Morning journal and courier., 1893-12-16
NEWS BY TELEGRAPH. From All Quarters. TWENTY LIVES ARE LOST Collapse of a Bridge Over
 the Ohio River. IT WOULD BENEFIT OUR COMMERCE. The Government to Build
 the Nicaragua Canal. NEW YORK STORES SWEPT BY FIRE 1t Started in a StOreh0uSe
 and Spread Rapidly.
NEW YORK STORES SWEPT BY FIRE
1t Started in a StOreh0uSe
 and Spread Rapidly.
HURLED TO THEIR DEATHS.

sonville Bridge over the Ohio River FalIs-Many of the Men at Work Upon It Were Carried With It-Their Bodies Were Terribly Mangled- Twenty Lives Were Lost and as Many More Persons Were Serio usly IDjured-One of the Men Made n NeadIong Leap of One Hundred and F0rty-Sfx Feet Into the River When He Saw tho Span Going and Saved His Life.
 LOUISVILLE, Ky, Dec. 15.-The middle the bridge now under construction be- tween East Louisville and Jeffersonville, Ind, collapsed at 10:10 this morning, crushing to death or drowning twenty men and injuring about twenty more, some of whom will die. Only six bodies have bsen recovered.
 For weeks past large force have been at work on the big 500 foot span over the middle of the river. The iron work was all up and was resting on heavy frame work of piling driven down into the bed of the river and securely bolted and braced. The last bolts were to have been put in place in the iron superstructure this after noon and then the gigantic span would have supported it's own weight.
 The foreman in beginning work this morning noticed that during the night the ''traveller"-s huge derrick used for plac- loose by the wind and he ordered it drawn back into place. The wind was high and the swsying of the false work gradually forced tine traveller" off the piles on which it was resting. When the end slipped the whole work trembled and the men, realizing their danger, started for the piers. There were ffty-one men on the bridge and several reached the piers.
 The central bent was the first to give way. The north bent, or the one attached to the Indiana pier did not fall for fifteen minutes after the other part wont down. The partial span, the last one, did not fall had gone down. Being mostly framework 1t did not sink, but foated slo wly down the river. The small "trsveler" on the span foated down several hundred yards and then grounded on the heavy timbers, which were splintered like matches, show ing the terrific forcs of the fall.
 Some of the msn who went down with the bridge were covered by mass of tim Der and iron and 1t will be days before their bodies are recovered. The crash at traoted the attention of the people on the shore and many turned away as they saw the men struggling in mid air and their mad efforts to clinb out of danger. When the huge mass of material struck the water all was concealed for an instant by the spray thrown into the air. As the mist was dispslled here and there could be seen a man struggling desperately to climb upon the timbers that thrust their ends above akar lad tx, climbing to places of safety and were quickly rescued. Others atrug- gled hopelessly, and were carried off by the current to sink almost as rescue was at hand. The ferryboats City of lief fersonville and the 0. W. Hit and the life saving station crews were the first to reach the wrecksge. which completely blocked one channel of the river. Men with broken arms and legs were found clinging to pieces of timber. They were pulled into boats and hurried to hospitals. Five bodies were recovered from the wreck.
 Just before the disaster the steamer Hot spur, with Superintendent George Fisher on board, was making for the false works when MT. Fisher heard some timbers creak. Looking up he saw the great span shaking and gave orders to back the steamer. It was done none too soon for the top of the huge "traveller" fell within twenty feet of the boat. As soon es the pilot realized what had happened he ran the boat up to the wreckage and the crew saved nine men who were so badly hurt that they could not have kept afoat five minutes. Cap tain Daven and his ife-savers dashed here and there into the drift and wreck to pull out the dead and injured.
 Captain Daven thinks that some of the bodies have been carried over the falls. The bridge company has 100 men at work and will e1tricste the bodies injured from the wreck as soon as possible. When the second part of the framework fell an en- zine and boiler went with it and when the boiler hit the debris 1t exploded, but no one is known to have been struck by the flying fragments. The lives of the bridge workmen were insured for $1, ,50O each.
 It is generally believed that the cause of tho disaster was stiff wind that has been sweeping the river all day. It bore with great force on the ponderous framework, which became loosened from the constant strain and swsyipg of the heavy timbers. A great number of people, before the first span fell, could see the ''traveler" rising eighty feet above the piers, swaying and quivering in the wind in what appeared to be the most alarming manner to those on shore. The motion, however. was hardly noticeable to the workmen and they had no idea of their peril until the great mass of wood and iron began to sink and they \ heard the cracking of timber. That the | structure was otherwise than safe never occurred to the engineer in charge of the workmen. Every precaution had been em- Eployed to ensure the stability of the frame ! work.
 There were many narrow escapes, but the most thrilling was that of 8 workman called 'The Spider" who broke the record for high jumping. He was at the top of
 the huge traveller, 14s feet from the water.
 He felt something give away and then saw that the whole span was falling. Placing
 his hands above his head he leaped head.
 long to the water, landing on the opposite
 side Of the bridge from that or
 which the traveller fell. He landed
 well and was carried toward ths
 wreckage, where he was rescued by two fellow workmsn who had just com. ! from shore. Eighteen men were saved by
 being on the north stone pier when tn, ! span went down. The pier rose from th, | water over seventy feet and at its top wer'
 the eighteen men huddled together, dazet
 with fear. A rope ladder was thrown ul \ and the men were rescued.
 Shortly after 8 o'clock the second span | which is 450 feet in length. collapsed iron the force of the wind and fell to the bolton of the river. As far ss known no one wa
 injured.
 Arizona is Admitted.
 WASHINGTON, Dec. 15.-The house to
 day by vote of 1s5 to 61 passed the Ari
 zons statehood bill. The bill for the ad