Evening Star Newspaper, June 13, 1924, Page 3

SMOKE CLOUDS GAVE’ 'WARNING OF TRAGEDY Crews of Nearby Vessels Realized What Happened as Flames Swept Turret. EKNEW CREW WAS TRAPPED 4 '“Guess We Won't Have Any More Bad Luck,” Sailor Says. Br the Aceaciated Bress SAN PEDRO, Calif.. June 13—How the explosion aboard the Mississippi appeared to sailors on the decks of warships near the scene was- told by members of the crew of the Tennes- and Iduho, dreadnaughts were steaming in Tormation 2,000 yards from the Missis- that . about sinpi "It was just a few minutes before noon and were expecting mess call when somebody yeiled: ‘Look at the ppi, " said a sailor from the Tennessee. “All of the ships had been firing consistently, their guns o, tmitting a cloud smoke from the » muzzle followed by a tongue of flame. But this was different. The num- her 2 gun turret on the Mississippi was hidden in a cloud of s'noke. Then a burst enveloped it We knew < had b 2. In fact, we just what had ‘hap- nened. ie works around tie guns he res hix chunces wnd Knows just what would happen if « charge were to expiode prematurely Knew All Were Dend, “We knew that about every that turret was deac There are only two small hatchways to escape by and they couldn’'t have stten out if v they wanted to 1 had a friend in that turret. “Immediately We saw the crew hurrying to quarters. that they would flood the 8top any chance of the to the magazines deck. “The Tennessee and Idaho im- mediately stood by and lowered small boats to render assistance if it was needed do were sent aboard other ships of the fleet also were seurrving up, mak- ing a circle about the Mississinpi. At first it feared. | 1hink. the heat from the explosion would cause all of the zuns the to explode. with the ch that such xplosion woul reach the ines and wreck the entire supe we Missis Knew When fl man in after the of the Miss We turret fire getting below the gun . asivDi “or more than an hour the Mis- sissippi lay off San Clemente Island while her erew fought to control the fire and recover the bodies of the dead panions. We could see them working near the tubret. “We're due for target practice again Friday morning. but | guess we have any more bad luck.” - 48 KILED, 8 INJURED AS GUN FLARE-BACK TRAPS TURRET CREW (Continued from F Tennessee and the Idaho stood by and | ¢ lowered small boats. Ship were sent to the stricken vessel surgeons Over all was the apprehension that | other guns in the turret might ex- plode: that the explosion might reach « $ihe magazines and wreck the Missi sippi. Second Explosten Occurs. One other zun did explode, and that, too, at the tragic moment when the | bodies and injured men were being | transferred to the hospital ship Re- lief after a race to port in the wake | of wireless messages that gave naval officers ashore their first intimation of the disaster. That the second explosion did not | the | send a projectile crashing into center of San Pedro was due only to the fact that after the first blast the | vdamagzed turret swung around so that its guns pointed ou:i to sea Communication Offirer tached to the battleship New Mexico, announced early today that the bodies of the victims would be kept aboard the hospital ship Relief pend- ing word from their next of kin. Telegrams were sent to those rela- tives last night. He said that the transported to th or buried in the na Arlington, in accordance tives' wishe: forgan, at- ) bodies would be respective homes onal cemetery at with rela- =0 France is planning to harness the tides of an estuary in Brittany at the cost of 28,000,000 francs to obtain an | annual output of 11,000,000 kilowatt hours hours, SPECIAL NOTICES. SPECIAL SUMMER 5 . M. M. Walker. Col. 4796, 710 Morton formerly head tumer for_Percy . Foste Knabe Co. o ECTRICITY IN YOUR HOME payment plan. Phooe Adams 3113 prices. Yon need it. and sold by us for 3 &y silver polish ¥ will be delirered promptiy c. Full size jar. B. HARRIS & D aw. WINDOW SORE All kinds of remodeling an: E. F. SCOTT. Potomac 2434. 190 "TPIANO_REPAIRING ON EASY TERMS, NDERS, Col. 1748, Pmt. 169: 628 Lamont st. . 14e RESPONSIBLE _MAN _ TRAVELING B tween Washington and New York will trans. act husiness for others. Call Lincoln 1786.W for_appointment. e Bethle. Del. ; $1.00: 200 copies, $1.25: multizraphing, typewritine. ete. 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PRINTING 1t you are in seed of GOOD printing, 1ol GRADE, BUT NOT HIGH PRICED. BYRON S. ADAMS, S3rg EI2 1t St knew | to | that | turret | won't | No. he arrow 3 Officers, 45 By the Associated Pross. | SAN PEDRO. Calif., June 13.—The list of dead, thelr next of kin and city of | residence. as officially announced aboard | the . S. New Mexico by Lieut. L. N. Morgan. communications officer, acting | for Admiral H. A. Wiley. follows | L Lieut. (junior grade) Thomas E Zeliars, next of kin, Mrs. T. E. Zellars: | home address. Long Beach, Calif. M. Erwin, jr.. Marcus Erwin, urman avenue. Asheville. N. | Flord A Ravmond. seaman. first ! class: Milo W. Raymond. Fioyd, lowa. i Aibert Darazio. Mrs. Anna- Darazio, | gz Harbor. N. J | Frederick | class: Mr. 3. Birmingham. Mich | . Bradford W. Smith. zunner's mate. | first class: Ephriam E. Smith. 216 West | King street. Martinsburg. W | Howard A. Wa'k | class: Mrs. Birdie W Va | ric Korr. | Mrs. Nettie Kerr, street. Terre Haute, Ind Albert L. Lawson, seaman. first class Lawson, 4145 Germantown ave- Philade'phia Ciaude N. Sullivan. seaman. second class; Mrs. Loulle Sullivan, Sargeant, | Neb. | Brigham F. 101 7 second D. No. 3. Ever, Percy S. Bver. R seaman. 13 1424 South Smith, gunner's mate Sharkley Mary Sharkies street. Philadelp James D. class: James W. Holliday, ) 3 Stephen Beto, seaman, first LSS | John Beto, 113 Orland street. Bridge- port, Conn vd B Kimball, seaman., first Louis F. Kimball, Greeley, Col R. Kinne Mary | crass: ndrew class; Mrs inney, Argonia, Peter A. Flynn, seaman, first class; Mrs. Mary Flynn, 174 Salem street Worcester, Mass. vard H. Huffman, seaman, first ; Mrs, Ora D. Huffman, route No. 4, Aurora, Ind. Vernon Brumfield. coxswain: Mrs. Cora Brumfield, Norfield, Miss. Joseph Berg, engineman, second Mrs. Katie Berg, Mount Vernon, h. George A. Byers, boatswain's mate, | first_ class; Mrs. Rose Byers, San Jose, Calif. Leslie Malone, gunner’s mate, first class; Fred W. Buchanan, rural route N Independence, Mo. boatswain's mate, Wallace W. K Gertrude S. Davis! second class Madera, Cali Paul H. Christensen, seaman, first class; Mrs. Sarah G. Klanesnr, Guern- sey, Wyo, le N. Shaw, seaman, first class Solution of Blast { Officers in Position to Kn Experts Here at ‘With the most elaborate safety, pre- cautions known in the use of naval ordnance and gunnery in force, naval experts here are wholly at sea to explain the cause of the explosion in No. 2 turret of the battleship Mis- sissippi_ vesterday. Any suggestion as to the cause would be pure con- Jjecture, and naval officers are not dis- posed, in advance of the court of in- quiry, to make any surmises. 1t is possible that out of the in- vestigation of the accident may come the need for some new safety pre- caution, but it is pointed out that the loss of the officers who would be in a position to tell just what happened may forever keep from the naval seepesca the public the real cause. Safety Sevices (hat are foolproof and that check back against each other are in aboard the ships of the Navy. and this makes it increasingly difficult to reach a conclusion as to the probable S Phe officer who was In the turret and who jumped down the tube hoist may know something, but this is doubtful. The three guns are sepa~ rated«by steel bulkheads or walls, and this officer was located in one of the gun compartments, but along- side the barrel well forward of the ‘breech, where the tube hoist is lo- cated. Tt is possible that he jumped when he saw the flames and never knew what caused them. Only Aceident of K This is the only accident of its kind in & period of more than seven- teen vears, during which the most elaborate safety regulations have heen adopted and safety devices in- stalled by the Navy. When one of the big guns is opened after firing thers is a gas ejection svstem which forces compressed air through the bore to drive out unburned frag- ments of powder and the gases that remain in the chamber. This ovens automatically with the breech, however, and should it be out of commission, the man assigned to look through the bore would not report it clear tnless the gas ejector wan working. In the event of failure of the gas ejector, there is standing by & long bristle brush with a tub of water. This brush is forced through the barrel to drive out un- burned fragments of the powder bagx and the unburned gases. This is required before the powder bags for the next charge even comes into the turret. The charges are never al- lowed in the gun compartmeht until all these safety precautions are com- plied with. Naval officials here are entirely without deétails as to what stage of the loading the gun was in when the discharge took place. Rear Admiral Clande C. Bloch, chief of the bureau of naval ordnance, cxlled all of the ordnance experts in his burean 4 turret of the bix vesxel, in which explosion oceu: in the map shows location of the »hip at time of the sccident. ' In List of Dead on Battleship explosion | St | Bridge street, May Be Forever Balked by Death for Tragedy. Enlisted Men Mrs. J. Carl class; Ark James Thomas Wood, fireman, first class: Miss Abbie Wood, 124% East A street, Hutchinson, Kan. The Navy Department list in Wash- ington gives John Lewis Wood of Hutchinson, Kan.. as killed instead of James Thomas Wood. It lists James Thomas Wood's fate as dqubtful, he | having been reported killed in early dispatches, but included in later ad- vice: George Eugene first class: M South 6th stre Paul Green, chief Henry W. Green, Little William Lubo. seaman, class; Santos Lubeo, Cahuilla, Calif. Stanley J rynas, chief boat- | swain's ~ mate: Peter Skrynas, 44 Westbraok, Me. D, Kieley, Mrs. Johanna Holvoke. Ma Andrew Sloan, fireman, | class: Mrs. James P. Sloan, | South Calhoun street, Fort Way . Bellam, Clayton, Tex. Caldwell, seaman, Archie Caldwell, first Miss Dover, Magill, aud Magill, o, Tex yeoman; Mrs. Rock, Ark seaman, 714 Barthoiomew second « 9 High seaman, tr William H third Kan Frank Ward, quartermaster. on Ward, Wichita, King, seaman, first class: Mrs. Sarah D. King, 614 East Green street, Clinton. Mo. Clarence Bourgeois, seamhn, first Mrs. Louise Bourgeois, land. Miss. Lawrence H. Willis. seaman. Charles Willis. Osgood, Ind nk L. Klonowski, seaman, first Mrs. Marie Truschka, Blue Island, 111, Rodney class: Mrs. Angeles. Phillip . Clarke. seaman, 3 Henry Clarke. Los Angeles. n_A. McCormick. seaman, second Mrs. Grace McCormick. 184215 st 10th street, Cleveland, Ohi William G. Cook. seaman, firt slinor Struckhoff, 2710 Blair avenue. St. Louis, Mo, Frederick W. ' Zacharias, seaman. first class: Mrs. Mary Zacharfas, 5171 Kincaid street, Pittsburgh, Pa. The following men were attached to_the New Mexico: William _Georg cCrea, ensign: Mrs. C. R. McCrea, 705 Ontario avenue, Renovo. Pa. first Anderson. seaman, first Elva Wooley Davey, Los first 70 l.ee Barbee, coxswain: D Barbee, San Francisco. Homer Silvester Bridges, seaman. first class; Robert H. Bridges, Harris- cille, Miss Farris second ville. Ga. Ted Carlyle Ragan. seaman, class; next of kin. Ida Ragan. egeant street, Jopiin, Mo. Carlton Hopkins, seaman, ass; Minnie Hopkins, Adairs- first 1115 on Mississippi ow Cause Killed Instantly. Loss to Account in_the absence of details. It is possible that it may have been caused by an electrical short circuit, but | even this is believed to be. improbable, as the primer which is used to set off the charges of powder is not inserted in the plug until the breecn is clased. The turret officer is located at the rear of the center gun, and has bull eyes through which to look at the opera- tions of the two side guns. With him is his telephone operator, but both are re- ported killed. The ordnance experts will await the results of the court of fin- quiry, which corresponds to the civil coroner’'s inquest, before attempting to determine the real cause, and they are doubtful if any of the survivors have enough information to enable any one to determine this. The guns were being fired in experi. mental target practice wi low-pressure charges, and it is not believed that the breech was blown off. The fact that the flames passed throughout the turret would_seem to indicate that the explo sion_either blew down the dividihg bulk: heads between the guns or blew the com- municating doors away. Details are to be forwarded to the department by Vice Admiral Wiley as soon as they are available. 'Authority later to order a general court martial, should the evidence developed call for that procedure, would rest with Vice Admiral Wiley, it was said, as senior officer in the ARGONNE | 16th and Col. Rd. | ind | | partment’s |ago after participating | ama second | | d. ix indicated by arrew. mander-in-chief of the battle fleet, now assigned here on a selection board. Coolidge Semds Condolences. A message of sympathy for the victims of the explosion was forward- ed by President Covlidge last night to Vice Admiral Wiley. to whom Ad- miral Eberle, chief of operations and acting secretary of the Navy, also sent an expression of the Nav. “profound sorrow over loss of officers and men of Mississippl.” At the time of the explosion, naval officials said, the Miss'ssippi, which is_included with the dreadnaughts Arizona and Idaho in division 4 of the battle fleet, was engaged in her last target practice of the vear. She ‘began target praclice on returning to the San Pedro base several months in the Pan- Canal defense maneuvers last wintter and then going to New York in March with the combined Atlantic and Pacific fleets. Capt. W. D nding officer of the graduated in 189 » Naval Academy, to whicl he was appointed from Mississippi The disaster to the Mississippi re- calls similar ones in American naval listory. beginning with the turret explosion aboard the Missouri in when thirty-three lives were In 1905 heavy loss of life was by the eKarsarge explosion 1906 twelve persons met i death aboard the Georgia and in similar The new Gem Blades are made of steel so tough that theyll cut glass like a diamond. —Fat chance for any beard to act tough with a blade like that! Marvelous New GEM Double-Life Biades Use GEM Safety Rasors Al IGNING SSMAKING INERY SCHOOL D D M Professional and Home Courses Ask for booklet Franklin 7475 Livingstone Academy 804 17th St. N.W. Have that AROOLA or HOT WATER HEAT- ING SYSTEM installed by the MODERN HEATING CO. Mississippi Is Rated With-Mighty of Fleet For Notable Records By the Associated Press. SAN PEDRO, —The U. 8. 8. Mississippl is one n of the United States battie fleet. The vessel was launched in 1017 and from ise winner and xth, 9715 feet In a dispiacement of 32,000 Early in b waters che established a speed record by traveling from Cape Flattery to Bolinas Bay, €82 fles, at an average speed of tn. She in one e few oil burners of the Pacific fieet. G. 0. P. HORDES DEPART WHEN CONVENTION ENDS By the Awsociated Press. CLEVELAND, Ohio, June 13.—Most of the 2,000 deiegates and alternates who attended the Republican national convention were on their way home today or were ready to start after a needed and welcome full quota of sleep. With hundreds came to Cleveland how they began pouring out of the ity within an hour after the con- ventton ended, on special and regular trains and in automobiles. The first special train leaving departed before midnight for New York and - other points in the east Flag-Uraped buildings, cleaning crews in the huge gray auditorium where the convention was held. rap- idly thinning crowds in hotel lobbies, the meeting of the new Republican national committee and a few linger- ing sight-seers remained an evidence of the affair, but the tumult and mill- ing_were over. William M. ‘Butler, idge’s campaign manager, planned to leave for Chicago to open the party’s headquarters there after to- day's national committee meeting, and other leaders were hastening home to begin their work for the Coolidge-Dawes ticket e ———— of visitors who to see the big President Cool- Itching Scal Relievegddo(:ep Persistent itching of the scalp must be stopped. t is a sure sign that trouble is brewing. It is one of the common conditions that y falling hair and precede m“ Science has perfected 2 new scalp treatment. It relicves itching scalp scientifically. It overcomes each one of the four conditions to which 90% of all hair troubles are dee. . This new sealp trestment works in an entirely new way. It removes dandraf and caked scbum that cleg up the mouths of the hair follicles, choking the hairs and breeding di ease. It penetrates !h:-:- shaft, It stimuletes scalp tisswes action and supplies suficient nourishment to the hair roots. It regulates scbum glands o proper actien, lubricating and pre- serving the hair. AR Peoples Drug Stores Plant Monthly-Blooming Rose Bushes —in your garden. They assure you of many blossoms through- out the summer. We have Ten Thousand Of the Best Two-year-old Rose Bushes —ever offered, which must be moved this week. include two new Roses, The _varieties America A Fine Rose (Pink) and Amelia Gude A Fine Yellow. Also Columbia Premier Butterfly Ophelia American Legion Crusader Several very at- ive two-roam, r iom Telephone Col. 4630 Red Radiance E0e A. Gude For Sale at the Greenhouses This Week Only Each Sons Co. Good que qu, Anacostia GOV. SMITH IN NEW YORK FOR DEMOCRATIC PARLEY Heads Pre-Convention Influx of Leaders—Will Confer With His Campaign Manager. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, June 13.—Gov. Smith has led the pre-convention influx of Democratic leaders for the Demo- cratic national convention. He ar- rived last night and will remain un- til the close of the convention, Today he plans to confer with Franklin D. Roosevelt, chairman of the committee for his nomination for the presiden George K. Brennan. Democratic leader of Illinois, will arrive on Mon. day. It is expected that William McAdoo will arrive next Wednesday. His campaign manager, David L Rockwell, who has been in Cleveland as an observer of the Republican convention, is on the way here. Cordell Hull, national Democratic chairman, ~arrived yesterday and touk charge of the national headquar- ers Rud now MARY ROBERTS RINEHART’S new short novel--- “Her Majesty, the Queen,” complete in duly osmopolitan Now On Sale ' “Fashion Park” and “Stratford” Clothes 1319-1321 F STREET TRIBUTE TOUCHES DEPEW Message From Convention Brings Tears to Veteran's Eyes. NEW YORK, June 13.—There was more than a hint of moisture in the eyes of Chauncey M. Depew yesterday when he received the resolutions adopted by the Republican national convention at ||| Cleveland congratulating him upon his | ninetieth birthday. | Mr. Depew had been melanchols of late because obedience to _doctors’ | orders compelled his absence from the | convention, the first he had missed in his forty years of political activity. “Fine, fine,” exclaimed the veteran of a_thousand and one banquet tables “That certainly was wonderful of them. 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