Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-12
New Jerseys Latest Disaster.

new Jerseys LATEST UlSaSVer.
In terms of property loss the great
est disaster Of its kind, fortunately
the explosion Of Government mu-
milton plant in New Jersey Saturday
afternoon was destructive of a COM
Z paratively small number Of lives. Con-
sidering the terrific force of the blast
! and the long succession of explosions
following the initial defamation, the
casualties are remarkably few. At
the present count there are about ten
known dead, with between thirty and
forty persons missing. Some OF the
latter are probably dead. The final
ton may mount to two score OF lives,
d sad reckoning, but not so great as
the magnitude Of the catastrophe at
nrst threatened
Despite the utmost precautions in
the location Of this great plant. serv-
ing as both arsenal and magazine for
J the Navy and the Army. with the scat
tering Of the units over a large area,
strictly secluded, a single stroke Of
lightning spread devastation through
out the entire zone Of occupation and
far beyond. Later inquiry. carried as
far as the conditions permit, may
lead to some conclusion as to the suf-
fciency Of the safeguards adopted to
confine to small space any acct
dental ignition OF a single unit. Evi.
IDENTIFY there was no adequate protec.
ton against lightning. Is there. in
truth, any assured protection against
. heavy discharge Of electricity from
the air?
Naturally the question arises
whether there is need Of so great an
assemblage Of explosive material in
time Of peace. Military and naval
authorities contend that it is never
safe to be without q suffcient stock
of ammunition to enable the de.
fensive forces to assume a war basis
on short notice. In the Navy target
practice is essential to the nainte-
nance of high efficiency. The Army
likewise has its needs for training
purposes. Here. however. was q
dump Of great size. containing, it
has been estimated, about 500. o00, 900
worth of munitions, far more than
target practice requirements de-
manded.
Protest against the location Of this
immense stock Of explosives IN 9
thickIy settled section was voiced
some time ago, and efforts were be-
ing made to secure its removal to a
less populous area. A storage depot
has already been established in Utah,
far away from close habitation, and
had an item of 100000 not been cut
from an appropriation bill in con-
ference the New Jersey stock would
probably by this time have been
removed to that magazine. Now a
strong sentiment against continued
use Of even the more remote areas
Of New Jersey has developed and this
latest disaster may cause q complete
change Of Government policy in re-
spect to the storage Of dangerous
materials.
New Jersey has suffered heavily
from these explosions. February 1,
1911, thirty persons were killed In a
blast Of forty tons of dynamite at the
Communipaw terminal Of the Jersey
Central Railroad. July 80, 1915. prop
erty damage of $20,00o,000 occurred
in the BLACK Tom explosion, much
Of the damage occurring in Marihat-
tan. Only two lives were lost. jan
nary IL, 1917, property worth $780,
. 600 900 was destroyed, and many cas-
uaities were caused. by an explosion
it q car and foundry plant at Kings
land. N. J. October 4, 1918, q blast
acquired at the Gillespie. plant at
Morgans, N. j., near Perth Amboy,
in which 100 were killed and sixty
thousand made homeless. March /,
1924. twenty were killed in an explo-
& sion at the Ammonite plant at Nixon,
Z n. J.
Il is natural that in view of this
long list Of disasters the people Of
New Jersey, who have suffered 80
sorely, should now be protesting
against the continued use Of their
state as a storage place for dangerous
materials of this character. The
Government may not control private
establishments of this description, but
Il can remove the menace of addi-
stUnal magazines of its own.
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