New-York tribune., 1918-03-27

NoFCI l4IS C"O SALy E1ONNo, DCNWCSll
Twelfth, Thirteenth and Provost
streets, Jersey City.
rection of troops drawn from Hoboken
and transported in Communicated
trucks all Of these supplies except
those contained in four cars were
hauled out Of danger. Hundreds Of
thousands Of dollars worth OF iupri-
eating oil. gasolene. tobacco. barbed
wire for use at the front, leather and
cotton goods We're destroyed and. with
the walls of the collapsed storehouso,
formed huge bonfire more than GOO
square feet at its base
Woman Carried to Safety
Narrow escapes from the Jarvis
plant were recorded by Louis Rogers,
James Brown and Edward Rogers
Louis Rogers was on the sixth, or top,
floor Of the building when the first ex-
ploslon occurred. With two compan-
ions he entered the elevator and started
for the ground floor As they reached
the second floor another explosion
rocked the building and they wore cata-
pulled through the wire gats Of the ele-
vator into the corridor of the building.
From there they CROPPED their way to a
window and dropped to the ground, cs-
Gaping with bruises and scratches. Ed
ward Rogers and Brown said they We're
blown out somehow from the second
floor
Miss Edna Clark, stenographer, was
carried through a window after the
first explosion had wrecked the stair
way
Within less than an hour after the
first explosion had sent a column OF
{s-nitiS r,rr birrt
over Manhattan Island men in the navy
and army intelligence service were at
the scene questioning the employees OF
the Jarvis warehouse and suspects
rounded up by the Jersey City police
and railroad detectives.
Agent Lanlel McCahill. Of the Navy
Intelligence Bureau. and agent Thomas
CavaMaugh. of cua Army Intelligence
Bureau. directed the investigation from
the headquarters of Fire Engine Com
pany No 6. in Henderson Street,
block from tho Jarvis warehouse fire
They were aided by Inspector Tunney,
chief Of the bomb squad OF the New
York Police Department.
One Of the first to be questioned
WAS R. NJ. Jarvis. president of the
warehouse company. Mr. Jarvis was
excited. because he feared hs twelve
year-old son Robert had been trapped
i'm the burning building. The lad had
been playing there. Word was brought
that the boy had been freghtened by
the first explosion, dashed out on to
the railroad tracks and clear across
Jersey City to the home Of friend.
When Mr. Jarvis learned this he
gained control of himself and aided in
the invest tigation.
Virtually every employe of the con-
Germ was brought to the fire engine
/ house. There were lrishmen. Poles and
negroes in the fifty odd men who were
gathered MP. Mr.. Jarvis said he was
positive there wasn't a German on his
payroll As the men arrived in the
custody of police and detectives their
names were checked from d list sup
piled by Mr.. Jarvis
There were one or two white collared
clerks in the collection, but for the
most part the men were clad in work
/ clothes and carried the warehouse en-
plove's sceptre-a bale hook.
'Now then, men," began Mr.. Nc
Cahill, eve are here for Uncle Sam.
You want to help just as much as we
do Your Jobs are going up in smoke
over yonder. But that isn't the worst
OF it; many of you look as if you had
boys in the army. This fire is a blow
at them. If any of you know anything
about this fire, if you saw anybody
around the building who had no bust
ness there, come through. Tell US all
you know"
The workmen assented in chorus, but
none wa able to volunteer any infor-
nation of consequence. A sailor
stenographer then prepared to take the
statements OF the workmen
Most of the men said their first
warning was rumbling explosion that
knocked them off their feet AS they
fled from the building into the rail
road yards flames were licking greedily
at the barrels and bales that reached
from cellar to roof,
Daniel Sheridan, foreman in &C"
shed, small corrugated iron build
Ing, built flush against the main brick
building, said the fire started in the
shed He said he saw the flames leap
ing from the shed and had started to
give the alarm before the first explo-
sion occurred. He was blown from his
feet and dazed. Sheridan said there
were a number of barrels of chloride
it contained nothing else of an explo-
sve character.
A negro, Arthur Gillespie, who was
working in the shed had only very
confused idea of what occurred. He
said he felt and heard an explosion
before he saw any flame. He paid
but little attention, he said, because
he thought it was simply an automatic
machine hammer in the Erie car re-
pair shops across the street Then
there was tremendous explosion and
Arthur fled.
Different workmen contributed items
of information about the material
stored in the warehouse and towards
the end of the afternoon the intell-
rence bureau men knew that besides
chloride of potash the main building
contained chloride of lime, -four, malt,
tobacco, steel ship plates for the
Italian government, acids and various
other chemicals. Mr.. Jarvis insisted
there were no explosives in the build
ing or near it.
Director of Public Service Charles
i. x. O'Erien said there was some gas