Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 April 1890 — AN AWFUL EXPLOSION. [ARTICLE]

AN AWFUL EXPLOSION.

A CHICAGO STARCH-HOUSE BLOWN TO BUINB. The Disaster Believed to Have Been Caused by an Explosion of Dust in the Air—Three to Nine Lives Lost and Nearly a Score of People In Jarett Chicago dispatch: An explosion in the starch-house of the Chicago Sugar Refinery company at Taylor and Beach streets resulted in the Joss of from three to nine lives and the wounding of seventeen others. The dead who have been recovered are: FRANK GRAF of South Union street. TIEDEMAN of 194 DeKoven street Unknown man. not yet identified, The wounded are: Dr. Arno Behr, the superintendent. 5501 Cornell avenue; burned about head and arms. Martin Stork. 154 DeKoven slreet; badly burned. Bernard Ditthelm, 57 Kramer street; burned about face and hands. Peter Gerald, 268 West Taylor street; burned about the head and neck. John Gilligan, 635 Union street; very badly burned. John Hobald. foreman, 188 Eighteenth street; burned on head, face, arms, aud hands. Fritz Graf, Union street; leg fractured and burned about face. William Isekinghaus, 67 Kramer street, burned and braised on head. Oscar Schuetz. 433 South Canal street, badly burned on face, arms, and chest. William Hollish. 192 DeKoven street burned on face, arms, chest, and hands. Joseph Osmond, West Twentieth street, slightly injured and burned. Frank Baptiste, 457 South Union street, badly burned about face, hands, and arms, and left leg fractured—will probably die. Hermann Storpe, 49’> West Erie street. Unknown man, badly burned, taken to 297 Leavitt street. Albert Popp, hurt {internally, taken tc county hospital. Thomas Holmes, watchman, Beach and Taylor streets. Fred Swatek, slightly injured, taken tc friend’s house. The missing are: Albert Hess. Frank Hallish, 70 Clayton street. Michael Hauer, Union streets, between Barber and Wright streets.

Several days before' Franz Schladorn and John Freese, two of the men employed in the drying-room of the starch-house, thought they smelled what seemed to them the odor of burning crust. As fire is the most dangerous element in a starch-mill the two men instantly reported their suspicions to the superintendent. Dr. Baer, who immediately caused a thorough investigation tc be made. It was soon discovered that a small blaze had originated in the dry-steam coils which surrounded the drying-room. These coils, twenty to thirty in number, are laid horizontally one above the other clear around the room, and are incased for greater precaution against fiire oi even superheating in a sheet-iron box made perfectly air tight. The only opening is at one-end, where a door has been left,but which is usually kept tightly closed. When Dr. Baer came he opened that door and discovered the fire. It was only smouldering, and a few bucketfuls of water extinguished th® incipient blaze. On the day of the explosion this odor, somewhat stronger and more penetrating than before, manifested itself in the drying-room. Schladom and Freese again went after Supt. Baer. When he came he proceeded at once to what he rightly judged to be the seat of danger. The door opening into the steam coils*, incorrectly called by the employes of the refinery “the furnace door,” was thrown open by the doctor. Ahnost instantlly a tremenduous explosion- followed. It seemed as if the starch-house bad been lifted bodily into the air. The next pioment it settled, a crumbling mass of broken timbers and flying brick?. It is supposed the Qrst fire had not been entirely extinguished,, and that when Dr. Baer opened the gate of the sheet-iron casing the superheated atmosphere coming into contact withthe powder-filled air of the starch-room instantly fired upthe millions of particles that filled the room.

Certain it is that not one of the sixteen or eighteen men in the two rooms at the time remerfiber anything about the occurrence. They heard the explosion, that is all. When they recovered consciousness they were in the laboratory of the. refinery, where- they nad been carried after being rescued from the runs. In less than a minute after the explosion took place the s<)o or more employes in the refinery were rushing frantically down the stairways. It is a great wonder nobody wits hurt in that mad rush.. The building is practically devoid of easy modes of exits, the stairways being rickety wooden affairs, dark and narrow, and less than four feet wide. A stream of humanity powred out of the building for fifteen, minutes after the explosion. It wa» fortunate that nc women were in the- feuiiikTing. It was still daylight when tiie accident occurred, and it attracted many people. The starch house- juts almost to the water's edge on the south branch of the river. The opposite bank was crowded with people. It was really the only available spot from which to view the ruins. Another big crowd also assembled in front of the office, and another crowd stood on the tracks to the north of the starch house. There was little fire among the ruins, but plenty ol smoke, which at times was blinding. The two fire boats arrived early,on the scene and did excellent work. ' It was a hard blaze to get at, partly owing to the inequalities of the ground and partly to the high easterly wind which was then blowing. ' Most of the dead bodies were not recovered until after dark. Tom Llewellyn. aged twenty-two of Brazil, Ind., has been sentenced tc two years in the penitentiary for purjury. He had assaulted a woman and od the witness stand swore that anothei person struck the blow, A committee appointed to investigate the accounts of Justice John Mars, o. Ashland, *Wis., reports a shortage oi several thousand dollars.