Manhattan alone
were strewn with broken glass and
shattered signs.
Early reports of heavy loss of life
were impossible of verifcation and
the authorities asserted the number
OF deaths probably would be small.
1t is said that owing to the extent
OF the wreckage it might be several
days before the exact figures could
be obtained.
The cause OF the disaster has not
been determined Officials of the
National Storage Company and the
Iehigh Valley railroad, which also
suffered heavily through loss of prop
erty, declared, however, that reports
to them showed that a fire started
shortly after | o'clock this morning
on a barge belonging to an independ-
ent towing company which had been
moored alongside "A wharf used by
the railroad company to transfer am
munition shipments from trains to
vessels in the harbor. The barge, II
is said, was there without authority
OF either the railroad or the storage
company The officials refused TO
disclose the name OF the independent
towing company, saying they were in
vestigating ito ascertain whether the
barge purposely had been set on fire
as the result OF plot"
A statement issued by the Lehigh
Valley Railroad Company, after
conference OF heads OF all depart
ments here. said:
houses out OF the "a owned and OPP
Grated by the National Storage Com
pany and six piers owned by the
storage company and leased to the
Lehigh Valley road were destroyed.
Several others of the brick ware
houses were badly damaged ana
some minor damage was done to the
Lehigh Valley grain elevators. In
addition, as far as is known, 30
loaded cars were destroyed.
According to evidence obtained by
officials OF the railroad company. the
fire started at l.05 in the morning In
barge belonging TO an indepen-
dent towing company which had been
moored alongside the railroad COM
pany's dock expressly against orders.
m. r. Henley, night general
yardmaster for the New York divi-
sion OF the Lehigh Valley railroad,
was on the pier when the fire start
ed. He said the explosion. which oc-
Cured at sos, was in the barge
where the fire started.
"Mr. Henley's first thought was TO
remove the loaded cars on the pier
from the danger zone. He said that
when he reached the end OF the pier
the barge was burning hercely all
over and the fire was beginning TO
communicate itself to some or the
cars nearest the barge.
1.-TWO long cuts OF cars were sue
cessfully removed from the danger
zone before the rapidly spreading fire
enCulfed the balance.
1T has not as yet been definitely
determined Just what the money loss
will be Some 10000 tons of raw
sugar. valued at approximately SS,-
4OO. 900 is known to be lost II Is
believed that the other contents OF
the warehouses destroyed will great
ly increase this amount There
were no explosives stored In the
warehouses. and in only two OF the
cars destroyed These were loaded
with shrapnel. which would not have
been a source OF danger but for out
side fire. The other cars destroyed