Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-03-27
Unable to Stamp Out Blaze.

| Altman. according to Tunney, tried
| vainly to stamp out the blaze which
was thus started and when 1t got be-
yond his control he yelled out warn
| ing and fed from the building.
The man says he is American born,
| according to Tunney. with a German
| father and a French mother. He was
turned over to the Jersey City police
warehouse was prohibited.
| The explosions rocked the surround
ing country for miles, and the resulting
| blaze sent sparks across the river, set
ting fire to ferry house in Manhattan
| In Jersey City panic conditions pre-
walled for a time, while thousands Of
persons swarmed into the streets of
lower NeY York or on the roofs of Of
clouds of black smoke that hung over
Jersey City and the Hudson river
Mayor Suspects Hun Agents.
E. J. Jarvis. secretary and treasurer
Of the storage company, said he could
not explain the explosions Mayor
that his Investigation had convinced
him that the explosions were caused by
German agents, who sought to destroy
the government stores in the ware
houses. Police officials said that SO far
nothing had been learned to support
Mayor Hague's theory. Soon after the
explosion. Army and intelligence Off
GERS took twelve men into custody and
questioned them closely as to rumors
that strangers had been seen in the
storage plant.
Absence Of Fatalities Surprising.
Officials today expressed surprise that
no one had been killed. Several hun
dred persons were employed in the
warehouse and repair shops. Among the
| workers in the Erie machine shops
| were ten women of foreign birth, clad
in overalls, who operated drill presses.
Twenty locomotives were either de-
stroyed or damaged, while a large mum.
Der Of freight cars. loaded with mer-
chandise, were burned.
Over an area of half a mile in diam
eter around the storage plant the
streets were covered with broken win
dow glass.
Shakes Windows in Manhattan.
The first of the terrific detonations,
| which occurred shortly after 8 o'clock,
shook windows in downtown Manhat-
tan and caused considerable alarm.
Visions of another Black Tom disaster
or bombardment by the Germans were
in many minds. Burning cinders. which
arose in the heavy cloud of black
smoke, were carried by the wind across
the North river and fell along the wa
ter front
While the excitement was at its
height the Erie ferry house, . three.
story structure on West street between
piers - and 20 on the New York side Of
A lighter close by, loaded with several
hundred bales Of cotton, also was bias-
ing fercely. and still further south the
Hoboken ferry slip Of the Lackawanna
house was ahame from the second
story to the roof. These fires were
easily extinguished by the New York
f1remen.
| Ecnniovo6 In ~. ro
were between forty and fifty men, but
the prompt sounding Of the alarm is be-
neved to have enabled all to escape.
scores OF persons in the streets were
cur py falling glass. Hundreds Of store
and tenement windows, some Of them
mile away, were blown out bv the
iorce OF the blasts. Several small frame
oulIoinEs near the warehouse were
Flames Spread Rapidly.
The fire spread from the warehouse
win such rapidity that the Jersey CITY
nghters soon called for outside aid
Englhes and other apparatus were sent
ION Hoooken' New York and other
podnts stiff wind was blowing from
the north and for a time 1t looked as
II the entire Erie water front prom
erty would be destroyed. BY desperate
enofss' however, the flremen confined
Two acres. bounded by Provost, 12th,
18th and Barnum streets. Ten employees
OF the Jarvis Company suffering burns
and cuts were taken to st. Trancis
Hospital in Hoboken,
More than zoo employees, a number OF
them women. were at work in the Erie
shops All had time to escape before
the flames reached the buildings. Ac-
Icording to IRE department officials not
only were the shops badly damaged
put ten or twelve locomotives were de-
lstroyeo. IN addition a dozen loaded
iefge pile OF coal ALSO was ignited.
mmsdfatefy after the explosion a
large force OF soldiers from Hoboken
ana . company of coast guards from
and they aided in fighting the fIre and
InoldlnE back the immense crowd which