Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-02-28
DEATH IN A SHAFT.
A Very Young Boy Meets His Fate
in a Most Terrible Manner.
CRUSHED BY A FREIGHT ELEVATOR
And His Little Body Found an Hour
Later by an Elder Brother.
AWFUL WORK OF AN OLD DEATH.TRAP

FRANK Otlckmdu, OOy IL years O1u, was
killed by an elevator, at about 2 O'Clock
Wednesday afternoon, in the warehouse oi
Fleming & Hamilton, on Third avenue, be-
low Market street. The mangled body was
found in the basement an hour later.
The victim was the son of Herman Stick
man, a mechanic living in the Thirty-ffth
ward, Duquesne Heights. The family is
poor. An older brother, Herman Stickman,
II years old, has been working for Fleming
& Hamilton for two years. The firm con-
sists of John Fleming and John Hamilton,
and they are manufacturers of stamped and
Japsnned tin ware, and wholesale dealers in
timers stock.
There are two slarge brick buildings
The factory is on the west side of Third
avenue, and the warehouse on the east side.
One building is four stories high and the
other five. There is freight elevator in
each building.
HAD NOT WORKED A DAY.
Frank Stickman began work for the firm
Wednesday morning. Soon after his body
was found, at o'clock, it was carried to the
livery stable of j. H. Skelton, No. 121
telephoned from the Office of the firm to
Coroner Mcdowell. The Coroner at once
went to the stable, saw the body, and then
examined the elevator where the accident
occurred.
The top half of the boys head, including
the greater part of the face, was torn off.
His chest was crushed into pulp. After
jury had viewed the corpse, it was taken to
ho IF H.
Helghtsf and was buried at 2 o'clock yester-
day afternoon. The body was so lacerated
that during this warm weather, it could
not be kept longer without burial.
The Coroner's inquest was held yesterday
afternoon. The jury first inspected the
buildings and the elevators. The elevators
are open structures, for freight purposes.
They are pulled up and down by wire
rope and they are operated with great diff
Guilty. Coroner Mcdowell, in the presence
of the jury, attempted to start the elevator
In the warehouse and was able to do so only
with great difficulty. Witnesses were ex-
amlned, among them being John Hamilton,
Foreman Forester and Herman Stickman.
THE ELEVATOR RUNS ITSELF.
It was developed that no person is en-
ployed to run the elevators. When any
employe or clerk desires to use an elevator
for any purpose he operates it himself. A
large number of boys work in the two build
ings, some of them quite small, and they
use the elevator, as do the adults. In the
factory there are nearly 100 employees.
The lad who was killed was employed as a
"hustler." The foreman said that the boy
gave his age as 15 The older brother said
that Frank would be 13 years old next
June. 1t was his duty to run truck,
loaded with tinware, from the third floor of
the factory building into the elevator, run
the elevator down to the first floor himself,
wheel it across the street to the warehouse
and take it up on the elevator in that build
ing to the floor where the tinware was to be
packed or stored.
The testimony showed that boy named
Charles Mitchell had been using the ele-
vator in the warehouse, and had started it
up, when he left it, from the first floor. He
said it would stop itself when it reached the
top. At the second floor blood was found
on the edge of the elevator shaft, and also
on the elevator.
FOUND BY HIS BROTHER.
No person saw the accident. No one
heard q cry. An hour later Herman Stick
man himself found the mutilated body of
his little brother at the bottom of the shaft.
He knew the clothes.
In answer to questions by Coroner
Mcdowell, Mr.. Hamilton said that he had
fixed no minimum age for his employees.
He said he had never heard from Governor
Beavers factory inspector, who was ap-
pointed last fall and has been drawing a |
large salary for six months. He had re-
ceived no blanks, circulars or other papers |
Of any sort relating to the factory law of
May, 1889.
On December "a, 1889, Mrs. Griffith. who |
lives on Forbes avenue, in the Twenty |
second ward, visited Fleming & Hamilton's |
store to see her husband who works there. |
An employe took her up on the elevator to |
the third floor, and the elevator was left |
there while she stepped off to talk with her !
husband about buying some Christmas
presents for the little ones When she had |
finished her brief talk she turned and |
stepped into the elevator shaft The light |
is not good and she thought the elevator |
was still there. 1t was not. Some person
had needed it at an upper floor. She fell to
the basement. Her thigh was broken, the |
bones being very badly crushed and |
splintered. She was lifted unconscious and |
in an ambulance to her home.
She has not yet recovered.
THE BROTHER HAD TUMBLED.
About year ago Herman Stickman was
4 ''hustler" in the factory. He was one day
handling truck loaded with stack of tim
ware which was higher than his head. Con-
he could not see over it. He had
lrawn the elevator up to his floor, and left
It standing there. When he had placed his
ast armful of tinware on the truck, he
pushed it into the elevator shaft. The ele-
Tator was not there. Somebody else had
wanted it. Bov and tinware went "to the
bottom of the hole" The boy lay at the
point of death for several weeks, but at last
and became able to resume work
n the same shop.
Last December boy was killed by the
elevator in the building of the Matchett
Paper Box Company, on Seventh
venue. On the occasion of the in
luest in that case, the Coroner's
ury recommended that competent people
hould be employed to run the elevators in
III factories.
The inquest, as far as the taking Of testi-
nony is concerned. was concluded yester-
lay. The jury will meet this morning to
ender a verdict.