The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1917-01-20
WARS TERR0RS ARE AGAIN
BROUGHT TO NEW JERSEY
Huge Munitions Plant Burns and
Towns Are Bombarded For
Twelve Hours.

IOl lht St&Oih tAthG y "a NV
months the residents of Hudson coun-
ty, N. j., have known the terrors Of
bombardment about as bad as the var
In Europe has ever produced. This has
come about by the fire and subsequent
explosion of ammunition factories and
stores of explosives.
The munitions plant of the Canadian
Car and Foundry company at Kings
land, which a few days ago employed
thousands OF workers and had just
completed a 500, 100000 shell contract
for the Russian government, is no
more. The fire Is supposed to have
started when a defective electric wire
sent O spark into a gasoline container.
Immediately the thousands of work
men employed in the plant fled for
their lives, for they knew what was to
follow. The explosions which imme
diately followed continued for twelve
hours, ~bombarding the town of Kings
land and nearby towns and shaking
the whole countryside.
Pieces Of shells were picked up more
than three miles from the plant. A
saloon near Kingsland, on the main
road about a mile from the plant, was
bombarded early In the afternoon, and
the walls caved In. Four of the porch
pillars were shot clean away. A dozen
curious stories were told Of the acct
dents OF this aimless bombardment.
A large shell fragment tore through
the kitchen of n house In Kingsland
and ripped Its way out through a wall
passing within three inches of a little
girls head.
AS an instance of the constant dan
ger In which the police performed
their work may be cited the experienc,
Of Chief Mcintyre and Chief Burnhan
OF Rutherford, n. j., who were driving
I'm an automobile along n of the
streets In Guinea Hill when a tire,
inch shell dropped from the skies RICH
into their car, wrecking 1t. But th'
two chiefs and their driver were unin
jured.
The fire spread to eleven cars full o
loaded shells on the Lackawan
tracks, and then began a terrific bonn
bardment. Like the steady firing o
many batteries of s~eventy-iyes, thu
shells exploded one after 1.-The other
the projectiles rising high into the SIX.
aud falling in long arcs on all sides o
the plant. Across the main line of thu
railroad were the largest repair shop
Of the Lnckawanna system, but tn
200 workers employed there had los
no time In getting out.
On the other side OF the plant, pei
haps a mile away. begins the slope o
the hill ON which live the 5000 res
lens of Kingsland and Lyndhurst.
This latest explosion was similar L
the Black Tom disaster the mornin!
of July 81 last. Black Tom Is a pen
insula on the Jersey City shore o
New York bay, where the Lehigh Val
ley railroad has a terminal. Enormou
quantities OF munitions were Their
transferred from freight ears T.
barges, thence to be loaded ON vessel
for Europe.
Never before had such a large quan
tity Of high ex~plosives-275 tons-beel
detonated at one time. Because of tn
isolated situation Of Black Tom tn
fatalities were limited to half Y 6ozel
or SO.
New York was shaken as If by al
; earthquake by the two principal ex
plosions which marked a night of viii,
terror. Downtown skyscrapers receiy
/ ed the full force of the shock. Jerse.
City was partially wrecked.
The disaster began with a fire
Shrapnel and other ammunition blaze
( away all night. bombarding the SUI
[ rounding shores and even bursting owe
Governors Island. Meanwhile blazin
] barges drifted about the bay, endan
gering shipping In the harbor and tn
wharves which line the New York an
: New Jersey shores. When the flame
s had been %quenched and the explosion
{ ceased It was estimated that the Blac
Tom explosion had done damag
amounting to between $15,00O,0OO an
SIG 1000. 900.