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Show If I Dead Estimated At I 300 to 500-ffiaga- $ zines Explode I f Toulon, Franco, Sept. 25. An appal-I appal-I fling naval disaster, attended with cu-yormous cu-yormous loss of life, occurred nt day-:J day-:J light today when the Battleship Lib-jl Lib-jl erte blow" up In this harbor. J The death loss is variously ostlinat-ted ostlinat-ted from 350 to 500 or more. The '& killed Include officers and men of the ff Llberte and also a largo number of ft those from nearby warships. I The first alarm of fir was sounded shortly aftor 5 o'clock this morning. This was followed by four successlvo explosions of Increasing intensity as the fire neared the powder magazines, when at 5 35 a deafening oxploslon literally lit-erally tore the great warship to pieces K and sent her to the bottom a mass of Yt twisted wrecltage. The force of the explosion was so 'k great that huge Assures wero opened :f in the Bteel armor and framework of ' the warship. A piece of armor plate 3r was hurled against tho cruiser Reft Re-ft publiquo with great force, damaging J. ,bcr plates Scores of bodies were 1 hurled high into the air with huge !g fragments of framework, armor, burst-'I burst-'I Idet shells and tho suffocating smoke ' ifrom the exploded magazines. 1 On the first oxploslon the men $" rushed from their quarters and a i s, hundred or more sought safety in plunging overboard. But the gTeat I ;f body of men, officers and crew, re- mainod on the Bhlp and were hurlod 5 high in the air or into the water as Kl 'ithe culminating oxploslon broke the :$shlp into fragments. One report says the ship broke in hvro In the middle as she sank. An-jother An-jother report says that, beforo she Jtcok her final plunge, several, of -Jieri ijp'guns discharged a- Tequlem salute. I" Caused by Small Fire. Toulon, France, Sept. 25. Fire ' broke out enrly today in the ammunl-Ttion ammunl-Ttion hold of tho battleship, JLlberte, i counted one of the finest vessels In ? the French navy, and the explosions J rvhlch followed wrecked the jrreat i? ehip and killed more than half of her I crew of 793 officers and men. j The fire was discovered at 5 o'clock. ill At first it did not appear to be serial seri-al ous, but it gained a quick advantage i over tho squad of sailors who trlel A to extinguish it, and suddenly, without t j. warning, it reached the magazines, I which had not been flooded on ac-.1 ac-.1 count of the apparently trifling na xtiiro of the blaze. fi The force of the explosions was ter-frlfic ter-frlfic The explosions shook tho yob-IeoI yob-IeoI fore and aft, each one seemingly "fBtrongqV than that preceding, opening open-ing up great fissures in the armor land framework of the vessel. 1 The vessel immediately became a iimass of fire and smoke and soon, al-.fmost al-.fmost demolished by the terrific deton-atlons, deton-atlons, sank to the bottom of Toulon harbor Scores of seamen died in their y berths A few dozen saved them- Isplves by jumping overbonrd. Many cf those injured leaped into the water wa-ter and wctc drowned before the boats from tho other ships in the roadstead could reach thorn. Two hundred of the crow escaned dath owing to the fact that they were ashoro on leave. Commander .Inures, a brother of tho Socialist deputy, dep-uty, was not on board. Worse Than War. The carnage in the explosions was worse than could ever have occurred in an actual naval engagement The first crash camo when the crew was for the moBt part dispersed in various vari-ous sections of the vessel. They -2ft were without warning of their dan-R dan-R i gor Scores of bodies were hurled in-!& in-!& , to the air, accompanied by great fratj-Jn fratj-Jn I monts f framework, armor, bursting it shells and the blinding suffocating S' smoke of tho powder. A great many S I vho had not yet been awakened wer 5j lllled in tholr sleep. Others, awak-tf awak-tf .1 cned by the explosion, Btarted to Jump jWf overbdard and were caught by the jtfU second detonation. j5tl Tne ew was panic stricken and A 1 rushed wlldlv about, groping through 5j jte blinding smoke, in which many L j foil unconscious from suffocation. K t There were many vessels In the j? harbor at the tlmo, Including' a num-Jj! num-Jj! her of warships, which have been 5? i maneuvering hero since tho first nf W :the month. The Ar6t explosion 5j brought a quick response from tho fft nearby men-of-war and from the jfi shore Dozens of boats put off and 2i iplckcd up survivors and floating gj Jbodles. 1$ Tremendous Exploolons. '; There- wero three tremendous ex-"plosions ex-"plosions In quick succession after fho jgH .fire reached the inagazinea. One hun-ffli hun-ffli !dred men saved themselves by Jump's!! Jump-'s!! ring and otliors would have oscaped W ; hut for tho discipline which hold them ; at their posts. At tho first explosion 1g, the men below, suddenly awakened, & tumbled from their berths and, rush-K rush-K l'inf to the sides of the vessel, worn KR '. throwing thomsclvcs overboard when JE ' an order, calling them to tholr sta-m sta-m ' ens, rang out and held to their fij , death those who had not already cs-wjg cs-wjg . caped. VS A piece of armor plate blown from 'vg Mhn Uborto struck the cruiser Ilc-S Ilc-S ipu&llque on tho port side with great jS iforco, damaging her plates. B ;" Tlie I.Ihorte was anchored In tho OTBToad9tead, where she has been since ' Tm the, review of the flcot by President Fallleres on Sept. 4. Particular significance attached to the review, tho moBt' imposing in the history of the French navy, as it was made on the very ,day that France communicated to Germnny the terms ' on which the republic offered a settlement set-tlement of the Moroccan dispute with Germany. Following the review, tho fleet resumed re-sumed the autumn maneuvers , and gun practice. On Sept, 20, the armored ar-mored cruiser Glolrp waB engaged In target work when A1 port gun exploded explod-ed as a projectile was being Inserted In the breech. One gunner was killed and thirteen others wore Injured. Five of the latter subsequently died. But Little Warning. , Today's disaster came with llttlo warning. The fire was discovered about 5 o'clock, and a signal sounded throughout the vessel summoning tho crow to fire quarters. Immediately tho order was given to flood tho holds, but the Inrushing water failed to check tho rapidly spreading flames. Smoke poured from the warship and attracted the attention of the other ships of the squadron, which hurrled-" hurrled-" ly despatched pinnaces with men and fire apparatus to the aid of their sister sis-ter shop. Presently minor explosions began within tho Libertc and many seamen flung themselves overboard. Cries of, "Save yourselves; fire near magazines," could be heard ringing aqross the water in the stillness of the clearmornlng. From every side scores of sailors leaped overboard and swam frantically frantical-ly for safety, but scarcely more than 100 had plunged Into the water before the series of detonations culminated in a terrific oxploslon that seemed to tear out the side of the great steel-vessel, steel-vessel, which swayed over to one side and sank swiftly. In a moment dead bodies and debris were floating about In the disturbed waters that splashed around the up-perworks. up-perworks. In a wide circle around the spot where the craft bad floated so proudly a few minutes before, tho seamen who escaped deaths were struggling desperately and small boats wore picking up as many as they could reach. Requiem Salute. As the battleship went down, several sev-eral of hor guns discharged a requiem salute. The Llberte had a complement of 700 men. Of these 140 were away on shore leave, so that 5G0 were aboard when the fire broke out. A rough estimate es-timate places the number of those who jumped overboard somewhere between be-tween 100 and 200. The rumble of the explosion was heard throughout tho city, jyid immense im-mense crowds of peoplosatberecUati the wharf.' - ' J ' -,wW Tho latest estimate this afternoon places the number ofmiss!ng from the Liberie at 350. To these must be adde'd 100 men from tho other ships who wero killed Several small boats, which had gone from the other warships to the aid of the Llberte, sank when the final explosion ex-plosion occurred. Twenty men were killed and fifty injured on board the Democrat I, and there were fatalities on the Verlte and Ropubllque. Tho latter was damaged. dam-aged. and was obliged to dock hastily. Nearly every vessel of the squadron lost some men of tho parties sent to the aid of the burning battleship. Eight of the men were Injured by flying fragments blown from the Liberie Lib-erie or by bursting shells The Llberte was broken in two by the final explosion. She sank In forty feet of water. Largo portions of the upper structure remained above tho surface. Those were swept by the flames and tho burning of black powder pow-der caused a dense smoke thnt obscured ob-scured the wreck. With tho last convulsion of the mighty sea fighter, men and wreckage were tosned high In the air. a shower of human limbs, bits of flesh, articles of clothing, pieces of armor plate and splinters of wood landing on the decks of tho Vcrlto and wide circle of men in the smaller boats standing by. Tho officers and men of the Verlte beheld an awful picture of disaster and death. (Continued on Pajo Three.) oo WARSHIP ELOWN UP. (Continued from Pago One.) Might Have Been Short Circuit. Paris, Sept 25. The minister of marine, M. Delcasse, received the members of ifa press this afternoon and talked to,ihem about tho catastrophe catastro-phe He -was greatly distressed and spoke, -with emotion of the deplorable oveni coming so soon after the splen-)fo splen-)fo naval review. The ship had 717 officers and men, he said, of whom 140 were ashore on leave. Two hundred and seventy-four others havjo been accounted for, loavlng 303 missing-, besides be-sides some losses among the men of tho other ships. In considering the possible causes of the explosion, M. Delcasse excluded exclud-ed that of spontaneous combustion of powder, since it had been regularly renewed and the magazines were kept at a moderate temperature. M. Del-casse Del-casse thought the theory of a short circuit advanced technically at Toulon Tou-lon was the most probable. Nearly ovorj vessel of the squadron lost some men of the parties sent to the aid of the burning battleship. E!ght of the men were injured by flying fragments blown from the Lib-erto Lib-erto or by bursting shells The Llberte was broken In two by the final explosion. She sank in forty feet of water I arge portions of the upper structure remained above tho surface. These were swept by the flames and the burning of black powder pow-der caused a dense smoke that obscured ob-scured the wreck. With the last convulsion of the mighty sea fighter, men and wreckage were tosBed high in the air. a shower of human limbs, bits of flesh, articles of clothing, pieces of armor plate and splinters of wood landing on the decks of the Verite and wide circle of men in the smaller boats standing byl Tho officers and mon of the Veritxs behold an awful picture of disaster and death. Greatest Naval Dlcacter. Washington, Sept. 25. If subsequent subse-quent information bears out tho first advices as to tho extent of the loss of life on tho Liberto, the disaster will go down in history as one of the greatest in naval annals, the loss of more than 250 lives on the American battleship Maine, Feb. 15, 1898, standing stand-ing second in the mortality list. Based upon the first reports of tho terrible naval disaster in Toulon harbor, har-bor, tho oxperts of the navy department depart-ment here were disposed to believe that tho explosion on the Liberte resulted re-sulted from spontaneous ignition of some of the smokeless powder which had deterjoratod by being kept too long without Inspection. It is to guard ngalnsJ :hi8t such, acoldents; that United States naval regulations require a careful examination of the powder in the magazines of warships at comparatively short intervals. This examination involves a chemical test calculated to demonstrate absolutely the safety of tho powder. Stunning Blow. Paris, Sept. 25. Tho news of tho explosion of the magazines of the battleship Liberie came as a stunning blow to the French public and to naval nav-al officials. It is the climax of a long -series of disasters which have marked the history of the French navy since the blowing up of the battleship Ienu on March 3, J 907 The accounts of the disaster as received here durlnz the morning hours varied widely The most authentic dispatches slated that tho sinking came nearly two horns after the dlscovory of the fire In the forward hold. Another account said that tho ship broke In half from the force of the explosions and sank twenty minutes later. According to this version, the battleship afterwards after-wards reappeared at tho surface for a tlmo, a grim carcass of iron, surrounded sur-rounded by a tangled mass of wreckage. wreck-age. Estimates of the number of dead vary from 350 to 500. Disaster In French Navy. Tho battleship Llberte was tho typo of ship of the so-called Liberte class in tho French navy a boat of 14,900 tons' displacement and an over-all length of 452 feet. She carried a crow of 793 and boro four 12-inch guns and ten guns of tho French 7.0-lnch type. She also had twenty-three small guns and foir torpedo tubes. She was completed In 1907 at a cost of about $7,000,000. Tho Liberto class battleships ln cludo tho Democrat I, the Justice, the Vcrlte and" the Liberte, all lS-knot vessels ves-sels of the most, modern type. They o ' corrospond approximately to tho five' Amorlcan battleships of tho Now Jersey Jer-sey class, IncludinK. tho Virginia. Georgia, Nebraska, Rhodo Island and New Jersey. Tho recent history of tho French "navy contains a series of disastrous accidents, most of them caused by explosions, and ' several .occurring at Toulon, tho sceno ot today's catastrophe. ca-tastrophe. On March 12, 1907, the battleship Iena was almoBt destroyed by the explosion of her magazine and 107 officers of-ficers and men lost their lives. Until today the Iena diraser stood as the greatest recent calamity suffered by tho French navy In times of peace Liko the Liberto, the Iena was blown up In the harbor of Toulon, but the Io9S of life was less, mainly boennpo the lona remained afloat. An investigation of the Iena explosion explo-sion resulted In an officltil report that It was duo to Bponiaeoun combustion, com-bustion, of powder In a magazine where the temperature was too high on account of the proximity of tho dynamo compartment. The report severely conaurod the organization of the navy and said- "The real cause of the dlsastor was the absence of accord as well as tho divisions and antagonistic existing 111 the different branches of the service. The distressing weakness of the central cen-tral power explains tho progressive weakening of our naval forces. Where will It lead us'" A parliamentary committee appointed appoint-ed In 1907 presented a report scathingly scath-ingly condemning the naval administration adminis-tration of tho preceding ten years and recommending a oomploto reorganization reor-ganization with special attention to the elimination of red uoe and tho distribution or responsibility. Other French Disasters. Othor notable French disasters of recent years were: Oct 10, 190G Submarine Ltttln lost off Blzcrta, thirteen dead. Feb. S. 1907 Explosion on torpedo boat No. 339, nine dead. Fob. 9, 1907 CrulHcr Jean Bart lost off the northwostorn coast of Africa, no deaths. Aug. 13. 1907 Gun exploded aboard school ship Cotlronne. at Toulon; six dead. Sept 23. 1908 Gun exploded aboard cruiser La Toucho Trovllle at Toulon; thirteen dead, May 27, 1010 Submarine 'Pluvloso remained atibmerced aftqr diving in tho harbor off Calais; twenty-seven dead. Sept, 10. 1911 Gun exploded -a board cruiser Glolro at Toulon ; oho mull killed and thirteen Injured, five fnlal-1 |