The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1922-02-25
INTERNATIONAL NEWS srRyicEI

INTERNATIONAL NEWS sEFVicEl
CHICAGO. Feb. 25.-Chicago's knees
quit shaking and it's hair settled back
on its scalp today as it was learned
that the explosion that shook almost
the entire city and an area for fifty
miles around. extending over The Calu
met region in Indiana, Was not m out
break OF bomb throwers terrorism.
The explosion resulted when sever'ti
tons OF dynamite in the stone crushlns-
plant Of the Consumers company af
McCook southwest Of the city let 80
Although the blast was one OF the
most terrific ever felt in this section
so far as has been learned not one was
killed and only one man injured though
the property damage viii amount 10
hundreds of thousands of dollars
MAY HAVE BEEN PLANNED
Officials Of the Consumers company
declared that the explosion was acci-
dental stories told by others. how
ever. gave rise to the possibility that
the blast may have been touched of
Intentionally and a rigid investigation
was launched today.
Thousands of persons in McCooi1,
Argo, La Grange and other suburbs aud
thousands more in Chicago were terror
stricken by the explosion. Some feared
that an earthquake had taken plaee
others thought bombs were being hurl-
ed by the wholesale and many feared
that the "crack'o doom" had happened
1t was more than an hour after the
detonation was heard before even thu
police knew the cause of il and thou
sands did not learn until this morning
what had happened.
MUCH DAMAGE is DONE
A near-panic occurred in a motion
picture theater at Argo where the
crowd rushed the exits as bits Of plas
ter and broken glass began falling
Part of train on side track a I No
Cook was raised from the rails and q
switch tower was shattered By
"shrapnei" Street lights in Summit.
TWO miles away. were put out: farm
/ houses miles away were damaged by
falling debris; telephone and telegraph
| lines were crippled; railway tracks
were blocked by wreckage: trees were
stripped OF branches and banks of the
Chicago drainage canal we're damaged
in many places.
1t was announced today that thirty
tons of dynamite were stored IN the
] CURED. The buildings of the quarry
were blown to bits and rocks and tim
bers were scattered over n radius of
mile. Thousands OF windows were
smashed and hundreds of buildings in
Chicago and surrounding territory
rocked with the force Of the detonation.
DENY LABOR TROUBLES
F B. Dowd. foreman OF the quarry.
denied that labor troubles may have
been to blame for the explosion He
said there had been no strike at the
quarry. He asserted the explosion must
/ have been an accident.
Ludwig Buse. an employe OF the Corn
Products company at Argo. an adioiu-
ing suburb. told story. however. that
gave rise to the belief that the blast
was not accidental. Buse declared that
lie saw from the sixth floor OF the
building where he was employed, Il
streak OF fire moving slowly along the
ground After the fire had crept about
| sixty feet. he said the explosion took
place Although he was approximately
half mile away. Buse said. the blast
buried him fror~thc window and shat
tered thousands OF pains Of glass iu
the plant.
ONE MAN WAS HURT
The only man injured by thu explos-
ion, so far al has been learned, was
Alfred Kendall, a crane operator.
whose arm was broken.
Had the explosion taken place a few
moments earlier It undoubtedly would
have resulted in an appalling tragedy.
Ten minutes before the dynamite let
go the Missionary" one of the crack
passenger trains of the Santa Fe rail
road passed within 150 feet OF the
powder house.