Evening journal., 1917-04-27
OPINIONS VARY ON
EDDYSTONE BLAST
Officials of Corporation TX
press Belief That Overt
Act Caused Disaster
DUE TOCARELESSNESS,
SAYS INSPECTOR

For nine hours yesterday at Chester
Coroner Drewes and his jury OF six
citizens OF Delaware county wrestled
with their incompleted task Of deter
mining the responsibility for and fix
ing tho cause Of the explosion at the
Eddystone Ammunition Corporation
on April 10. that sacrificed at least 100
lives. They heard Captain Walter NJ.
Wilhelm. vice-president and general
manager Of the munitions company,
say that the explosion could be traced
only TO a sinister origin; they heard
DR.. Francis d. Patterson, Of the Blu
reau OF Industrial Hygiene and Engi-
neering Of the State Department of
Labor and Industry. subscribe TO the
same belief and express the opinion
that the catastrophe could result from
nothing except an overt act and an
interior purpose. and they heard Mich
olas Krekner. one of the chief Rus
sian inspectors, fatty contradict these
private and public officials and de-
clare that the explosion resulted en-
tirely from an accident that could be
attributed only to the carelessness OF
some employe or employees
This same dissimilarity OF views
and opinions applied to the survivors,
several of whom came from hospitals
to testify. They were unable to agree
upon the exact locat on OF the eX-
plosion, or the number OF reports that
could be heard prior TO the collapse or
the structure Minor officials OF the
company fortified Captain Wilholms
ppinion that the catastrophe was due
70 n malicious act.
They saw evidence OF sinister de
sign in the discovery Of matches at
several times within the shrapnel'
loading plant; in the discovery OF
pieces of steel. known as taps, which
had been dislodged from the shell
cases. which the witnesses held,
would have caused friction enough to
have exploded the shells while under
the vibrators; to the warnings which
they said the girls In the pellet room
had bruited about for several days
previous to the holocaust. and were
eventually traced to the apparently
light-hearted prophecy OF Julie
OfBrien; to the alleged overt acts
which these officials said the munition
detectives had uncovered on several
occasions.
Many OF the survivors who testified
refused TO lay any particular emphasis
on the discovery Of matches, for they
said that instead of a stringent daily
snspection OF every employe, the
guards searched the males about two
or three times a week, while testi-
mony revealed that no search was
conducted which would have prevent
ed women from bringing matches into
the plant. One OF the superintendent
pointed to his discovery OF new shoe
burning near a pilS OF smokeless
powder as evidence that somebody
e6ad plotted 10 destroy the new "
building. which adioined the old +
structure which was RACED by the OK
plosion
captain Wilhelm related the various
'hods that were used in the shrap-
mel loading room 70 complete the
shells. He admitted TO the coroner
that he had no definite information as
to the nature OF the explosion. but
said: From the evidence which has
been turned over to me as the result
OF the company's investigation, | can
not believe the explosion was the re-
suit OF an accident
'What have you i'm mind TO support
your statement that the explosion
could have been other than acciden-
tals' the captain was asked.
Numerous matters that have come
70 our attention" he replied. Many
or our girls stonped work on FRIDAY
because they had heard that the plant
was 20 be blown IN. Our detective
agency TOO. informed us several times
that we were in danger and that It
had found evidence that lod the mem
bers 10 believe that our plant was TO
be blown up. The last warning OF any
consequence came about Christmas,
but since that time our detectives have