St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-08-04
HOTEL HORROR.
A Portion of the United States Hotel
at Washington falls, Bury
ing Several Persons.


WASHINGTON, D. c., Aug. 3.-The back
part of the United States hotel building, stu
ated on Pennsylvania avenue short distance
west of the capitol, fell in without warning
this evening and buried in the ruins num-
Der of the inmates. The building has a
frontage of 125 feet on the avenue, and a
depth of l25 feet, the rear end opening up
on an alley leading from Third to Four and
half streets. A small portion of the rear end
was the first to give way, and general col
lapse of the whole rear portion Immediately
followed, sending up great cloud Of dust.
A general fire alarm was sounded, winch
brought to the scene of disaster number of
fire engines and hook and ladder companies
and a force of police. There were about 45
persons in the hotel at the time the disaster
occurred, including guests and employees,
and it was impossible at first to assertion how
many were buried in the mass of debris
which occupied the ground upon which the
rear of the building had stood. Cries and
groans could be heard from the ruins, show
ing that all who were there imprisoned were
not dead A large force of men went to
Ernest Shocks, boy eleven years of age,
and Annie Dickson, colored cham bermaid,
were taken out, both alive, but badly in jured
In tie meantime 1t had been ascertaincd that
the number of persons buried in the
ruins did not probably exceed seven, viz
Mrs. Belden, wife of the proprietor; Ernest
Shocks, boy eleven years of age; a
son of a restaurant keeper next door, and
five colored servants. 1t is feared those va
have not yet been rescued are dead. TIE
part of the building which fell contained
chiefly rooms appropriated to the use of the
employees of the hotel, and it is believed that
none of the guests have been either killed or
injured. The United States hotel is one of
the Oldest structures in the city, and it is
said has been for a long time in an unsafe
condition. The barkeepers are reported to
have made complaint to the inspector of
buildings some days ago in regard TO its con-
dition. Dangerous cracks in the wall be-
came visible on the outside. The portion
that fell was erected about twenty-five years
ago and was five stories in height.
Mrs. Belden, wife of the proprietor of the
hotel, was rescued alive at II 80 o'clock
after having been imprisoned four hours
She was on the first floor of the back build
ing, and was caught in a narrow Y shaped
space formed by part of the second floor
resting in slanting position against the
sidewalk. After the iremen and volunteers
had worked two hours digging into the
debris from the surface the force of
firemen under Capt. Cronin entered from
the front Of the building, against the back of
which timbers and bricks had partly lodged.
and hearing groans, worked their way back
by removing the timbers and supporting
others they finally got near enough to see
Mrs. Belden and talk with her and eventually
hand her some water and whisky. She was
not crushed but held down by
her clothes and penned in by the fallen
timber. Jacks were brought and the weight
held up while saws and axes were used to cut
the way to her. AT last the rescuers got
close enough to cut her clothes loose when
they were enabled to extricate her. She was
apparently not severely injured but very
much exhausted, and tainted as she was
carried out.