Why the Explosion Occurred
Of course, it did not take long after the explosion of the tank for people to start blaming others for the tragedy. While the families along Commercial Street quickly pointed the blame at the company, the United States Industrial Alcohol Company pointed fingers elsewhere. They blamed the anarchists, a terrorist group who bombed several places before the explosion. But just as quickly as first responders arrived, investigators began looking for a cause. It did not take the investigators long to figure out who the real culprits of the explosion were.
With the large tank being built too quickly, it was very unsafe. The United States Industrial Alcohol Company hired someone who would do the work for cheap. The builder of the tank was not equipped to handle such a job. On top of this, the metal which was used to make the tank was too thin to control the amount of molasses it was holding. Not too long before the explosion of the container, the United States Industrial Alcohol Company received a large molasses shipment.
Adding the new shipment of molasses to what was already in the tank, the total gallons of molasses came to 2.3 million. The metal on the tank, which was the same metal used on the Titanic, could not hold that much molasses. On top of this, because the tank was built so quickly, and the builder had little idea on what he was doing, the corners of the tank were not fully together. The caulking that the company tried to use to put the edges together or fix the leak was not able to hold the weight of the molasses.
Once the news hit that the United States Industrial Alcohol Company was to blame for the explosion because they did not build the tank correctly or fix the leaks that residents and the company’s employees mentioned, the residents went after the company. Whether the working-class families lost a loved one, a home, or a business they sued the company. In total, people filed 125 lawsuits against the United States Industrial Alcohol Company. However, the settlements would not be reached for years to come.
In fact, it took a total of six years before the families would see any money from the company. Colonel Hugh Ogden was chosen to head the lawsuits. He had to hear about 3,000 testimonies between both sides before the conclusion of a settlement. In the end, the United States Industrial Alcohol Company had to pay each victim’s family 7,000 dollars. The company also had to pay for damages and other costs. In total, the company would pay out $628,000, which is $8 million today.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“The Great Molasses Flood of 1919.” Andrews, Evan, History. January 2017.
“Remembering Boston’s Great Molasses Flood of 1919.” Trex, Ethan, Mental Floss. January 2018.
“What We Know About The Great Molasses Flood of 1919.” Reiss, Jaclyn, Boston Globe. January 2017.