The Globe-republican., 1893-06-16
A DEATH TRAP.
Collapse of the Old Ford TheateI
at Washington.
Over Four Hundred Government Clerks
Go Down In the Ruins-Twenty-twO
Killed and Many Injured
List Of the Victims.
Awful Calamity.

WASHINGTON, June ~ ne nlSCOr1C
Ford's theater, where Lincoln was as
sissinated, now used as a branch of
the pension office. collapsed yesterday
morning, with awful loss of life. The
accident was caused by undermining
for an electric light plant, though the
building had been condemned a good
many times. The government is great
! ly blamed for allowing SO many en-
ployes to work in u.lding admitted
to be unsafe. Exaggerated estimates
prevailed at first as to the number
killed and injured. as it was thought
the whole force of 475 went down in
the ruins. but this was a mistake as
many were in that portion of the build
ing which failed to collapse.
Men who were in the building say
the crash came without warning. Those
on the top floor were suddenly precip-
itated to the floor below and the weight
of falling timber and furniture carried
the second and first floors down. For
tunately only the forward half of the
floors gave way. The outer ends of the
floors and the rear part Of the struct-
ure remained intact and the walls did
not fall. Within an hour the news was
known all over Washington and hun
dreds of anxious relatives and friends
swarmed in the vicinity of the old the
ater. Women appealed anXiOusly to
every bystander for information about
some particular person. Men with
tears in their eyes besOught the blue
coats to let them through the lines that
they might obtain some knowledge of
their friends and relatives. A general
fire alarm was turned in few minutes
after the crash and then all the ambu-
lances in the city were summoned. AS
quickly as possible the police and fire.
men formed reserve brigade and
ready hands assisted them to take out
the killed and wounded. In less than
an hour about twenty-five people had
been taken out and every few minutes
thereafter some still form would be
borne on a stretcher from the building.
The Killed.
WASHINGTON, June 11.-Twenty-twO
dead bodies at the morgue or the homes
of their families and scores of wounded
men at the hospital, many of them crit
ical, tells the full story of the historic
old Ford theater disaster.
Though there are persons known to
have been in the building still unac-
counted for this morning. the reported
death list had not increased beyond the
twenty-five made up early this morn
ing, and it is hoped that the missing
were not in the building.
The completed death list is as follows
Joseph Il. Pagan of Kansas He left 4 widow
and two little girls in poor circumstances.
David Jordan, OF Missouri aged 49, He leaves
a widow and little child in rather straitened
circumstances
Frederick b. Lotus, of New Jersey; was in
his 56th year and had spent over thirty years
in the government service. He left widow
and six children
j. McFall, Wisconsin, aged 35.
j. b. Gage of Michigan, age unknown
j. NJ Jarvis Of Michigan, no details.
George c. Allen, of Pennsylvania aged 81.
unmarried.
George n Arnold, of Virginia, aged 55 He
leaves a widow.
Samuel p. Banks, of Pennsylvania aged 55
He leaves a wife and grown family.
L. W. Boody, of New York.
John Bussius, Of the District Of Columbia
aged "A. leaves wife and family.
John Chaplin. of South Carolina, age unknown
He left n widow and three children.
jeremiah Daley, OF Howard Pa, unmarried
Dr. Nelson.
j. Boyd Jones, Wisconsin.
F. W. Maeder, New York.
B. F. Miller, New York.
Howard s. Miller, Ohio.
E. G. Shull Kansas.
William Schreiver, Marylanc
F. NJ. Williams, Wisconsin.
A. NJ Gerault, New Jersey.