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Show 'EXPLOSION SHATTERS DOZEN TOWNS? 1 900 MEN ARE MISSING; $18,000,000 PLANT WRECKED New York TNT Factory Scene of Great Disaster r - By Associated Praaa. NEW YORK, Oct. S. After mora than eighteen hour of terror, ter-ror, a dozen town in northern New Jersey were in a shattered condition con-dition this afternoon as consequence of the munition disaster which visited the district last night with trail of tremendous explosions ex-plosions and rafftntf firer which 'continued throuirnout today.. . ' . At the $18,000,000 shell malting plant -one of the freatest industries of its kind in the world of T. A. Gillespie A Co., situated situ-ated at Morgan, N. Y., as one of a community of manufactories producing ammunition for the American and allied armies, an explosion ex-plosion from an unknown cause scattered firebrands among tons of trinitrotoluol, the most powerful explosive known. Detonation followed upon -detonation . and these repeatedly shook terrain for a radius of fifty miles, this territory including New York City, where buildings were shaken and glass shattered. ' With the situation at Morgan such that firemen, soldiers, sailors sail-ors and civilian workers found it impossible to penetrate to a xone within two miles of the Gillespie plant, no definite estimate could be made of the number of persons who perished last nigjit and in the early morning hours. The flames burned unopposed attthe Gillespie shops and were threatening with destruction two great munition plants in the vicinity. vi-cinity. . f . Of the company's 2000 night shift employees, only 101 had been definitely accounted for. , . - Whether the 1900 unaccounted for were dead or merely had Red, it was impossible to determine. Firemen were fighting the flames and scattered shells were exploding and all energies were devoted to averting a worse disaster. The task of checking the casualties had to be left in abeyance. Thousands of people had hurried away from Morgan and sur rounding towns during, the night, leaving many communities virtually vir-tually without resident populations and it is probable that with them went many of the Gillespie employes. Unofficial estimates placed the known dead at upward of 137. Fourteen bodies were reported to have been identified. That others are in the. rujns is bel'eved likely .. It is feared some men were destroyed and that no trace of them would ever be found. -i Meanwhile some of the communities which surrounded Morgan Mor-gan with populations totaling more than 60,000 persons were evacuated evac-uated almost as completely as they were in European war cones. Homes have been ruined and the roads leading out of devastated devas-tated district were thronged all night and all day with men, women and children fleeing to points of safety. With them moved ambulances ambu-lances carrying injured men to hospitals in other places. Fearing other explosions, the authorities of many towns ordered or-dered homes evacuated, but found that their warnings had already been obeyed. The Atlantic division of the American Red Cross, receiving estimates from its agents at Perth Amboy that approximately 4000 persons were refugees and that one-fourth ' of these were in need of food, dispatched ambulances, motor canteens and automobiles containing physicians, nurses and social workers into northern New Jersey. Headquarters was established at Perth Amboy "with relief workers prepared to erect tent colonies for the homeless or to arrange ar-range with New York hotels to throw open their door. Hot soup, sandwiches .and other food was served to the hungry. This work, the culmination of preparations made long ago by the Red Cross in anticipation of marine or munition disasters in time of war, was carried on effectively under the direction of Alexander Alex-ander M. Wilson, director of civilian relief. Reserve supplies were ready in abundance and were quickly sent forward. Shells and Flames Add to Horror Bjf Aaaoclaiad Praaa. I'EKTM AM13QY, N. J., Oct. 5. With flames raging from the buildings where explosions occurred oc-curred all night long at the great shell loading plant of T. A. Gillespie A Co., at Morgan, N. J., indications in-dications at to a. m. today were that perhaps hundreds of persons had perished. Another terrific explosion of a TNT magazine occurred at 10:2'J a. m. . Still other explosions explo-sions followed. - MiniHry Riisrns mere tnrown aronnn the plsnt and all newspsper men were) barred from the vicinity of the explosion, ex-plosion, The Injured were belnR cared for In public buildings and at private homes and scores rtf those who were more seriously hurt were heliiR hur-i hur-i rled t hospitals st nearby towns. I With biR explosions still tnklns place rat 10 a ni. shnklnR surronndlnK towns. Vice I'rrsldrnt Yates of the (Iillespie ; conipany Rave out the follnmlnR state merit "We cannot conceive how It can last murh lonRer. The large ms km sines ef .TNT are hurled In a bank of the t 'heeHequake creek and we feel are safe." . Saloons were closed and tha town was under military control, State Ruardsmen. I'nited States cohsI Ruarrts and a battery of field artillery were riolnR Riiard duty. j The actually known dead number i fourteen, their bolea having been re- , covered. I . Workers Blown To Bits by Blast By United eVe,. NKW YORK. Oct. a rVores of persons per-sons were believed to be dead a nd ninny others maimed In various degrees de-grees were in hospitals in New Jersey early todsy and the nation's greatest shell loading plant, the property of the T. A. Hlleapi I,oadtnR company of Morgan, N. J., near Kouth Amboy, was In ruins as the result of an exploaion of trinitrotoluol last night. Kxploalona were continuinR early to-i (Continued on page I.) . " f . '. ,.5 TNT Factory Scene Of Great Disaster : : : ' i (Continued from page 1.) day. At T a. m. there waa a hlaat that ahook houeea In Brooklyn, ehatterlng Wlndowa at Flatbuah. llou.ee near the acene of the exploelon were awept from their foundations. Hcarcely a window la left Intact In Perth Amboy. I Military authorities who have taken 'charge of the territory refueed to make any estimate of the number of dend. A military guard haa been thrown about the district. Acceaa to the devastated district waa practically Impoaaible at an early hour. sooa workers In the plant. The ex plosion atruek Juat after tha change In the ehlft. Hundreda of women employed em-ployed during the day had left the plant and none of theaet It la believed, waa killed. (treat destruction waa caused by fly' Ing shell., which mounted Into the air and whiatled Into the aurroundlng country aa their fuaes were touched off by the fire. A civilian talking to a guard la aald to have been killed Instantly In-stantly when hia head waa torn off by one of theae shells. The guard was not Injured. Blast Shakes New York City By Assoclstsd Preaa. NEW YORK, Oct. i. The explosions broke windows of bulldlnga in the lower low-er part of the city. Fifty of them craahed In on the Broadway aide of the produce exchange building at 'Howling Clreen. I'ollce report e were that a great amount nf glass was broken In windows on Htaten island. 137 Killedls Paper's Estimate y United Preea. NKWARK. N. 1. net. S An estimate esti-mate of 117 dead In the expkieioa of the Gillespie ehell leading plant was made todnv la an estra editUMi of tbe Newerk Kvenlng ledger. Ninety-four workmea war killed. It wea staled, la Ike firee. rmtlding deeiroyed. wiia tweatr-flve firemen of the eommnr l frea aad eighteen plant guards waa weert la ts fight the flames. Adde4 ta thla. H waa Mated, aeveral aev-eral elvlltaa reei-we re have not been aeen ainra the entered tee banding on reacue work. Telephone and telegraph wires . had been swept away early by the explosions, explo-sions, Ke porta were made to New Tor It by means of mesaengera sent to telephones from tbe area, NEW YORK SHAKEN. ' New York was experiencing the . thrills of 4 bombardment by the heaviest heavi-est guna. Distant craehee boomted through tha lower section of the city. Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn ' were rocked at times by the force of the blaata. Black Tom and Klngaland xploalons, which shocked the elty before be-fore the United Htatea entered the war, paled beside the tremendous force Of this crash. , The property damage will run Into the mtlilona. The plant alone, according accord-ing to eattmatea. was valued at $ll, O0. 000. This hss been utterly destroyed, de-stroyed, that part of It remaining at dawn today waa slowly crumbling under un-der the explosions of shell stores or was being eaten away by a tire which csuld not be controlled. BODIES TORN TO SITS. There were thousands In ths plant when tbs first exploelon took place. As those not hurt dashed from their poet-tlons poet-tlons ether blasts followed. Kemnants of human bodies, according to reports, were found In various places. One man declared he had aeen a twisted mass of arms snd legs In a blacksmith shop. Three hundred men were In the buthl-Ing buthl-Ing when ths flrat blast let go. flow many of them escaped, or hether any did. Is only a matter for speculation. 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