The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-01-17
COLLAPSE OF A BUILDING
Three W0rkmen Crushed to Death and
Another Badly Hurt at Philadelphia.
Three Upper Stories ola PaperWarehouse Crash
Down Almost Without Warning-Strset-
Car crushed by a.Train at Chicago.

PHILADELPHIA. Jan. 16-About 5:45 this
afternoon the four-story brick building at
No. 537 Commerce street, occupied as q
salesroom ana warehouse by the Nixon
Brothers Paper Company. collapsed. Seven
men were in the building at the time.
Three were buried In the ruins and killed.
one was badly hurt and three escaped
uninjured. The dead are: John McKenna
and Joseph Wallace, packers, and Albert
w. Marks. foremap. Albert Gales. a col
ored porter was injured internally.
The three upper stories were stored full
of paper bags. In the Office. in the rear of
the building. on the ground floor. w. ii.
Nixon. head of the firm, Samuel Bayles,
treasurer. and e.. S. Forsyth agent for the
Wilkinson automatic etoker were seated.
talking shortly before o'clock. Gales,
McKenna. Wallace and Marks were work
ing further down toward the doors. An
ominous cracking of sphntering joists was
heard. and then. with terrible suddenness.
the whole upper part of the building
came down with rush upon the men on
the nrst floor. Gales was nearest the front
door. and as the falling plaster began to
rattle about his head he made rush for
the street. just as he reached the pave
ment the front wall fell. bury!ng him out
of sight. He was dug out by the tirsmen
and was found to have been fortunate
enough to have escaped with serious but
not fatal injuries. When the building be-
gan to cave in. McKenna, Marks and Wal
lace ran towards q window In the roar OF
the store. The first two reached it, but the
tons OF bricks. joists and paper fell upon
them just as they were about to jump ont
and crushed the life out of them. Wallace
was caught further back. and up to late
hour Co night his body had not been re-
raA y, inf ha off
escaped nniniured. as the debris fell In the
front and towards the extreme rear. They
were walled in, however, by the ruins. and
were assisted out by the police and
fremen when they arrived on tho scene.
The cause Of the collapse of the building
was perhaps the weight of the paper stored
in the upper floors. although Mr.. Nixon
claims that the stock piled up there was
not nearly so great az 1T has been on many
other occasions. The building Is Q ruin
and will have to be entirely rebuilt The
loss Is about $4,000.
Another Crossing Accident at Chicago.
CHICAGO, Jan. 16.-Late tonight street
car containing six people was run down
at the Forty -seventh.st street crossing OF the
Rock Island tracks by q locomotive of that
road. All the passengers were injured, and
one will die. This is the same crossing
where the construction train of the Fors
Wayne road killed four people some days
ago. the two roads running side by side at
tins point. Those injured are:
WILLIAM COLLINS. police officer, skull fract-
ures; will die.
ARTHUR CLARKE. inspector Of Erie railway
yard, badly hurt about head.
CHARLES PUSDERs. driver Of the car, seriously
cut and crushed about head and body.
SIMON JUDGEsON, badly hurt about head and
bruised.
MRS. SIMON JUDGEsoS, face, head and hands
cut and badly bruised.
J. c. CARBERRY, police officer, head and face
cut.
CHARLES Fox, cut about the head.
The blame for the accident lies between
the gateman, conductor and driver. and,
notwithstanding their injuries. the two
latter were locked up. Taylor, the con-
ductor says that he ran ahead to look for
any approaching train. He saw the engine
coming, although the gates were up. He
called to the driver to stop, but another
voice yelled for him to come on, and the
driver came. Before he could cross the
track his car was knocked into splinters.