Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1852-05-10

s=B The good people of Richmond are without doubt
the best natured and most gently disposed of human
hnd. Ihey submit tacy and uncomplainingy, to griev
ances the preparation of which in most communities
would assuredy subject the offending party to severe
rest pains and penalties if not popular opprobrum and
ostracism Does the reader require an illustration II
we have only direct his attention to the condition
tor the past 18 months of ofthe public thorough
fares perhaps IN the CITY, During nearly the whole Of
natlme those citizens engaged in business on the south
SIDE OF Main street, near the of 18th street. have
suffered tn most serious Interruptions annoyances
Besides bel g subjected personal Inconvenience GUS
tom has been driven from their stores and places
of business. Piles of stone brick and tmbermornd.
OF earth and yawning pits, say nothing crun bling
walls and clouds OF dust-may bereckoned among the
pleasant associations connected with this neghbohood
during the past eighteen months Now these annoyances
were certainly far from being agreeabe but they were
Trivial IN comparison with the reprehensibe disregard
OF human life which marke the operations of the
Builder of fine houses who had in an unfort unate
hour, been selected to two buildings in the
ne1ghborhood. We say he manifested an utter dsre-
gard OF human life, for surely endowed with pro-
per sensibties would willingly become tho instrument
whereby the lives of his unoending fellow citizens might
be endangered
The erection of the house the corner of Main and
18th streets has been attended by train of disasters un
precedented in the history ofbuildng this city, Some
body must be held responsible for these disasters and
we choose to arraign the builder at the bar of pub
lie opinion Adrot and sku shutting as we know hin,
tooe he shall rot escape the just responsibility attacha
Bile to his carelessness and negligence in matter To
recital them ofthe train of caaes attendant upon the
rare structure which the
Main and 18th sts In excavang the foundation two men
were killed outright and little white lad narrowly esca
peddeath AS faithful croncers passing events we re-
corded the casualty the day following the on which it
occurred After while the foundation walls wers laid
aud then active operations ceased These walls beingo
level with the street. offered impeachment to pedestrians
passing the South side of 18th street. and the
on the margin of 18th which had been left unpro
tected by barriers by this humane builder Again we
invited the attention of those whose duty was to cause
barriers to be placed around this place. the pressing
necessity of properly guarding it. The officers of police
examined it, and through their instrumentality we be.
eve barriers finally placed around the pit But thew
permitted to remain on 18th street Suffice it
to say during the construction of this building five per
sons are known to have tumbled into this foundation
How many others fell into it, unable to saw but
presume the number to be considerably more than FIVE
One poor fellow, crediby informed who unforu.
natey tunlbed into it, with series of misfortunes
painful to contemplate. After lying sometime in con.
dition of comparative insensbity, he recovered his
wandering senses, and determined to make an effort
to escape from the pit. Finding the wall over which
he had tumbled to be fully twenty feet in height,
he determined to make effort reach the front
part the foundation under the ho TINT he mig posi-
bly, find accessible oatlet there. But alas he had
scarcely cawed twice the length ofhis own dy he
again lost his balance, and found lower deep In the
basement WE'LL twenty feet in Depth had been sunk and
into it the poor fellow umbled heaofJremost How he
rasaagsd to get out, or whether he got with who