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Show Ami S Many Men Supposed to Have Been Blown to Pieces :Ncw York, Feb. 2. Three separate investigations were started this morning morn-ing to fix the responsibility for the dynamite explosion in New York Harbor Har-bor yesterday. One will be conducted conduct-ed by a coroner's jury under Coroner James M. Houghton of Jersey City; nnother by Inspector of Combustibles James M. Connolly of Jersey City, and a third by Public Prosecutor Pierre P. Garvcn of Hudson county, N. J. The coroner's jury will spend several sev-eral days studying the scene of the disaster and tho formal inquest will probably not take place until next weok. Tho Jersey City polico and the federal fed-eral authorities will assist in all three investigations. Tho federal authorities, authori-ties, however, have put the case separately sepa-rately up to Nov; Jersey, although tho transportation of explosives about the harbor Is under the jurisdiction of the Treasury Departmentorand under ! the direct supervision of anchorages, an office of the revenue cutter sorvice. I His Investigation shows that when tho explosion occurred the boats re-I re-I ceiving the dynamite were tied to a I pier located under the jurisdiction of iNew Jersey authorities. The state of New York will have no hand in the investigation. It has jurisdiction over all crimes committed In the Hud-son Hud-son river except when they occur on l boats tied up on tho Jersey side. Doflnlte estimates of tho number of dead are still impossible. The total to-tal of dead and missing is thirty- The list of dead in tho hands of the coroner coro-ner is seven and it is that official's belief that most of the 23 men whom ho classes as "missing" were blown to pieces. The property loss, according to various var-ious officials estimates, will be between be-tween $750,000 and 1,000,000. Tho heaviest sufferer in this respect is the Central Railroad of New Jersey, at whose docks tho disaster occurred. Vice President Basler sets the railroad's rail-road's loss at about $200,000. Tho TJnited States government is also a heavy loser, with $50,000 damages at Ellis Island and an additional $10,-000 $10,-000 or $15,000 at the army hcad-qaarters hcad-qaarters on Governor's; Islands and. "at Bedfoe1s "Island, where the'Statue-of the'Statue-of Liberty was ahaUsn bare of many windows and big electric lights. The blast was probably the largest explosion of dynamite that has ever occurred anywhere, intentionally or by accident. Fifty thousand pounds went up in the "single detonation. There was a marvelous escupe, however, how-ever, from a much bigger disaster, for there was another 50,000 pounds standing on a sidetrack within 100 feet of the pier and, which stood un-oxploded un-oxploded through It all. The cars which contained it were twisted and torn and the boxes were strewn on every side, but the dynamite, thick with dust and debris of the explosion, was unharmed and intact in Its paper coverings. The exact cause of the blast has not been definitely established and may never be explained to the satisfaction satis-faction of the experts. Officials of the raiiVoad company and too powder companv maintain that something more that a mere concussion must havo occurred to set off the dynamite. An explosion of gasoline on board the tugboat or a boiler explosion on the lighter is their theory. A statement state-ment issued by the Central Railroad of New Jersey says: "No one has been found who can tell definitely what took place Captain Cap-tain Land, who is in charge of the marine department and whoso office is en the adjoining pier, say that to his best belief the -boiler on the lighter light-er or tugboat exploded, sotting off the dynamite. Tho officers of the company have taken even' step to secure a full and acurate report concerning what took place but those who were in charge of the work are either dead or so badly injured as to bo unable to give detailed information." informa-tion." The bureau of combustibles of New York City, in a statement by Commissioner Commis-sioner Johnson, puts a little sidelight side-light on the disaster by declaring that the Katherine W., the dynamite lighter light-er where the explosion occurred, is an old offonder, and the district attorney was already preparing to take action ac-tion this week against her in the case of a shipment of 2.50Q pounds of dynamite dyna-mite which was Improperly left un-gardod un-gardod on an East River pier on Christmas eve. The explosion was seized by the bureau of combustibles, condemned and sold at auction. istrict Attarney Whitman finds a lesson for New York in tho disaster. "Legislative action should bo taken immediately to provide a proper punishment pun-ishment for violations of the law which may lead to such, a terrible loss of life and property as was occasioned oc-casioned by the Communlpaw disaster," disas-ter," ho says, in a statement issued from his office. "Public safety demands de-mands that no such single quantity of explosive should bo permitted anywhere any-where near a settled community. "CIrcum3tnncs seem to point to a grave indifference felt by tho cm-ploves cm-ploves of the powder company toward both their own safety and thai of the public. Rogurdlesn of how lightly they consider thQOlr own lives, they have no right to menace ,tho nubile No matter liow stringent the law or how heavy the penalty It would be justified, just-ified, If It could be shown that it had prevented such a terrible loss of life as occurred yeslorday." Robert Pcele, pro'fessor of mining In Columbia university and an export ex-port In the use pCjlynaralic, has the following to say la a statement to tho public: "Tho Communipaw explosion should receive tho attention of th6 legislature legisla-ture of overy state In the union I be-llovo be-llovo from my experience with dyna mite that every state should enact a law making it compulsory with those ship explosives of this nature to have them frozen before being put In transit. tran-sit. It should also bo demanded that competent men, experts with dynamite dyna-mite and its dangers, Bhould be in charge of the shipments from the moment they start from the factory." Public Prosecutor Garven maoe tho following statement in Jersey City: "Tho facts of the explosion will bo set before the grand jury todny and a rigid investigation will ensue. The law of New Jersey is sufficient to punish the guilty In this case, and punished they will be." , Captain Ira Harris of the United I States inspection service, declares that the explosion brings home a menace which has long threatened the traffic at this port. Hc; recommends recom-mends that additional safeguards bo thrown around tho transportation of high explosive up and down the lanes of water traffic. |