Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-22

was asked by one of the rescue workers
clearing away the glass. Sure, help
yourself" replied the manager, and
the pile of cotton gloves on the counter
was distributed among the rescuers.
Photographers climbed to points OF
vantage, shooting" the scene from all
angles, from nearby and at a distance
from across the street and from the
top of show window which jutted out
into the sidewalk not far from the
gaping hole in the ground.
Telephone booths in the neighborhood
were crowded by anxious eyed people
f1dgetting their nickels, eager to get to
the phones. Many were calling rela-
tives to report safety.
II tell you it was a sickening sight, "
said one eyewitness. Little children
crushed in the street Blood all over
everybody. One woman was blown
from the curb near the store to the
middle Of the car tracks. saw the ex-
plosion blow off her hat, her coat, her
shoes and stockings, and what was left
Of her clothes looked like they had
been combed by a rake
SO many persons were hurried away
In Communicated automobiles and taxi
cabs before the ambulanceS could ar
rive that some police estimated it
would be impossible ever to get COM
plete check on the number of injured.
Many persons were taken direct to their
homes.
Thousands of curious spectators
gathered as word of the explosion
spread. The curious were pushed far
Their and farther away as the size Of
the crowd increased, until they were
roped on at D and e streets.
One woman is praising her lucky
stars that another automobile driver
cheated her out of parking space
directly in front of the McCrory store.
She headed into the open parking space
4 when another driver slipped in to steal
It away from her. Provoked over the
incident, she drove on down the street
and was scarcely out of danger when
the explosion took place where she had
tried to park and couldn't.
Another narrow escape from the dis
aSter was experienced by Headquarters
Detective Frank Varney and his wife,
Mrs. Marian Varney, who had just
left the McCrory store after shopping.
Varney said he waited in his ma
chine, parked directly in front of the
store, while his wife went in. He be-
came impatient and followed her into
the store, and they had barely pulled
away from the curb when the side
walk over which they had passed a
few minutes before opened UP and
threw its huge concrete formation hurl-
Ing through the air, striking down VIC
tins on all sides.
Mrs. Varney had not been home long
when Mrs. Mary Brownell, wife of Rus
sell v. Brownell, attached to Fire Chief
George WatSon'S office. and herself
employed at the Riggs National Bank,
called to tell her she had been trying
frantically to get in touch with her
after hearing about the explosion, be-
cause she had seen Varney's car parked
in front of McCrory's. The two women
are close friends.
A little round, gray chinchilla hat.
badly torn, was found beside the curb
in front of the wrecked store by Head
quarters Detective James A. Kane. The
hat is being held by police unclaimed.
G. M. viii, w. H. Smith and Po-
liceman Robert Frazer, telephone OPP
orators at police headquarters. were on
the point of physical exhaustion when
their relief reported at 4 o'clock yes
terday afternoon.
The office was deluged with calls
from relatives and anxious friends of
the explosion victims and two OPP
orators were plugging" cords answer
ing incoming calls while the other
pulled cords of finished calls out.