The Tank

On January 15, 1919, a 2.3-million-gallon molasses tank ruptured and killed 21 people. The structural failure was documented in internal engineering reviews before construction was complete. Ada finds the engineer's original safety objection — submitted to the board, received, and overruled — and the board minutes from the meeting. One sentence in those minutes has been redacted in every archive copy. Ada finds the one copy that was not. It names the board member who made the overruling motion and his stated reason: the tank had already been contracted to the US Navy.