San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-03-02
TELEPHONE GIRL DIES
SENDING OUT ALARM
CONTINUED from page one.)

men VINO were repairing the roof
of the building in which the blast &C.
CURED.
The Dumas family was in a cottage
100 yards from the scene e. the expio-
sion. The house was wrecked. Arthur
Dumas, the father, arrived few min
utes after the catastrophe and was
Frustrated when he found his home in
RUM.
The plant covers in all about twelve
square miles on the Raritan river,
about two miles from Metuchcn.
Fire departments from Metuchen,
New Brunswick, Perth Amboy and
ether cities rushed to the scene short
ly after the explosion occurred.
Three soldiers from Raritan arsenal
were among the first TO reach the
scene. There was a terrific roar"
one said, 1.-THE whole building seemed
to go up in the air. There were a
number of small buildings, mostly
built of hollow tile around the nitrate
plant. They crumpled up like card
house,.
Charles A. Hatfield. worker in
the vicinity. also rushed to the scene
after he had recovered fIom the force
of the blast. He said he saw five
bodies. two Of them women. -.
Zone woman had II piece of iron
pipe driven through her BOSOM Hat
Iield said.
Finds Five Bodies.
President Nixon said the only plant
damaged was that of the nitration
works. Two other plants, adjoining
the wrecked area, were not damaged.
The wrecked plant was used for
manufacture of fertilizer" Nixon said.
We took every prccanion in view OF
the dangerous nature of the chemicals
used. As far as | can determine, the
actual cause of the explosion was fail
urc to remove certain ingredients from
tanks of liquid nitrate of ammonia
we had just purchased.
I'VE had been assured the chemical
.. was absolutely safe"
1T was like France" said Private
John Hart. one of the first to arrive
at the scene. There were the mu-
tilated bodies, the smell of explosives.
the tangled ruins-cven the slush and
mud of Northern France"
Herbert WilgooSe. who lives near
the scene of the explosion, found five
bodies in q clump OF trees 500 feet
from the building that blew up. Four
OF the dead were men, the fifth a
woman. The blast had torn the cloth
| ing from the woman's body.
"The wreck of the building still was
| burning" Wilgoosc said. In a little
space back of the plant where the
house Of the Dumas family had stood.
there was nothing. 1t had been blown
completely away.
Fires Still Raging.
I'VE found two dead men buried un-
der the ruins of an old boiler room.
"One of the workmen who escaped
| told me the explosion started in the
ammonia room, where twelve work
men had gone earlier in the day to
mix that dangerous explosive. just
what happened no one will ever know.
The twelve are gone
| The plant was owned by Louis j.
Nixon. former public service commits
sionrr of New York.
When the first blast occurred six
warehouses piled high with ammuni-
| ton in the arsenal of Camp Raritan
collapsed. SO well was the ammunition
packed that none of it exploded.
Edwin Goodwin and his wife were
at work at the Nixon plant. Their two
children. Anna. IA, and William. :,
were at home alone. The Goodwin
home was leveled by the explosion but
when the Mortified parents dug in the
ruins. they found the little ones UNI
hurt. hands clasped. in the ruins be-
meath some timbers.
As darkness fell, dozen fires still
were raging and thick yellow acid
smoke hung over the plant. The flames
approached to within 100 yards of two
tanks containing 100000 gallons of
picric acid. highly inflammable and
highly explosive.
Injured Assists in Rescue.
| William Saunders. paymaster at the
plant. was paving off the men when
the ammonia let go. He was severely
injured but when his wounds were
dressed. insisted on participating in
the rescue work.
All disputes as TO the exact time OF
the explosion were set at rest when II
wns found that the reliable Raritar
arsenal clock had been stopped at ex-
nctly IL IN q, m