New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-04-19
PULLED DOWN TO DEATH.
TELEGRAPH POLE DRAGs Two,MEH rROaa
A HIGH WINDOW.

ONE Is KILLED INSTANTLY; THE OTHER BApzY
wouNpED-THE ATTACK ON THE WIRES
L GOING ON WITH vIeoR
The crusade against the overhead decttd
wires was made memorable yesterday by an acci-
dent which caused the instant death OF one work@
man. and severe injury to another. The accident
occurred at 9:2o y. m., at No 3S7 Sixth-ave,,
Just below Twenty-fourth-st and although many
persons have prophesied that accidents would
result from the speed with which the work Wa
going on, no one had expected anything % res
markable In its way as this one Western
Union telegraph pole had been chopped on st the
base and men were lowering it, when
In some way two men who were al
third-story window, holding guy-rope, were
pulled out Of the window and dashed to the
stone sidewalk below One, Michael Early, was
killed instantly, while the other, Hugh Reilly.
was 50 severely injured that his life was despared
Of and he was soon afterward sent to the New.
York Hospital in an unconscious condition.
large crowd of people had been watehins
I the workmen in their preparations to remove The
poles, and the accident caused great excitement
IN the neighborhood. Alexander Busby, a con-
tractor for the Bureau Of Encunbrances, and
George w. Roth, an inspector for the Board
OF Electrical Control were at once taken before
Justice Patterson at Jefferson Market Polics
Court. There the circumstances Of TIE accident
were explained, and Busby was at once dis
charged, butsRoth was taken before the coroner
who paroled him in the technical custody Of
Commissioner Gibbens.
The exact circumstances Of the accident were
bard to get at, and in advance Of the inquest ID
would be difficult to fix the responsibility for IL
IL appears however, that arrangements had been
made to have the pole fall into the gutter and that
its course was to be controlled by two guy-ropess
one held by some ON the structure OF the eleI
waited roai, while the men at the window had thu
other. third rope, running down the street. was
to prevent the pole from falling before everything
was ready.
PART OF THE SASH WENT wI7H THEM.
When the pole was lowered, however. and had
almost reached the ground two men shot out OF
the window with such force as to carry portion OF
the sash with them The inference is that they had
got the rope tangled about their bodies or legs in
some way, although some of the bystanders were
strongly inclined to censure Inspector Roth James
0'Brien, OF the witnesses in coprt, said he had
warned Roth that the arrangements were not safel
Other men who were present said afterward that
the pole was not particularly large one, and that
with two men with rope ON each side there
ought to have been trouble in lowering it. When
working at a window high above the street, how
ever, there would be e need for slack rope II
the rope had not been so laid as TO permit of its
being paid out with great rapidity, the tangled
mass could easily have become wrapped about the
legs of the two men and whipped them out Of tbs
window in moment. This was generally re;
gaPded as the true theory of the accident and ID
would perhaps exonerate the head of the gang from
ell blame. Tho men were experienced lnemepI
however, and their friends were much mystfedl
Some persons were inclined to attribute the aet
edent TO the fact that an iron bar which had beer
placed across the window slipped from It's
place through mistake made by the men
on The elevated road VINO are said 10 have let their
rope hang loose just before the pole was loweredi
Reilly himself was suffering too much from shock.
even after he had recovered consciousness, to make
any explanations.
Both of the unfortunate men were little over
thirty years DID, but Reilly has wife and three,
Sgnidlren gasl Nv VINO hve at NO Sss Fast Foursieth-st
Fulton-st, Brooklyn Reilly seems to have had
his fall broken by striking an awning. His
be about his feet where several bones were BROKEN
and hopes of his recovery were entertained last
night
GOING ON WITH THE WORK
The accident occurred early in the morning; and
| IL seemed to take the heart out of the men, and
much less was done than had been expected
| although nearly sixty men were kept busy. Ehey
were set to work in two gangs at in the morn-
ing, one beginning at the northwest corner of
Sixth-sve.s and Twenty -thirdst, while the othec
worked up the east side Of Sixth-ave, beginning
| at Twenty-eighth-st A slight delay was caused
at Twenty -ffth-st, on the west side Of the
avenue where Inspector Reilly discovered that one
of the Manhattan Company's wires had an alternati
ing current on of 1000 volts, and work on the
Western Union wires was stopped until the cur+
rant had hpan hint off mi ha UiF v ntft
east side Of the avenue u gang under Inspectors
Fitzpatrick stripped off all except the dre wires
ST. and Sixth~ave., was so rotten that while a
lineman named James Darney was cutting the
| telegraph wires away it broke of below the clrn
and toppled over against the nearest houss. inc
| lineman grabbed bunch of wires and sid safely
| to the ground.
In the afternoon the two gangs united and went
to work on the wires of the Mstropontan s Lest
phone Company at Twenty -third-st and Broad
way and in the short space between the east sioe
of Broadway and the west side OF flftn-aye:
5000 feet of telephons wires were taken down anS
eonfiscated cable containing $50 wires, whio1
| entered the subway at the southwest corner ol
Broadway and Twenty -third-st was also cut ana
the great pole at that point was removed 40 eooH
| several hours 70 accomplish this.
The Metropolitan Telephone Company, thc
|. United States Illuminating Company and the
| Brush Company also kept up actye WORK yestsrs
day in getting their wires out o. tne way s 2. th ths
| average in value, however, they do not tase tne
trouble to remove them but leave that expense "a
the cjtv The electric light companies made
efforts to reduce the area Of darkness, but with
only limited success. Broadway and Seventh-ave.
and Union Square and Madison Square stin wore
a suburban appearance, while the fmportAnt
streets running across town, between FouYteenth-
ST. and Central Park had to be content in the maia
with gas lamps The Fifth Avenue Theatre pus
up six large clusters Of gaslights at us Twenty
eiohthst entrance Yesterday, and Day's and othea
play-houss also increased their previous facilities
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