Perth Amboy evening news., 1918-11-22
TESTIFIES THAT OvERHElTED
KETTLE CAUSED EXPLOSION
tcontinued from pcge ID

shovels to TAKE up piles OF amatol.
The inspector told Of several gauges
registering ten pounds. when the reg
ulations called for five pounds. One
gauge was over the ten mark for 20
minutes. Tho foreman OF the unit
told the Inspector to go to helli"
He said that a colored laborer show
cling the solidifed amatol with a
metal shovel had been told by another
Negro that he had been using the
metal shovel for months and nothing
had happened
Eternal vigilance was the watch
word 1t the school, the witness said,
"and being scared when the gauges
registered higher thai the maximum
allowed, I kept telling the men to keep
them down for my good and for their
own.
On September Q Mullen reported to
: his superior about hazardous operation
in unit 6-1-1. He reported by letter
that violations existed-irst on the
wire brushes and putty knives being
used: second. doors connecting top
ping and paint reom are always open;
third, hat base plates were denied
and not correct.
Another inspector. Frederick N.
Webster, substantiated Mullens's state
ments in the letter.
A reply from Major r. A. Smith
stated that the conditions had been
noted before and that manufacturing
conditions would not allow of them
being remedied at hat time.
While he noted that eight out of
ten gauges in Gill unit were not
working. he did not report 1t. as they
were not In his department.
Two government inspectors, n of
whom was later killed in the explo-
sion at 6-1-1, the witness said. had
reported to the man In charge of o
kettle there. that the INT was too
hot and begged him to lower the tenn
perature. This was In the last week
In August.
The day of the explosion. ullen
said, he had observed a workman
hammering guages over the r%olttine
band on a shell, with a wooden mallet.
Senator Frelinghuysen said he was
anxious only for facts n not for
prosecution and that the committee
desired to get information on both
sides as to the defective guages. He
called on Walter S. Finken. of the
Baker-Smith Company. who installed
the steam plumbing ines at the plant.
Mr.. Efnken was general superinten-
dent of the Baker-Smith work at Nor
gan. He explained the / and make
of the guages used on the kettles n
the method of installation. The
guages were not tested before being
Installed and but two were tested af-
to b. accurate.
D to the time OF leaving the plant
the witness claimed that he had never
found any defective guages.
A diagram was produced, showing
the system of installation used on the
kettles at the plant, and a water sail,
safety device, which was supposed to
operate when the steam pressure ex-
ceeded ten pounds.
The Government Inspectors Duties
The function of a government in
spector at a shell loading plant had
been O vague element until the array
of inspectors, headed by Captain Ely,
produced their testimony yesterday.
II was shown that all applicants for
inspector positions were given a COM
~prehensive course of study ranging
over a period of n month before
assignment to duty.
Captain Ely declared such an insti-
tuition was deemed an imperative
necessity II the government was to
secure munitions that would function
properly on the other side.
Up to the time of the explosion the
school had trained about 210 stu
dents. He told of first learning OF
the company's objection to the pres
ence of inspectors while at luncheon
one day with an operating superin-
tendent named Meyer at the plant.
That Official, said the captain, thought
the presence OF inspectors, whom he
referred to as Captain -IGly's stu
Dents was unnecessary.
Captain Ely told of daily reflections
In quantity of shells and 0 these
reflections were upheld by Ordnance
pany protested.
Answering a question put to him by
Senator Frelinghuysen at this point.
Captain Ely held that many of the
operating methods employed at the
plant were highly improper. He drew
his conclusion from a knowledge OF
the government contract.
Some OF the safety regulations, the
captain maintained, were totally dis
regarded. He said there was a free
use of steel against steel, this In d.
rect violation of a standard safeguard
against the possibility of an igniting
spark The adjustment of boosters
had been ineficiently attended to.
Observe Carelessness
In the course of his visits to the
different units the captain declared
he had observed a great deal of care
~ EAot hC hau oSCh
of TINT lying around on the floor. The
captain told of warning both Mr..
Meyer and Mr.. Smith hat IL operat-
ing conditions and precautions were
not improved the plant would proba-
bly, be sent to atoms some day. He
said he had also notified Washington
of his observations.
The witness had noticed particular
carelessness In Units 6-3. IL and 90.
He told of visiting one building where
he saw Italians dipping INT from
the nose of the shells onto the floor.
He called a halt. Boxes were ordered
brought and the powder was dumped
In these instead,
Senator Frelinghuysen asked if the
Gillespie company had eve shown
any open antagonism. He replied In
the affirmative, adding that Mr.. Mey-
err had expressed the hope that the
school would go to the 'damnation
bow-wows."
A thrill ran through the crowded
council chamber as the captain, rails
ing tie pitch of his voice, told of his
prophecy that "the plant would some
day go up In an explosion that the
country would never forget"
He repeated this opinion, he said.
at a dinner of a class of his school
students in the DeLuca restaurant at
Morgan some time prior to III ex-
plosion. The tension created by the
sensational flow of testimony relaxed
Tor just q minute, as the captain re-