Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-10-04
Morgan Explosion One Year
From Today Brings Memories

marked that 1t looked like trouble in
Morgan. It looked like trouble and 1t
was trouble for the seven o'clock ex-
plosion was the Fort Sumpter shot OF
the great Morgan Explosion that put
Perth Amboy in. head lines on the
great metropolitan dailies.
Morgan Is going upl" The news
spread like wildfre throughout the
city but was cast asunder as exagger-
ated or untrue by the populace at
large. Many of those who a dear
ones working in the Morgan plants
kept the wires burning trying to get
In communication.
The EVENING NEWS got out an
extra about~midnight this stated that
one of the plants units ell had
gone up with $4,000 pounds of 7. n. L.
This unit contained thousands of
boosters and the-near vicinity Of Nor
gan looked like parts of Belgium DOL
lowing the German advance. Men,
women and children fled in terror In
the direction of this city. Local peo-
pie furnished machines and rushed in
ed.
Perth Amboy as a whole though
did not realize just what the explo-
sion meant following this first flare
up. Rumors were floating through
the air though hat the worst was
yet to come" In most cases these u
mors were silenced by "old croakers."
Those refugees who had fed. many
of them scantily clad to Perth Am
boy were housed in homes of relatives
or good hearted strangers and the
city settled down for a restful CD
night.
Nearing the hour of two the great
explosion started. The explosion
hat can be likened only to the bat
tie fields of Europe. Those who lived
or wandered down to the waterfront
could see the explosives fly up into the
air pause and break with an ear
splitting noise causing windows 10
crash all about and the force throw
Ing many off their feet.
The Home Defense at this time
comes in for its share Of honor. 1t
patrolled the street. it ordered win
dows to be left open, 80 h draft
would cause less damage from the
force of the explosion and 1t ordered
| people out of their homes.
The danger became greater as the
| night wore on. The night was cold
| and many people wrought up to that
| v pitch thai Is on the verge or
shell shock were in a ripe condition
for the spreading of the germ which
was covering the country at that time
Spanish Influenza"
WITH The fud IAC ol6hh VI 49,
| was witnessed by many of the walk
ers for the first time. a short "cessa-
tion Of hostilities" vas called and
! many slipped into their homes in or
| der to boil some water for hot cofee
] flying out with the first call from the
| streets of alarm that another shell
was going Up. =.
Saturday morning Alexander M
| Wilson. director of the Civilian Re-
| lief of the Atlantic Division of the
Red Cross directed his assistant, j. w.
Faust, to proceed at once to the place
| Of disaster and to report upon the
| need of Red Cross assistance.
The work done here by the Red
| Cross will never be forgotten by the
people of this city and the vicinity
What the boys say the Salvation Army
was to them overseas so the Reo Cross
was to the refugees following the
great explosion. The explosion had
made d~esolation but combined with
that were hundreds of foreign speak
/ ing people struck down by sickness
Emergency canteens were opened d.
By 10 O'Clock the evening after the
explosion it was found that practically
all the people had been fed and Were
housed for the night. This was me
gigantic task accomplished by the Red
Gross. The auditorium of the local
| ECllOO1 oo NV
idormitory with an isolation ward fol
those who had come down with the
flu and were pot able to be trans
ported to the hospital. The Y. M. @
A. was also housing them.
Sunday the main problem was the
feeding and sheltering of the refugees.
BY thi time guards from Camp
lRaritan had been ordered In h city
They pitched their tents on the high
school lawn. The city was under
military regulations and all the
saloons, soda fountains and the like
were closed.
In assembling the people for food
and shelter, in bringing the people
away from the exploding plants the
work of the motor corps is beyond
the praise of words. The work was
accomplished by the Women's League
Motor Corps, the Red Cross Motor
Corps and the Motor Corps OF
America.
The emergency relief headquarters
were established in this city because
it had the conveniences and necessi-
ties for work and was the closest to
the explosive area hat one could
reach even with n appearance of
safety.
The local public library was con-
verted into a hostess house. 1t was
here that the Red Cross motor corps,
canteen and social workers rested for
a few hours during the day.
Across the street in the Grace Eng
lish Lutheran church the Motor Corps
had their headquarters and the fol-
lowing week after the explosion the
local motor corp vas in charge.
Army and Navy Club and at the local
Y. NJ. C. A. and high school. Red Cross
headquarters were established in the
Board of Trade Building. The Red
! Cross Corps, the Women's League OF
America and private machines were
continually on duty taking patients
| to and from the emergency hospitals
| established in st. Peters Parish Hous,
1.-The Elks Building and out to the City
Hospital.