The New York herald., 1922-07-07

being enacted deep down In the tube o
upon the open street public officials am
heads of the Interborough were throng
Ing to Lexington avenue and Fifty-nintl
street, the central relief and investiga
ticn point OF the accident. Mayor Hylal
was present.
George McAneny. chairman OF tn,
Transit Commission. went into tn,
smoke filled tube and stayed there up
ward OF an hour with Commissionel
Leroy G. Iiarkness and Robert Ridg
way. chief engineer. Joseph Martin
Acting Fire Chief. competently In com
inand or whole battalions of firemen
William j. Lahey. Deputy Police Com.
missioner, issuing orders 10 not less
than 1000 policemen IN the immediate
vicinity; Frank Iiedley, president of the
Interborough Rapid Transit Commission
there to set the why's and wherefores
Of an accident that might easily have
become an appalling disaster; DR.
Harry Archer Of the Fire Department,
establishing sidewalk hospitals aions
with Police Department surgeons. and
two medicos OF Bloomingdale's store,
Drs. Albert Bahr and Herbert Polack
Grover Whalen, Commissioners OF Plant
and Structures. taking orders from tho
Mayor to investigate tho accident. and
many others big and not so big.
Two Hours to Clear Scene.
1t took well on to two hours TO clear
the scene above and below, to get all the
half poisoned, half stranGled suffer
ers. well upon hundred OF them. either
into condition to go home under their
own power or in ambulances or police
ears. or else go TO hospital for further
observation. and for restoring service
TO much upset East Side subway
system.
Power was shut off for two hours, and
with the Lexington avenue surface
line closed for an hour or more. strain
was thrown upon the Third avenue ele-
waited. The usual activities Of con-
siderable district of the city were dis
organized and interrupted by the un-
precedented accident--for there had
never been one like it before.
There are, nine and ninety ways that
q short circuit can come about. ana
which of the number operated yester-
day is not knawn at this writing. The
fuse In the motor box OF the hfth car
blew out and Immediately the whole
savage power of the motivation of the
system burned into that little space. The
result was appalling on Il small scale.
and IL "A motorman had been In the box
he would never have known what killed
him>
All metal in the box, which stands
about four feet up from the floor ana
is about foot and half wide and
six inches deep, was fused into white
hot shapeless mass All hard rubber
was set afire. producing a curiously
heavy smoke. And through these va
pors ran a poisonous fume which af-
many people violently i'll. Whether the
use Of the chemical fire extinguisher had
anything to do with this poison gas
clara cteristic of the vapor that drifted
through the train and through the sub
way tube is a matter which has not
been settled.
Motorman Gets Warming.
within a minute or two after the
blowout. of which the train motorman.
Thomas Mclaughlin. away ahead. knew
nothing at the moment of its occurrence,
q guard ran forward and warned him
that something serious had happened
and that passengers were badly scared.
McI.aughlin brought the train to stop.
BY that time the first car was at sixty
first street and the rear at Fifty-ninth.
Mclaughlin walked way back
through the first car, he says. got q
notion of the trouble that was about
10 break and then quickly left the train.
Ie made his way TO power plug.
pulled II, killed the system dead and
then. running to the fifth car. the
car in special trouble. released Its shoe
from contact. Fastening to the motor
box of that car, where the terrible
splitting and kissing and sputtering had
given way to a bright and steady burn
ing flame, a flame that fed only on
solid rubber and hard metal. McLaugh-
lin snatched down a couple OF chemical
have their contents.
He says he stopped the fire. COM
pletely put 1t out, but there Is con-
troversy over this.
Capt. Thomas Rush OF Engine Com
pany 80, who suffered enough himself
from fumes to need hospital treatment.
told. Mayor Hylan that the chemical
did not work and that he himself put
out the fire with a bucket of water,
nothing more. He condemned the use of
chemical extinguishers in such confined
spaces as the subway. and insisted
that the gas fumes OF the extinguishers
had been the asphyxiating agent in
the aftermath of the accident. All of
this Is being investigated.
Policeman Quiets Passengers.
About the first figure that emerged
clearly out of the moil and turmoil
OF the train after the blowout was that
OF Policeman Fred Norman of Oak
street station. a good looking young
fellow with a sensible. cool head upon
his wide shoulders. He was In the
third car Off duty and not In uniform.
but when hell broke loose" as he
put II In the direct way. he stuck on
his shield. knowing It's psychological
value, and raised his voice. firm and
authoritative. 10 quiet the panic OBJ
viously starting
His brisk orders stopped the rush for
the doors and windows and he had the
passengers well under control when the
lights went out. all except q itful glim-
mer at,each end OF tho car That broke
the spAl Of order and all Norman's
authority faded. The passengers in that
as apparently In every other car rushed
the guards who were trying TO prevent
doors or windows being opened. There
were hst fights and wrestling and
recognizable humping of fists upon
flesh. Then came the crash OF window
glass and the leaping OF people to the
ground all along the length OF the stalled
train. The guards. OF type OF mind
which clings to orders even in emer-
gencies, had refused TO open the doors
because there is no express stop between
Forty-second street and Eighty-sixth
street. and the doors I'm their lexicon
must be closed between stations. Sew
cral or them were badly clawed and
bruised In their resistance OF the public
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