The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-04-23
sTHE NEW YORK DISASTER.
Statement of the Ticket Taker of
the Art Gallery.
Managers Aware Of the Weak Condition
OF the Wall.

New YORK, April. 22.-The following were
killed by the accident at Madison Square
| Garden last night:
Mrs. Hegeman, wife of W. A. O. Hegeman
| OF No. West 31st street.
Miss Ell. L. Willett, an unmarried lady of
No. Sc East 31st street.
Mary Connolly, a nurse maid to Mrs. Hege.
| man.
| Iniured,-Col. -, bruised about the BODY
Leonard Later, right leg fractured: e. t.
| DouceS. hand crushed and suffered slight con.
customs; ii: Herrick, arm broken; Albert Hill.
ton, slight bruises; S. ]. Hyde, injured slight
| ~; A; Montgomery, slightly; Ann Scoville
| slightly; j. Silverman, light bodily injuries
Miss Josie Streeter, severe internal injuries
j.. W. Swan, slight; Ernest A. Thompson
| Slight cuts about the head; VIM. FL. Tileston
| compound comminuted fracture of both legs,
fractures OF left arm and lacerated wounds OF
| left leg broken, left foot crushed.
| -Four ladies were taken from the dancing
room, injured slightly.
| The head and body of Miss Willetts were
crushed to shapeless mass. Coroner Brady
| gave burial permits for the bodies of Mrs
Hegeman, Miss Willetts and Mary Connolly
| Two carriages in front of the building were
crushed and two horses killed.
1t is stated that gentleman in the employ
| OF the fair states that for three days past he
l
| ry was bullying out toward 4th avenue. Yes
terday he brought a plumbline to the garden
and tested the wall. He found it just four
| inches tout of plumb
| He did not care to say anything about that,
| as the managers had ordered an examination
| and were satisfied that the wall was safe. This
gentleman said that the bullying of the wall
| was well known to every one connected with
the fair, and was so evident that almost all the
| employees spoke about it.
l How aIxnf faI-a ~,
| gallery, was the last man to leave the room
| when the crash occurred He states that il
was about quarter of nine o'clock when the
ceiling OF the art gallery began to tremble and
crack. When he noticed it he sent word tc
Mr. Mackey, the superintendent, who came te
me and said
Hooking, get the people out of here as soon
as you can. Do it as quietly as you can, for
| Gods sake"
There were then 81 persons in the room,
nearly half OF whom were ladies. I went in
and began to get them out, although 1 hardly
knew on what excuse to do so to avoid panic
| Finally fragments of the ceilings began te
drop, and the first thing we knew great rents
| began to appear in the side wall. The gas
pipes are suspended from the roof by copper
wires, and We're swaying to and fro. Sudden
ly they all fell to the floor, leaving us in dark
ness Just before the lights went out I could
see the west wall bullying out toward 4th ave
nue., and group of about half a dozen PEG
pie budding about my desk put my arms
round them, and exerting all my strength, /
pushed them through the door toward the
main hall. then felt puff of fresh air. and
the wall fell with crash A portion of the
beams fell upon my back, crushing my hat
and tearing my coat. Then I saw from the
head of the stairs one of the most terrific
scenes ever witnessed. People rushed from
the dancing hall " it'll pale faces and garments
torn. No regard was observed for the ladies
whatever. | did not see single act of manli
ness in the struggling mass, who seemed tt
have lost their senses. The musicians fled an6
left their instruments behind, and right in
front of me l saw four fashionably dressed
| young men drop the arms of the ladies they
were escorting and dash down stairs, like cow
ardly hounds. tried to do the best could
nnder the circumstances, but 1 knew there
| was no one in the art gallery when I left it
Mr.. Story, the artist, was about six inches in
front OF me when the crash came, and he
acted with great valor. helping me to drag the
people out of the room. I recollected there
| were 100000 worth of oil paintings on
the wall which fell, but saw that it was toe
| late to do anything but try to save hnman life
rushed into the adjoining dancing hall and
| helped several gentlemen to carry out the
wounded people from under the debris. The
portion of the wall which fell was erected last
| December.
Mr.. G. Strube, the door-keeper of the Madi-
son avenue entrance, said that about O'Clock
yesterday afternoon, two men, evidently me-
| chanics, came to the door and demanded ad.
mittance, saying that they were sent there by
order of Mr.. Vanderbilt to inspect the build
| ing. Mr.. Strube suspected that this was a
clever ruse to obtain free admission to the fair
and declined to allow them to pass. They
| persisted, and one of the House committee
was summoned, who admitted them. They
| went up stairs and examined the building
which subsequently fell. and left in about an
hour without making any report as to the
safety OF the building. Last evening, when
| the crash came, Mr.. Strube was at the door.
He was under the impression that the gallery
in the main building had fallen, and did not
Immediately leave his post. just then there
was rush of people outside to get in and of
those inside to get out. One fellow ran out in
| high state of excitement yelling 'sFire" at
| the top of his voice. Strube tripped him up
and stopped him from spreading the panic.
His cry of 'fre" was heard by those further
in the building, who could see no signs of the
accident, and were in CONSERVATION at the
sound of the falling building, which appeared
to them to be an explosion. The janitor of
the building had the keys of the Fourth ave-
nue. entrance, and as he could not be found
Immediately they came rushing back to the
Madison avenue entrance.
The immediate cause of the fa'i is believed
to have been the springing of the floor, as a
party of about 60 youthful dancers bounded
upon t. 1t was said last night by several
persons who assumed to know, but who refus-
information, that some of the young men con-
nected with the management of the fair
thought the walls were insecure several DAYS
ago, and that they obtained the opinions of ar
chitects as to the strength of the floors and
walls before they permitted the dancing to be
INDUCED in. Other persons are equally posi-
tive that no such precaution had been taken,
but these persons could not explain why archi-
tects visited the building yesterday, and why
the builder OF the walls went there yesterday
morning
When the walls fell the dance had Just been
finished. The pianist who furnished the music
was still sitting at the instrument, which was
in the southwestern corner of the room, next
to the wall, and some of the young ladies were
promenading. A low, rumbling sound was
heard, then series of swapping reports, and
the walls and ceiling went down. A rush had
been made for the door when the rumbling be.
gun, and the most of the young persons were
clustered near it when the ceiling slid away.
Some OF them were hurt by falling pieces Of
wood and Jumps of plaster, and all were al
most choked by the powdered cement which
covered them from head to foot. The clothing
OF all the young women were thus ruined. The
pianist had the narrowest escape from death.
The wall at the side and above him slid into
the street, carrying with it a good part of the
roof. He was not hurt except by bits of tim
Der. &c. 1t is said however, that one OIL the
women picked up dead in Madison Avenue
was sitting at the western side of the dance
roOm anu was carried Dy the walls down to the
sidewalk.
Fire Marshal Sheldon made a careful exam
ination of the debris, and found that the bricks
of the fallen wall were in almost every in
stance entirely separated. In the whole mass
a very few bricks were held together by &C.
ment, demonstrating that the adhesive power
of the mortar was wholly inadequate to the
pressure of the wall. 1t was suggested that the
spikes driven into the wall to hang the pictures
on helped TO weaken it and to displace the
bricks laid loosely together.
Col VIM. M. Tileston, who was fatally in
jured, was connected with the Turf, Field
and Farm as one of its editors. He was SO
years of age and highly esteemed. His partner,
VIM. Walker Webb had his head cut and leg
broken. He is at the house of his father Gen.
James Watson Webb.
Great crowds were around the building this
morning.
Two more victims of the disaster died today.
All the New York papers condemn the sham
manner in which the Madison Garden is built.
The Graphic calls the disaster 1.-The murders
at Madison Garden .
WASHINGTON.
Mr.. Hurd's Bill Regar ding Canadian
Railways.