Arizona republican., 1918-10-06
BIG MUN|TION EXPLOSION |S
 HUGE LOSS TO
 J. 5. WAR WORK
Government Ordnance Of-
 ficers Hasten to Frightful
 Scene, Investigate Great est Catastrophe Since War
tRepublIean A. p. Leased wIreJ

tRepuhllesn A. p. Leased Wlrel
 PERTH AMBoY, Oct. 5.-Maior General C. C, Williams, chief of ord nance of the United States army. ar rNeo here tonight to conduct a riqid investigation into the explosions and iire which demolished the shell load lna plant of T. A. Gillespie company at Morgan, with the probable loss of nay lives and injury to 150 more workers.
 General Williams was accompanied ey Captain Wilson, also of the ord nance department, and Lieutenant De Nutiliso. a French ordnance expert. Upon their arrival they went into con ference with the army officers al- ready here. General Williams de- elined Co make any statement until he had gone more deeply into the cir eumstauees surrounding the disaster. Late tonight the flames which have eeen sweeping the buildings of the Gillespie plant appeared under control and there seems no danger they will rNseh the trinltrotuloul stores remain ins untouched. There have been no serious explosions since early in the afternoon and no additional damage has been done since then. Army Of fieers declared that the danger is Vir- tually over and they hope tomorrow to eesin a systematic search of the ruins Yer the bodies.
 Soldier guards with fixed bayonets and with loaded rifles pstrolled the deserted streets with strict orders to prevent footing or disorder of any kind.
 Loss Approaches S20,000, 900
  rlosions which wrecked the great shell leading plant of the T. A. Gillespie company. at Morgan, estimated to- night that the dead would number not moro than fifty and the injured 150. Tho property loss probably will ap- rrosch between s15,O00,000 and s2O,- Neo. .o0o.
 Late today it was believed danger of greater devastation by the blowing ID of stores of trinitrotoluol was vir- fuailv over. All of that substance left rneNploded is buried in underground raisons along the bank of Cheeseouake rrcek. upon which the plant is located or is loaded on four barges tied up at the company docks along that stream.
 Army officers reported after a re- connaisance by air plane that the To- csfion of the boats and storehouses is such that they believed there wa, tight probability it would be exploded ffhcr by fire or concussion.
 With Inc passing of the menace ot Hn explosion around the plant, tho rroblem or caring for the homeless nrcarno a serious one tonight
 South Amboy Devastated
 South Amboy. a town of about 10. roo population. four miles north O Morgan. was virtually wrecked by tho series of blasts. Scarcely a buildine remains hahitahle. Many were un roofed and tho walls of others blowr In while every pane of glass wa. broken More than 400 citizens de, cIded 70 spend the night there. how ever.
 J. ". Faust. assistant director O civilian relief of the Red Cross es fmated that more than 1000 persons had been made homeless by the hai 70 shells and the force of the explo sions. He believed betwen 10000 ant 5oooo more hal fled From their homes fearing disaster. and would not returl until an danger Is over. They presen almost as much Of a problem as thos vho are actually homeless.
 Officers and enlisted men had riske, their lives for hours trying to deter -'ine whether the stores of explosive in the warehouse or on the barge were in danger from the flames whic had swept through the hundreds O huildings Of the plant. which cover e.1oo acres, but they had failed
 The signal corps was asked to pro vide an airplane for observation pur poses and one arrived late in the af fernoon. manned by Major H. l.. Arm strong and Captain W. W. Watson The machine circles around the bi tracts surrounded with harbed wire f