New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-06-23
LOCAL MISCELLANY.
THE MANHATTAN BEACH ROAD ACCIDENT.

,rcfAREp BY THE OFFICERS AN UNACCOUNtADLE
DESIGNATION OF PROVIDENCE.
An official of the Manhattan Beach Railroad said
yesterday that the accident ny wn4n an Raacb Rail-
road left the track in the town of flatands az oSo
p Thursday was an unaccGnntao es
seven carsn the official said and according to the
repoIt of the engineer who is an old an experienced
railroad man. was going at the rate OF only t Ss
speed at New Lots and Kouwenhoven's Curve,
where the accident occurred, to hitetn mies an
hour Ia aod 'ra cars left the track for
reason not TO be explained. as has happened
on the best portions of the Pennsyiyana road me
cars were little damaged and the engine not al all.
The track was blocked both ways. Word was sent
by messenger at to the nearest telegraph point
two miles away and trains were stopped
Rartop who was at the Beach, at once made ar
rspQements for two extra boats in connection WIN
the Bay Ridge Division and people renTng lTo a
Third-ave., BROOKLYN to the dummy nne. ,bareG
was no trouble at the Beach People gathered EN-
the black board that half-hourly trains would run
in connection with the boats. The last tram leav
ing the Beach carried only about loo bis
"army1 was cut off from the Beach
by the accident The trains which were
held between Fabush-aye ana inc R iaoe az soon
as possible. The track was cleared thls norhine
and trains are running as usual. Inc Iat Wheio
the engine left the track was tuisizeo VI
A number of persons were injured by the acct
dent. Some of them were the following: Henry
Stephens of Thrd-ave., near Twenty frst-st, New,
York who was bruised about the Douy; calnueI
Trueiau, of Mount Vernon. who was ln3ared IN tne
right knee MerS Sonh MsTs1 o. who recevsd
severe scalp wound; John Solomon, OF Astoria. VINO
was hurt on the left arm Peter Lynch OF Newark
Jersey cy , wO OF nqS nf and sixteenth
ST., South Brooklyn, who sustained severe sh0cK
from fall !; Annie Elizabeth, Mrs. Curtiss tweVe-
year-old daughter. whose right wrist was spraned;
Abraham Isaacs, residence unknown, VINO received
a severe conclusion by falling against one OF the
broken ties John Coyne OF twenty % se and
a severe shock: and G. L. Daniels, residence IN
known, who was severely lacerated on the leu
hand
CRUSHED TO DEATH BY AN ELEVATOR.
A sad elevator accident happened in the Equitable
Building yesterday morning, by when Jonn berTy53
man a boy fifteen years old who was employed
about the engne-room. lost his life. The elevator
near the Plne-st. entrance has small compartment
for freight suspended below the one Tor rs
This freight-box extends three or four feet into the
cellar when the elevator Is In position 10 receive
passengers at the basement floer In the cellar a
platform G 6ve can of f 3Se Was in its
elevated position yesterday morning, fOr some
reason Young Bergman climbed upon TINS piatiorm
without any one knowing it and opened the doors
into the elevator shaft which are always kept care
fully closed when the treight-box is not
being used. The elevator came down as usual, and
its conductor Joseph Cherry pulled the rope
which starts the engine for the return trip upward
second later there jar, the elevator stopped
and was found that young h@a o sS5
the basement ceiling and had been instantly crushed
TO DEATH The elevator had caught MIN Just above
The stomach and had drawn his body up TWO 1eet
into a space not more than three inches wide.
The engineer, James +. Wilson, was instantly
called. He cut out the floor of the elevator ana
carefully removed the dead boys BODY. IL was
taken by policeman to the First Precinct Police
Station. The conductor of the elevator SAID after
the accident that Bergman had made no SOUND
before the elevator started and did not cry out
when he was caught. The elevator was started at
half speed only or it would have torn the body
apart without stopping. IL was thought that young
Berryman had tried scramble INTO the freight box
Just as The car started upward ana succeeded IN
getting only part way in when the ceiling and the
floor of the box caught him.
KILLED BY THE EXPLOSION OF A BLAST.
fatal blasting accident. apparently due to gross
earelessness. occurred ABOUT noon yesterday az
Eighty ghth-st and the Riverside Drive. Several
laborers employed by Abraham Dowdney, con-
tractor, have been at work there for many weeks
making an excavation for a sewer. There are rocks
above the surface of the ground, and blasting has
been necessary from the beginning OF the work AS
the men were about to take their hour tor dinner
Yesterday John Mccarthy, the foreman OF the gang
attempted to set Oft blast which had been prepared
earlier in the day. Signals were displayed and the
men went TO a safe distance when the 1use hao u
nited. For sonle reason the blast hung fire nearly
five minutes The men became impatient Tor their
dinners and Mccarthy went to examine the blast
He was followed closely by two helpers, James
O'Bren and Patrick 0'Connell. The foreman was
running wire into the fuse hole and the other men
were leaning over 1t when the blast went on. All
three men were hurled into the air. OBrlens
right arm was torn off and blown 10 height OF
nearly one hundred feet, and his skull was
fractured. The others were burned and bruised
MeCartiIys eyes were burned in the sockets.
The accident was witnessed by about dozen
other men who were uninjured. The wounded men
taxi m NinetV-uIuth-St. HOSpltal,
O'Bren died quickly. de had wife and hve
children living in East Seventy seventh-sI., near
Madison-aye. Mccarthy and OConnell were IN
sensible. 1t was believed that they would not die
from their injuries. The foreman will be blind per-
manently if he gets well enough to leave the nos
pital and there is doubt if OConnel will ever see
again Both are men of middle age and have fanl-
lies living on the East Side OF the city.
LITTLE FAMILY PRIDE IN THE SMITHS.
Family pride does not seem to be strongly de-
yeloped among the Smiths, orlf 1t is they succeeded
in concealing it very efectually yesterday: for
though the smith reunion In Broadway Park,
Brooklyn had been widely advertised for half-past
2 o'clock. and though five thousand
tickets had been issued 1t was well on toward even,
ing before the gatekeeper had any thing TODD. And
vet the programme drawn mp for the afternoon was
fascinating enough-what with half-mlle race
confined to fat men, and mile race confined to
Smiths, and two-hundred-y ards race for the gen.
eral public confined in sacks, to be followed by a
rifle match and winding up with music IS
and dancing. Ii says great deal Tor the SELF
denial of the Smiths that they should have refused
to be led into the paths of dissipation by such
seductive bait; and when 1T is further considered
that they would have had all the pleasurabe
glowings of family pride on hearing Hiram Smith
speak, Joseph Smith recite, and Miss Josephine
Smith sing. their abstentlon rises almost to
heroism. Yet the public has reason 10 regret
their moderation, so lar as it is allowable
TO regret such virtue for 1t would have been pleas
ing and ennobhng slght-that of thousand men
ana women and children of all sorts and shapes and
sizes assembled together. strong in the conscious
ness of beng bound together by the bonds OF blood
relationship But the opportunity was lost and when
the evening came and with it the pleasure seekers,
1t was impossible to distinguish the true Smiths
from the common public winch entered the park
with them but bore vulgar and less sacred Names
IHE FINANCE DEPARTMENT FRAUDS.