Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-06-16


down as by an awful cataract. The
floor was made up of iron girders
hardly strong enough to support the
walls but heavy enough TO stamp out
human lives; of bricks that were held
together by plaster long since dried
out; of wooden beams that had been in
place too long. There was no escape
from such a flood. There were over
400 men in the building.
The following is the list of dead thus
far reported, with the names of the
states from which they were appointed.
1t contains % names, two of whom are
from Michigan.
GEORGE Q. ALLEN Pennsylvania.
GEORGE VI. ARNOLD, irginia.
l.. w body, New DIRK
SAMUEL b. BAINEs, Pennsylvania
JOHN BUSSIUs. District OF COlu n bia~
JEREMIAH DALEY, pennsylvania
JAMES H. PAGAN, Kansas.
JOSEPH Is. GAGE, Michigan
DAVID &. JORDAN. Missouri.
j. NJ JARVIS, Michigan.
j, BOYD JONES, " isco sin.
i. i. LOFTUS, New DIRK
J.. W. q. MAEDER New York.
y. +. MILLER, New ork.
HOWARD :, MILLER, hio.
j. III. MCCALL, Wisconsin.
J.. q. SKULL, kansas.
WILLIAM SCHRlEBER, Maryland.
+. NJ WILLIAMS, WiscOn in.
NJ L. MULLEDY, LOuistansi.
j. +. CHAPLIN, South arolina.
BURROWS NELSON, West irginia.
a, VI. GERAULT, New Jersey.
Words cannot picture the awfuines.S
of the accident. The imagination
stands back and fails To give any idea
of the scene. It's horrors will never be
fully told. It's suddenness was almost
the chief horror. Other cities have
felt the visitations of awful calamities.
They have been swept by fire and
deluged 10y flood, and plaques have
decimated their communities. In the
national capital of the proudest nation,
of the earth there has been a catas-
trophe unparalleled in the annals of it's
history, and in every mind there is ter
rible conviction that its genesis is TO be
found in the criminal negligence of a.
government too parsimonlous to pro-
vide for the safety of its loyal servants
10y erecting buildings proper for their
accommodation.
The news that the building had
fallen spread with lightning-like rapid
ity- and soon Tenth street and adjacent
thoFoughfareS were crowded with
people Within an hour the news was
known all over Washington, and hun-
dreds of anxious relatives and friends
swawned to the vicinity. A general
fire alarm was turned in a few minutes
after the crash, and then all the ann
| balances m the city were summoned.
| As quickly as possible the police and
| firemen formed a reserve brigade, and
ready hands assisted them to take out
the killed and wounded. Ia less than
an hour about % had been taken out,
and every few moments thereafter
some still form would be borne on a
stretcher from the building. Police
and army ambulances, cabs, carriages
and vehicles of every description were
pressed into service for carrying away
the dead and injured, and scores of
| physicians volunteered their services
| for this, work.
Both the military and naval authori-
| ties took prompt action. General
! Schofield ordered two troops of cavalry
from Fort Meyer, just across the river,
and two companies of infantry from
the arsenal to the scene of the disaster.
| The,secretary of the navy ordered out
all the navy medical officers stationed
here and also opened the naval hos
pital to receive the injured. The conn
| mandaDt at the. navy yard was ordered
to render all assistance in his power.
None of those who escaped injury
could. tell which OF the floors first gave
away. To tho. occupants of each floor
there was but ONO crash heard and in
stantly the whole building was filed
with binding lime dust. The entire
back part Of tho. building containing
more than half of the floor space re-
manned intact. ThcTe were many very
narrow escapes from death. n mum
| Der Of clerks whose desks rested
] directly upon the line where the floors
| boDlSle away saved themselves, while
| the desks at which they sat were pre-
/ cipitsted down the awful chasm,
Others who were walking across the
! room heard an Ominous sound and
stopped just at the very threshold OF
/ death.
The cause. of the accident was the
I failty construction of an underpinning
which was being placed under the
walls TO allow an excavation for AN in
dependent electric light plant in tine
basement. The building had been
condemned repeatedly and Congress
| had thought II so unsafe that 1.-THE rned-
neal museum was removed from the
building, but the lives of clerks was
not of so nuch value.
Joseph b. Gage of p Itoskeys who was
! killed, was $3.50 clerk in. the record and
pension division. lie VAS originally from
ohio anaa served during the war I'm the
Tenth Ohio lndeper sent battery, light
| artillery. from lSO2 TO ~. lie asOrkginally
| appointed in the Gers o ice, on recon-
mendatlon of ex-Congressman, Frank w
| Wheeler, July Z, 1890. On the I'D OF October
| OF the same year he 81 transferred TO tue
! record and pen ION division, where he re-
manned until he w9s slain at the post OF
| duty" He was abo at 80 years ola and had
| acquired many frle ads in Washington. Mr..
Gage was buried at Arlington cenetery.
John Bussius auqther OF the. slain, was a
private, in Company A. of the FCnrth Aichi-
gar, but was appointed from another state
Hcleayes a wido and ose child
Tho following Michigan men were among
those employed In the building: ID. q.
stpeuhel, Frank Van VTanken M. NJ; Jarvs b,
N, ID. Knapp H., G. Workman j. r. Nichols
knartS II. Hall, b. Rupp, aud NJ. A. Rawson