Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-09-17
LEDGER WITNESS
TELLS Of BLAST
Member of Advertising Staff
Was Only 100 Yards From
Scene Of Explosion
JUST LIKE BATTLE FRONT

Harold O'Keete. Of the PUBLIC
LEDGER advertising staff. giCes the
follocin1 account Of the Wal treet
erploSion. reprinted from todoys
PUBLIC LEDGER.
New York, Sept. 1T.-With Howard
Miller. had just walked out OF EH-
change place. going west. We were
standing in the center of Broad street,
opposite the brokerage and banking Office
OF Henry Clcws & Co.. when the ex.
plosion came. We were within 100
Yards Of the entrance to the offices OF
J. p. Morgan & Co. 1t was exactly
- :03 n. M. and the streets were filed
with clerks. men and women. going to
their lunch.
The force Of the explosion was ter
rife. 1t reminded me of an ammunition
dump blowing up. or a German &c. ].
ashcan" dropping in the American
trenches overseas. For moment j
thought I was back at the west front.
The conclusion caused me to lunge for =
ward, and before could recover my
balance both Miller and ! were under
a terrific shower of falling glass.
Bedlam OF Screams
Then came the panic II was dread
full Women tainted. Boys. their faces
streaming with blood from cuts by flying
glass, rushed down Broad street in the
direction OF the Curb market. Many
Of the girls in the street were scream L.
ing from fear. Scores tainted and had
to be revived.
With the arrival OF the ambulances,
the excitement only increased. The
mad rush of thousands turned into a
stampede. Every building was pouring
out frightened people. Some of those
had been injured by glass before they
left their desks. Taxicabs we're com
mandeered for the wounded, but they
were unable to move through the
crowds. l saw dozens and dozens OF
men running with their hands to their
heads and staggering as they went
along.
The air was saturated with smoke
and dust. There has been only a single
explosion. but everyone expected more
explosions. Fear was written on every
face.
There were cries 1T is the Reds. +"
and 'the Bolshevists did it, and "Wall
street is filed with time bombs"
From the steps in front of the Wall
street Journal. watched the jam
front of the Consolidated Stock Ex-
change. 1t was impossible to quiet the
crowd. and the more one shouted for
the scared people to be calm, the more
excited they became.
That wild condition lasted for half
an hour, until the arrival Of the police
reserves who formed line across Broad
street at each end. holding the crowds
back in South Broad street. Another
line of blue coats was established Mt
Broadway and Wall street, third in
Nassau street, at Pine street, and still
another at Wall and Williams streets.
On the arrival Of the regular army
soldiers from Governors Island about
forty FIVE minutes after the explosion
took place, the entire financial district
was blocked of. With fixed bayOnets
the troops shared with the police the
restoration Of order. The soldiers went
about their work In q military manner,
and, as former officer In the Amer
lean expeditionary force. was ex.
ceedingly proud of their performance.
The escape of Miss f. =. Palmer,
who lives at 600 West 13ath street.
was nothing short or a miracle. She
was standing just below the Washing.
ton statue, in front OF the subtreasury.
less than 200 feet from where the ex :
plosion took place. Persons were killed
all around her. All that she remem q.
bers is that she tainted. and was
carried away without suffering a
scratch.
Any one who was in that crowd
caught between the tall buildings will
never forget the scene. So much has
been written and said about the Reds
II was next to impossible to make
persons in the crowd accent the theory
that a load Of dynamite had exploded
One lesson Of the explosion is that fire
drills should be established in the
financial area, so that should a similar
disaster occur, there will not be an
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