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Show Gas Held Responsible For L. A. Explosion T,OS AN'GIOMOS, (Hit. 18 (U.P.J The explosion in the 1 1-story garment capital building which j caused damage within an eight Mock radius "id UijureU le- J tween 40 and 50 persons ye- ' terday, was caused by gas, a j commKtoe of investigators re- ; ported today to the city super- i intendent of builtUngs. j v - . LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18 (U.ft) j Origin of the terrific explosion that wrecked the 11-story garment capital building, injured 50. persona per-sona and caused property damage of $1,500,000 by shaking the entire Los Angeles wholesale district, was a mystery today to authorities investigating in-vestigating it, Only two of those injured by flames or 'lying debris were in serious condition. They wer Hy-imn Hy-imn Schulman,. proprietor Oi the fifth floor establishment in which the explosion originated, and Irving Ir-ving Chain, who was with Schulman. Schul-man. , . . " j Many theories as to cause of the explosion were offered. It was be- ) lieved Schulman started it acci-' .dentally when he opened the suite of the Beverly Hills Frock, Inc., md puil n switch to turn off the burglar alarm. Sparks which flew from, the switch, were believed to have ignited gas in the ' room, but the presence of the gas itself was a mystei y. Some of the theories advanced were: That a petcock had been left open after a meter was removed and tie gas filled the room after most of the windows in the Beverly Bever-ly Hills shop were closed for fumigation fumi-gation the night before the blast. That a length of pipe had been removed from a gas line in the loom. , That a "heavier than air" gas had been injected into the building alarm switch was . tampered with so that it would spark and ignite i.he gas. By heavier-than-air gas, Investigator Blayney Matthews of the district attorney's office said he meant gas v-hich lays close to the floor. Police Chemist IZck Welch, who yesterday suggested that there was u possibility that T. N. T. had a part in the blast, said today that subsequent investigation Tevealed tht his probably was not true. Welch said his final tests would not be concluded until' late today or Monday, at which time he would be able to say definitely whether T. N. T. was present or not. |