Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-01-02
Phil ADELPHIA AND
CHESTER WERE SHAKEN
Large Plate Glass Window at Plaza
Cafe. 728 Market Street,
Smashed.
NEARBY SETTLEMENTS
THROWN IN PANIC
Company Had Much Difficulty IN
Identifying the Victims
of the Explosion.


Wilmington and the surrounding coun-
try for radius of 50 miles was violently
shaken at SIS o clock this morning by
an explosion at the Hagley yard Of the
du Pont Powder Co.
Five men We're killed and several hurt.
The killed are.
Tumm Pinder rs years old, of 1913
Houston street, Henry Clay.
Calvin Swartwood IS, SSl lNlrkwood
street, Wilmington.
Antonio GrangIIllo 81, 1881 West
Sixth street, Wilmington
Giovanni Martini, 40. Squirrel Run.
Thomas Ansclm 10. Squirrel Run.
While some were injured, it was stated
at noon that none had hcon badly enough
hurt to be sent to a hospital
With the exception of one man. who
evidently WAS burned 10 death, tho VIC
TINS were blown TO pieces. This caused
difficulty IN the compauy's efforts to as
scmble the bodies ard identify them
According 70 the best information avail
able. all Of tho victims were caught At
their work without any chance for es-
cape.
Grangrlo. Martini and Ansclmi were
known as "WhCrImcn. being employed IN
4 press house Swartwood was N charge
Of 8 corning mill.
All but one OF the victims is survived hy
wife and family, the exception being
Pinder, who was widowcr, but who IS
reported TO be the sole support Of two
children.
Swartwood had wife snd ono child:
Granguillo hid a wife and two children;
Martini had a vie and four children and
Anselmi a wife and three children.
Lindsey Whiteman was cut on the
head by flying glass. His injuries arc not
serious and they were dressed at the first
aid station at Haglev.
Whiteman Is a son Of the late George
c. Whteman, 4 Wilmington man who
was killed In an explosion at Haglcy
few years ago. The latter was N charge
OF one OF the mills
The property damage and loss Of
powder. II IS believed. will be quite heavy
Il is thought that each Of the Fl We houses
DESTROYED contained from ten 10 fifteen
Thousand pounds oi powder
The explosion wrecked a corning mill
and badly damaged other buildings IN
the plant.
In addition to the corning mil, small
press mill and three wheel mills were in
volved IN tho explosion.
The cause oi the explosion bas not been
definitely determined
The force Of the explosion was greater
than any that have occurred since that Of
November 30, 1918 when the packing
mill at Iiaciey was wrecked and so per
sons were killed
The village 6s Henry Clev was the
scene OF considerable wTcckage. due 10
the shock Several houses were almost
shaken apart. windows were broken doors
shaken OF their hinges and chlnaWarc WIS
broken also.
In Wilmington there was also some
damage 4 large plate glass window at
72S Market street, rcc,uth vacated bN
the Plaza cafe. 70 be occupied temporarily
by tho Wilmington savings Fund 80
cIety, Was smashed bv the concusslOn. the
elass beng practically ptllverlzed. One
result of this was q create pane II the,
vicinity. particularly in The stores nearby
where occupants rushed cut into the
street. not knowing just what had hap
pcned or what was coming next.
The shock was felt all over town
Residents OF Union Park Gardens, many
Of whom are neWcomers IN Wilmington
and had never Reard q powdermIIl tx
plosion before, were almost paralvzed
when Their doors, windows, tables, chairs
and glassware began TO rattle and con
tinued to rattle for several seconds. In
other parts of town there was the same
CONSERVATION.
Older residents Of Wilmington knew
instantly what had happened and at
once looked up The BrandywIne for the
expected puff of white smoke Ia the sky.
which soon made its appearance and grad
ualy rolled east and was finally disslpated.
CHESTER AND PHILADELPHIA SHAKEN
Persons in Chester and Philadelphia,
Pa, particularly Ia West Philadelphia,
seem 10 have felt the force of the explosion
more than the people In Wilmington
proper. One man living IN West Phliadel-
phla sand he was IN the bathroom at his
home at the tune, and the manner IN
which the door and window rattled and
articles tunbied from shelves. frightened
him so that he ran out INTO the street to
ascertain what had happened Others in
the same neighbOTho0d had similar ex-
periences. ana the belief was general
there that there had been q violent ex-
plosIon ~ that part ol PhlladelphIa
Hurried investigation developed nothing
n the way Of an explanation, which was
also true OF inquiry made oi the PhMadel-
phla authorities These inquiries, however,
alarmed Philadelphia, which appeared TO
Jump at the conclusion that " llrnlngton
Was responsible and from that tune on
Wilmington was flooded with inquiries
Chester bad the same experience In
that city, according to information re-
eeived by Every Evening, windows in
some Of the houses were broken and there I
was such q rafting Of doors and windows
that many of the residents thought the
explosion had occurred there, and they
had visions Of the Eddyst0ne holocaust
As was the case in Philadelphia, an official
investigation was at once begun and VII