Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-01-17
GREAT CALAMITY.
TWO HUNDRED EMPLOYEES IN A
READING SILK MILL.
Are Caught in the Building In Which
They are at Work.

READING, Pa, Jan. I0.-Last nigh
was the saddest In the history Of Read
ing. A death-like pail hags upon the
city as the result of the most terrible
disaster in Its history. A hundred
houses are in mourning as the result oi
one Of the greatest calamities in Penn
sylvania. A cyclone swept over the
northern section. of the city in the after
noon, 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 car
only be estimated. The most reliable
computation at 10 o'clock last night is
that not less than so have been killed
Outriget and 100 injured. How this
calamity occurred Is about az follows:
1t was raining very hard all morning.
Towards noon 1t ceased almost entirely,
and by o'clock there was every indica.
tion that there would be an entire ces-
satiOn Of the rain storm. Half an hour
afterwards the bright sun made every
effort to penetrate the clouds. The
tints OF rainbow were in the eastern
sky. 1t portended beautiful sunset.
There was clear sky overhead. This
continued for half an hour longer. Then
the scene changed with a suddennss
that was appalling. The fieecy clouds
gave way to the ominous signs ofa COM
ing storm. Dark, heavy clouds mar
shaled themselves towards the town,
and soon a gloom seemed to have set
tied over the city. There was q still
ness as OF coming danger. Then the
wind whistled, roared and tore IN mad
confusion. The storm clouds grew
heavier still and louder roared the
wind. In the western sky the storm
was seen approaching with laundering
noise. The swath it cut waa narrow,
but its effect was terrible. People liv-
ing along the track of the storm say
that they saw the first signs of danger
in q funnel-shaped maelstrom which
seemed to gather up everything within
its reach and cast 1t right and left. Out
in the country houses and barns were
unroofed, farm out outbuildings were
overturned, crops rooted up and de-
struetion spread in every direction.
The track of this destructive element
was not more than 200 feet wide and it
is lucky that it only touched the suburbs
OF the city. 1t came from the west, but
passed along the northern border of
Reading. First it touched the Mount
Penn stove works. Here the corner of
the building was struck and
portion OF the roof was cut off as
nicely as If done with pair of scissors.
Then the storm cloud scurried across
some fields, took off a portion of the
roof off. H. Sternbergh's rolling mill,
and number of dwellings were un-
rooted as readily as if their tin roofs
We're paper. The storm then hurried
across the property of the Reading
railroad company and crossed the rail-
road. Here passenger car was stand
ing. This was overturned as easily as
If it had been toy, and its splinters
scattered in every direction.
Meanwhile the rain poured down in
torrents. The atmosphere became
heavy and oppressive, and it was almost
as dark as night. Directly alongside
the tracks of the Reading railroad was
situated the paint of shops of the COM
pany. 1t was a one-story building,
about go by $50 feet in size. Here about
30 men were employed in painting pass
enger cars. There were eight or nine
OF these cars in the building. The build
ing was struck squarely in the middle,
and the bricks scattered about as if they
were playthings. The cars were turned
while the men were
buried under the debris. Some of the
bricks were carried square away. The
chamber of each of the passenger cars
was already filled with gas as they were
ready to be taken out on the road
in few days. These exploded one af-
ter another with a fearful bang as of
a cannon. Bang! bang! bang! they re-
sounded over the city, causing the peo-
pie to run out of their houses, thinking
that it was the sound of an earthquake.
There was a considerable quantity of
gasoline in the building, and this added
fuel to the flames. A sheet of flame
shot upward with the roar of musket-
ry. Some 20 of the men had chance
to crawl out of the debris, but four of
their companions were enveloped in
one embrace of the flames. Their cries
were heard for moment by the terri
fled workmen and then their voices
were hushed forever. They were quick
ly roasted to death and the fire from
the nine passenger cars lit up the heav-
ems for miles around. It was beauti-
ful sight, and could have been enjoyed
but for the awful calamity which ac-
companied it.
In the meantime the fire department
was called out, but its services were
unavailing. The building and cars
were consumed in Is minutes and moth
ing left but blackened, smoking ruins
under which lay four human beings
burned to crisp. Their names are
John Kahler, Albert Iausberger. Sheri-
dan Jones and George Schaeffer. It
was rumored that several Others had
been killed, but these are the only ones
who is Is known to have lost their lives.
Aaron Dewalt, another employe in the
paint shop had his arm broken, and
Geo. Knabb was injured internally, no
doubt fatally. The loss to the railroad
company is $78.
While this was all going on the storm
was travelling forward with fearful
rapidity. 1t must have travelled at the |
rate of 100 mites an hour. It struck |
some more private houses and unroofed |
o dozen private residences. The huge |
sheets of tin were carried half q square |
away and deposited in lot. Then the |
storm proceeded in its fury. Directly |
il its path, at the corner ofTwelfth and |
Marian streets, stood the Reading silk |
mill, one OF the industries of the city, |
In which the citizens took the greatest |
price. Here about l75 happy girls were
working. The building was a huge |
structure, most substantially built, four
'tories In height and basement. It oc-