Perth Amboy evening news., 1924-03-08
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IN EXPLOSION
Solid Substance Found in
Cars Shipped to Ammo
mite Company

Solid substances resembling INT
and trojan powder have been found
in half a dozen of twenty tank and
box cars at the Nixon plant and
Raritan arsenal, Assistant Prosecu-
tor John E. Toolan announced to-
day. One car was three-fourths
filed with the yellow substance
which from its color resembIed
TINT. Mr.. Toolan said. and the cars
opened by his detectives at the ar
senal were under consignment by
the Columbia Salvage Company to
the Ammonite Company.
Not satisfied with the information
secured during numerous visits to
the demolished plant of the Ammo
mite Company at Nixon, detectives OF
the prosecutors Office were today
continuing their investigation to de-
termine what materials, il any, of an
explosive nature, have been received
and treated at that plant during the
past six months.
The detectives are inspecting rec
ords and enleavoring to learn
whether or not certain shipments
made to the Columbia Salvage Com
pany since last September found
their way to the plant of the .mmo-
mite Company. There has been a
persistent rumor going the rounds in
unofficial circles that the Ammonite
Company is a subsidiary of the Col
umbia Salvage Company but r. Nor
ris Shreve, president of the Ammo
mite Company. has denied any con-
nection between the two companies.
The Columbia Salvage Company,
according to Shreve, has been en-
gagged in salvaging under govern
ment supervision condemned shells,
removing from them by a steaming
process the TINT and ammonium nj
trate. In addition to supplying the
Ammonite Company with a liquid
raw material which was supposed to
be ammonium nitrate in solution
with possibly a fraction of one per
cent of INT in solution or suspen-
sion. the Columbia Salvage Company
also shipped out the ure amatol, an
explosive containing from 20 to 50
per cent INT. it is reported to the
county detectives.
Major Casad, commanding officer
of Camp Raritan, has been quoted
as saying three cars of amatol were
shipped to the Ammonite plant by
the Columbia Salvage Company. The
prosecutors office has refused to dis
cuss this phase of the situation. AS
II will be two weeks before reports
are received of the result of the
analysis being made by the state OF
the various samples taken at the
plant. the prosecutors office VIII
have sufficient time to conduct an
exhaustive investigation at the plant
and into the activities of the COM
pany during the past few months.
During the war amatol was used
by the government as the explosive
used in shells. There were two well
known mixtures, one being the
"5o-50" mixture in which equal
parts of INT and ammonium nj
trate were used and the other was
the 5000" mixture in which there
was four times as much ammonium
nitrate as there was TINT.
Efforts are still being made 10
check up the list of dead and IN
iured. Thus far the prosecutor $
office has records of only thirteen
bodies being found and buried. The
original reports carried the names
~ e;ghteen kille& and two missing.
II is now believed that the seven
nersons listed as dead or missing are
either buried under the DEBRIS OF
their bodies have been so dlsmen-
harad nv the blast that no trace OF
them can be found.