St. Paul daily globe., 1885-04-14
BURNED IN THE DEBRIS.
Eight Fiye-Story Buildings Collapse
in New York, BuryIng Score
of W0rkmen.
Miraculous Escape From Death :
Though Many Were Injured 1t is
Believed None We're Killed.
The Criminal Cupidity of the Contractor Re-
sponsible for the Catastrophe-Making
Mortar Without Sand.
Five Men Killed by Falling SmOkestack in
Michigan and Another Fatally In
jured-0ther Casualties.
Buried by Falling Buildings.

Buried by Falling Buildings.
New YORK, April 13.-Eight fve-stery
tenement houses on the south side of West
Second street, between Tenth and Eleventh
avenues, that had recently been put under
roof. fell this afternoon while efforts were
being made to brace them up that the yield
ing foundation might be made sure. The
wreck was complete. Not stick remained
standing, not timber remained
full in the entire row. Half
hundred workmen were at work
in or about the buildings at the time. At
least thirteen of them were injured, none
fatally. 1t was said soon after the accident
occurred that twenty persons were buried in
the ruins, but up to a late hour no body had
been found. The
EXCITEMENT ABOUT THE PLACE
was so great that it was difficult to obtain any
reliable information as to who might have
been lost, but the gangs of workmen en-
ployed in searching for the remains found
no clue to any object Of their
search up to nightfal. The most superficial
examination of the debris showed the
cause Of the disaster to be wretched work
contained little or no sand but loan Or mud
instead, and was wholly unfit for use. This
and the fact that the building had been
erected during the cold weather, of vet and
frozen bricks, was directly the cause of the
collapse. The builder, Charles A. Budden-
sick, who was responsible, left the neghbor-
hood in a carriage Immediately after the
disaster and drove to his residence on East
Seventy-seventh street. Where he went
from there
NOBODY COULD LEARN.
The police, who arrested the master brick
LAYER, Charles Frank, could not find the
builder. Buddensick has been for years in
trouble with the authorities on account of the
''skin" buildings he has put up. The evil
dcnce given by Frank and Charles Swager,
another bricklayer, is very damaging to Mr.
Buddensick. The erection of the building
had been going on since last
December, During all the cold
weather, the fourth-story walls
showed weakness in a sudden thaw before
The fifth story was reached, and had to be
:akcn down. Workmen were forbidden to
carry home scraps of timber left by the car
penters. By the builders orders these were
10 be used in filing in the walls to save
bricks, which were sometimes put in 10y the
Hnlul. w UGu Il 0OOu ludW SCL III JuC
WALLS BEGAN TO WEAKEN
and steps were taken to brace them up from
both ends so that they would stick together
until the roofs could be put on and the end
walls rebuilt. The wall stood thus far week
or two without, so far could be learned,
exciting the curiosity Of the building depart
ment. The heavy warm rain of Yesterday
completed the work begun by the thaw. This
morning it was seen that the three houses at
the west end were in imminent danger of
falling. The
FOUNDATION HAD BULGED
noticably and the walls were shaly. Builder
Buddensick's attention was called to the
matter. He set men at work to fix up the
walls and foundation. Four stone masops
and eighteen carpenters were at work on this
when the crash came. There were roofeEs,
painters, fathers and plumbers, numbering
perhaps thirty. at work about the premises at
the time. Fifty men had been laid off, as
some material had not arrived. About 3:15
p. IL.
A SHOUT OF WARNING
went up that brought ga4e faces to many
windows. The end building toward Elev-
cnth avenue was seen to totter, and then
fall with 4 thunderous noise. Both the
foundation and side walls had fallen out,
and the body Of the house, deprived of its
support, fell to the cellar The building ad-
joining it, having nothing to lean upon, fell
next then the whole row followed like line
OF card houses. \ continuous roar followed
that seemed to last many minutes, as one
after the other Of the
TAIL BUILDINGS WENT DOWN
worl,men in the buildings for blocks around
and people living on the street for half
mile about were startled by the noise and
shock, and in very short time the locality
of the wreck was packed with an excited
people. Threats of vengeance on the reck-
less builder filed the air. When the
heavy cloud of dust had cleared away
the people looked upon bed of
broken bricks and timbers piled only few
feet above the Level of the street. men with
broken limbs and bruised faces were strug-
Cling out
FROM UNDER THE WRECK
and dragging themselves painfully away
Shrieks and groauS were heard from one or
two places, and to these the people rushed
Fircmen aud all available ambuances were
summoned. People from all parts of the city
nocled there. The Roosevelt hospital ambu-
lauccs were the first on hand and
carried away nine of the wounded.
Commissioner Brennan of the charities de-
partmeut undertook to direct the work OF
rescue, and Building Inspector Doench and
the fire commissioners did work in the same
direction. -Four hook and ladder companies
and the crews of three engine companies set
10 work to remove the debris. \ large gang
OF workmen was pressed into service and in
fifteen minutes the labor of rescuiug was
well under way. Night had set in before
~. l.. 1
the workers fancied they heard some one
give a
CRY FOR HELP
but no person was found at either time
Near O'Clock Fire Chief Reeves thought be,
heard groaus under the heap at the rear of
the second building. Gangs went towork in
front and rear. At 1:30 a hole large enough
for fireman and two citizens to grope their
way to the cellar was made. \ search with
lamp revealed nothing but ruins. Nearly
two hours later in the same place,
GRoANS CAME FROM \ MAN
caught in an upright position between many
crossing timbers and held fast He was
eytricated with difficulty He wss Louis
Walters, aged 40, Trainer Of IS5 Ridge
street, one of the men who had been engaged
in bolstering up the building. He was re-
moved to the hospital. Then the digging
was resumed under strong calcium lights.
Policemen drew line across the street. Ii
was said that the missing builder had
been hurt by q flying brick when
the buildings fell. Charles Schwazer.
the bricklayer, was standing by him at the
time. sSchwazer had refused . week before to
work longer in such buildings. As the dust
arose Schwazer turned to Buddeusiek and
shaking his cleuchsd inst in the builders
face. exclaimed; "You
OUGHT TO RE HUNG