The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1884-06-04
A Terrible Collapse.

BALTIMORE. May 20.-Soon after
> O'Clock the weight Of the cotton
stored in Hooper's building, No. 81,
South Gay street caused the strue-
ture to collapse. A lot OF people
were IN and about the place at the
time. and several were killed. Eight
bodies have been recovered from the
ruins thus far. The bodies OF Nor
timer H. Llnthium, cashier, a man
named Kelley, and a calored boy
have been found. The latter has
since been Unidentified as J. c. Brown
Edward Brown colored porter OF
Messrs. Hooper, is in the wreck.
William COachran, clerk, was caught
under the timber but was little IN
iured. Messrs. Dugdale Il Long,
fertilizers, occupied the front office
on the second floor of the building.
Benz. Greenwood. G. Hook and h.
Melee, employees, ore known to
have been there when the crash
came. Greenwood reached the WIN
dow and was rescued without serI-
Gus injury. Hook and McLea are
still under the debris, the whole OF
which is filed with gas from broken
pipes. The building was supposed
to be one of the most substantial In
the city, with heavy side walls
and a blue stone front. 1t has been
occupied for several years by Messls
Wm. Z. Hooper & Sons, cotton goods
manufacturers and an immense
stock was stored on the five floors.
On which aoor the break occurred
is not known and all are down from
front to within about forty feet Of the
rear which opens on Frederick street
The counting room is located in the
rear of the first floor and most Of the
persons were there when the break oc-
Cured. One-halfthe upper front was
thrown down and remained so brok-
en- and pushed outward that 1t IS IL
able to fall at any moment. The
warehouse was built about twenty
five years ago and was long used as
a .obaccc house. The ground was
once filled in having once been the
river shore. The foundation is said
to have settled down and the
immenes weight Of goods was the
cause of the calamity.
BALTIMORE, May 3i.-At 2 o'clock
this afternoon the workmen on the
fallen Hooper warehouse very unex-
pectedly reached a point where they
could see Gildea Hook. He wa:
still alive, and stimulants were ad-
ministered to keep him alive until
the wreck could be removed enough
for him to be taken out. At D ?. NJ
the workmen succeeded in reaching
the spot where Hook lay, but life
was then extinct. A few feet away
the body of Kenneth McLea was seer
and was soon recovered. Thus fal
four bodie. have been recovered
/ There still remain under the WRECK
| the bodies Of James Kelly, the ship
ping clerk Of Messrs. Hooper y
Sons, and the coiored porter EdwarC
/ Bower and the colored draymaI
Moulton. The men are still at worl
( but the immense mass OF timber anC
goods, amounting to thousands o
tons in weight, will take much tim
/ for It's renewal. The stock of Messrs
Hooper IL Sons was very large, bu
they do not expect the damage b!
the wreck will exceed $4,000. Th'
damage to the building which belon!
to the estate of Charles d. Deford
will be from $4,000 to $4,000. Th
disaster is now supposed to hav
been caused by the decay o
one end of a large girder which raI
the entire length of the building ol
the third floor, and which was brok
en- of where it rested on the from
wall by the great weight of good
stored on that floor. Many of tn
heavy joints upon which ths floor
were laid are also broken and shoy
evidence Of dry rot.