Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1924-03-06
Seek to Determine Amount of
TINT in Raw Material
Sold Plant
EXPERT WILL MAKE TESTS
Labor Commissioner Mcbride
Wants Change in Existing
Laws on Explosives

An inspection of the ruins Of the
Ammonite Company's plant at Nixon
was made this morning by repre-
sentatives of the State Department.
of Labor, the prosecutors Office. OIL
cials and attorneys of the Am monte
Company and the Nixon Nitrafion
Company in an effort to learn the
cause of the explosion which killed
eighteen persons Saturday morning.
injured many and wrought a great
amount of destruction.
The cause of the explosion remains
a mystery as a survey of the plant
would indicate that it occurred IN
the place where barrels of the f7n-
ished material ammonite used for
fertilizer and said to be non-ez-
plosiv,e were stored. The only pos
sibIe explanation of tire explosion
advanced by members of the Inxek-
tigating party this morning Y
some foreign substzhrse ~ z1<
manned in the ammonium II ~ <f1.<1
and this was detonated in some un-
known way. Although those max :
ing the investigation Were told b
r. Norris Shreve, the president Of
the Ammonite Company. that ann
monium nitrate had never been con
sidered an explosive, and had never
been known to explode, the havoc
wrought by the stored finished pro-
duct seemed to contradict this un-
explosive theory in the minds o.
the Investigators
Assistant Prosecutor John E
Toolan gave orders to the guards on
duty at the wrecked Ilant to pre-
vent the removal OF any Of the parts
of the machinery which is strewr
about the ground for hundreds Of
feet. Blueprints showing the parts
of the various machines in operation
in the plant are being secured from
the manufacture in order to learn
their original location. photographs
showing the interior of the plant be-
fore the explosion have ben pro-
duced and an effort will be made
! by comparing the location of the
broken pieces to determine the exact
spot in which the explosion oe-
CURED.
The fact that the explosion appar4
emily occurred at a spot where only
the so-called 'unexploslve. ammp-
/ mum nitrate was stored has led As
sistant Prosecutor Toolan to declare
4 that either some foreign material.
! which is explosive. was contained IN
the finish product or that experts
in the properties and actions of an1-
monium nitrate have much to learn
If they hold it to be non explosive.
The inspection party this morning
included the following. State Con-
/ missioner of Labor Andrew E. Me-
Bride. Deputy Commissioners OF
Labor Charles H. Weeks and John
Roach, the latter the head OF the
departments bureau of explosives:
District Inspector Fred Rearwiu Of
the Department of Labor: DR.. Mar
tin Szamaltowski, the departm ent. :
expert on explosives; Assistant Pros
ecutor Toolan; Chief County Detec-
| tive Ferd A. David; President Shreye
Night Superintendent Charles Blood
and Attorneys ]. n. Thayer Martin
| and Thomas Brogan. representing
the Ammonite Company; Vice Presi-
dent Stanhope Nixon and Russell +
Watson. attorney of the Nixon Nj
1 tration Company.
Major A. S. Casad. Commanding
officer of Camp Raritan. in charge
/ of the government investigation, was
not present as he has already made
an investigation and conferred with
! Assistant Prosecutor Toolan as to
/ MS huuAnSS.
| In an interview during the In
spection this morning Commissioners
I Mcbride declared that the state de-
/ partment's probe in addition to ar
| tempting TO learn the cause OF the
! explosion will also serve to furnish
material for revision of the present
explosive laws so that a more COM
! prehensive set of rules and regula-
tions regarding the storage. manu-
/ facture and use of explosives might
be drawn up. The catastrophe at
4 Nixon, he said, shows that the pres
ent laws are not adequate and that
a more comprehensive and more
stringent set of rules should be put
| in force.
! Although the Columbia Salvage
| Company has not as yet been drawn
/ into the investigation. statements
made during the inspection this
morning indicated that this Is pos
sible. The Columbia Salvage CONS
pany supplied the material to the
Ammonite Company from which the
ammonite was made. This material
salvaged from shells at Camp Rarf-
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