Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-06-16
The missing are:
WILLIAM BAIRD'S STATEMENT.

He Cannot Understand the Cause Of the
Covington Accident-They Located Here
Because Pittsburg Is the Leading Manu-.
fnc:uring City of the Country.
William Baird was seen at his home on
Negley avenue last evening just as he was
about to depart for the scene of the disaster.
He was greatly affected by the sad intelli.
gence which had informed him of the death
of his two brothers, but talked freely. An.
drew Baird was his business partner, anG
Robert was a superintendent in their en-
ploy. Both were Canadians originally, but
for a number of years have been living TEN.
porariiv in various cities where the firm ha.
been building bridges
Andrew Baird has been living at Point
Pleasant, w. Va, dividing his time be.
tween the two bridges the firm was con.
structing at Wheeling and that at Coving.
ton. Prior to that time he had been two
years at Memphis, where bridge was put
up by the firm. He leaves q wife and two
children and was 40 years of age. He was
in this city ten days ago and must have Just
reached the Covington bridge a few hours
before the disaster, as he lett here for Chi
cago and his business there must have kept
him until Tuesday night.
Robert Baird's Bert aved Family.
Robert was 40 years old and leaves a wife
and three children. He has been living at
Wheeling where he superintended the
erection of two bridges.
The firm has its headquarters in this city
at Home and Valley streets They have no
works, are simply a construction company
and say they located in this city, because it
is the best in the country for their branch
of business and the leading manufacturing
city on the continent.
81 cannot imagine what caused the acci-
dent, said William Baird last night 'I
received word BY telegraph last Saturday
night that the work was progressing in a
most satisfactory manner and that the river
span would be in position and practically
finished this evening. No special haste
was necessary in the work as our contract
allowed us until the middle of July to finish
it. We could have finished easily, think,
by July 1.
Gas to the false work giving way I can
not offer any explanation because / am not
acquainted with the particulars any more
than the papers have given. But the tim
bers used for the false work were the best
kind possible to obtain.
1t Had Stood a Heavier Strain.
''It was the best grade of yellow pine, II
inches square, and had been used short
railroad bridge over the Ohio river at
Kenova,O. a much heavier bridge than this
This bridge span only weighed 275 tons, but
with the same kind of timber we built the
false work under the Memphis bridge, one
span of which weighed 200 tons We
have built many bridges, including the new
London bridge over the Thames, the Hud-
son river bridge at Poughkeepsie, and we
have built more bridges over the Ohio and
Mississippi rivers than all other firms COM
bined. Our men were all experienced and
i can't believe the accident was the result
of any carelessness, but it may have been
caused by high water or drifting
81 can't believe the figures given as to
the loss of life. On small contract of that
kind there should not have been over 80
men at work unless they had called out the
YARD men, but even then there would not be
more than so. The structure was not q rail-
road bridge, only a thoroughfare or traffic
bridge, and why, after getting along with
so many large ones without accident, we
should have such a terrible affair as this I
cannot understand" /"