Harmon County Tribune (Hollis, Okla.), Vol. 6, No. 50, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 3, 1916 Page: 2 of 10
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THE HARMON COUNTY TRI BUNE
TERRIFIC EMM MB 111 YOU
Thirteen Warehouses Loaded With
Munitions Destined for the Allied
Forces Are Blown
Up
LIFE
LOSS SMALL BUT PROPERTY DAMAGE
WILL REACH TWENTY-FIVE MILLION
Principal Damage Confined to Black
Tom Island and the Jersey Shore;
Office Buildings Rock and Streets
Strewn with Thousands of
Plate Glass Windows.
New York—Property loss estimated
master for the New York division of
at $i f>,000.000 was caused early Sun-
day by a series of terrfic explosions of
ammunition awaiting shipment to the
entento allies and stored on Black
Tom Island, a small strip of land Jut-
ting Into New York bay off Jersey
Ctty. The lose of lfie still 1b proble-
matical.
Three are known to be dead and at
least five more are missing. Scores
of persons were Injured, some of them
probably fatally.
The detonations, which were felt in
five states, began with a continuous
rapid Are of small shells, then the
blowing up of great quantities of dyna-
mite. trinitrotoloul and other high ex-
plosives, followed by the bursting of
thousands of shrapnel Bhells which
showered the surrounding country and
waters for miles around.
Merchandise Worth 15,000,000 Burned
Fire that started Boon after the first
great crash, destroyed thirteen of the
huge warehouses of the National Stor-
age Company on Black Tom Island, in
which were stored merchandise valued
at between $12,000,000 and $15,000,000.
The flames shooting into the clouds
were reflected against Ndw York's
skyline of towering office buildings,
which only a few moments before
were shaken to their foundations as
If by an earthquake. Miles of Btreets
In Manhattan were strewn with brok-
en glass and shattered signs.
Reports of heavy loss of life were
impassible of verification and the
authorities asserted the number of
deaths probably would be small. It
was sala that owing to the extent of
the wreckage it might be several days
before the exact figures could be ob-
tained.
Fire Started on Independent Barge
The cause of the disaster has not
been determined. Officials of the Na-
tional Storage Company and the Le-
high Valley railway, which also suf-
fered heavily through loss of property,
declared that reports to them showed
a fire started Bhortly after 1 o'clock
in the morning on a barge belonging
to an independent towing company
that had been moored alongside a
dock used by the railroad company to
transfer ammunition shipments from
trains to vessels in the harbor.
The barge, it was Baid, was there
without authority, either of th« rail-
road or the storage company. The
officials refused to disclose the name
of the Independent towing company,
Baying they weer investigating "to as-
certain whether the barge purposely
was Bet on fire as the result of a
plot."
Warrants charging manslaughter
were issued for the arrest of Albert
M. Dlckman, agent at the Black Tom
Island docks for the Lehigh Valley
Railroad Company; Theodore B. John-
son, head of the Johnson Lighterage
sels were badly damaged. Crews on
the big ov-ean liners anchored in the
harbor or docked along the New Jer-
sey and New York water fronts de-
clared that *hen tbe flrst two great
explosions occurred it appeared as il
tfTeir vessels were lTtarally picked up
out of the water and then hurled back.
All New York and cities within a
radius of twenty-five milta were
awakened by the explosion. Within an
hour 6,000 telephone callB went over
the police wire from excited inquirers. Two Million Dollars for Relief of
ARMY MEASURE CARRYING *314,-
000 000 PASSED BY UPPER
HOUSE.
REDUCTIONS IN CONFERENCE
TUNNEL EXPLOSION; 22 DEAD
BODIES BURIED BENEATH WA-
TERS OF LAKE ERIE.
Hundreds of thousands of person^ i
many of them scantily clad, ran exciO ,
edly through the Btreets, while auto
mobiles containing policemen, firemen
and others dashed along. Detectlvei ^
were rushed to Maiden Lane, th«
Guardsmen's Families Included
In Bill As Passed In
f Upper House.
Washington.—Nearly seven hundred
home of the Jewelry Industry, to guard miHj0ns for national defense In the
against thieves. 8(fCal year 1917 l8 the aggregate of
Thousands of persons In Jersey City proposed appropriations reached in
fled to the parks after the first ex- lhe Benate wlth lhe passage of the
plosion. Panic stricken women appropriation bill carrying
wheeled baby carriages about, some • Q00 ^
of them praying and others scream-1 ^ ^ ^ fQr preparednesfl
lng J . . 'gtill is subject to revision, however,
The large railroad yards of the Le becaU8e the army bm wui follow the
high Valley and the reclaimed meadow | Qaya, bn, ,nt0 conference where re-
land for miles around virtually were ! ductlons are probable despite the firm
covered with great piles of wreckage j atlitude of President Wilson in sup-
and countless shrapnel shells, many porting the liberal response of the
the Lehigh Valley railway, was on the
pier when the fire started. He said
that the explosion which occurred at
2:08 o'clock was in the barge where
the fire started.
"Mr. Henly's flrst thought was to
remove the loaded cars on the pier
from the danger zone. He said that
when he reached the end of the pier
the barge was burning fiercely all
over and the fire was beginning to com-
municate itself to some of the cars
nearest the barge.
"Two long trains of cars were suc-
cessfully removed from the danger
zone before the rapidly spreading fire
engulfed the balance.
40,000 Tone of Raw Sugar Burned.
"It has not yet been definitely deter-
mined Just what the momy losses will
be. Some 40,000 tons of raw sugar,
valued at approximately $3,400,000, Is
known to be lost. It is belieevd that
the other contents of the warehouses
destroyed will greatly Increase this
amount.
Edmund Mackenzie, president of the
National Storage Company, declared
that the plant of his concern was val-
ued at $7,000,000, while the contents
of the warehouses probably were
worth $10,000,000. One of the ware-
houses which remains Intact, he said,
is filled with chemicala. Beside the
great quantity of raw sugar burned
there were 24,000 bales of tobacco,
much matting from Chin* and Japan
and other merchandise. «The loss to
his company and the railroad, Macken.
zle said, was partly covered by In-
surance.
Railroad Man Killed.
C. W. Leyden, chief of the Lehigh
Valley railroad police, was killed
while aiding an engine crew In at-
tempting to save a number of freight
cars from the flre.
A quantity of dynamite exploded
near where he was standing and blew
his body to atoms. The members of
the crew escaped with lacerations and
burns.
Child Dies of Shock.
The body of an unidentified man
was recovered from the water near
the Lehigh Valley pier. A child in
Jersey City, according to the police,
died from Bhock after the flrst ex-
plosion.
Statue of Liberty Damaged.
Every window In the pedestal of the
of which had not exploded
Many spectators carried away
shrapnel Bhells as souvenirs. In some
instances they had been dug from the
earth two or three miles away from
the scene of the explosion.
No special investigation of the ex-
plosion will be undertaken by the de
partment of Justice, nccordlng to t
Washington dispatch, unless evidence
is developed that it was a plot aimed
at the destruction of munitions of war
A. B. Bielaski, chief of the bureau ol
investigation, received word that so
tor no fpcts had been developed to
show that the explosion was the resulf
of a plot.
FOREST FIRES RAGE IN CANADA
One Hundred and Fifty Deaths Re
ported e.
Englehart, Ont.—Forest fires rag-
ing in northern Ontario are bellied
to have resulted in the loss of from
150 to 200 lives. Other scores of per
sons have been injured and it is feared
many of them may die.
At least five small towns have been
wiped out by the flames that have
been raging tor forty-eight hours.
Reports thus far received show that
flfty-seven perished at Nushka, a
French-Canadian settlement, and thir
ty-four injured; Iroquois Falls, fifteen
dead and many injured, and Ramore,
fifteen dead. The number killed at
Porcupine Junction is not known, bul
the entire town except the railroad
station was destroyed.
The death list will be materially in
creased, it is feared, by victims in out
lying districts. There are apparently
well authenticated reports that manj
prospectors have been trapped at
Tashota and Kowash. One farmer and
his ten children are known to hav«
been burned, while the man's wife wai
vainly seeking aid to check the on-
rushing flames.
Nushka, a hamlet consisting of a
score of frame buildings and stores,
suffered worst. It had been threat
ened for several days, but the resi-
dents lingered in the hope they might
senate to the call for adequate de-
fense.
The appropriations for preparedness
as they now stand are as follows:
Army, $313,970,447.10.
Navy, $315,826,843.55.
Fortifications, $25,748,050.
Military academy, $2,328,328.57.
Army and navy deficiency, $27,559,-
348.05
Relief for Guardsmen.
As it passed the senate the army bill
exceeded the appropriations made by
the house by more than $131,000,000.
In the final hours of debate on the
measure the senate agreed to an ap-
propriation of $2,000,000 for relief of
dependent families of national guards-
men and regular soldiers in service in
the Mexican emergency. Distribution
of the fund is left to the discretion of
the secretary of war but in no case
shall any dependent family receive
more than $50 a month.
Academy Measure Passed.
As soon as the army bill was out of
the way the senate took up and passed
after brief debate the military aca-
demy appropriation bil carrying
$2,238,328.57, an increase of $1,019,524
over the house authorization.
In the main the senate approved the
military committee's increase over
house appropriations in the army bill
although there were a few reductions
in the committee recommendations
due to improvement in the Mexican
lituatlon.
Legislative Provisions,
Among legislative provisions Includ-
td in<the appropriation bill are:
Creation of a council of national de-
fense for the co-ordination of Indus
tries and welfare to consist of the
lecretaries of state, war and navy,
:hief of stafT of the army, an officer
f the navy and six civilians, to be ap-
pointed by the president who shall
have special knowledge of some indus-
try, public utility or the development
f some natural resource. Civilian
members would serve without com
pensation except for expenses incur-
red.
Ten per cent increase in pay for of-
Exact Cause of Accident In Cleveland
Water Works Crib Not
Determined.
Cleveland.—Federal officials are in-
vestigating the waterworks tunnel dis-
aster which cost twenty-two lives.
All hope that any of the twelve men
trapped in the tunnel are alive has
been abandoned. Ten bodies, those
of members of rtwo rescue -parties
which tried to reach the doomed men,
but themselves succumbed to the dead-
ly gas, are in the morgue. The eight
injured men, also members of the res-
cue parties, will recover.
Four inevstigations—city, county
state and federal—have been started
to determine the cause of the gas ex-
plosion near the five-mile crib end of
the tunnel which entombed the twelve
men and released the gas which over-
came the two rescue parties. The lack
of safety devices such as gas helmets
and pulmotors at the crib and shore
ends of the 16.000-foot tunnel also will
be investigated.
According to the federal investigat-
ors, the electric wiring in the tunnel
was faulty. They would not venture
an opinion as to the cause of the ex-
plosion, but most of those concerned
with the disaster declare that one of
the unfortunate twelve workmen prob-
ably jabbed his pick into a large
pocket of gas which caused the blast.
Others say that a crossed light wire
may have caused the explosion.
~ IIS
B
U. S. TO BUY THE DANISH ISLANDS
Twenty-Five Million Reported As Pus-
chase Price.
Washington.—Only determination of
a few minor details remains to com-
plete negotiation of a treaty between
the United States and Denmark pro-
viding for acquisition of the Danish
West Indies by this government at a
purchase price of $25,000,000.
In general terms the treaty is under-
stood to folow one negotiated in 1902
by the two governments but which
lapsed when the Danish parliament
failed to ratify after the United States
senate had acted favorably. It is said
to contemplate complete American ac-
quisition of the group which lies east
of Porto Rico and is ^regarded as of
great strategic military value.
Relinquishment of undefined Ameri-
can claims through right of discovery
in Greenland, a Danish colony, also is
said to be included
The treaty of 1902 in common with
other uncompleted purchase proposals
that have been considered between
the two governments during the last
half century provided that the islands
should not be transferred until their
inhabitants had voted approval. It is
presumed the present treaty bears
such a provision, but the possibility
of an unfavorabli vote by the islandeis
is considered very remote.
GREAT BRITAIN IS INFORMED
SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES
MAY FOLLOW.
IS UNFAI3 TO U. S. FIRMS
Positive Protest to England Con-
tained in Note Sent to Eng-
land By the United
States.
Washington.—Great Britain Is to be
warned in the American note of pro-
test against the blacklist made public
by the state department of the "many
serious consequences to neutral rights
and neutral relations which such an
act must necessarily involve."
Already in the hands of the British
foreign office, the note says "in the
gravest terms" that it is "manifestly
out of the question that the govern-
ment of the United States should ac-
quiesce in such methods" and that the
United States regards the blacklist as
"Inevitably and essentially inconsis-
tent with the rights of all the citizens
of all the nations not involved in the
war." It reminds the British govern-
ment that "citizens of the United
States are entirely within their rights
in attempting to trade with the peo-
ple or the governments of any of the
nations now at war subject only to
well defined International practices
and understandings which the govern--
ment of the United States deems th«
government of Great Britain to have
too lightly and too frequently disre-
garded."
The American note is even more pos-
itive in its terms than officials hare
intimated.
APPAM IS AWARDED TO OWNERS
Germans Lose Ship Interned at New
port News.
HERE'S ANOTHER ORPET CASE
Illinois Youth An Adept In Effecting
Abortions.
and Towing Company and Alexander I steadily throughout the hours of con-
Davidson, superintendent of the Na- fusion
Refugees without food or clothing Beers of regular army and national
are pouring Into the larger towns ol suard and 20 per cent for enlisted men
the burned district. A large numbei j In actual service In the Mexican cam-
have arrived here and are being senl paign or on border duty.
Statue of Liberty on Bedloe's Island, (0 Cobalt and Halleybury. Eng'.eharl I increase In the age minimum for en-
opposite Black Tom. was broken and citizens worked all night caring toi llstment in the regular army without
'the homeless wanderers. | consent of parent or guardian from 18
Hundreds of square miles of busl j to 21 years.
and farm land have been burned over j Revision of the articles of war gov-
Isolated settlers took refuge in lakei j Brning rules of court martial,
and rivers, leaving all their belonging
behind.
Rain fell at Matheson and several
other points, but a long continue*
downpour will be necessary to ex
tingulsh the fires and prevent then
from sweeping further southward.
the main c!|or, made pf Iron and,
weighing almost a ton, was blown off
Its hinges. The statue Itself, how-
ever, was not damaged except from
the rain of shrapnel which bespat-
tered It.
Although the plant which furnished
power for Bedloe's island was Bhaken
and partly put out of commission, the
famous "light of Liberty" burned
tional Storage Company. They are
accused of having illegally permitted
explouives to be stored where human
life was endangered. Johnson's com-
pany had been engaged. It was said,
in lightering muntlons from the docks
to ships in the harbor.
Thirteen Storage Warehouses LosL
A statement Issued by the Lehigh
Valley Railroad Company, said:
"Thirteen brick storage warehouses
ont of the twenty-four owned and oper-
ated by the National Storage Com-
pany, and six piers owned by the stor-
age company and leased to the Lehigh
Valley railroad were destroyed. Sev-
eral of the other brick warehouses
were badly damaged and some minor
damage was done to the Lehigh Valley
grain elevators. In addition, as far as
Is known, eighty-flve loaded cars were
destroyed.
Loaded Car# Are Hurriedly Removed.
"M. T. Henly, night general yard-
CoitfUgratlon At Petrograd.
Berlin—Reports reached here of a
Little Damage On Ellis Island.
Early reports of damage to the
buildings on Ellis Island were ex-
aggerated, according to Capta|p A. B.
Fry, supervising engineer or federal
buildings in New York. Captain Fry
said the loss could not exceed $50,000.
Most of the damage at the immigra
tlon station was In wrecked walks and
buildings and shattered windows and
doorways. Two barges, ablaze and
laden with sharpnel shells, drifted to
the island. An explosion on one oi
the barges damaged the structure
housing the power plant.
Two other fire-swept craft grounded
on the southwest corner of the Island,
which contains the contagious disease
hospital. The medical staff removed
450 immigrants on the Island to the
Battery.
Many Ship* Suffer.
Many small craft as well as several
good sized steamers and sailing ves-
Really Not His Fault.
Poets' Praise of Ale.
More poets have been Inspired In
modern times by Brassenose ale,
brewed at Brasenose college, Oxford,
than by any other malt liquor of re
cent memory. At one time It was a
custom for the college butler on every
Tuesday to present a collection of ale-
form.
DALLAS MYSTERY 15 NOW SOLVED
Negro ConfeMe, Killing Nurse La t
March.
Dallas—Houston Wagner, a negro,
arrested several days ago at McKin-
ney, Texas was placed in the Dallas
county jail'here, charged with killing
Miss Zaola Cramer, a trained nurse,
on the grounds of a Dallas high school
March 27. last. The negro confessed
the crime.
praising verse to thejprinci^ll an d^
these ^utTurlngs To7wrlUnVof un | Dallas has experienced within the past
dergraduates. have appeared In book, ™ 'cheap brass scarf pin, found; Bosca, a steel
in the dead woman's hair.
Olney. Ill—Roy Hinterliter, 21 years
old, son of a wealthy farmer, was
charged with having been responsible
for the death of Miss Elizabeth Rat-
cliffe, 17 years old, of Paoli, Ind., by a
coroner's jury here. Miss Ratcliffe
died while buggy riding with Hinter-
liter.
The mystery surrounding the death
of the girl was cleared when the com-
mission of physicians investigating de-
cided that she had suffered from em-
bolism of air in the arteries.
States Attorney Morris produced a
chain of evidence tending to show an
attempt at an illegal operation had
been made. Hinterliter denies he had
been Intimate with the girl.
Physicians say she was about to
become a mother.
Dr. Frank H. Weber, chief of the
medical commission that performed
the autopsy, said a fatality under such
conditions never before had come to
his notice.
An instrument us d In Illegal opera-
tions was found In possession of two
of Hinterliter's chums. These men
were witnesses at the Inquest and told
of boasts by Hinterliter of skill In per-
forming illegal operations, especially
the act of "blowing."'
Norfolk, Va—Federal Judge Wod-
dill decided t|e libel proceedings for
possession of the captured British ling-
er Appam in favor of the English own-
ers and against the. German pri«
crew which Drought her to Newport
News.
The court held that the German gov-
ernment fost all claim to the Appam
and her cargo as prizes of war when
Lieutenant Berg and his prize crew on
last February 1, brougnt them Into
neutral waters of Hampton Road^
with the intention of "laying up" the
vessel Indefinitely.
"The court's conclusion," the deci-
sion reads, "is that the manner of
bringing the Appam into the waters
of the United States, as well as her
presence in those waters, constltutees
a violation of the neutrality of the
United States; that she came in with-
out bidding or permission; that she
is here in violation of the law; that
she is unable to leave Tor lack of a
crew, which she cannot provide or
augment without further violation of
neutrality; that In her present condi-
tion she is without a lawful right to be
and remain in these waters; that she
as between captors and owners, to
all practical Intents and purposes
must be treated as abandoned and
stranded on our shores and that hei
owners are entitled to restitution oi
their property."
Diphtheria Kills Girl; Father In Jail.
St. Louis —A warant charging man-
mill worker, whose
eight-year-old daughter died of diph-
Miss Cramer's body was found onltherla. It is charged that Bosca, act-
Where It Was Needed. | """"ds"o/ ."he" Oak Cliff high lng in accordance with an old world
... I ..tint tliAw ttrsntf achooTeariy3 orftlie morning of March superstition smeared the child with
m, ,uu. . , , the morning of March superstition smearea me enna wun
boy were discussing what they wanted jf0* ™ ^ t0 Da8lla8 durlngdog grease in the belief that this
to be when they grew up to be men. ^ ^ frQm an out.o(.town vi8it as would cure her. A physician reported
a trained nurse. A suit case the that the father had refused to allow
nurse carried was found near the body him to enter the house. Bosca denied
and there were many evidences of a that he had excluded the physician
struggle. The motive for the crime from the house and said the physician
was the theft of the suit case. There failed to come when he was expecting
was no evidence of criminal assault, him after two or three previous visits.
My nephew, who has a dog that snaps
at the children, said: "I want to be a
lion tamer." The neighbor's boy In a
disgusted tone of voice said: "Better
start on your dog first.'—Chicago Trib-
une
Meat Cutters On Strike.
The family were going to a picnic! Aigrette plumes are now obtained East St. Louis I"s.-A '""["J 110departmentV^ueBt tor
great conflagration at Petrograd In and Howard had been dressed flrst j m India in much the same manner In f°' ofthebiKotckC | information concerning the blacklist-
wbich a bridge across the river Neva and told to sit on the porch until the which we get our ostrich plumes. j £ on 9trike Kepre. ing of American firms by Great Brit-
and twelve large steamers, including rest were ready. Soon after his mother When captured, the birds become very , . . trikers maintained ain was given informally to Acting
several transatlantic liners and the discovered him playing In the dirt tame. They are fed upon fish. The | taUves « mem- Secretary Polk by Sir Cecil Spring-
... -i erwMD ron i n ntl«1 Mch VAfir TITO. l"8! <H RUlCIl . 1£IICU UJJ ol. .
Trying To Explain the Blacklist.
Washington—The partial answer
Put-off gun works and other establish- wUh« his clean clothes hopelessly birds grow rapidly, and each year pro-
Bents were destroyed. Flamiag pon- ruined. After the painful scene whlcH duce four sets of the delicate, highly
loons drifted to VasslU Ost? (Basil followed lie was deposited forcibly on prized algretteV The aigrette is re-
Island), where a huge flre broke out, a chair and asked if he did not remem- moved without the least injury to the
and also to the port, where twelve ber he had been told to stay on the bird. India seoms to be the only
large steamers, including seevral porch and keep clean. "Yea," he sob- country in which aigrettes can be ob-
Ivans-Atlantic liners, docks, docks and bed. "but why didnt yon tell somebody uined without killing the mother bird
lhe Putiloff works, took lire. |to watch me?" 'tor her plumes.
bers of a newly organized union at a Rice, the British ambassador. Sir Cecil
meeting this afternoon and that all said the blacklist was not directed
employes will strike, including butch- against neutral trade; it was not m-
ers. meat cutters, helpers, women and tended to affect existing contracts and
foreign laborers unless the union Is that the British government would be
recognized. The packers union also glad to consider the cases of firms de-
.i6ks for an elghthou-r day. The pack- siring to offer proof that they had been
rrs admit 2,500 men are out. . put on the list nnjustiflablv
SUBMISSION VOTE WINS IN TEXAS
Virtually Complete Count Shows M
jority for Prohibition Proposal.
Dallas—Complete.returns from 237
counties on the proposition to submit
a prohibition amendment to the vot-
ers of the state show a majority ol
2,345. Practically complete returna
from El Paso county, the largest sec-
tion outstanding, reduced an early
lead. El Paso county voted almost
three to one against submission.
What is considered virtually the
final count is: For. 170,732; against,
168,387. No further totals until the
state's vote is officially canvassed on
August 7 are looked for.
A dispatch from Washington says:
In an address today to democrats
of Texas, Senator Culberson, who ran
next to former Governor Colquitt In
the recent senatorial primary in that
state, announced that his name would ^
be submitted to tie second primary,
which will be held in August.
Reprieved Just in Time.
New York—A stay of execution in
behalf of Charles S. Stielow, a farm
hand, was granted by Supreme Court
Justice Guy, three hours before the
man condemned to death for a double
murder at Medina, was to have been
executed at Sing Sing prison. It was
the second time since dawn that the
jurist had interceded to save the life
of Stielow, whose keepers In the death
honse and whiso neighbors in his
home town are firm'y convinced he is
innocent of the crime for which he
was convicted.
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Harmon County Tribune (Hollis, Okla.), Vol. 6, No. 50, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 3, 1916, newspaper, August 3, 1916; Hollis, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc234353/m1/2/?q=led+zeppelin: accessed June 6, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.