ld i Drama fatdn Bellefonte, Pa., July 19, 1907. Thirteen Others Injured by Powder Explosion on Warship. fHE GUN CHARGE IGNITED Boston, July 16.—By the explosion of a case of powder in the hands of a gunner in the after saperimposed tur- ret of the battleship Georgia, in Mas- sachusetts bay, eight men were killed and 18 injured. Not one of the in the *urret escaped injury. The dead: Lieutenant Casper Goodrich, New York. William J. Thatcher, chief turret captain, Wilmington, Del. ulkmer Goldthwaite, midshipman, Kentucky. W. J. Burke, ordinary seaman, Quin- cy, Mass. G. G. Hamilton, ordinary seaman, South Framingham, Mass. W. M. Thomas, ordinary seaman, Newport, R. I. George E. Miller, ordinary seaman, Brooklyn, N. Y. William F. Pair, ordinary seaman, Brooklyn, N. Y. Injured: Midshipman John T. Cruz, Nebraska; Frank S. Chlapp, North Adams, Mass, boatswain's mate,; Charles Hassell, New York, gunner's mate; Orley Tagland, Richford, Minn., chief yeoman; J. G. Thomas, ordinary seaman, Brooklyn, N. Y.; 8. L. Rosen- berger, ordinary seaman, Philadelphia; Edward J. Walsh, ordinary seaman, Lynn, Mass.; John O. Mallick, ordinary seaman, Cleveland, 0.; John A. Bush, ordinary seaman, New York; L. O. Meez, ordinary seaman, Berea, O.; H. L. Gilbert, ordinary seaman, Southwick, Mass.; John A. Fone, ordinary sea- man, Trenton, N. J.; Charles Leich, ordinary seaman, Frankfort, Ind. Three of the Injured, Lieutenant Goodrich and Seamen Pair and Walsh were in a very critical condition when brought into the hospital and it was announced that their injuries would prove fatal. Lieutenant Goodrich and Seaman Mallick jumped overboard im- mediately after the explosion, with the apparent motive of ending the terrible suffering from their burns. Both of the desperate men were quickly rescued by uninjured comrades. Goodrich died in the hospital. The accident happened while the men were engaged in target practice, together with other vessels of the bat. tleship squadron of the Atlantic fleet. The powder had just been taken from the ammunition hoist to load an eight- inch gun. It was seen to be burning and in an instant exploded in the very face of the loader of the gun. No dam- age was done to the vessel, as the pow- der was not confined. How the powder became ignited is not known, but the theory held at the navy yard is that it was set off by a spark from the smokestack of the war- ship. After the accident the Georgia headed for the Charlestown navy yard, There the dead and injured were taken ashore, the wounded men being con- veyed to the naval hospital at Chelsea. The guns in the forward turret had finished eight rounds of practice, and the guns of the after turret had fired one round. Two cases, as the big 100 pound bags of powder are called, had Just been sent up through the ammuni- tion hoist and were in the arms of the loader. The loader stood at the breach of one of the eight-inch guns, all ready to insert the charge. At this instant the turret was seen to be smoky, and two men, who stcod near the loader saw a black spot on the bag, Indicat- ing that the charge had ignited and was smouldering. The loader discov- ered the spot at the same instant and threw himself forward on his face, at the same time shouting a warning to his turret mates. The other men who had seen the spot were Eich and Hansell, and they also threw themselves on the floor. Before the other men in the turret could understand what caused tha loader's cry of warning, there was a blinding flash as the burning powder exploded. Flames, smoke, and nause- | ous gases filled the little superstruc- | ture in which more than than a score of men were confined. As the powder was not confined there was no report, nor did the vessel suffer eny injury, but every nook and cranny of the tur- ret was filled with flame. The loader, who was, of course, nearest the pow- der, was terribly burned, as was every other man in the turret. Blinded by the smoke and flame, choked by the acrid, penetrating gasze- ous fumes, and maddensd with pain, the men screamed in agony. Some staggered blindly up the ladder to the hatchway in the top of the turret, while others crept along the turret floor, begging piteously for assistance. Lieutenant Goodrich and Seaman Mallich became crazed, staggered up the iron ladder to the top of the tur- ret and then threw themselves head- long into the sea, in a despairing effort to choose a death by drowning in pref- erence to death by slow fire When the smoke of the burning pow- der had cleared away, the shipmates of the unfortunate men rushed to their assistance, and tenderly the suffering sailors were lifted out of the fire blacked turret and quickly conveyed to the ship's hospital, where their burns were dressed by the surgeons. In the meantime Lieutenant Good- rich and Seixman Maleck had been res- cued by a launch that was returning from &n inspection of the target. Dies After Stepping On Nail. Catasauqua, Pa, July 15.—Having stepped on a nall at the Crane Iron works last week, Fred J. Dech, a young carpenter, died of lockjaw. UNHURT BY Jou 7000-FOOT FALL ating an airship at a height of 7000 feet here, Gail Robinson, a Buffalo, N. Y., aeronaut, had a thrilling experi- bag, which was cut open, letting the gas escape. The gas took fire and the machine began to fall. Robinson then climbed quickly to the top of pro- peller, which “up-ended,” the balloon forming a sort of a parachute, which caught the air, letting the machine and its operator descend slowly to the ground. The accident was witnessed by several thousand persons, and women and children were panic- stricken because of a fear that Robin- son would be dashed to death. Robinson's only injury was a slight cut on the head. SHORTAGE MAY BE HEAVY The Collector of Bordentown, N. J., Is Missing. Bordentown, N. J., July 15.—John F. Atkin, of Philadelphia, counsel for Dr. I. C. Leedom, the absent city collector, returned from New York, where he went in an effort to obtain an inter view with his client regarding the re- port that he is $10,000 short in his ac- counts with the city. Mr. Atkin is in- clined to take a very different view of Dr. Leedom's absence from that of the residents of Bordentown, who are charging that the collector has ab- sconded. Mr. Atkin charges that the spreading of the rumor is only a piece of politics aimed at Dr. Leedom by his pelitical enemies. The committee in its statement as- serts that as the result of the Inves- tigation made it was learned that Dr. Leedom’s shortage would probably amount to $10,300. TORTURED BY BURGLARS Frank Smith's Tongue Slit and Feet Slashed By Thieves. Buffalo, N. Y., July 16.—Because he would not deliver to two burglars the keys of his employer's house, Frank Smith, 45 years old, a coachman in the employ of John Gehm, a wholesale meat dealer, was horribly tortured and left for dead by his assallants. Smith | glept in a room above the barn at the rear of Gehm's house. He was awak- ened shortly after midnight by two masked men, who demanded the keys of the house. Smith refused to give them up. and the burglars began a se- ries of revolting tortures. Smith's ton- gue was slit with a knife and the soles of his feet were slashed in a score of places until he became unconscious. The men then threw Smith down the stairs. where he was found. One ar- rest was made. Smith is in a critical condition. EX-SUITOR SUES FOR GIFTS Jilted Man Demands Return of Dia- mend Ring and Jewelry. Bridgetcn, N. J. Miss Julia Most, a popular young so- ciety woman and amateur actress, re- jected her suitor, Frank M. Tidmarsh, who had wooed her for several years, she will be compelled to take the lead- ing role in a drama of love in the Cumberland county courts. Tidmarsh and Miss Most were to have been married in the fall. The young woman failed to return a fine diamond ring and other articles of jew- elry which Tidmarsh gave her, and he obtained a writ of replevin. Miss Most will fight the case and has cngaged counsel. Tidmarsh also is represented by an attorney. Doesn't Sell Beer, Baby Drinks It. Middieboro, Mass., July 16. — Mrs. Caroline Lemmo, up in court for violat- ing the excise law, explained why she ran a beer bill of $28 a week. “My baby, 7 months old, drinks three bot tles a day,” she said. “I drink a keg a day and my husband drinks the rest. We don’t sell it, we drink it.” Her husband earns $9 a week and the court couldn't understand how they could afford so much beer. Mrs. Lem- mo was fined $75. Killed By Exploding Engine Piston. Johnstown, Pa., July 15.—Harry Shaffer, a machinist, was killed, and Jacob Huebner was horribly mangled by an explosion of an engine piston in the Gautien mills of the Cambria Steel company. The piston, with water and the heat of the blacksmith’'s fur- nace, at which the men were repairing the piston, generated steam which caused the explosion. Shaffer lived a short time, and Heubner's condition is critical. Human Brick, Once Musician, is Lost. Pittsburg, July 16.—A brick is lost somewhere between Boston and this