Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 August 1917 — THRASHING MACHINE BLEW UP [ARTICLE]

THRASHING MACHINE BLEW UP

Sensational Stories Circulated Following Accident Last Thursday. The thrashing machine belonging to W. W. Sage and W. E. Jacks blew up Thursday forenoon while thrashing on the Sol Guth farm in Milroy township. Sensational stories were circulated in Rensselaer regarding the cause of the explosion, some of which placed the responsibility on the kaiser and his agents in this country, who had placed a stick of dynamite in a sheaf of oats, but the facts do not bear out any suOh contention. The thrashing had been in progress for about two or three hours and from some cause or another the blower choked repeatedly. It was the' practice when this occurred to cease feeding grain into the thrasher and speed up the engine to blow out the choked straw. This was being done when the accident occurred and it could not have been caused by any explosive for nothing was going into the tnaChine. The facts probably are that in speeding the machine the heavy cylinder where the grain enters bursted, and traveling several thousand revolutions per minute the pieces flew in all directions and literally wrecked the machine: That no one was injured appears a miracle, for workers were on top as well as on all sides of the machine when the accident occurred. The machine was twelve or fourtees years_ old and worth S4OO or SSOO, with no insurance. Mr. Sage and Mr. Jacks have purchased another thrasher, the old one being damaged beyond repair.