Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1868-04-14

Tus CaicAoo CArAsrRoPBs.-WARNiNa
TO DAvKxrosr BrrLDsss.- Saturday last
. row Of ten buildings, three stories high,
in process Of erection on Clark street, blew
dswn during the slight gale. Fifty uso
vsrkine thseeon-nsbody hart The
TSmss mesalise upsu the event. We e.
tsacs q 1ollows:
All this ssfsssncs 70 Prosidsose q mis-.
take: and oil these various erattesdes aod
thank kfulnss we're misplaced. The destiny,
the fate. the Provideocs to which and
whom tie werkingmsn, their possible vid-
ews ed orphans. asd ne vhcls pcpaIenon
II Chicago ass indebted for this misaesleus
pressrvstion-is tho man who y efees'ng
the buildings. He Is the one to whom srs
due pmans Of thankfulness be 10 the man,
whom the wives and children should bless,
on their bonded knees. that, on ysstsrdays
sloppy Sunday. they were not lone widows
and incousolabls orphans.
This bsnefector. this philanthropist. this
builder, foresaw . catastrophe, and he put
Up his buildings of . material that would
hurt nobody when the crash came. Paste
board for floors; lsths for plates, studs,
joists, and rsfters; pepisr m0che fof cor
nices: and for shingles such etherisl stun
that only nail would keep It rom floating
up like . fsathsr,--with such materials.
how could anyone be injured when It came
tumbling about his ears like . descent Of
snow flakes, or the gentle dropping Of .
shower Of feathers!
But these men did have . narrow and
msst thrilling escape from becoming man.
eled bodies or lost Plsisdes. II liss in the
fact that the wind, in place Of blowing the
fsathery structure down, might have blown
il up.-mieht have carried them, building
and I'll. in the air, and allowed them to be
dashsd to pieces BY falling from somswhers
among the upper stars. That the building
did NOS 20 up. instead Of down, may bs
owing to Providsutial interference. That
this cslsmity did not occur, 10, perhaps,
cause for gratitude. -,
One thing should be done At oncs. The
futurs 10 full Of ealAmitous eatastfophes,
unless there bs action which shall guard
against their occurrence. The only way to
prevent this coming Of catsstrophss 10 to
pass . stringent ordinance, obliging these
people Who are building Ill over the city to
securely anchor their frames to the ground.
Two-thirds Of those going up are liable to
up farther in case Of . moderate wind.
For the cake Of prospective widows and or
phans, let something b. done at once.
Why the buildings on Clark street blew
down, inetsAd Of up, 10 not known. There
nay have been ksg Of nails somewhere
about The building which weighed it down.
Perhsps ssms Of The lath-bsaos had been
tackled together instead Of being fastened
with mueiIags, and the weight Of the taeks
carried tho structure to earth.
The builder, or owner. 10 entitled to
good deal Of commiseration. The light
breeze. that prevailed on Saturday evening
carried away most Of the debris sf bic
buildines. Had it mot rainsd about daEk, ],
,hsrsby dsupening what was left, all
would have blown away. Az 10, his loss
10 severe. The public will probably gym
pathixe with him.
Surely there 10 room for profitable
thought in this matter, for it 10 dsmonstra-
ted thereby that buildings can b % Greet
Cd that when blown dswn BY any wander
zephyr, hnman life may in no wise Be en-
dangsrsd.