The Morgan County press. (Wartburg, Tenn.) 1916-1926, 1916-08-03

FIVE States Are Shaken When Boa
Loads of ShrapneI Shells Explode
While Floating In Harbor-Bedlot
and Ellis Islands Suffer Heavily
Disaster is Worst of Its Kind EveI
Occurring in country-Tug Boat
Crews Are Among the Missing.
Western Newspaper Union News Service
New York.-An unknown number OF
dead and injured; $5O,OO0,OOO in prop
erty loss; five states shaken, and mil.
lions of persons within a radius of a
hundred miles frightened to distrac-
ton, is part of the damage wrought
by the explosion of war materials near
Jersey City. The material was await
ing shipment to the Entente Allies.
While only one body has been recov-
cred, the loss of life is believed to
have been heavy. In the excitement
following the explosion, little or no eff
fort was made by anyone to take a
census of those known to have been
in the vicinity. The disaster was by
far the worst of its kind that has ever
taken place in the country.
Black Tom Island, an area of re-
claimed land which projects into New
York Bay from the Jersey shore, i'm
mediately behind the Statue of Lib
erty, which was damaged, was the
scene of the explosion. Six Lehigh
Valley Railroad piers and the Nation
al Storage warehouses, comprising "a
four-story brick buildings, about hum
dred feet deep, were the principal suf-
ferers. Between $25 100000 and $780,
100000 worth of property belonging to
hese two companies were hurled into
the air by the series of explosions.
Thirteen storage warehouses and their
entire contents were blown up, IS
loaded freight cars were burned,
dozen barges and their contents burn
ed or blown up, and probably three
tugboats sunk. The Jersey Central
Railroad pier, half mile from the
eource of the explosion, also was dam
aged considerably.
These tugboats, with an aggregate
crew of "a men, are listed as missing.
These boats are the Geneva, Lehigh
Valley boat, and the Bridgeton and
Ithaca, Jersey Central boats. When
last seen the little vessels were brave.
~ forcing their way into the blazing
barges in an effort to remove them.
Then occurred the big explosion. 1t |
is feared they were torn to pieces and |
lost with. their crews. About million |
dollars worth of damage was done on
Bedloe's Islands and Ellis Island suf-
fered severely. Countless homes and |
places of business running up into the
hundreds of thousands were more or
less damaged in Jersey City, Hoboken,
the Bronx, Queens, Brook
Ign, Bayonne, Staten Island and ada
cent cities and towns. Smashed plate
glass windows was one of the princi-
pal losses suffered. A conservative
of this loss is $1,5O0,0OO. The
cause of the earth-shaking catasthro-
)he was the explosion of hundreds of
.ons of high explosives on the "explo-
five pier" of the Lehigh Valley Rail-
'oad The origin of the blaze which
,aused ruin and death has not yet been
established.
X Where the Fire Started.
This fire, as nearly as can be es-
ablished from eye witnesses, began
'ither in a freight car on the "explo- ,
i've pier" or on a barge moored to /.
he pier. The Lehigh Valley Railroad
company, in an official statement,
laces the blame on a barge owned ,
y an independent towing company, :
Which, against orders, had moored to
be pier. The railroad charges the
re began on this barge. Some eye
illnesses assert the confiagration
tarted on a freight car. A still alarm
D the Jersey City fire department
rought several compares. They had ]
distance to travel, the
cene of the fire being about a mile
ut on the meadows. The fire engines
ere not able to get close to the fire
nd long lines of hose had to be o
FETCHED. The Jersey City firemen, "
ith the assistance of several railroad s
Igs and employees on the premises, 81
iliently fought the fire for two hours, "
II IL grew bevond their control b,