Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1893-06-10
BUILDING WAS UNSAFE
Further Particulars of The
81 Washington Horror.
OVER A SCORE ARE KILLED,
Nearly Half Hundred Employees Sc
vurelv Injured.

WASHINGTON, June 10.-Further par
ticulars of the collapse OF the Ford Thea
tire building show the list of dead to be
not as large as at first reported. Never
| theless there is a terrible result in loss of
life and injury.
| The building stood on Tenth street,
northwest, betwcen Il and f streets, not
far from Pennsylvania avenue. 1t was
condemned years ago-some claim so many
as IS or 20-and had been repaired, propped
up and renovated lrom year to year.
There were AS persons, mostly govern
ment clerks, employed in the building,
| and nearly all of these were at work
| when the builGing fell.
An excavation for an electric light plant
was being made in the cellar of the struc-
| ture, three story affair and according
| the best information obtainable, the work
men yesterday had dug beneath the
foundation supports in the front of the
building, weakening them to such an ex-
tent that the walls gave away before they
| could be lacked.
| This explau alton of the cause Of the acci-
dent is the only one advanced, but it seems
somewhat strange, in view of the fact that
1 the
Top Floor Gave Way First.
Men who were in the building say the
| crash came without warning Those on
| the top floor were suddenly precipitated To
| the floor below, and the weight Of falling
| timbers and furniture carried the second
and first floors with it.
| Fortunately, only the forward half ol
the floors gave way. The outer ends of
the floors and the rear part of the struc-
ture remained intact. The walls did not
fall.
There were many very narrow escapes
from death. A number of clerks whose
desks rested directly upon the line where
the floors broke away saved themselves,
| while the desks at which they sas were
| precipitated down the awful chasm.
| Others who were walking across the room
heard an ominous sound and stopped just
at the very threshold Of death.
| When the Crash Came
those who survived heard mighty scream
of anguish from their comrades as they
sank out of sight, and then cropping in the
darkness they found their way TO safety,
trembling in every joint, with the pallor
| of death in their faces.
| No women were employed in the build
| ing, but in a few minutes after the crash
came, the wives, mothers and daughters
of the victims began To arrive
| Most of those first taken out Of the ruins
were carried to the emergency hospital.
| At about l0:3J clock the dead and in
| jured began 10 arrive faster than the corps
| of surgeons could attend TO their injuries.
Carried in on stretchers they were put in
the most convenient places.
| Load After Load
Of the wounded, blind from the debris and
with limbs broken and manned, were
| placed at the door.
| 1t was with great difficulty that the
| policemen could keep the relatives of the
injured out of the builling, while outside
their agonizing cries could be distinctly
| heard by the wounded men who lay help
| less. Priests and ministers were soon
on the spot, and being at once admitted,
| repaired to the cots of the injured, where
they Administered spiritual consolation.
Between 10 o'clock and noon the am
balances were kept busy carrying away
the dead and injured.
The faces of many victims were covered
with pieces OF cloth, an old coat a news
| paper, and whatever else could be had, but
some of the mangled bodies were carried
out with their faces exposed to the gaze of
the great throng.
! The List of Dead
contains % names, including one un-
known and one probable duplication, only
81 bodies having been taken from the
ruins The lisO Of dead follows
Unknown man. evidently a clerk; George
Allen, g. w. Arnold, l.. w. Boody, S. p
Banes, John Bussius, A. l.. Dietrich,
| ID. c. Jordan, NJ. NJ. Jarvis, j. B. Jones,
| +. b. LOTUS, f. w. Maeder, b. f. Miller,
II S. Miller, J. II. McFall, G.. Shull, Will
lam Schriever, ii. 5. Wood, +. NJ. Will
iams DR. Nelson.
G. III. Miller is killed, but It Is probable
| that the name is meant for &. X. Miller,
who was supposed to have been killed, but
will recover The names of Jordan and
Paul have also been attached to the un-
official death list as having been taken out
dead, but their bodies have not been
located. Jordan is probably duplication
of the name ID. G. jordan of Missouri, who
was killed, and Paul may have been con-
fused with McFall, also killed.
Nearly fifty people were injured. Some
OF their injuries may prove fatal.
| A Look Into the Interior
tells sickening tale of how some were
taken and others left Desks, are seen
half topping over the brink Of the bro ken
floor, Others stand upright, but the chair
which stood beside It, and its occupant,
went down with the crash. Records and
papers are scattered everywhere, but as
fast as possible they are being gathered up
and saved Many Of them are spotted
with blood, and all are more or less obliter-
sted.
Might Have Been Averted.
Examination of official records shows
that the insecurity of the building was
brought to the attention OF congress in a
pointed manner ~ far back as 1885 At
tention was then directed simply to the
safety Of the army medical library and
museum. The protection of human life
was not especially brought In question.
As soon ~ : .r-tary Lamont returns to
Washington steps will probably b. taken
to thoroughly investigate the cause of the
disaster and 60 fix the responsibility