Evening Star Newspaper, November 22, 1929, Page 17

Washington News FVE VICTINSDEAD, FVE LASTPROBES UNDER WAY TODAY Boiler, Regarded Safe, Held Cause of Tragic Explosion on Seventh Street. THREE OTHER PERSONS BELIEVED TO BE DYING | Coroner’s Inquest Opened—Inspec- | tors, Police, Firemen Make Investigations. {(Continued From First Page.) @he Foening Star | WA 1INGTON, D. C, FR IDAY, NOVEMBER 22, SCENES OF E P.LOSION AND SOME OF THE VICTIMS thorough investigation. Collins pointed | out ‘hat it was jmportant to learn what | precautions had been taken to avoid | sucny a disaster as occurred and to de- termjne possible culpability. Drt Nevitt expressed the opinion that | & pojtponment was advisable and sug- | gesteil that Mr. Lynch obtain the use of th» boardroom of the District Build- ing for the hearing. Donald A. Davison, Assigant District Engineer Commis- siones, also present, said that the board- room would be made available. Dr. Nevitl then instructed the members of | the jury to report at the boardroom at | 10:36 o'clock on the morning of De- cember 2. | Arthur T. Pihelly, a headquarters de- tective, was the principal witness of the | brief session. He testified he found it | difficult to learn whether the task of | firing the boiler_had been allotted to any cne information he could obtain was to the effect. that numerous employes of the McCrory store had performed this duty romr-time to time. Dr. I Rutkoski of the Emergency Hospital and Dr. A. M. MacDonald of the Casualty Hospital told of the emer- gency treatment accorded to persons injured in the blast. The only other witness, Benjamin C. Kuehling, a head- quarters detective, told of the scenes of confusion which followed the explo- sion. ‘The District Commissioners visited the scene of the explosion yesterday and are believed to be making a fur- ther examination today. Other investigations were made by the District building inspector, the boil- er inspector, representatives of the Po- lice Department and firemen. They will prepare and submit reports to the prop- er authorities. First Official Statement. ‘The first official statement as to the cause of the explosion came today from Maj. Donald A. Davison, Assistant En- gineer Commissioner, under whose su- pervision come the building and boiler inspectors. Maj. Davison made a mi- nute examination of the boiler and the physical aspects of the disaster yester- day before preparing his report. He found that the boiler was a 200- gallon affair which was used to supply water to washrooms and for similar pul , but not for heating. The heat was furnished by a coal stove, containing a coil connected with the ex- ploded boiler. The boiler was equipped with a safety valve supposed to release all steam in excess of 65 pounds pres- sure. He believes the water became heated to approximately 350 degrees Fahren- heit the boiling point being 212 de- grees. Even a témperature of 350 degrees, he sald, would not have changed all the water into steam, and the sur-| plus should have been released through | the safety valve. ‘When the steam failed to find an exit through this channel, it gradually accumulated such force that it blew out the bottom of the tank. Maj. Davidson found & dent in the top of the boiler corresponding to the shape of a sup- porting beam above, which led him to express the belief that the top struck this beam on its upward flight. { It was not the flying boiler tcp, how- | ever, which caused the disaster. Steam Causes Disaster. | ‘When the top of the boiler flew off, | Ma). Davidson explained, the super- | heated water inside splashed to the floor and changed into steam as it was released. The terrific explosion was | caused by this transformation of water into steam. According to Maj. Davison, the safety valve itself was in perfect condition and could not of itself have been responsi- ble for the blast. He believes there was some obstruction in the pipe below the valve which prevented the steam from escaping through its normal channel. The District code divides boilers into two classes, low pressure and high pressure. The low-pressure bollers, to| which class the one in the McCrory | store belonged, are those whose maxi- | mum _pressure is not more than 15} pounds in excess of the street water pressure. | Bollers of this type have always bcenl considered entirely safe, and there hasi never been any law in this city that| they be subjected to inspection. Except for its size, the boiler which | exploded yesterday is identical with | those used in private homes throughout | the city. Maj. Davison expressed the belief that if obstructions are allowed to form in the pipes or safety valves of | these smaller bdoflera, similar explosions | ay be expected. m'ryhe hlggepreuure boilers are, under | the law, subject to regular inspection. Maj, Davison said that under the | present law it is illegal to place boilers | of any kind under the pavements. He explained, however, that this law would | not affect the boiler in the McCrory store as it was placed before the law | became effective in 1925. The law was not made retroactive. Skulls Fractured. The three woman victims of the ex- | plosion died of fractured skulls. Mary | Cockrell's death was belleved due to in-| ternal injuries. Jacobson died from loss of blood when his legs were crushed. The injured were picked up from the blood-spattered streets and rushed to hospitals in ambulances, taxicabs ana e cars. "'KTL Dawson was the first to die. Miss Cullinan succumbed next, followed by Mary Cockrell, Mrs. Cockrell and Jacobson. The first firemen to reach the scene were Lieut. I. W. Luskey and Deputy Chief Philip W Nicholson of No. 14 Engine Company, located on Eighth street in the rear of the 5 and 10 cent store. They heard the blast and went to the scene before an alarm had been in. tu‘l‘"‘l’lleedy were met by Warren F. Brenizer, contractor, who offered his assistance. ‘Seeing what he believed was a wom- an’s form in the bottom of the pit, Brenizer secured one of his own trucks and a gang of workmen and started re- moving the jumbled pieces of concrete. It was necessary Lo engage the services of two cranes befcre this difficult task rould be completed. ‘oy'h'flnen forl'md that the front wall ! | when the boiler exploded. person. He added that the best | f ren Thayer, injured spine. killed. Top (left to right): Florence Davis of Alexandria, slightly injured; Margaret Cockrell, aged 10, severe bruises; War- Center: Shopgirls of the McCrory store, who escaped safely from the building after the blast, and scene in the street while rescurers were still digging for possible victims. Below: Olga Shipley, treated for slight injuries; Mrs. Edna Kent, seriously injured, and Mary A nn_Cockrell, aged 2, —Star Staff Photos. went to a lumber yard, secured several heavy beams and braced the wall. Shoppers in Street. The street was filled with shoppers There was a muffied roar as the pent- up steam burst its bounds. Bystanders saw the sidewalk heave and collapse. The front of the store crumpled and shattered glass rained down. Chunks of concrete and jagged pieces of steel flew through the air. Great clouds of steam belched forth from the recesses of the ragged hole, obscuring for the moment the terrifying scenes it had | wrought. As the vapor lifted, the unconscious forms of men, women and children were seen lying in the street. Others of the victims had been pitched headlong in to the hole in the pavement. Several were held prisoners beneath the tangled | pipes and the masses of concrete. Witnesses sald they saw pieces of concrete fly through the wir in every direction. One large chunk struck a woman who was on the opposite side of the street. Hospital physicians ex- pressed the belief that many of the more seriously injured had been hurt i | ragged nature of the wounds. In sev- | eral instances the explosion ripped the clething from its victims. Police Rope Street. Thousands of spectators raced to the scene of the disaster, greatly hampering the rescuers in their work. was leaning in at a dangerous angle, supported .only by .one .prop. ~Brenizer, Ahetween .D pnd E As polic~ | nrrived they roped off Seventh street | streets, upl street car and automobile traffic for two hours. Walter Bissleberg, managing the food counter in front of the store, was one of the persons closest to the scene. He described the explosion as a great muffied thud. He was standing behind his counter with his back to the window, which was blown out, when the explosion occurred. Turning around, he said he saw the front of the store collapse and the sidewalk sink with people on it. : endleton, colored uperator of the Lack elevator, of 1135 Sixth street northeast, was one of the heroes of the accident. When' Pendleton heard the terrific explosion he immu y ran to the upper floors of the store and warned all employes that the building: was unsafe and carrled scores of them to safety in his elevator. ; Pendleton_described the explosion as something like an_enrthquake. which shook the eatire bullding. He said thal many of the employes wcre thrown from their feet by the force of the impact. Thrown From Feet. Geraldin® Lampkin, 504 Eighth street, this manner, basing their belief on the | who was working cn the first floor of the store, said she was thrown from her feet. Her version of the explosion was stmilar to t of Pendleton, Mary Pace, 1468 W stic employed on the fou building, said she heord a slight rum- bling noise, foliowad by a terrific, “most frightful explosion.” hilip Schneldes,.an employe-of Lansburgh store, which adjoins the Five and Ten Cent store on the rear, was just going into the alley when the | explosion occurred. A woman, fright- ened by the blast, rushed to the second floor of the Five and Ten Cent store | just at this time and prepared to leap. | Schneider, however, dissuaded her and, raising a ladder, brought her to safety. Another eyewitness, Richard Wash- ington, colored, of 1854 Fifth street, was walking along Seventh street and was opposite the McCrory_store when the explosion _occurred, Washington said | and his attention, he thought, was at- | tracted by the collapse of heavy con- | crete sidewalk, S ng out of a barber shop a short from the scene of the explo- sion, Carroll Klotzbach, a sports writer for ‘The Star, after stopping to light & cigarctie was walking south on Seventh strect when the blast occurred. “Ten seconds more and I'd probably have been caught myself,” Klotzbach said. - “There was a queer rumbling roar as the ground began to shake beneath my feet and huge blocks of concrete shot into the air. Any number of men and women were walking along the sidewalk when the explosion occurred. “There was great confusion. Wom- en screamed and fainted. People ran in every direction. Hundreds of people rushed out of stores in the nelghbor- hood and viewed the blood-spattered streets. Glass and debris continued to fly around for several minutes, shower- 4ng those in the vielnity,” > «he sound seemed to him to be muffled | BLAST VIGTIMS GET PROMPT ATTENTION FROM PHYSICIANS Hospital Staff Acts With Efficiency in Caring for Injured. | WOMAN IS IDENTIFIED AS COAT IS SHOWN CHILD Salvation Army Worker, Going to Emergency to Offer Aid, Finds Wife There. | White-clad doctors, hands filled | with blood-stained surgical instruments, | hurrying by. Immaculate nurses, their | faces pale and drawn, soothing with ! skilled hands the injured and comfort- | ing the dying as best they could. Tears in the eyes of & Catholic priest as he | moved from bedside to bedside, admin- istering the last rites of his church. | A little child being carried to an oper- | ating room, from which all thought sh> } would never emerge alive. Screams of i pain from behind closed doors. Silent men and women forcing themselves to the bedsides of the mortally injured, fearful lest they recognize in one a wife or a mother. | These were some of the impression: indelibly stamped into the consciou ness of the onlooker at Emergency Hos- pital vesterday afternoon as the blast victims were brought in. Staft Moves With Efficiency. ‘Through it all the hospital staff moved with splendid efficiency. The pain of the more seriously injured was eased promptly, and they were sent to the operating rooms. Those with lesser hurts were treated, their wounds bound up, and then sent home. Those who could not live were placed in a quiet room to one side. As the immensity of the disaster be- rame apparent, private doctors were called in and every available nurse sum- moned to duty. So promptly were the blast victims cared for that doctors were able to treat others injured as soon as they reached the hospital. Among these was a hunter shot in the leg and an old man whose hand had been crushed at his work. ‘The difficulty of identifying the blast victims was heightened by the fact that most of them had lost their purses and all articles of identification at the scene of the explosion. For nearly two hours Mrs. Annie Cockrell lay unidentified. Through some error it was belleved that Miss Kitty Cullinane, another victim, was Mrs. Cockrell. At last a doctor hit upon the idea of showing the woman's coat to other vic- tims in the hope that some one would recognize it. None on the first floor had ever seen it before. The coat was taken to the third floor and shown to 10-year- old Margaret Cockrell, herself painfully injured. The child looked at the torn and bloody garment. ““That,” e sald, coat.” In one corner stood a middle-aged man, dazed beyond power of speech. He was gazing down at a crumpled and blood-stained Salvation Army lassle’s hat, which he kept twisting in his hands. He was G. S. Decker, transient serv- ice worker for the Salvation Army. Decker had come to the hospital as | soon as he heard of the disaster, hop- !ing to be of some service. Recognizes Hat. The first thing he saw on entering | was the hat, lying on a pile of blankets. He recognized it as belonging to his wife. She was unconscious when he found her. Knowing that his three-year-old son, Charles, had been with his mother, Decker began search for the boy. He could not be found at Emergency. Finally the father learned that his son had been taken to Sibley Hospital and was thought to be suffering from frac- tured legs and internal injuries. One badly injured woman was “is my mother's ‘| brought to the hospital with only one mark of identification on her—a wed- ding ring engraved with the initials “W. A, D.” Hours later her husband, Charles Darlington, heard a description of the woman broadcast, over the radio and recognized it as fitting his wife. BLAST CASUALTIES List Compiled of Dead and Injured in Tragedy. The Dead. Miss Elizabeth Dawson, 38 years old, of 337 Maryland avenue northeast, em- ploye of the Government Printing Office. Mrs. Kitty Cullinan, 46 years old, of 4505_Arkansas avenue, an_employe of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. Mrs. Annie Cockrell, 41 years old, a niece of Mrs. Cullinan, also of the Arkansas avenue address, and her 2- year-old daughter, Mary Avne Cock- rell. Charles Jacobson, 58 years old, of 2824 Twelfth street northeast. A sixth victim is believed dying today at Emergency Hospital, Mrs. Florence Darlington, 50 years old, of 63 W street. Possibly Fatally Injured. Miss Lulu Carter, 34 years old, a graduate nurse of 609 Delafield street. Mrs, Ida Decker, 34 years old, of 528 Roxboro place. Six more casualties, all but one of them women, were under treatment in hospitals today for severe lacerations, possible skull fractures and shock. All of the latter are expected to recover. The deaths of the older women were attributed to fractured skulls. The little Cockrell girl succumbed to internal injuries, while Jacobson died following the amputation of one leg. Blood transfustions were given in a futile effort to save him. Both his legs were broken and he had a possible skull fracture. Miss Dawson was the first to die, several hours after the accident, while the others expired during the late after- noon and early night. All Hospital Deaths. All the deaths occurred at Eme: gency Hospital, where the most seri- ously injured were hastened in com- mandered automobiles, taxicabs, police patrols and fire department appartus. The six persons who remained in hospitals today of lesser injuries are: Margaret Cockrell, 9 years old, daugh- ter of Mrs. Anna Cockrell, 4505 Arkan- sas avenue, severe bruises and shock: Mrs. Edna Kent, 50 years old, of 502 Eighth street southwest, lacerations about the head and shock; Elsie Birk- head Herndon, 19 years old, Alexandria Va., possible fracture of the skull and lacerations; Warren Thayer, 35 years old, of 722 Thirty-second street, Mary Byrd, 25 years old, of 220 street, colored, lacerations and injured arm, and Ida Dove, 55 years old, of Ballston, Va., lacerations, Mrs. Darlington, who was Identified’ Eighth ¥ 1929. TWO DESCRIBE STORE PANIC 1 IN AMBULANCE AND RIDE i Mrs. 0’Neil Swept by Crowd | Into Street After | Explosion. | Friends Find Themselves To- gether in Police Care, Suf- fering Little Harm. “Suddenly there came a terrific blast which shook the building and the air seemed filled with flying glass. The | store immediately became a scene of running and yelling people and then I found myself being pushed into a police wagon and taken to the hospital.” Reclining on a couch in the dining room of her home at 61 East Walnut street, Alexandria, with a heavy bandage covering a scalp wound, Mrs. Mary | Virginia O'Neil, 21 years old, gave a vivid description of the explosion yes- terday afternoon at McCrory's 5 and 10 | cent store, where she was employed as | a floor lady. “I was standing near the center of the store _when the explosion occurred,” Mrs. O'Neil told a reporter for The Star this morning. “The floor rocked and then glass flew everywhere. Yell- ing people were running in every direc- | tion and then something struck me a heavy blow on the head. I think it was part of the skylight. Caught in Pushing Crowd. “Somehow I managed to reach the back of the store, but was caught in the pushing crowd and finally shoved through the front door and into the street, where I was placed in a police wagon with Florence Davis and rushed | to_the hospital.” Miss Davis, who is 18 years old, and Mrs. O'Neil have been friends for years. She also lives in Alexandria, reslding at 701 South Lee street with her mother, Mrs. Daisy Davis. “No, I didn't see any ‘of the injured people,” Mrs. O'Neil continued, under questioning. “There was a large hole in the sidewalk in front of the store, with lots of people and police and fire- men standing around it pulling at the iwood and glass, but I couldn’t see ;;'hlether there was any one down the ole. “I don't know how Florence and I managed to get together in all that crowd, but suddenly she was right by my side, and then the police wagon drove off with only us in the back and two police on the front seat. “A doctor treated my cuts at the EXPLOSION A small leather handbag bearing a price tag of Lansburgh & Bros. depart- ment store was found in the window of the wrecked store front. It was thought that one of the injured persons had just made the purchase from the store, two doors up the street. The handbag was unwrapped. A fortune telling machine, in which an old woman, in return for a nickel drapped into a slot, would tell one’s for- tune through cards arranged in front of her, was located just in back of the front wall of the store building. Al- though she was so near the scene of the disaster she was unhurt by the explo- slon. The glass in which the woman was inclosed was unbroken and the cards were not even disarranged. Aces could be seen protruding from her pocket. A clock hanging directly over L}lm machine had been stopped by the ast. Several hundred goldfish were strand- ed in their small home when the run- ning water, necessary for their existence in such close quarters, was cut off. In the midst of the confusion which fol- lowed the blast the manager of the store thought of his fish and ordered an employe to change the water in the aquarium. They were later transferred to another store. The litter squad from Walter Reed Hospital came to the scene of the dis- aster. Although it had quite a distance to come it appeared promptly, and was in readiness in case any persons were found under the debris. ‘The exact time of the explosion was automatically fixed by the big clock which hangs on the wall between the front window and the lunch counter in the front of the store. This clock was stopped by the explosion at 324 min- utes after 1 o'clock. Christmas ornaments and pictures of Santa Claus, crushed and broken, were strewn over the sidewalk as they fell from the broken show windows. On the ceiling of the first floor, al- most _directly over the place, where the boiler was located, is a big dent. This | dent is almost the length of the boller | and curved curiously in the shape of | the curve of that big tank. One fire- man, who was among the first to arrive, said he found the boiler on top of ali the debris. He helieves it blew through the reinforced concrete sidewalk and steel and hit the ceiling, falling back | on top of the other debris. It was a hectic day for the firemen. While they were busy on the wreck of the 5 and 10 cent store, alarms began coming through for the big fire at 228 First street. “Second alarm, chief,” called one of the firemen to the deputy chief. In a few minutes the same man held up three fingers and yelled above the din, hird, chief, on Second and | Indiana avenue.” Soon after, “Fourth | alarm, chief,” and away they went on a plece of apparatus to the fire. “How about some gloves to keep our fingers from being cut?” This question | r last night after her husband heard her description broadcast and visited Emer- gency Hospital, remained unconscious today. She suffered a possible fracture of the skull and internal injuries. Of the other two women possibly fatally hurt, Miss Carter suffered frac- tures of both legs and possible internal injuries, while Mrs. Decker has a pos- sible fracture of the skull. Her condi- tion had failed to show any improve- ment today. Another woman, Mrs, Blanche Berk- ley, 1708 Newton street, was reported | recovering at Garfleld Hospital today from lacerations and shock. Mrs. H. A, Hungerford, 28 years old, of Fort Foote, Md,, was treated at Casualty Hospital yesterday afternoon for lacerations and sent home, Five-year-old Charles Decker, whose mother is reported in a serious condi- tion at Emergency, was believed recov- ering at Sibley Hospital today of lacera- tions and shock. His condition was de- scribed as “improved.” The following were discharged from Emergency last night following treat- ment for lesser injuries: Mary O'Neill, 21 years old, of Alex- andria, Va.; Florence Davis, 18 years old, also of Alexandria: Olga Shipley, 18 years old, of 3560 Alton place; Mrs. Elizabeth Plummer, 47 years old, col- ored, of 483 Missouri avenue, and Mary | MRS. MARY VIRGINIA O'NEIL. Star Staff Photo. hospital and I stayed there until about 4:30, when my husband came to take me home, and here I am.” Mrs. O'Neil is the wife of Ralph O'Neil, an Alex- andria_foot ball star, and the daugh- ter of Mrs. Edward Walker. Her father was an Alexandria newspaper man until his death several years ago. Saved by “Miracle.” “Only a miracle saved us,” is the way Miss Davis described the escape of Mrs. O'Neil and herself from more serious injuries than those they sus- tained in the explosion. Miss Davis, a clerk at McCrory’s, suffered only from shock and was soon permitted to leave the hospital and go to her home in Alexandria. “I was at the notions counter ex- plaining my work to a new clerk when the explosion took place,” Miss Davis said. “There was a great cloud of smoke like a gray balloon in the front part of the store. Flying glass struck many people near me, but I escaped being hit. “I was caught among the people run- ning for the front door and when I reached the street there were several people lying on the sidewalk, but I was put in a patrol wagon and taken to Emergency Hospital with Mrs. O'Neil. “That was a thrilling ride, too. The policeman driving the patrol sped through traffic with his siren blowing to clear the way. We must have been riding at a terrific speed. That's all I know except I stayed at the hospital a while until I got over my shock and then came home.” SIDELIGHTS Manager Instructs That Water Be Given Gold Fish After “5 and 10” Blast. was asked by one of the rescue workers clearing away the glass. “Sure, help yourself,” replied the manager, and the pile of cotton gloves on the counter was distributed among the rescuers. Photographers climbed to points of vantage, “shooting” the scene from all angles, from nearby and at a distance, from across the street and from the top of & show window which jutted out into the sidewalk not far from the gaping hole in the ground. ‘Telephone booths in the neighborhood were crowded by anxious-eyed people, fidgetting their nickels, eager to get to the phones. Many were calling rela- tives to report safety. “T tell you it was a sickening sight,” sald one eyewitness. “Little children crushed in the street. Blood all over everybody. ©One woman was blown from the curb near the store to the middle of the car tracks. I saw the ex- plosion blow off her hat, her coat, her shoes and stockings, and what was left of her clothes looked like they had been combed by a rake.” | So many persons were hurried away in commandeered automobiles and taxi- cabs before the ambulances could ar- rive that some police estimated it would be impossible ever to get & com- | plete check on the number of injured. | Many persons were taken direct to their homes, | | ‘Thousands of curious spectators | gathered as word of the explosion ! spread. The curious were pushed far- ther and farther away as the size of the crowd increased, until they were roped off at D and E streets. | One woman is praising her lucky | stars that another automobile driver | cheated her out of a parking space directly in front of the McCrory store. She headed into the open parking space when another driver slipped in to steal it away from her. Provoked over the incident, she drove on down the street and was scarcely out of danger when the explosion took place where she had tried to park and couldn’t. Another narrow escape from the dis- aster was experienced by Headquarters Detective Frank Varney and his wife, Mrs. Marian Varney, who had just left the McCrory store after shopping. Varney said he walted in his ma- chine, parked directly in front of the store, while his wife went in. He be- came impatient and followed her into the store, and they had barely pulled away from the curb when the side- walk’ over which they had passed a few minutes before opened up and threw its huge concrete formation huri- ing through the alr, striking down vic- tims on all sides. Mrs. Varney had not been home long when Mrs. Mary Brownell, wife of Rus- sell V. Brownell, attached to Fire Chiet George Watson's office, and herself employed at the Riggs National Bank, called to tell her she had been trying frantically to get in touch with her after hearing about the explosion, be- cause she had seen Varney's car parked in front of McCrory’s. The two women are close friends. A little round, gray chinchilla hat, | badly torn, was found beside the curb in front of the wrecked store by Head- quarters Detective James A. Kane. The hat is being held by police unclaimed. G. M. Will, W. H. Smith and Po- liceman Robert Frazer, telephone op- erators at police headquarters, were on the point of physical exhaustion when their relief reported at 4 o'clock yes- terday afternoon. The office was deluged with calls from relatives and anxious friends of the explosion victims' and two op- erators were “plugging” cords answer- pulled cords of finished calls out. LETTER CARRIER AIDS. James D. Mahoney, a letter carrier attached to the Pennsylvania Avenue Post Office, was delivering mail yester- day afternon near the McCrory 10-cent store, at the time of the explosion. In rendering assistance to several persons injured by the accident, his hand was cut. He was given first aid treatment and will be unable to use the hand for several days. Ernest Greer, also of the Pennsylvania avenue office, assisted three persons Carter, 40 years old, eolored, 1242 street. from out of the wreckage, but was per- !eonally unhurt by the explosion.: A | buildin ing incoming calls while the other| PAGE 17 CHILD BEWILDERED BYBLAST'S HORROR WHILE FAMILY DIES Little Margaret Cockrell, Who | Never Cried, Lies Silently as ! Mother and Sister Succumb. GIRL ASSISTS NURSES TO IDENTIFY BODIES Shopping Trip to “See Santa Claus” Ends With Tragic Vio- lence on Sidewalk. Small Margaret Cockrell never cried. Yesterday she had real need of com- posure, and today she must feel that crying would be futile. ‘When the explosion sent four of Margaret's party to fatal injury amid the deébris of McCrory's store front, Margaret was to bewildered to cry out. Later at the hospital she steadily re- fused to lose her head, and as steadily helped the nurses identify the dying. Perhaps the horror of it all dawned slowly, but Margaret came through with dry eyes. Stifled Sob Escapes. Only when someone mentioned the shopping tour the little family party was on, with its visions of Santa Claus and gay Christmas decorations in the store windows, did a stified sob escape her. For the rest of the time, the 10-year~ old girl has lain on her cot at Emer- gency Hospital, staring at the flat white ceiling above her, hard. The catastrophe fell swiftly. One moment Margaret, her mother, Mrs. Anna Cockrell of 4505 Arkansas avenue, her baby sister, and two other women were standing on the sidewalk, looking at the decorations in the shop window. The next and they had been precipi- tated into a deadly pit full of flying concrete and debris. Once in the big hospital, where the dying and injured were being adminis- tered to in utmost haste, the nurses came to Margaret and asked her to meAntgy lt;vo won;en] ;‘t death’s door. N argaret, ing on her bruised and suffering, ;‘Vlth her fl.n::rtv nails gripping the cover until they showed white, answered their questions staedily. Before Margaret's mother died in the emergency receiving room downstairs the girl identified her from garments brought to her bedside. Margaret spelled out the name and address, once for her mother, and then again when Mrs. Cockrell’s aunt, Miss Kitty Cullinan, 4505 Arkansas avenue, was dying. Helps Identify Third. ‘The child also helped identify a thir member of the party, Miss Enn’fitg Dawson, a former schoolmate and inti- mate friend of Mrs. Cockrell. Miss Dawon had joined .the party downtown auru:comp-ny them on the shopping Although the group was bent.on some small purchases, their main p in ‘élrs::.mfhm stores was zo show the chil- e Christmas decorati and possibly a Santa Claus. o Mmmne 'rel'achtw(;-yer:‘?old sister, Mary , was the fou member of the P e enla’ g e cl as borne up bravely, al- though the attendants were unlgle to keep the full extent of the tragedy from her. She escaped with minor bruises in the aecident, but will prob- ably remain at the hospital for sev- eral days to recover from the shock. BLEASE QUESTIONS BUILDING LAW HERE Blast Brings Comment on Boiler Inspection From South Carolinian, Questions as to the adequacy of the g regulations and boiler inspec- tion service in Washington were raised in the -Senate today by Senator Cole Blease, Democrat, of South Carolina, who referred briefly to the Seventh street explosion in the cqurse of a speech on police matters. "Yutel’dl{ you had a beautiful fl- lustration of maladministration in this city,” Senator Blease declared, adding that he understood it had been years since the building code here was re- vised. Senator Copeland, Democrat, of New York, asked Senator Blease if he had learned the cause of the explosion, and whether the need for boiler inspection had anything to do with it. Senator Blease replied he did mnot know personally, but that was his un- derstanding. Senator Copeland replied that in every city there should be an annual inspection of boilers in the Fall of the year. Senator Blease paused to compliment the District Fire Department on its work at the box factory near the Capitol yesterday evening. “If you had as competent a police force as you have Pire Department there would be little crime,” Senator Blease declared. He said the firemen did mag- nificent work in keeping the blaze in one building. . RITES TOMORROW FOR BLAST VICTIM Plans Made for Funeral of Jacob- son, One of Five Who Were Killed. Funeral services have been partially completed for only one of the five vic- tims of the explosion at McCrory's 5 and 10-cent store, near Seventh and D streets, yesterday afternoc up to an early hour this afternoon. The family of Charles Jacobson, 58 years old, of 2824 Twelfth street, an- nounced that the funeral will be held at the residence tomorrow afternoon. The hour, however, has not been de- cided. Rev. Dr. V. O. Anderson, rector of St. Agnes’ Episcopal Church, will officiate and interment will be in Fort Lincoln Cemetery. The members of the Cockrell family, 4505 Arkansas avenue, three of whom died of injuries sustained in the ex- tpllr:s‘o?filmt:ec“m g .'.llj'; until some e afternoon arrangin mrM tung:ll lelr'vloea s - lembers of the latter family who died from the injuries suah‘l.nedyin the explosion are: Mrs. Annie Cockrell, 41 years old; her 2-year-old daughter, Mary Ann, and Miss Kitty Cullinan, 46 years old, aunt, No word could be learned of arrange- ments for funeral services for Miss | Elizabeth Dawson, the fifth victim of s e;!‘lm'on,