Republican farmer., 1918-10-11

Parties of exhausted men have been struggling into the Jersey vil- lages all night with appeals for cots for burned and mutilated employees and flremen at Morgan.
 Out of all the confusion came stor- ies of heroism and disregard of dan ger. A trainload of explosives lay on 8 siding near the Gillespie plant. A railroad fireman, his identity not yet known, jumped to the engineers post on a locomotive, backed the engine and coupled 1t to the train and took the cars out of the danger zone. As his task was completed shell struck him and he was killed. In contrast with the thousands of townspeople who fled, the wives and other relatives of employees hurried into the vicinity of the Gillespie plant and became frantic upon learning that hundreds might have been killed. Throughout the night these persons refused to leave the scene and were kept away from the fire swept ruins only by the military guards.
 Of the companys 2,000 night shift employed, only 101 had been definite ly accounted for. The first detona- tions shook Morgan and surrounding territory as far as New York city, where the shock rocked houses and shattered windows in the business districts.
 Whether the 1 300 unaccounted for were dead or merely had fled, it was impossible to determine. Bremen were fighting the flames, and scattered shells were exploding, and all ener- gies were devoted to averting a worse disaster. Thousands of people had hurried away from Morgan and sur rounding towns during the night leaving many communities today vir- tually without populations, and 1t was considered probable that with these went many of the Gillespie employes as yet unaccounted for.
 Another terrific explosion of a T. A T. magazine occurred at 10:O9 a. m Buildings rocked in Perth Amboy.
 Military guards were throwr around the plant.
 The injured are being cared fol in public buildings and at private homes, scores who were more serious ly hurt were taken to hospitals a Elizabeth, Railway and other towns
 While big explosions were occurring Vice President Yates, of the Gillespi, Co.,, gave out the following state ment:
 We cannot conceive how it cal last much longer. The large maga zines of T. N. T. are buried in a hanl of the Cheesequake creek and we fee are safe"
 There were explosions followed b! fire, which lasted all night, and des troyed a number of the buildings O. the great shell-loading plant of A. A Gillespie & Co.,, at Morgan, near here with the loss of lives of workmen Variously estimated at from 25 to 100 continued at frequent intervals dur ing the early morning hours, culmi mating at 4 a. m. with a terrific blast which blew one of the few remaininj magazines to dust. Large quantitie of trininitroluol-T. N. Tone of tn most powerful explosives known, hal been stored in this magazine. Tn force of the explosion rocked the sur rounding country like an earthquake wrecked light buildings, shattere thousands of window panes and caus cd panic among residents in a SCOT nf towns.
 South Amboy, five miles away. fel Ghe greatest force of the explosio and the military guard there ordere everyone to leave the town as a pre- caution. The residents, most c whom had been in terror throughou the night, did not need formal ure ing, and the roads to Perth Ambo and other towns were packed wit people. all hurrying to escape tn danger zone. Earlier in the evenin powerful shells of various calibre destined for use of the Allied armie had been hurtling through the towl Various units of the New Jersey Stat Guard were called upon to protect tn homes of people who had fled.
 Until dawn today firemen, guard! men and rescue parties were unab to approach the ruins of the plant an search for bodies of the victims o account of the ever-present danger ( exploding shells and ammunition.
 It was said that more than 200 men composed the night shift. Est mates of the loss of life ranged fro 25 to 100 and upwards
 Nine bodies were recovered ar sent to the morgue at South Ambo