The Johnson City comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1916-1917, 1916-08-03
MUTILATEB BY
EXPLOSIONS
MANY PERSONS MUTHATED BY
EXPLOSION AT NEW YORK.
MUCH PROPERTY DAMAGE
WOMAN'S READ FOUND HALF 4
MILE AWAY.

Monday night in the ruins of Blac
Tom Island, where the disastrou
ammunition explosion of Sunda
morning occurred, and half the fir
department of Jersey City, aided b.
fire tugs from New York har5or
fought the flames which centere,
about the pier where large quantities
Of shrapnel and high explosive shell
were stored. Exploding shells made
an almost continuous cannonade.
Three officers of corporations doins
business on the island were under ar.
rest tonight and a warrant was GU
for a fourth. Preparations were un-
der way at Jersey City for joint
Federal, State. county and municipa
investigation TO fix the blame for the
disaster which killed at least three
men, injured scores and caused ap-
proximately S2O,OOO.00O property dam
age.
WOman's Head Found.
The finding of a woman's head q
half mile from the scene of the eX-
plosion late tonight confirmed the be-
lief of the police that the death list
of the disaster is not complete. 1t is
feared other persons were blown to
pieces.
The theory that the fire which caus-
ed the explosion started on muni-
tions barge. tied up at the island, was
combatted late today by Robert s.
Hudspeth, prosecutor for Hudson
county, and Theodore B Johnson,
president of the johnson Lighterage
company. owner of the munitions
barge. Both declared the fire origi-
mated in two Lehigh Valley railroad
freight cars laden with explosives.
johnson, who was arrested on
warrant charging manslaughter. as
were Albert NJ. Dickman, Black Tom
agent of the Lehigh Valley, and Alex
ander Davidson, superintendent of the
National Storage company. denied all
responsibility for the contlagration.
He intimated that the fire was of in
cendiary origin.
Fire Spread From Freight Cars.
Prosecutor Hudspeth corroboratad
Johnsons story. He said he had OBJ
tanned an affidavit from the command
er of the tug Geneva" which gave a
comprehensive story of the disaster.
According to the affidavit and 9th
er evidence said the prosecutor, "the
fire started two hours before the
johnson barge was destroyed. and it
was not this barge that caused the
great explosion. The fire spread from
freight cars to warehouses and the
barge. The captain of the Geneva
was towing away another barge said
to have been loaded with tremen-
dously high explosive, acting upon or
tiers of Lehigh Valley official, when
the barge. which had shown no sign
of being afire. exploded. This was
the first explosion and the one that
was most severe.
"The second great explosion occur
red when the fire reached number
of freight cars loaded with dynamite
and another tremendously high ex-
plosive, the character of which is still
TO be determined"
Mr.. Hudspeth declared fully three
fifths of the explosives shipped to the
Entente Allies passed through Jersey
City.
Late in the day warrant was is
sued for the arrest on charge Of
manslaughter of Edmund L. MacKen-
zie. OF Plainfeld, N. j.. president of
the National Storage company. whose
plant at Black Tom was destroyed.
Plate glass insurance underwriters
voted at a meeting here today to
waive all technicalities and to replace
at once all windows shattered by the
explosions. 1t is estimated that the
plate glass in Manhattan, Brooklyn
and New Jersey was worth 81 900 900.
MArxN nan ~ Har-nr TkFnDnET