Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1920-09-17
Explosion, \
Damage Is
$1,000,000
Estimate 200 Injured in Blast
In Financial District as Of.
flee Workers We're on
Way to Lunch.
Witnesses Disagres

Chicago Tribune Omaha Bee Leased WirAs
New York, Sept l6.-A mysteri-
GUS explosion in Wall street, nea1
the corner of Broad, the financing
I lhcarr of New. York, at noon today
killed Is or more people, l8 of whoiK
have been identified: injured proba-
bly, 200, partly wfeoked the ]. P.
Morgan & Co. banking house, the
sub-treasury and the assay office,
and caused property damage esti-
mated at Sl,0O0,000.
Experts are in controversy over
the cause of the explosion. Police
investigators are of the opinion that
the damage was done by an internal
machine in a closed truck drawn BY
one horse, which was abandoned al
the curb in frort of the assay office
shortly before II o'clock, and that
{; timing apparatus set off guam
titv of high explosive at the stroke
of noon. The horse was blown to
pieces, but no trace had been found
OF the body of the driver.
DR.. Wood of the Broad street sta
| ton gave statement to newspaper
men. in which he said one of the
injured man with both legs
burned, told him he saw a powder
wagon bearing red flag collide
with an automobile near the curb,
outside the Morgan building, just
before the blast.
Witnesses Disagree.
Department of Justice experts are
Of the opinion that no manufactured
lsingle bomb could cause the DAM
age which, was done.
They adhere to the theory that
truck loaded with explosives blew
up as it was passing through Wall
street, and was midway between the
Morgan banking house and the as
say office. The explosion, they be-
lieve, was the direct result of col
Vision between the explosives truck
and an automobile.
Witnesses have been found who
claim to have seen trunk marked
Explosives" near the scene of the
explosion shortly before noon. There
are also witnesses who claim to
have seen a flash in an automobile
standing at the, curb near the Nor
gan bank. which flash, was inr1e-
diately followed by the explosion.
Morgan Employe Killed.
One man, William Joyce, a clerk,
was, killed in the banking house OF
J. P. Morgan & Co. J.P. Morgan
is in Europe. His son, Junius Nor.
gan, the only member of the firm
who was on the ground floor of tho
building, was showered with broker
glass, but claims to have escaped in.
jury. Other members of the firm
were in consultation in a room or
the second floor, which is on the
Broad street side of the building,
remote from the scene of the ex-
plosion.
The theory that the explosion was
caused by a bomb in an automo-
bile. which was either moving slow
ly eastward or standing at the curb
in front of the Morgan bank. is
bulwarked by the testimony of at
least two witnesses who claim to
have seen the flash in the car.
Figuring prominently in the acci-
dent--or in the reports of the al
legged e-witnesses-is an automo-
bile owned by D. S. Beldon, who
owns drug store in Newark. The
car was demolished and the chauf-
feur, Jerome M. Mexican. was blown
to pieces. Beldon was in an 'office
at No. 81 Wall street at the time Of
the explosion and said he left his
car at the curb few minutes before
and there were no explosives in it.
Plan $4,000 Reward.
Mayor Hylan, after visit to the
scene of the explosion, said at the
city hall that he will ask the board
of estimate tomorrow to offer a
reward of $4,000 for information
which may lead toN discovery of .
plot-if there was a plot. The city
officials are of the opinion that an
explosion at noon in the street be.
tween the Morgan office and the
subtreasury is subject worthy of
careful investigation.
Practically all the explosives used
IN building operations in New York
are furnished by the E. /. Du Pont
Continued on Page Two, Column One.S