The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-12-06


The Late Building Casualty In West Street.
C0RoEkRs INQUEST UPON THE BODIES OF THE DE-
CEASED wORKhEN-vERDICT OF THE JURY CEN5UR-
ING THE coNsrRucToR or THE BUILDING, ON THE
GROUND OF iNCoMPErENCY.
The inquest in the Of John Kelly and Peter Mahon,
the laborers who killed by the falling OF the build
ing of West and Behune streets the ID inst,
was concluded yesterday by Coroner Gamble, at the
Ninth precinct station house resulting jury bringing
verdict OF against the constructor Of the
building for having taken upon himself task for which
he was not competent.
The following is part of the proceedings they
sprcd before the Coroner yesterday
Mathew White residing at No. 10 Christopher street
being duly sworn deposes and saysI proprietor OF
he building the northeast OF Behune and West
streets it s used as mailing house. sell the malt 10
brewers the building not entirely completed John Kelly
he deceased has been in my employ laborer since
August last Peter Mahon, deceased work At my
place the ID inst shoveng grain; the I'd inst John
Kelly sh0veiBg grain on the first floor and Peter
Aahon on the fourth oor they were getting the grain up
the fourth floor from the Hrst the building all
day about twenty minutes before o'clock p N. was
landing by the elevator, ON the Arst noor when heard
crash, and struck on the leg by falling timber,
not conscious enough 10 examine into the matter at
the time; went home; returned in about twenty
minutes and found that the floors from the ast to the
fourth had fallen through for space o about forty
sixty feet; heard that Kelly, the deceased in tho
ruins | had my men To work endeavoring to extrcato
him; his body was taken out next morning; ] did not
know the time Of the accident that Mahon had been
caught by the alliug oors bis body recovered
until twenty-five hours after the accident the
carpenter and mason work OF the building was done
under my own supervision; IL was done by days work;
the boss Mr.. Derbyshire and the carpenter
Daniel Stcarns there specifications for the building;
they in Albany; am not practical builder IL
is not my profession, think competent To super
intend buildings most whose profession II Is;
consider the beams and girders good timber and suff
Savs Seen ns was @ IN ps"a ~ was
done by my direction hemlock was the timber used run
ming from grder to grder consider hemlock as good
not better than any other timber could have used tho
flooring Of the second and third floors brick and
ment there hundred and eighty eight tons OF
grain the fourth n0or this quantity distributed
space or hundred by seventy feet; not
deeper than four and half feet at any point have
amned the building since the accident the walls have
not given way il would have made a difference Of from
81 800 to 81 900 have put pine place OF hem
lock mean that there was so much saved the dimensions
Of the building follows Length Bethune street,
100 feet; West street. so feet i've inches height, ~
feet inches the dimensions OF the hemlock beams
by ~ inches Henry L. JAMS is the Of my engineer,
he had charge of the aborers at the time Of the accdent
the OF grain more direct than lateral manufac
ured grain would not be than half the weight OF
grain; should have put 1000 tons weight on the fourth
floor.
Dennis Hennessy residing Fast Nineteenth street,
being duly sworn, deposes and says-l am master car
penter; at the instance OF Coroner Gamble made
animation Of the building corner OF West and Bethune
street yesterday the bniidng far the plan goes ~
quite good leaving the basement thought there
settling previous To the accident the posts IN the
basement good material and sufficiently strong,
the posts appeared 10 be good throughout tho
whole building; the fault ! found IN the build
ing was the presence OF hemiock beams; my
pcrience in building heavy stores has taught mo
that pine beams will yield to great weight especially 70
the kind OF weight IN the building corner OF Behune and
West streets and when the weight removed they
back again have this mostly In heavy paint stores;
consider spruce strong ~ pine, but hemock look
upon insufficient my opinion IL that the cause OF tho
falling Of building of BethnDe and West Streets
the bad quality Of the door beams; hemock timber
will spring much pune, and come back pine Will
carry I50 per cent mere weight than hemock the size
and quality o tho beams used in that building posi-
lively insufficient; the size OF the beams we're by lz
inches.
William Tucker residing at No. 81 Macdougal street,
beng duly sworn, deposes and says:I am builder by
profession have examined the building corner of Re
thune and West streets; first examined the exterior
walls and found them good the walls the easement
10 inches thick; there settlement than usual
girders and floors generally appeared be level and
in their proper places the posts in The basement red
cedar the glrders are about inches square the posts
floor OF pine 10 inches and the grders the
the basement the red cedar posts full of knots
they are very durable; making inquiry found that
great weigh, laid on the fourth floor about 26 feet from the
front wall Of the posts under the weight had broken
of about onetbrd Of the from the top and allowed
the girder to down am satisfied that the of
the falling Of the floors he breaking OF the posts
the third toor and that these posts were insufficient
don't think the beams bad thing 10 do with the dsas-
ter do not consider that the posts used that building
were all sufficient for the purposes intended think he
hemloek beams good enough for the intended:
Iagree with Mr. Hennessy opinion he expressed IN
regard the difference of weight which would be
tanned by pine and hsmlock
jacob 81 Valentine, being duly sworn, says am
master carpenter have examined the building of
Behune and West streets and satisfied that the poss
the third floor and the hemIock beams Insufficient
would not have used hemlock " had been getting up
such building.
sylvanus Gedney being duly sworn says am mas
builder reside at No, 30 leroy street; have
mined the building corner of bcthune and West streets
have heard Mr.. rlcker's statement and fully concur
with him my first Impressions that the falling Of the
floor caused by the beams being insufficient but upon
further examination believe that the fault lay 10 tho
posy.
John Ferguson NJ ~, being duly sworn, says--I hayc
examined the body Of the lying dead No 1856 West
Nineteenth street found fracture of the verebra tho
injury sufficient % cause death.
The then given 10 the jury, when, after due
detbcra,ion, they rendered the following
vyrbeT.
That the deceased came 10 his death by fracture Of the
dorsa and cevcai vertebra caused by the falling Of the
floors of . building, owned by Mathew white, on the
northeast corner Of Behune and West streets December
2 1857. Further, consider portion of the vertical
posts said building insufficient for the purposes
which they applied and Mathew White FOR
having taken the supervision O the construction Of said
building, he being incompetent ~ an architect and
builder"
Upon the rendition of the above verdict Coroner Gam
bic examined Mr. White upon the charge preferred against
him, when he stated that he Is years of age and
native o Albany. In reference 20 the charge preferred
against him, he said" can prove that capable of
constructing the building the northeast corner Of Be
,hune aud West street d know that the post which
gave way a bad one"
Coroner Gamble required NJ White 10 into bonds
for bis appearance before the Grand Jury.
NEw ExrtoyNrNf fyaafTs-H will be seen by
advertising columns that Nr Jobson formerly surgeon
wa.