The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1876-09-30
THE SPRINGFIELD HORROR.
Building Crashes to the Ground and
Takes Fire.
,tX len Under the Rufns,

BY American Press Association to the STAR.
SPRINGFIELD, MASS, Sept. SO.-The
folly OF building cheap business blocks
and then permitting their floors to be
heavily crowded with merchandise, yes
terday afternoon received terrible
demonstration in Spring field, with the
loss of human life to enforce an awful
lesson.
A few minutes before 2 P. NJ. ye ester.
day the upper floor Of the three-story
l.. 8. stowe and William f. Parks, gave
way under the weight upon it, and fall
ing with a crash, carried down suc-
cessiVely the second and first floors-the
whole, with their contents, falling in an
inextrlcable mass into the cellar. The
debris Immediately caught fire from the
engine.roem, on the ground floor, and
almost before people in that vicinity
could realize what had happened, q
great mass of smoke began rolling out
from the building, followed quickly by
flames.
Hundreds Of persons focked to the
place, and the fremen without delay
responded to the alarm from Box 8.
The dreadful news was spread faster
than the tre itself, that six men we're
beneath the ruins and II not crushed to
death would certainly be roasted alive.
Soon, however, 1t wab ascertained that
three had released themselves from their
perilous position in the cellar, and cut
and bleeding had crowded out through
cellar window. In the meantime po %er-
full streams from the fire engines had got
the fire pretty well under CONT oil, and
the hook and ladder company fell to
work to pull out the debris, and il posi-.
BILE, reach the men who were still endur.
ing living death II not dead already,
The building had three concerns as oc-
cupants, the Lucky Cigar Manufacturing
Company, who had the whole OF the
west half, which was uninjured; also the
upper floor Of the east half, where they
had from sixty or eighty thousand
pounds OF tobacco stored on second
floor. s. Palmer had four hundred bar.
rels Of -four, the weight of which was
nearly twenty thousand pounds. 1t was
a weight Of seventy-fve tons, to say
nothing Of the floors themselves, which
came crushing down upon the first floor,
occupied by j. Walker & Son as O pork
packing establishment. There six men
we're at work, viz; q. N. Walker, one
OF the firm; Martin Sheridan, Peter Ger
man, Familiarity known as Peter Dutehy:
]. W. Glasst, FrenchmaH, who lives in
West Springfield; Michael Casey and
Jacob Davis.
1t was the last three who got out soon
after the accident, and the first three
were given up as dead. After some
time 1t was reported that a man could
be heard in the ruins crying out for help.
When, however, the debris was sufi-
ciently cleared away 10 allew the fire.
men to enter the cellar there was only
an ominous silence, and their repeated
,alls. About 1928 the fremen announced
that they had discovered man In the
cellar, Immediately below where the Of
dee had been. 1t was soon asoertained
that the unfortunate person was G. N,
Walker, the junior partner of the firm
u j. Walker u Son. Redoubled efforts
we're made 10 reach him through the
mass of debris with which he was sur.
'ounded.
At $40 the body was reached and
,orne out from ths building ON blanket |
md deposited on rude board bench.
When found young Walker was COM |
pressed into a space hardly ten inclres |
vide, with mass of timber and rubbish |
IN him which caused the body to as |
ume such a position as person might |
axe In STOPPING TO pick up something. |
rhe body had been pressed fat 10 the |
lour.
The Lucky Cigar Manufacturing Com.
,any's Loss is fully 100000, insured for
125, 900.
There is considerable doubt whe ther
'towe 81 Parks, the owners Of the build.
ng, eau collect their insurance, except
or so much OF their loss rs was actually
aused by fire, the companies not under.
akiDg to Insure bulldogs against fall