Evening star., 1916-07-31
Child Dies From the Shock.

The body Of an unidentified young man
was recovered from the water of the Le-
high Valley pier. A child in Jersey City.
according to the police. died from shock
after the first of the explosions. Many
men told thrilling stories of having been
blown hundreds of feet over land and
water.
Most of the sixty or moro injured
taken to Jersey City hospitals were
struck by shrapnel, falling glass or
debris Nearly all were in the rail-
road yards or on craft moored near
the island. Included among them are
homes were on barges.
Every window in the pedestal Of the
Statue sof Liberty on Bedloes Island
opposite Black Tom. was broken. and
the main door. made Of iron and weigh
ing almost ton. was blown off it's
hinges. The statue itself. however. was
not damaged, except from the rain of
shrapnel which bespattered 1t.
Although the plant which furnished
power for Bedloes Island was shaken
famous Hight of Liberty" burned
steadily throughout the hours of con-
fusion, flaming high above the pail of
smoke.
Liberty Statue Not Damaged.
Early reports of damage to the build
ings on Ellis Island were exaggerated.
according to Capt. A. B. Fry, super
vising engineer of federal buildings
in New York. Capt. Fry said the loss
could not exceed $5o.000.
Most of the damage at the immigra-
ton station was caused by the force
of the explosion. which wrecked walks
and buildings and shattered windows
and doorways. Two barges, ablaze and
laden with shrapne1 shells. had drifted
to the island from the scene of the
disaster. A municipal freboat and tug
played streams of water on them from
one side and Ellis Island employees from
the other. An explosion on one of the
barges damaged the structure housing
the power plant.
Two other fire-swept craft grounded
on the southwest corner of the island.
which contains the contagious disease
hospital. The medical staff removed
the 450 immigrants on the island to the
Battery.
Many small craft, as we'll as several
good sized steamers and sailing vessels,
were badly damaged. Crews on the big
docked along the New Jersey and
New York water fronts. declared that
when the first two great explosions oc-
CURED 1t appeared as if their vessels
were LITERALLY picked up out OF the wa
ter and then hurled back.
Police Rush to Prevent Looting.
All New York and cities within a
radius of twenty-five miles were awak-
ened by the explosions. Within an hour
5000 telephone calls went over the Do
lice wires from excited inquirers. Hun
dreds of thousands of persons. many of
them scantily clad. ran excitedly
through the streets. while automobiles,
containing policemen. nremen and
others. dashed along. Detectives were
rusned to Maiden lane. the homo of the
jewelry industry, to- guard against
thieves. In the downtown section
countless windows were broken.
Scarcely an ONCE building from the
Battery to 50th street escaped damage.
More than score Of persons, accord
ing to the police. were injured in Man
haitian and Brooklyn from flying glass.
Thousands of persons in Jersey City
fed to the parks after the first ex-
plosion. Panic-stricken women wheeled
baby carriages about, some of them
praying and others screaming. Not until
after dawn was the scene changed
from intense excitement to calmness.
Then it was with difficulty that the
police held the crowds back from the
scene of the disaster.
The fire on Black Tom Island still ragged
last night. The large railroad yards
Of the Lehigh Valley, and the reclaim-
ed meadow land for miles around. yir
tually were covered with great piles of
wreckage, and countless shrapnel
shells. many of which had not exploded.
Thousands of persons who flocked there
from New York. Jersey City and else
where watched hundreds of firemen at
work in the ruins Of the vast ware
house system.
Many Of the. visitors carried away
shrapnel shells as souvenirs In some
instances they had dug them from the
earth two or three miles away from the
scene of the explosions.