DU PONT BLAST KILLS 31
Wilmington, Del., Nov. 29.—Thirty-one men were killed and six fatally injured to-day in an explosion of approximately four tons of black powder in a packing house at the Upper Hagley yard of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., on Brandywine Creek, three miles north of this city.
The cause of the explosion is not known. One official says, "There is not a thread on which to hang any hope that the origin will be definitely ascertained."
After the blast, termed the worst in the last twenty-five years, it was recalled that notices recently had been tacked on trees and fences near the yards, and even on fences within the plant, warning workmen to quit the mills by Jan. 1. At the time, the posting of the notices was believed to be an attempt by German sympathizers to intimidate the men. Extra guards were ordered about the plants and the United States Secret Service began an investigation, it was reported.
Du Pont Company officials have ordered a searching investigation, and every employee who was near the destroyed building will be put through an examination in an effort to get some clue as to the cause of the explosion....[21]
[21] New York World, December 1, 1915.
It is worth noting, in this story, the shrewdness with which the reporter plays up the probable cause of the accident, adding to the actual facts and promising possible further developments in to-morrow's paper.
223. Stories of the Weather.—The weather takes its place in the accident division of news stories because of its frequent harmful effects on life and property. Men's pursuits are all a gamble on the weather. Usually a story about the weather depends for its value largely on the felicity of its language, though when there has been severe atmospheric disturbance, resulting in loss of life, destruction of property, or delayed traffic, a simple narrative of events is sufficient to hold the reader's attention. The following are different types of weather story, the first being of the pure accident type, the second, of the more commonplace daily routine.
TERRIFIC STORM KILLS 4
Rain, hail, snow, sleet, gales, thunder and lightning combined in an extraordinary manner early yesterday to give New York one of the most peculiar storms the city ever experienced. Four persons died and scores were injured. Unfinished buildings were blown down, roofs were blown off, and signs demolished.