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The Omaha Sunday Bee
VOL. XLVII NO. 49. OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 19, 1913. 5 SECTIONS 46 PAGES. FIVE CENTS.
mm
200 ARE KILLED BY
I. N.T. EXPLOSION
AT AETNA PLANT
Long Factory Buildings Hurled High Into Air With
Ponderous Equipment and Scores of Workmen;
Red Cross Workers Hurry to Scene;
' Heroic Nurse Severely Injured.
(By Associated Press.)
Pittsburgh, Pa., May 18. Probably 200 men were killed
today when an explosion of T. N. T. demolished the plant of
the Aetna Chemical company, at Oakdale, on the Panhandle
Jivision of the Pennsylvania railroad, 16 miles from here.
Five hundred workmen were startled at noon by a report,
7 not much louder than the crack of a pistol. It came from the
soda house, but they knew its deadly import, and as one man
they rushed for the nearest exit.
Before they could gain the open, the very air k seemed to
burst into flame, the earth heaved and rocked, and with a roar
that was heard for miles, the factory buildings were hurled
high into the air, carrying with them ponderous equipment and
scores of men.
' A great cloud of dust and smpkey
lettled over the scene and through
Its deadly fumes toAi and mangled
forms dropped to the earth, many
. ' dead, but 'others to meet their end
in the flaming debris.
The number of dead had not been
; determined tonight and it is possible
that it may not be known for days,
if indeed it ever will be known. State
and county authorities agreed that it
' would reach 200.
Many of the injured, some of whom
were found half a mile from the rem
nants of the factory, were brought
to Pittsburgh hospitals by special
trains and in ambulances, all of them
so badly hurt that in only a compara
tively few instances were physicians
able to hold out any hope for their
recovery. The property loss was es
timated at $1,500,000.
Blast Follows Blast.
Immediately after the second ex
plosion the mass of broken beams and
twisted timbers broke out in a great
blaze, while the highly inflamable
chemicals used in the manufacture of
T.. N T. and T.f N A. added ample
fuel to the flames. ' Blast after bias
followed as the heat reached the
tanks, each one scattering the burn
ing embers and endangering property
in the entire community. Noxious
! gases spread over the valley and sur
rounding hills, making perilous me
work of rescue.
Telephone and telegraph wires
' wires were wrenched by the explosion
. 'and the tracks of the Pittsburgh, Cirt
, cinnati, Chicago and St. Louis rail
. road (the Panhandle route) were
blocked by the falling buildings. An
employe hastened to Carnegie, four
miles distant, where wreck and re-
- lief trains -were made up and hurried
to Oakd?k, while every hospital in
Pittsbu4. sent ambulances with
nurses and doctors. Company guards,
under the direction of state con
stabulary, surrounded the burning
-ruins and later were reinforced by
deputy sheriffs and deputy coroners.
Doctors and Nurses Brave Peril.
For a time it seemed as though it
would be impossible to reach the
wounded because of the heat, the con
. stantly widening zone of gases and
the danger from explosions. But the
nurses and doctors, aided by the offi
cers, made" their way as best they
could. v
- Miss Meryle Aschelman of New
' Philadelphia, O., a member of the
staff of. St. John's hospital, Pitts
burgh, who was among the first to an
swer the call for help, was perhaps
fatally, injured. Other rescuers were
- caught near a little stream, into
"which acid and oil had poured. It
exploded as they crossed, and a
number were thought to have per
ished. , .Sheriff William S. Haddock almost
lost his life during one of the late
explosions. A very heavy piece of
, 'steel, - blown from the wreckage,
passed close to him and the force of
, the blast threw him to the ground.
He was badly bruised but continued
, - his w6rk.
Each succeeding explosion reduced
' the blazing piles as embers and chem
icals were widely scattered. Soon
fter 6 o'clock, an explosion, louder
and more violent than any since noon,
swept away the remnants of the fire
and practically cleared the blackened
pace.
Many Bodies Burned.
Many bodies were consumed in the
'flames, the authoriies declared, while
parts of others were so tossed about
it would be impossible to identify
such portions as. might eventually be
iound.
At the stations of various communi
tiesior 15 miles on either side of Oak
dale were assembled women Red
. Cross workers, on their way to Pitts
burgh to participate in a parade.
Abandoning all thoughts of parade
the women flocked to the .afflicted
. irea by automobile and by trolley,
ready for any sacrifice or service. And
these women lent valuable aid in
bringing order and system out of the
chaos among the families of the
workmen.
, Answering first call, for .hospital
aid and ambulances' went a corps of
nwses and physicians from St. John's
hospital. One of the nurses, Meryl
Aschelman, whose home is in New
. Philadelphia, O., was acting as a
Btretche. bearer, carrying a wounded
man to the ambulance when in one
of the explosions 'she was thrown to
the ground and the patient on the
stretcher was killed". One of her legs
jvas blow off, . .
HAYVARD WRITES
OF HIS REGIMENT
ON FRONT LINE
Former Nebraskan, Now at
Head of New York Troops
in France, Says He's
"Two-Gun Man."
Colonel William Hayward, former
Nebraskan, but now at the head of a
regiment of New York troops in
France, has written a letter to one of
his friends, describing the interesting
life of army men at the front. His
letter, which has been passed by the
censor, was directed to a friend on
this side and by him sent by carbon
to others. ,
This New York regiment was the
only body of troops to reach the other
side bearing a state name. It is "now,
as he says, designated otherwise. Ex
tracts from the letter follow:
"Th; most wonderful thing in the
world has happened to this regi
ment. A fairy tale has materialized
and a beautiful dream has come
true. We are now a combat unit-one
of the regiments of a French division
in the t French army, assigned to a
sector of trenches, and it is now a
question of days when we will be
holding it, the same as each of the
other regiments of our wonderful di
vision is holding its sector. Groups
of my regiment, including 103 en
listed men from different companies
per group, and five officers are being
rotated at the front in our .prospec
tive sector now. We have with us,
(Continued on Page rive, Column Three.)
Arrest Italian Alleged
To Have Assaulted Schuitz
D. Argentina, 1463 Binney street,
was arrested Saturday and is being
held for investigation. Police allege
that he assaulted John Schuitz, fore
man of the Missouri Pacific shops, on
May S. About 7 o'clock on the morn
ing of May 5 Schuitz was struck
down with a steel bar and his skull j
fractured. Witnesses allege Argen-
tina committed the assault.
Harry Lauder in
CHAPTER I THE START.
YON days I Yon palmy, peaceful days! I
go back to them, and they are as a
dream. I go back to them again and
again, and live them over. Yon days of an
other age, the age of peace, when no man dared
even to dream of such times as have come upon
us.
It was in November of 1913, and I was set
ting forth upon a great journey, that was to
take me to the other side of the world before I
came back again to my wee hoose amang the
heather at Dunoon. My wife was going with
me, and my brother-in-law, Tom Vallance, for
they go everywhere with me. But my son,
John, was coming with us only to Glasgow,
and then, .when we set out for Liverpool and
the steamer that was to bring us to America
he was to go back 'to Cambridge. He was
near done there, the bonnie laddie. He had
taken .his decree as Bachelor of Arts, and was
to set out soon upon a trip around the world.
Was thatfinot a fine plan I had made for
my son? That great voyage he was to have,
to see the world and all its peoples! It wa3
proud I was that I could give it to him. He
was but it may be I'll tell you more of John
later in this book! My pen runs awa' with
me, and my tongue, too, when I think of my
boy John.
We came to the pier at Dunoon, and there
she lay, the little ferry steamer, the black
smoke curling from her stack straight up to
God. Ah, the braw day it wasl There was a
frosty 6heen upon the heather, and the Clyde
was calm as glass. The tops of the hills were
coated with snow, and they stood out against
the horizon like great, big sugar loaves.
. We were a' happy that day I There was a
crowd to see us off. They had come to bid
me farewell and godspeed, all my friends and
my relations, and I went among them, shaking
them by the hand andthinking of the long
whiles before I'd be seeing them again. And
then all my goodbys were said, and we went
aboard, and my voyage had begun.
I looked back at the hills and the heather,
and I thought of all I was to do and see before
U. S. Sets No Limit to Efforts to Win War,
Wilson Declares in Opening Red Cross Drive
RINGER TO NAME
NEW CITY HEALTH
COMMISSIONER
"No Conclusion Reached pn
Appointments " Is Statement
After Conference With
Mayor Smith.
Mayor Smith and City Commis
sioners Ure, Ringer. Towl and Zim
nian held an informal conference yes
terday afternoon in the mayor's of
fice to go over matters in connection
with consolidation and rearrangement
of ''tv hall departments.
They reported progress, but noth
ing dennitdy settled. Individuals in
timated that at was fairly well agreed
that the city clerk's office will be
consolidated with the accounts of
finance department and that the as
phalt repair plant will be assigned to
public improvements department.
"We did not arrive at any con
clusion on appointments," was a
statement from the conference room.
It was agreed that Commissioner
Ringer shall appoint the new health
commissioner. It also was agreed
that the "new broom" will sweep out
a lot of jobs which existed under the
old regime.
TO
THE MEMORY OF MY
BELOVED SON. ' .
CAPTAIN JOHN LAUDER,
First 8th, Argyle and Sutherland
Highlanders Killed in France,
December 28, 1916.
Oh, there's sometimes I am lonely,
And I'm weary a' the day
To see the face and clasp the hand
Of him who is away.
The, only one God gave me,
My one and only joy,
My life and love were centered on
My one and only boy.
I saw him in his infant days
Grow up from year to year,
That he would some day be a man
I never had a fear.
His mother watched his every step,
'Twas our united joy
To think that he might be one day
My one and only boy.
I saw those hills again. I was going half way
round the world and back again. I was going
to wonderful places to see wonderful things
and curious faces. But oftenest the thought
came to me, as I looked at my son, that him
I would see again before I saw the heather
and the hills and all the friends and the rela
tions I was leaving behind me. For on his
trip around the world he was to meet us in
Australia 1 It was easier to leave him, easier
to set out, knowing that, thinking of thatl
Wonderful places I went t, surely. And
wonderful things I saw and heard. But the
most wonderful thing of all that I was to see
or hear upon that voyage I did not dream of
nor foresee. How was a mortal man to fore
see? How was he to dream of it?
Could I guess that the very next time I set
out from Dunoon pier the peaceful Clyde
would be dotted with patrol, boats, dashing
hither and thither I Could I guess that every
Now Come HeartyJ
Ready, to Put More Than
5,000,000 Men in France;
War Knitting World
Together. '
(By Associated Free.)
New York, May 18. To win the
war the United States is determined
to set no restrictions on the number
of men to be sent to France, President
Wilson1 declared here tonight in a
speech reaffirming the purpose of
America to set no limit on its effort.
As many men will go over seas as
ships can be found to carry them,
the president said, after referring to
statements that have been na 'e that
5,000,000 should go.
The United States, he said, will not
be diverted by insincere talk from the
Teutonic powers. Their proposals, he
declared, spring from a desire to have
a free hand in the east.
"I intend to stand by Russia as well
as France," he said.
PRESIDENT'S SPEECH. .
The president's speech in full fol
lows: "Mr. chairman and fellow country
men: I should be very sorry to think
Mr. Davison in any'Megrce curtailed
his exceedingly interesting speech for
fear that he was postponing mine, be
cause I am sure you listened with the
same intimate interest with which I
listened to the extraordinarily vivid ac
count he gave of the things which he
had realized because he had come in
contact with them on the other side
of the waters.
"We compass them with our imagi-
(Contlnued on rage Two, Column One.)
the War
When war broke out he buckled on
His sword, and said, "Goodby,
For I must do,my duty, Dad;
Tell mother not to cry; ,
Tell her that I'll come back again."
What happiness and joy I ,
But no, he died for Liberty,
My one and only boy. t
The days are long, the nights are
drear,
The anguish breaks my heart;
But oh! I'm proud my one and only
Laddie played his part.
For God knows best, His will be done,
His grace does me employ.
I do believe I'll meet again
My one and only boy.
where there would be boys in khaki, and
women weeping, and that my boy, John 1
Ah, but I'l not tell you of that now.
Peaceful the Clyde had been, and peaceful
was the Mersey when we sailed from Liver
pool for New York. I look back on yon voy
agethe last I took that way in days of peace.
Next timel Destroyers to guard us from the
Hun and his submarines, and to lay us a safe
course through the mines. And sailor boys,
about their guns, watching,' sweeping the sea
every minute for the flash of a sneaking pi
rate's periscope showing for a second above
a wave I
But tl&nl It was a quiet trip, with none
but the ups and doons of every Atlantic cross
ingmore ups than doons, I'm telling youl
I was glad to be in America again, glad to
see once more the friends I'd made. They
turned out to meet me and to greet me in New
.York, and as I traveled across the continent
WIDOW'S DEATH
LAST CHAPTER OF
KOUNTZE WILL
Insistence on Dower Right Led
to Trust Company Taking
Over All Kountze Family
Real Estate.
The death in New York three
weeks ago of Catherine Ruth
Kountze, widow of the late Augustus
Kountze, and one of Omaha's pio
neer residents, is the closing chapter
of an interesting will on file in the
county judge's office in the Pouglas
county court house.
Mrs. Kountze came to Omaha as a
bride after her marriage at Hanover
ton, O., in 1859, her husband being
one of the founders, with his broth
ers, of the famous Kountze Brothers'
banking firm and the family of promi
nent bankers still presiding over the
Kountze institutions. Augustus
Kountze built a beautiful and for that
time palatial residence well remem;
bered as "Forest Hill," in which he
and his wife held forth socially dur
ing the early days of Omaha and
where a niece, Miss Kitty Smith, who
lived with them, reigned as Omaha's
(Continued on Fare Two, Column Six.)
Zone -:-
to San
' I had
this new
ful how
has no
truth,
ica, that
against
It
from San
' new ones
ing
reason
that
GERMANS PREPARED
TO RENEW ASSAULT
ON WEST FRONT
Enemy Expected to Strike Wh enever Movement Will Be
Hidden By Fog; Americans Arriving Daily to Re
inforce Defense; Russians Threatening to Re
sist Further Invasion of Far East
(By Associated Press.)
Nearly three weeks have passed since the German offensive, '
begun March 21, died down at its final active point in futile as
saults on the Flanders front. Every indication, however, points
to the probability that the coming: week will witness its re
newal. The entente allied staffs, so far as their opinion can be
learned, appear convinced that the enemy has about completed
his reorganization and readjustment of forces and that he is
only awaiting weather suitable
blow.
DOCTOR UNDER
DEFENSE FIRE
IN LUSK TRIAL
Roberts Tells of Meeting With
Accused Girl; Says She
Asked Whether He
Loved Her.
Waukesha, Wis., May 18. Dr.
Davis Roberts was again the center
of interest at the trial of Grace Lusk
for slaying his wife when he re
sumed the witness stand today to face
a crossfire of questions from counsel
for the defense.
Henry Lockney, in his cross-exam-bation,
reviewed in detail the story
of the doctor, told yesterday on the
stand of his relations with Miss Lusk
and his meetings with her in Wauke
sha and Chicago.
Meeting in Office.
Dr. Roberts again told of a meeting
in Miss Lusk's office in the. Young
Men's Christian association, at which
he asked her to help him with a book
on cow diseases which he was writ
ing. "She asked me if I loved her," he
said, "and I replied that we were
practically strangers and that I re
spected her. She said that she did
not want my respect, but wanted me
to take her to Chicago for a good
time."
Ended With Kisses.
The doctor said that the meeting
ended with two kisses, but that he
could not remember whether he kissed
Miss Lusk or she kissed him. This
was in March, 1915.
From April, 1915, until July, 1916,
ho said he had met Miss Lusk at va
rious hotels in Chicago on an average
of once a month.
"Who paid the hotel bills?" he was
asked.
"She paid hers and I paid mine,"
he answered.
At 11 o'clock the court adjourned
until Monday with Dr. Roberts still
on the stand.
"A Minstrel in France" Tells
His Personal Experiences on
the Western Fighting Front
Francisco it was the same. Everywhere
friends; everywhere they came crowding
to shake me by the hand with a How are you
the day, Harry?"
It was a long trip, but it was a happy one.
How long ago it seems now, as I write, in
day of war I How far away are all
the common, kindly things that then I did not
notice, and that now I would give the world
and a' to have back again!
Then, everywhere I went, they pressed
their dainties upon me whenever I sat down
for a sup and a bite. The board groaned with
plenty. I was in a rich country, a country
where there was enough for all, and to spare.
And now, r.3 I am writing, I am traveling
again ajross America. And there is not
enough. When I sit down at table there is a
card of Herbert Hoover's, bidding me be care
I eat and what I choose. Ay, tut he
need to warn me! Well I know the
and how America is helping to feed its
allies over there, and so mu$t be sparing her
self. .
To think of itl In yon far day the world
was all at peace. And now that great Amer
gave so little thought io armies and
to cannon, is fighting with rnp am British
the Hunl
was in March of 1914 that we sailed
Francisco, on the 10th of the month.
It was a glorious day as we stood on the deck
of the old Pacific liner Sonoma. I was eager
and glad to be off. To be sure, America had
been kinder to me than ever, and I was loath,
in a way, to be leaving her and all the friends
of mine she held old friends of years, and
made on that trip. But 1 was com
back. And then there was one great
for my eagerness that few folk knew
my son, John, was coming to meet me
in Australia, l was missing him sore already.
They came aboard the old tubby liner to
see us off, friends by the score. They kept me
busy shaking hands.
"Goodby, Harry," they said. And "Good
luck, Harry," they cried. And just before the
.(Continued on I'&fre Twelve, Column Two.) ' 1
to his purpose to strike his new
O MAY AWAIT MIST.
Fair weather is reported from the
battle front, but apparently this is
not to the German's liking. It Is re
called that he was materially aided in
his drive from St. Quentine in March
by the foggy, misty conditions pre
vailing during which enemy masses
could be moved to the point selected
for the heaviest stroke without com.
ing under allied aerial observation. It
may, therefore, be the enemy purpose
to await similar conditions before es-
saying his second great push. -ALLIES
CONFIDENT. .
German public opinion is being pre ,
pared by Chancellor von Hertling and
others for the imminence of renewed i
heavy fighting. On the allied side
confidence is expressed in the out
come, particuarly with the .Germans,
crippled in reserve power through .
their losses in the earlier attack,
while the allies have received nota
ble reinforcements from the United
States, which day by day is increased
the number of its men on the Franco- ;
Belgian front. The total mileage of
the front held by American troops is ;
revealed to be third greatest, the
French standing first, the British
second and the Americans exceeding
the Belgian total.
Artillery activity on both sides be- ,
tween Givenchy and Robecq ; and :
north and south of the Avre was re
ported in the official statements Sat- j
urday. Great reconnoitering activity :
along the western battle front led to
violent hand-to-hand fighting, espe
cially in the district of Lassigny, ac
cording to the Berlin statement
A thiriattempt by the Austrians to .
recapture Monte Corno fai ed. ac
cording tb the official communication
from Italian general headquarters.
nusBian iuim( inreaicncu. ,
While the rival forces are ' thus
T ! . T-' ! tf.1 . I .
poised for the clash in the west, im- ;
portant developments appear to be ,
impending in tne tar easi. uerman
aggression in Russia has reached a
point where the entente press is
clamoring for counter measures, and
some action of this nature apparently
is about to be taken, at least so far
as the safety of the peace of the far
east and probably of j Siberian in
tegrity are concerned.
The action, it is understood, is to
be confined for the present to China .
and Japan, who, with entente assent, .
are to co-operate in protecting Man
churia, with the possibility that the
operations may De extended into Si
beria as a more effective defensive
measure. . i
Sinn Fein Leaders Arrested. .
In Great Britain the Irish question
looms large again with the announced
discovery of " a tremendous con
spiracy with the German army", on
the part of certain Irishmen and the
making of hundreds of arrests in Ire- .
land. The persons taken in custody
include the Sinn Fein organization's
president, most of its other leaders
and all the Sinn Fein members of
parliament. The j government's de v
scent upon the Sinn Fein headquar-N
ters and leading personnel was sud
den and bold and the rounding up
process was not accompanied by dis-,
orders.
The bringing of the conscription
question to a head seems likely to re
sult from the government's action
and with it may come the solution of
the problem as to how far Ireland
may be counted upon to swell the
British man power for the fight
against Germany, either voluntarily
or otherwise.
On the water the only incident of
note reported is the sinking of a
Britifh destroyer by a torpedo from
a German submarine, two of the crew,
of the British vessel being killed.
Interurban Freight Service
By Motor Truc' Develops Here
A number of cities within the ra'-.
dius of Omaha trade territory are '
urging the local Chamber of Com
merce to encourage the interurban ,
motor truck freight service. ,
Since early this spring a number
of motor truck lines have been' start
ed, operating between Omaha and
towns and cities out 20 to .30 miles.
The service is as yet irregular, and v
a move is on foot to bring about the .
adoption of regular running schedules .
in order that shippers 'may know
when to have their consignments
ready. , ? r
It is said many of the men operat -ing
trucks are making money. This
is especially true when they arc abll.f
to load in both directions-