The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1918-03-28
Cigarette Causes
Great Explosion
New York Weigher Admits Causing
Awful Disaster-Much in Way Of
Supplies Destroyed


NEW YORK, March 27.-J. Altman,
weigher in the Jarvis warehouse in
Jersey City confessed to the police,
they announced today, that he threw
lighted cigarette on the floor of
the plant, starting the fire which
destroyed the plant and did damage
totalling nearly 100000 in the
Erie yards district.
The blaze spread toward several
tons of chlorate of potash. he was
quoted as saying, and more than a
dozen men who were working in the
stock room raced for safety and
jumped through windows. The giant
explosions which shook the New
York district followed within a few
minutes
The police, who shortly previous
had announced discovery of powder
near the scene, pointing to a set
bomb were inclined to take Altman s
story at its face value and abandon
ed the alien enemy theory of the
origin of the disaster.
NEW YORK, March PA brick
wall and a firing squad were urged
today by Edward ]. Jarvis as a
means of preventing more explosions
such as wiped out the Jarvis ware
house company, destroyed the Erie
shops and threatened to lay waste
to the Jersey City terminal district
yesterday afternoon.
Out of a mass of conflicting evil
dence, which the federal agents have
unearthed regarding the $4,000, 900
fire several suspicious circumstance!
stood forth today.
Patrick Curley, new conner at th'
Jarvis plant, one of a number o
weighers who had been sent from
| New York. was held today because h
told an unclear story.
Officials of the company declares
there ware no high explosives in tn
building, saying they have co-operat
, ed with city officials, to see that IL
high explosives are stored within til
limits of Jersey City since the Blac
Tom disaster caused such havoc.
All reports made to Mayor Hagu,
he said today, indicated clearly thu
e the force of the blast could only hay
}, been caused by explosive of gre;
d power.
t High explosives must have bee
q struggled into the warehouse, in viz
d lation of the law, or else plante
d there on purpose for the explosion
he said
Jarvis, in his statement pleadin
e for a firing squad, declared no e,
d plosives were stored in the buildin
s 1--WE had only approved stores
r the warehouse" Jarvis said. "Thel
5, were five explosions: doesn't see
g reasonable there were five bombs
d Shipment of shells through this yai
L.. 4o1 l.
ID tween the city and federal officials
a speed urgencies, giving rise to +
,e ports yesterday that cars of "r.
ID IT, shells had let go. While a tho
ough checking of the books was III
der way to learn whether explosiv
v of any kind had been smuggl,
lie through Jersey City and federal G
lie ficials we're strongly inclined to Il
10 time bomb theory of the origin of Il
st disaster.
m Vast quantities of governme
ar stores destined for the use of Anne
s. lean forces lie consumed or smoulde
I'd ing in the wrecked district tida
re Equally disastrous, in view of t
tie efforts to speed the war plans. is t
ed loss of the Erie machine shoI
S, While the railroad continues to bait
st government transport problems,
ly will do so hampered by the fact til
es it's nearest machine shops whe
S: equipment can be repaired, is at ST.
he Lquehanna, nearly $50 miles away
e. James r. Connolly, chairman of
nd committee on combustibles for il
I'D sey City, said that it was possiI
that the explosions resulted when f
=, preceded. it reached four carloads
Is chlorate of pitash While reports
wholesale arrests were current. fl
eral agents detained and question
many Jarvis employees regarding
ports that certain strangers had be
active about the district for da
buying drinks for the men.
Tax Slackers Will