Cries Of Injured, Dying
Heard AboveRoaring Fire
By ROBERT E. BROWN
united Press Staff Correspondent
TEXAS CITY, Tex., April 16
(U.R)—I flew over the Texas City
disaster area today—over waves
of black smoke which hid all bul
five huge clusters of lickinj
flame.
A rectangle roughly a mile long
and a half mile wide along the
waterfront wras a mass of twisted
steel structures and charred de
bris.
Clouds of smoke erased the sun.
Fires were burning at the ruined
Monsanto Chemical company
plant and in two oil refineries.
Every few minutes another explo
sion spewed more flame and
smoke into the sky.
wading through the destruction
area were doctors and nurses —
grimy, sweaty with blood on
them. Priests were there and
scores of volunteers.
Seme donned gas masks rushed
in from Fort Crockett at Galves
ton as they neared the docks
where chemical fumes were
heavy. Calls of the injured and
ciyng could be heard faintly
through the roar of flames.
Bodies Everywhere
Twisted bodies lay everywhere.
Rescuers stepped over the bodies
as they hunted for the injured.
Along a street of small cafes
and residences were scattered
fragments of the ship which blew
up to start this holocaust. There
■were also pieces of metal that
once were part of the multi-mil
lion - dollar Monsanto Chemical
olant.
Roads leading into the center of
the death area are closed. Some
1.500 law enforcements officers
and solders are here and only
authorized persons can come in.
It’s hard to walk in Texas City.
All the plate glass is gone, scat
tered in the streets. Bloody trails
made by the injured are every
where.
Chief Deputy Sheriff Jake Colca
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is ii charge Of identifying bodies.
He said 69 bodies were at the Me
Gar garage and eight more at the
Empken Funeral home.
W. H. Otto of Lamar who had
been helpng on a truck carrying
out the dead, said he counted 200
bodies.
Like Barrage
Mayor J. C. Traham of Texas
City, an army veteran, said the
series of blasts sounded like an
artillery barrage. He was in the
city garage, two miles from the
Monsanto plant, and he said the
building "just disintegrated
around me.”
The dead at the McGar garage
were covered tvith blankets. They
lay on tar paper. A team of local
men were trying to identify them.
Some bodies were mutilated.
State Highway Patrolman J.
Crouch said when he first looked
out of city hall after the blast
"you could see birds falling out
of the air into the streets—killed
by concussion.”
Mrs. Adeline Flanikin, who
was working in the Texas City
Terminal office, said she went un
der a desk when she heard the
explosion.
"I crawled back out to find the
whole place down around me.”
WRIGHT GIVES
PAPER ON HALL
Tribute Paid To Thalian
HaH In Article At Ki
wanis Meeting
When the Kiwanis club was dis
cussing restoration of Thalian hall
at its meeting yesterday, Thomas
H. Wrght was given the floor to
read a tribute to the historical
value of the hall. Mr. Wright ex
plained the brief article had been
prepared for him by a friend who
insisted on anonymity.
The article reads:
“Naturally, it is hard to place
a value on muncipa! buildings
and associations of historical in
terest. A city that possesses old
buildings that wer-> used and rev
ered in former years by persons
of note or for cultural purposes
has in them assets which cannot
be valued in money.
“They appeal to something in
our nature that stirs within us
some of our finest sentiments. For
this reason the old Thalian Hall
should not be destroyed. It would
be unjust to our historic past to
do so. Although time has worn the
old structure and made it unsafe
for present use as a hall for
dramatics or popular meetings,
still its attractive features can be
preserved and it can be made
safe for future gatherings.
“Witness our City Hall , which
continues to be the pride of Wil
mington and an attraction which
holds the eye of vistors passing
through the city. The time was
when we almost lost it, as many
of us well remember; but better
judgment prevailed, and we still
look with much satisfaction upon
our stately city government build
ing.
“Not only has its outer beauty
been preserved, but its offices
within have been made perfectly
safe and comfortable. Of course,
there is need for additional office
space, but this should be provided
in some kind of construction that
would not affect that honored old
Thalian Hall. As to preserving the
latter, steel and concrete can
work wonderK in making it safe
and desirable as they did in re
storing the City Hall.
“When the city authorities ac
cepted the gift of the land on
whch the old Innes Academy
stood, and the funds donated by
the Thalian society, back in the
eighten fifties, there went with
them a moral responsibility for
maintaining the structure for the
purposes the donors had in mind.
In sentimental things, at least,
this responsibility lasts indefinite
ly, and we have yet the old opera
house.
ine inalian society has a life
going back tc revolutionary days
and before. (In this connection,
we recall Thomas Godfrey, the
first American dramatist, and his
“A Prince of Parthis”.) Through
the many decades the amateur
dramatic talent in Wilmington has
often been displayed—first in the
Innes Academy buildng and then
in Thalian Hall.
“Through the years, also, great
actors and actresses and famous
speakers appeared on the itage of
the opera house to the entertain
ment and appreciation of Wil
mington audiences.
“The great Massachusetts ora -
tor Edward Everett spoke to a
large audience in the hall in 1859
on the “Character of Washing
ton”; and other national orators
followed from time to time, in -
eluding William G. McAdoo, sec
retary of the treasury under Pres
dent Wilson. Honorable George
Davis, the eminent brator of Wil
mington, spoke in the hall several
times before and after the War
Betwen the States. The great Dr.
T. DeWitt Talmage and other not
ed religious leaders have graced
its stage; and on numerous occa
sions religious and civic gather -
ings have discussed important
public matters.
“Among the famous actors who
appeared in Thalian Hall were
Joseph Jefferson, Rchard Nans
field, Frederick Ward and ether
well remember dramatists; .nd
there were many vocalists in
operas of high national standing.
"All these details add up in the
desire of many Wilmington people
to preserve the historic old op-'ra
house, which has been praised b>
many famous performers for its
beauty and excellent acoustic pro
perties. By all means let us not
make the mistake, as has been
done in the past, of destroying
what might be preserved as a dis
tlnctive and useful relic of our in
teresting municipal life. Rathei
1c, us restore it for our own ant
future generations.”
Half of the children born lit
the United States come frorr
farming areas where slightlj
more than 30 per cent of th# na
tional adult ftooiiUtion faaa- ...
MAJOR BLAST
DISASTERS IN
LAST 30 YEARS
_____ . , .
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Major explosion disasters in the
last 30 years include:
Dec. 6, 1917—1,500 persons kill
ed in collision between a muni
tons ship and relief ship off Hali
fax, Canada, destroying two and
one-half square miles of the city
injuring 4,000 and making 20,
000 homeless.
May 8, 1918—More than 200 kill
ed at Aetna Chemical co. plant
near Pittsburgh, Pa.
July 2, 1918—49 killed in TNT
plant explosion at Split Rock,
near Syracuse, N.Y.
Oct. 5, 1918—Nearly 100 killed
at Gillespie Loading co. plant,
Morgan N.J.
July 10, 1926 — 21 killed when
lightning struck naval ammunition
depot at Lake Denmark, N. J.;
damage $50,000,000.
May 15, 1929 — 100 killed in
Cleveland, O., hospital clinic when
X-ray film exploded, filling build
ing with gas.
March 18, 1937—294 children and
teachers killed in gas blast in New
London, Tex., schoolhouse.
Sept. ’ 12, 1940 — 50 killed and
more than 100 injured in Hercules
Powder plant explosion, Kenvil,
N.J.
March 26, 1942 — More than
killed near Easton, Pa., when 20
tons of dynamite at limestone
quarry exploded.
June 5, 1942—48 killed in blast
at Elwood ordnance shell loading
plant, Joliet, 111.
Sept. 17, 1944—More than 25
killed in ammunition explosion at
Norfolk, Va., air station.
Jan. 3, 1944—More than 100 kill
ed in explosion of Destroyer Turn
er in New York bay.
July 17, 1944—22 killed in Navy
munitions depot explosion at Port
Chicago, Calif.
Oct. 21, 1944—At least 15 per
sons killed in explosion and fire
in East Ohio Gas company stor
age plant at Cleveland.
Feb. 20. 1947 — 15 killed in
O’Connor Electro-Plating plant
blast, Los Angeles. 158 injured;
damage $1,500,000.
March 25, 1947 — 111 killed in
Centrala, 111., mine.
Hundreds of others have died
in other mine explosions in the
last 30 years
SHIPPING NEWS
IN PORT
Liberty Ships
S. S. Calvin Coolidge from the
Lay-up basin being refitted. Heide
agent.
S. S. Felipe de Neva, from the
lay-up basin. Heide, agent.
S. S. David R. LaCrow.from
the lay-up basin. Heide, agent.
S. S. Joe C. S. Blackburn from
the lay-up basin. Heide, agent,
agent.
S. S. Thomas J. Rusk from the
lay-up basin. C. D. Maffitt, agent.
S. S. Stephen Vincent Benet
from the lay-up basin C. D. Maf
fitt, agent.
S. S. Charles P. Steinmetz from
lay-up. C. D. Maffitt, agent.
INWARD BOUND
Freighter
S. S. Oregon Fir, from Texas
ports, with cargo of fertilizer ma
terials. Heide. agent.
Tanker
S. S. Black River, from Texas
ports, with cargo of petroleum
products. Heide and Company,
agents.
CLEARED AND SAILED
S. S. O. M. Bernuth, bound for
Jacksonville, Fla., after unload
ing creosote oil at Taylor-Colquitt
terminal. C. D. Maffitt, agent.
DAVIS RENAMED
ACL PRESIDENT
Officers Of Railroad Com
pany Reelected During
■ Meet At Richmond
C. McD. Davis has now entered
upon his sixth year as president
of the Atlantic Coast Line Rail
road company, the organization
with which he has been associated
for the past 54 years.
Mr. Davis along with the ether
officers of the company were re
named during a meeting of the di
rectors in Richmond, Va., on
Tuesday.
Other Wilmingtonians renamed
by the board were R. J. Doss,
W. D. McCaig, all vice presidents;
L. F. Ormond, comptroller; and
P Nichols, treasurer.
During the directors meeting a
dividend of $2 per share for pre
ferred stock and $1 per share for
common stock was declared.
Operating revenue for 1946 as
reflected in a financial statement
showed a drop or approximately
$29,556,000 as compared with the
previous year.
ANNULMENT SOUGHT
AWARDED IN COURT
Ann Holdford Phillips was award
ed an annulment of her marriage
to George Baldwin Phillips at
Conway, S. C., on Dec. 3, 1944 and
was also authorized to adopt her
maiden name during yesterday's
session of Superior Court here.
The annulment was granted on
the grounds that the defendant,
George Baldwin Phillips, had a
living spouse to whom he was
legally married at the time of the
plaintiff’s marriage to the defen
dant.
With Judge Clawson L. Williams,
of Sanford, presiding the jury re
turned late yesterday afternoon
with answers to 15 issues involved
in the case of James Howard, of
Hampstead, vs Henry Green, of
Sfcotts Hill. Howard was seeking
a lien on the crop, tractor and
peanut picking machine of the de
fendant. The attorneys for the two
parties will now draw up a judg
ment which will be presented to
the court for settlement.
When court recessed for the day,
the case of W. E. Sisson et al vs
Royster Oil Co., Inc., et al was in
progress and will be continued at
today’s session of the civil term.
In 1866 there were 30 million
United States acres planted to
corn and the yield was 731 mil
lion bushels. In 1946, there were
95 million acres planted to corn
and the yield was 3,018,410,000 bu
shels.
UNBLOCK
^DIGESTIVE TRACT
And Stop Doting Your Stomach
With Soda and Alkalizara
Don’t expect to get reel relief from headache,
•our stomach, gas and bad breath by talcing
soda and other allcaltsers if the true cause of
your trouble is constipation.
In this case your real trouble is not in the
stomach at all. But in the intestinal trad
where 84% of your food is digested. And when
the lower part gets blocked food may fail to
digest properly.
What you want 'or real relief is some
thing to 'Tinb? ick" your lover Intestinal tract.
Something to dean it cut effectively—help
Nature get bach on her feet.
Get Carter’s Pills right new. Take as di
rected. They get.y -udeffectl-ely “unblock”
your digestive tract. This permits all I ef
Nature’s ov. digestive juices te mix better
srith your food. You get genuine relic f from
indigestion so you can fed really good again. .
Buy Carter’s Pills today. "yuHeek" your
Intestinal tract tor real relief frtm indigestion.
BRIEF NEWS NOTES
FROM BLAST AREAS
TELL OF DISASTER
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
All schools were closed in Gal
veston today following the explo
sion in Texas City, 11 miles away.
Windows in the school buildings
were shattered and plaster on the
walls cracked and in some in
stances fell.
Before going home, the children
went through a fire drill.
Two ambulances from Houston,
en route to Texas City, collided
near Ellington field ) Traffic was
held up for several minutes until
the ambulances were dragged off
the road. No one was injured.
A plane from Ellington fiefci
said smoke billowed 4,000 feet
above Texas City, and wTas visible
30 miles away.
Police Inspector W. P. Haley of
Houston issued a call for all auto
mobile wreckers available. They
were rushed to Texas City to help
remove debris an^ wreckage.
The explosion rattled windows
at Pelly, 27 miles away, and one
man there said the sound was so
sharp “it hurt my eardrums.” J.
K. Poage, engineer for a Cedar
Bayou radio station, also 27 miles
away, said he saw flames shoot
hundreds of feet into the air.
The smoke billowing over Texas
City was described as much like
that of an atomic bomb.
The Palestine, Tex., Herald, lo
cated 10 miles from the explo
sion, said there was no doubt the
explosion was felt and heard
there. It said telephone calls pour
ed in long before news of the ex
plosion was made known.
—
W. H. Sandberg, vice president
of the Texas City Terminal Rail
way company, who missed death
aboard the Grand Camp by five
minutes, said later that the con
cussion "was simply terrible ’’ He
had left the ship just five minutes
before it blew up, hurling steel
beams for miles. He said the ex
plosions came in "one-two- three
order.”
Fred Pool, the La Porte Cham
ber of Commerce manager, said
the explosion damaged that city.
“It blew windows out of every
home in town, blew in ceilings in
business buildings, and cracked
new buildings from end to end.”
Smoke mushroomed over Gal
veston. Observers said the smoke
looked like pictures of the atomic
bomb explosion. The city was ob
scured from the sun for hours by
the black smoke.
Certain racial groups which
served in the United States Army
during World War II are: Enlist
ed men from July 1, 1940, to June
30, 1948, Negroes, 1,049,617; Chi
nese, 16,515; Japanese, 29,848; Fil
ipiros, 18,660.
AUTO LOANS
“That Cost LESS”
The BANK OF VILMINGTON
FORMERLY THE MORRIS PLAN BANK
| Arriving For Wilmington Show "
«-5
One of the forty rail-road cars transporting the Endy Bros. Shown
Thrill Circns, now showing at Bellamy Park 19th. and Dawson Stre*8/
for the benefit of the Wilmington Police Recreation Fund.
Time out
for Coke
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