Cavalier County farmers press. (Langdon, N.D.) 1920-1921, 1920-09-23
EXPLOSION IN
WALL STREET
KILLS Thirty
Blast Near J. P. Morgan & Co.'s
Offices HurI Men, Women
Children to Pavements.
INVESTIGATING CAUSE
Federal and State Officials Cropping
for Clues to Cause of Disaster on
Threshold of U. S. S~ubtreasury
Reports Conflicting.

New Yorh-A mysterious explosion,
disastrous in its effect, occurred in
Wall st. killing at least a score Of per-
sons and injuring hundreds.
Office workers were just hurrying
into the street for their MONDAY meal
when a jet of black smoke and fame
rose from the center of the worlds
great street of finance.
Then came a blast. A moment later
scores of men, women and children
were lying b~Iood-covered on the pave
ments.
Two minutes later nearly all the ex-
changes had closed. Men had turned
from barter to an errand Of mercy.
While the police toiled for hours
seeking the dead and injured, trained
Investigators were trying in vain to
determine definitely whether the ex-
plosion had occurerd from a bomb
dropped in front of the offices of j.
P. Morgan & Co., or whether an auto
mobile dashing into a wagon loaded
with explosives had taken into toll.
Frank Francisco, n of the most
able Investigators of department of
justice. declared after arriving on the
scene that it was his opinion that not
g. bomb plot, but a collision had been
responsible for the blast which rock
Ell skyscrapers, tore the fronts from Of
lice buildings for blocks around and
scattered deadly missiles in all direc-
lions.
The United States subtreasury. i'm
mediately opposite the scene of the ex-
plosion, was placed under heavy police
guard to protect the millions OF dol
lars in gold, silver ana paper money
lndged in the granite structure.
Tie first efforts Of the police were
e rooted toward aiding the injured
and removing the dead.
U. S. Troops Rushed to City.
An emergency cal was sent to Gov
ernors' Island from which a heavy
f9tachment OF troops was sent to New
>0rk to guard the ~subtreasury and aid
lle police.
Heads Of the fire department on
reaching The scene directed their eff
forts toward ascertaining the cause
and location OF the explosion. The
latter was difficult because Of the
shattered appearance of the buildings
neal the Morgan Office, but the author
tiles were inclined to abandon their
theory that the explosion had occurred
either in the Morgan office itself or
the stock exchange. Consensus of op-
inion at 12:45 was that the blowup
occurred in the street.
One fire marshal expressed the OPP
inion that the explosion had been one
OF dynamite. Coupled with this theory
was the automobile which figures in
other versions Of the disaster. This
automobile was reported to have col.
lided with a truck loaded with dyna-
mite.
Many Working Girls in Offices Hurt.
Many OF the injured we're girls work.
ing in Office buildings. Hundreds OF
persons were thrown to the sidewalk
with the force of the explosion and
dozens Of trucks and automobiles were
pressed into the service to carry away
the wounded.
Little information wos obtainablt
from the Morgan office. j. P. Morgan
himself is now abroad.
Police reserves hastily assembled
found difficulty coping with the crOwt
of many thousands persons who triec
to press themselves into Wall st. tina
narrow canyon in which automobile
can hardly pass each other with ease
Telephone service was shut off from
many public booths in the vicinit,
and all banking offices were places
under extraordinary heavy guard
A wrecked automobile bearing tn
New Jersey license No. 24246 wa
found neal the Morgan building, an
the police tried to establish whethe
this was the machine which had figul
ed so prominently in versions of tn
disaster.
An hour after the explosion the pt
lice we're inclined to the theory tina
it had ben caused by a collision of
INT truck and an automobile on Wa
st, between the Morgan office and th
subtreasury building.
So far as could be learned, no prom
inent financiers or members Of til
Stock exchange were injured in til
explosion. Thomas w. Lamont an
Henry P. Daviso, members of til
firm, were in the Morgan offices at til
time, but were not hurt.
Woman and Child Slain.
Muskegon, Mich.-Dr. O.. w. Sed
-;oIr a prominept nhUsiniaD of Whit