Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1889-01-10
A Storm Horror at Reading.
Pennsylvania.
An ENORMOUS LOSS OF LIFE.
A Silk Factory, Employing One Hundred and
Seyenty-fve Girls, Blown Down.
HALF 4 HUNDRED GIRLS KILLED.
A Frghtful Disastsr-Eight Men Burned to
Death by an Explosion and Fire at
the Same Time---Camiyal
Of Horror.

READING, PA, January "a cyclone
swept over the northern section OF the city
this afternoon and laid waste everything
within its reach and with terrible loss of
life. The lives that have been sacrificed,
and the number that have been injured,
can only be estimated.
Persons residing along the track Of the
storm, say they saw the first signs Of dan
ger in funnell shaped maelstrOm, which
seemed TO gather up everything within its
reach, and cast it right and left. Out in
the country houses and barns were IN
rooted, farm outbuildings were overturned,
crops rooted up and destruction spread in
every direction. IL came from
the West, but parsed along
the northern border OF Reading. First IL
touched the Mount Penn stove works, do
ing considerable damage The storm then
hurried across the property Of the Reading
Railroad Company and crossed the rail
road Here a passenger csr was stand
ing. This was overturned as quickly as
if it had been toy, and its splin-
ters scattered in every direction.
Directly alongside the tracks Of the
Reading Railroad was situated the paint
shops Of the company. Here about thirty
men were employed There were eight or
nine passenger cars in the building. They
had been built at the company's shops IN
this city at a cost OF 60, 600. Toe building
was struck rquarely in the middle and
BRICKS SCATTERED IN EVERY DiCEC-
TION.
The cara were turned top.y turyy while
the men were hurled under tie debris.
The chamber Of each Of the passenger cars
was already filed with gas a. they we're
ready to he taken out on the road in few
days. These exploded one after an other
with the fearful bang Of cannon.
There WAS a considerable quantity of ga.0-
line in the building, and this added fuel
to the flames. Some twenty OF the men
had chance 10 crawl out Of the debris,
but four OF their companions were en-
velOped in the embrace OF the flames and
were quickly roasted TO death.
Their names are John Kahler, Albert
Isndbereer, Sheridan Jonee and George
Scheufer. It was rumOred that several
Others mad been killed, hut these are the
only ones who it is known lost their lives.
The loss to the railroad company is fully
$4,000.
While this was sll goirR on, the storm
was travelling forward with fearful rapid
ity. Ii must have travelled at the rate OF
ONE HUEDRED MILES Az HOUR
Directly in its path, 81 the
corner of Marion street stood the Reading
silk mill one Of the leading industries OF
the city. Here about l75 happy girls
were working The building was huge
structure, most substantially built, four
stories in height, occupying an entire
block of ground. The funnel-shsped
storm cloud struck the building directly in
the center OF its broedest eide IL ioll 20
pieces rs if composed OF 30 many building
blocks
NEARLY 200 HUMAN BEINGS WENT DOWN
in the awful wreck. Human tongue can
never tell the terrible scenes of that hour.
The walls gave way, the floors fell down.
one on top OF the other, and carried their
great mass OF human beings TO the bottom.
Ii was moment that tired mems sculs'
and almost simultaneously with the fall Of
the building came the awful cries for RELIEF.
Girls with blackened faces, bruised and
broken limbs, their clothing tattered and
torn. drarped themselves from the ruins.
So probably 10 10 100 eecaped Or were
dragged ont by their friends About %5O
girls and youug women are usually EN-
ployed in the mill, hut ri o'clock about
so wee relieved from duty i'r the
dsy. They returned to theI
homes before the storm came. The most
reliable estimate Of tonight place. ine
number in the building when II went down
in the ne'ghhorhOod Of l75, and a4 before
stated 100 of these were rescued by friends
or dragged ihemeelyes out Immediately al
ter the accident
TIE WORK or RESCUE
will he pushed alorg all night but itmay be
far into tomorrow before all TIE h0die5
are taken out. The reecuers still have the
greatest hopes that some Of thole inside
are still living and there is every Ita-on
for saving that the persons who believes
that way are right All il onaos and
confusion around the mill. The
managers are missing and the correct
number of dead is NEARLY guess Work i,
may rot be over forty, ard, then again. ht
this hour, there If a likelihood that 10 VIII
reach sixty, OF even eighty. The ios. on
builing end machinery - estimated al
$40 600.
when the Associated Press reporter VS.
tied the scene of the wreck at ii O'clock
tonight, he found everything in the great
est confusion. AT that time about dozen
dead bodies had been taken out.
Another Accident