The daily Nome industrial worker., 1916-02-25
ALASKA NEWS ITEMS
 AND TOWN TOPICS

r FARM HANDS WANTED
 to lead the Virginia Reel at the K. K. Barn Dance Saturday night.
 Baseball tonight and ball fans can have their fill of the game The Married Ladies strong of arm ana will. will essay to put the Single Ladies comedy and lissome, down and out for the count and the con- test is to be fast and as reasonably compatibie with the fair sex, furious while it lasts. The Fort Davis team will have no such easy pickings as they heretofore faced, for tonight they will be up against an all star combination that is bound to make Nome famous and relegate the war news to back page in local ia pers.
 l The Dream presents on extraordi- nary bill of pictures tonight. The feature two reel subject entitled The Oath Of Pierre. This picture is spiced with every element of ettrac- tion that goes to make first class spectacle. The plot is distinctive carrying a strong vein of humor that roleives the thrilling situations and dramatic intensity of the pro- duction. The above is supplement- ed with a Gaumont Standard titled The Auto Smash Up, also a rich, rare, racy Comedy The Borrowing Simp Saturday night the biggest Western Feature show tl is winter, The Battle Of Fort Laramie.
 ~ss
 | Yesterday afternoon a shocking and fatal accident occurred in the Charles Reed machine shop wherein a young Russian named Leo Wat kin who has been working for Reed for some time met an exceedingly sudden death. It appears Watkin was engaged in drilling a hole in tank wherein had filtered some acetylene gas. and on his striking q match presumably to aid an inspec- tion of the work, the top of the tank exploded striking Watkin in the head and spattering his brains over the ceiling as the top of hls head was smashed with the expio sion, death being instantaneous.
 The accident occurred upstairs over the machinery room of the shops. There were two tanks in which was water. used for the pur- pose of balancing as in a syphon the pressure on an acetylene tank down below. Alongside the tank lay the cot whereon usually slept IWatkin, and after the explosion had done it's fatal work the mans body reclined at half length upon the bed, with his feet resting on the floor in his fatal sleep, while lis head cruelty crushed by the explo- si.n, lay upon the pillow.
 Reed was below when the explo- sion occurred; he heard the force of it for it burst through the ceiling smashing the wood work immediate ly above the tank, and smashed the glass in the window frame out on the sidewalk below. He ran at once u 2stairs and over to the unfortunate man, but saw that he was beyond any human aid, death being evident ly instantenauos Medical help was summoned, but as stated, Watkin was beyond any such assistance.
 Nothing much is known about the deceased beyond tho fact that h. was a native of Russia and had lett that country at tho outbreak of the war. He obtained employment with Reed shortly after his arrival at Nome and was a handy intelligent man. He was studious in his habits and made great effort with con siderable success to acquire a knowledge of English.
 Whom undertaking the work ot drilling the holes, Reed stated he , duly impressed upon him the need . of care and the danger from lights , in the event of any gas being in the tank. Unfortunately In the pursuit of his task, the man forgot this in ] function with the fatal results above recorded.
 , U. s. Commissioner Frawiey and : ex-officio coroner of the district l when notified hurried to the scene . and District Attorney Saxton. Mar shal Jordan and Deputy Marsha . Holland also made. an examination {, of the premises. It is understood D from the obvious facts in the case