Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-06-05
A warning from a BIighted Lie.

A Warning from IA BIigbted Life.
The Iron Age gives this account Of
the shadow that fell athwart the life
Of Amasa Stone, and, with other
causes, led to suicide:
The fall Of the Ashtabula bridge,
December 20, 1876, may be said to
mark the turning point in the tide OF
his fortune. Mr.. Stones name is in.
dissolubly connected with that horror,
the only modern parallel to which is
found in the fall of the Tay bridge.
The facts brought out by the investi-
cation of the cause of this disaster
we're such as to iasten large share Of
the responsibility for it upon Mr..
Stone. From the testimony taken
and the report of the joint committee
of the State Legislature OF Ohio in.
trusted with the investigation, it ap.
peared that Mr.. Stone was the sole de-
signer ofthe bridge, q responsibilitythat
he fully assumed in his own testimony
before the committee. The report
further says that "a careful and patient
calculation of the strength of the brace
at the point of failure (this panel
point from the west end OF The south
truss and of the strain upon it under
that load, shows that it had factor
Of safety of only one and six .tenths,
when ordinary prudence and foresight
required it to have factor of safety
of five, and the upper chord from the
third panel point to the center Of the
bridge, numbering from the west end,
had factor Of safety at the several
panel points ranging from two to one
and twOstenths, instead Of five. s*E
The truth is, the bridge was liable to
80 down at any time during the last
ten or eleven years, under the loads
that might be brought upon it in the
ordinary course of the company's
business, and it is most remarkable
that it did net sooner occur. ***
There was material enough in the
bridge, and different disposition of
it would have secured FIVE times the
strength" ." "
The investigation brought out also
the fact that the chief engineer of the
road, Mr. Charles Collins, had no part
whatever in the designing, construc>
ton or erection of the bridge; never
theless, the fact that he had allowed
a structure with such glaring defects
to remain in service on the line with
out protest on his part made him the
object of severe criticism, At all
events, whatever errors of Judgment
may have been his, he offered in ex.
piation his own life, which he took a
few hours after his testimony was
given.
Mr.. Collins suicide, following so
soon upon that other calamity wrought
deeply upon Mr.. Stone, and filed his
mind with a haunting horror, which
had no small share IN undermining his
health, The death of his only son
Adelbert, his recent financial reverses
which, while they aid not materially
impair his fortune, deeply hurt his
pride as 6nancier, together With il.
tense bodily suffering from insomia
fastened the sad end.
Mr., Stone was tall, of COMMANDING
presence, a tiFeless worker, Of str, Nc
will and impatient Of suggestion. TS
1877 he built and literally endowed
the Home for Aged and Indigent
Women In Cleveland. His last s6m.
pleted work may be eaid to be the CON.
struction Of the Adelbert Oolle0e
building in Cleveland for the Western
Reserve College, the trustees of which
had agreed to accept Mr.. Stones lin.
eral donation Of $500 900 to remove
from Hudson, Ohio, to Cleveland and
70 change the name Of the institution
from Western Reserve COLLEGE to that
Of Adelbert College, in memory Of
Mr.. Stones son. who met his death by
drowning while on a geological excur,
sion as a member of the senior class Of
the Sheffield Scientific School at New
Haven. -a =
The lesson Of Mr.. Stones bliehted
life is one which young men might
study with advantage. SomothiuG
more than an indomitable will K
needed to insure complete success
NO man is so strong, or so wise, or sc
able that he can safely rely upon hil
own Judgment in matters in which
other men are stronger, wiser aud ablel
than he. Mr., Stones life would hay,
'been happier, and in nc sense less sue