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VOIi. 9.
NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, JULY 31, IOKL
NO. 2018.
Metropolis in Panic
Explosion and Fires
NEW YORK, July 30.—About (
two o’clock this (Sunday) morning
six cars of dynamite on the Lehigh
Valley road, Black Tom Island, ex-!
ploded near Communlpaw, N. J..,'
•wrecking the National Storage Co’s
plant completely while the buildings
and wrecked debris almost at once j
broke into a fierce blaze.
This original explosion was the
fore-runner of several minor explo- !
Eions travelling along a detonating
area of great distance and explod-1
ing sixty-nine cars of munitions for j
the Allies. Car after car went off
as they stood on the tracks leading
directly to the munition pier where
twelve lighters moored to the docks
became ignited. These also exploded j
two breaking away blazing from the 1
moorings, and drifting down to E11I3 !
Island, exploded in the surf, de-j
stroying the main building of the
Immigration Receiving station and
necessitating the removal of seven i
hundred detained immigrants to '
the Battery barge office.
The explosions sent flaming debris
all over the surf and set fire to two '
oil tankers anchored near Bedloe
Island.
The explosions shook Manhattan, |
Brooklyn and New Jersey cities, |
shattering plate glass windows in,
the stores and offices, tons of glass
are strewn on the streets, while po
lice and soldiers guard the window
less stores from looters.
Many buildings have been dam
aged and many fires have broken
out at a variety of places which
raged uncontrolled for some time
before the 'full resources of the me
tropolitan fire fighting system were
available. The explosion ditched
cars in the streets, knocked pedes
trians down and has interrupted al!
telephone communication.
Dawn broke upon a panic stricken
city with the hotels and hospitals
crowded with panic stricken guests
A. black pall of smoke contributed
an artificial gloom to the city, while
fires occasionally illuminated far
'distant sections.
The fires raging Intensified thi
excitement which prevented work
men, firemen and police checkins
them earlier. The Central Railroac
of New Jersey connected Black Ton
Island with the main land. Th<
coast guard cutters are warnin;
boats away from the danger zom
and the work pf combatting thi
threatening situation as the da;
grows is becoming more system
atic.
The loss of life is set as high ai
seven hundred but this is merely s
guess. It is impossible to tell wh<
have been killed and the hospital!
in the rush of work have hardl;
been able to compute the injured.
Over three hundred men employee
nights as the powedr pier are miss
ing or not reported; thirty three
firemen combatting the fire at tin
National Storage Co’s warehouse!
are reported killed. They belonget
to the Jersey city staff; Jersey Cit;
geneial hospital reports handlim
one hundred and twenty-five case
of seriously injured with constan
arrivals increasing this numbe:
every minute.
a family on board one barge i
known to have perished, fifty mei
are said to have escaped from tin
scows and a like number missinj
are supposed to be dead.
The National Storage Co’s pro
perty consisted of twenty-eigh
warehouses of four covered piers in
eluding one ammunition pier. The:
were valued at seven million dollar
as far as their contents alone i
concerned, and all were filled wltl
furniture, clothing etc. which wil
be a total loss.
It seems . impos ible to preven
the fires burning out completely ii
this section although fire tugs am
steamers notwithstanding the dang
er are standing by valiantly to con
trol the conflagration which if i
gain any further headway will hav
disastrous results.
The cause of the explosion is mor
or less a mystery. ’t'he favorit
theory is that the cars were set 01
fire by a spark from a locomotive.
I The heat has been intense for
'four days and everything is dry as
tinder and easily inflammable. In
fact cautions were sent out by the
firemen against the serious dangers
from this source. On the other hand
explosive experts think that the
heat disintegrated the nitroglycerin
in the dynamite, and that a slight
jar sent the matter exploding,
j There is no reason to believe, as ai
first universally reported by mere
conjecture, that this was an in
cendiary act. The authorities gen
erally agree that it was accidental.
President Edmund M’Kenzie ot
the National Storage Co. when seen
today at his Plainfield home de
clares that the explosion unques
tionably occurred on the powder
train, possibly following a hot box
fire or some equally trifling cause.
He emphasized the fact that in all
his thirty island warehouses he has
stored no explosives, and is at a
loss to understand why the fire re
ceived such an ungovernable start
from the firemen.
j The disaster is mainly due to the
minor explosions of the munitions
following the dynamite explosion,
and this accounts for the wide are*
of casualties which is now being
: reported by the police and the hos
pitals.
| Last reports show that the fires
| are being controlled in Jersey cPv
and in Manhattan and Brooklyn
\ proper precautions resulted in little
damage from fire.
I The metropolis this evening is
I suffering fiom a bad case of nerves
j and it is felt that worse is going to
t happen. The situation Is described
II as still very serious. No official re
l turns of deaths have been as*ye1
- handed iu.
NEW YORK, July 30.—The Are
t situation is now under control. The
> deaths will not exceed four hund
red and fifty although the injured
> run into the thousands. So far no
i attempt is made to estimate the
i loss of property which is gigantic.
BERLIN ADMITS DEFEAT
SUSTAINED IN THE EAST
BERLIN, July 30.—The first real
defeat that the German forces en
gaged with the Russians suffered
since the war began Is admitted ai
Tristine on the east of the Stockhod
xirer where General Brussiloff’s
northern wing out-fought the forces
under the German generals. Rail
road troubles bringing up ammuni
tion is explained as one of the
causes which contributed to the
blow.
It is ascertained however that th<
slaughter of von Linsingen's lines
iwill be compensated by the Russian
repulse at Huleyiche.
LONDON, July 30.—There cat
hardly be any question but the Rus
sians have won one of the greates'
open battles of the war after tw<
-weeks desperate fighting against th<
Germans on the East Stockhoi
river.. This will force the evaeua-1
tion of the cities of Kovel and
Lemberg.
The victory by General Litchitsky
is almost equal in importance and
even more striking. Crushing von
Bothmer's right wing south ot
Stanislau, he captured thirty live
thousand men whom he had com
pletely enveloped.
WILL FILE MURDER
CHARGE AGAINST THEM
SAN FRANCISCO, July 30.—It
is announced that the authorities
will file murder charges ^gainst
; Billings, Mooney, Julius Kahn and
Israel Winberg the latter a Jitney
bus owner, in connection with the
i bomb explosion.
SAN FRANCISCO, July 30.—An
unknown waiter said to be an anar
chist is alleged to have been ar
rested in connection with the bomb
is explosion.
Lot ns estimate on your Jam Won
Satisfaction assured.
Wow la the time to Subscribe.
Chicago is Sizzling
Deadly Heat Wave
CHICAGO, July 30.—Scorching
heat is responsible for the death
of one hundred and twenty seven
persons in this city during the past
twenty-four hours. They were how
ever mostly babies under one year
old, and the mortality almost all
confined to the poorer sections ot
the city. As a result of the heat
wave scores of insanity cases are
reported, cases of violent assaults
and accidents have also increased
one hundred per cent. The lowest
temperature recorded in three days
of blistering heat Is ninety six In
the shade, with no diminution re
ported today. Ice prices have beep
increased wholesale twenty per cent
while small lots for the poor have
' gone up one hunlred per cent and
more. This intensifies the misery
' of the poorest classes. The Lake
.Shore is crowded with heat refugees
' and many spend most of the time
in the waters.
KANSAS CITY, July 30.—Records
from Topeka show that the hear
wave is diminishing in the state ot
Kansas, but that the drought still
continues and if it lasts five days
more will equal the last highest
record of the dry spell. Infinite In
jury has been done to crops. Cool
winds are blowing today.
t -
BOSTON, July 30.—The Atlantic
sea board is cooler today and tho
New England states experience com
fortable weather.
SEATTLE, July 30.—There is no
heat wave here. All along the Pa
cific Coast the weather is moderate
ly warm with cool nights general,
making the weather very near Ideal
Cooling breezes are blowing from
tl;e ocean.
HAIG REPULSES ALL
GERMAN COUNTER ATTACKS
LONDON, July 30.—General Haig
succeeded in repulsing two very
desperate German counter offen
sives when they tried to regain the
Delville woods. Two German drives
at Point Quest, Vermando and
Villiers on the Somme front have
been heavily repulsed.
PARIS, July 30.—The British
gains about Pozieres and Highwood
are growing in extent. The Ger
man efforts to re-capture Delville
woods have failed.
LONDON, July 30.—Three Zeppe
lins cruising near the east coast
——■ ——
borderline dropped bombs on tlio
towns but caused no deaths.
LONDON, July 30.—Newspapers
term the execution of captain Fry
att a murder. The nation is incen
sed. The Foreign Office has re
quested the American Ambassador
to obtain details of the trial.
PARIS, July 30.—The German
attacks were a trifle more severe on
the Verdun front, especially upon
a ravine south of Fleury. They were
worsted in every attempt to ad
vance. Their losses are serious
and their gains nil.
BERLIN, July 30.—The War
Office points to the fact that with
the exception of the Pozieres sector,
the Germans are on the 'offensive
along the west front, proof suffici
ent that the Allied advance is
checked. No gains are claimed, but
the main work of bringing the ag
gressive offensive of the Allies to a
dead stop has been effectively ac
complished.
No casualties are being published
as to the eastern or western light
ing and none will be.
UKT THE NEWS RfGHT. REAr*
THE WORKER.
THREE GERMAN REGIMENTS
ANIMATED IN WEST
[
LONDON, July 30.—Three Ger
man regiments, says the War Office
bulletin, were anihilated in their
attempt to re-capture Delville wood
this evening. Curtained by a
heavy shrapnel from field guns late
ly placed in a new position escape
from the rifle and machine guns of
the British was impossible and not
a man escaped.
WANT TO ARBITRATE.
LOS ANGELES, July 30.—The
Western railroad commission wanl
the railroaders to arbitrate theii
demands.
HEAT KILLS THREE.
DES MOINES, July 30.—Heal
killed three here today. Four are
dead at Muscatine from the same
cause. The temperature was one
hundred in the shade.
MANY DIE PARALYSIS.
NEW YORK, July 30.—Forty
four infants died yesterday here o
paralysis. The death list to date it
this epidemic is now seven liundrec
and ninety-eight.
LONDON, July 30.—In response :
to the British request for informa- i
tion of the trial of Captain Ryatt, <
Ambassador Clerard reports that he i
had officially asked for a postpone
ment of the trial in Berlin, Thurs- i
day, and had apparently secured
it when the Ruler declared that it
was impossible to have the subma- 1
rine witnesses at the trial which ;
thereupon was ordered to proceed.
vlajor Neuman, King's Counsel and
i civilian was appointed to defend
Captain Ryatt who was found guilty
ind ordered executed.
Both press and people demand
•eprisals.
WASHINGTON, D. C., July 30.—
rhe Senate yesterday asked the
resident to request clemency for
he Irish prisoners.
LINER ITALIA WAS
ABLE TO FIGHT
ROME, July 30.—The liner
D’ltalia of six thousand tons and
carrying many passengers was it
tacked by a submarine flying the
German flag when en route to New
York from Genoa. The liner’s de
fensive guns finally drove off its
undersea assailant.
AMSTERDAM, July 30.—The situa
! tlon is growing serious for the
i Central Powers and for this reason,
, the under sea warfore is certain to
be renewed.
BALTIMORE, July 30.—Tho
Deutschland is still here. The
Bremen’s whereabouts is unknown.
British cruisers aro reported to be
lieve that the Bremen story is a
myth to keep them chasing for that
boa: whiie the other makes ita
escape.
THIS WEEK ONLY.
Eight bars of Lennox Soap for
25c. At Holt’s. Bring the cash—
take the soap.
HOLT’S CASH STORE. 1