The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1894-10-11
NINE PERSONS KILLED
By the Collapse Of an Eight Story
Building in New York,
CRIMINAL CARBLBssNEss ALLEGED

The outer Walls of the Big Building Had
just Been CompIeted-It Carried Down
the Sleeping Inmates of a Two story
Building Adjoining.
NEW YORK. oct. 11.-While the storm
was at its height just before o'clock yes
terday morning, new eight story build.
ing at a Monroe street collapsed bringing
down with it the house at ~ Monroe street
and the rear extension of the building on
the other side, No 7G Both places were
filed with sleeping tenants, who were
buried under the tremendous mass of
ruins. The crash of the falling walls
aroused the ncighbors, who scantily clad
began the work of rescue, which was con
tinued well into the day by police and fire
men. They mined far under the bricks
and beams and mortar, and from out of
the ruins thcy took the dead and injured
The dead are: /. !. Abrams 40 years
old; Mrs. Bessie Abrams, aged 49, wife of
]. l. Abrams; Rose Abrams, Is, daugh-
ter Of l. l. and Mrs. Bessie Abrams: Mrs
Bertha Karones, 30 years, board driven
into abdomen; Abraham Karones, her son,
0 years old; Solomon Karones, aged 2l;
Mrs Jennie Steinman, aged 90; Meyer
Steinman, her son, aged 81
In addition to the above seventeen per-
sons were injured more OF less severely,
half dozen having limbs broken.
The building had been finished externally
at o'clock Tuesday afternoon, when the
last nail in the roof was driven As soon
as the workmcn completed their job they
helped the owners deck it with flags, in
accordance with the east side custom, had
little celebration with beer on the new
roof, and went away well satisfied Yes
terday the interior was to have been worked
on.
Early in the morning a watchman, Wal
ter Bryan, was standing at Pike and Mon
roe streets. He said he had been Watching
phosphOrescent light in the sky right
over the new building when, like n stroke
OF black lightning, as he put it, he saw the
wall split from the roof to the ground In
a moment the building had vanished and
the street was filled with dust and the air
with wild cries.
The building had crashed down upon "a
two story dwelling, No. ~, carrying the
smaller structure to the ground, a mass of
debris. Out of the wall of the dwelling
No. rs Monroe street the falling structure
carried away enough material 60 leave the
third story rooms exposed. The people in
them ran out in dismay, but were not at
all injured.
As the neighb0rs ran to the scene figures
were seen squirming out of the mass Of
bricks and mortar The first to get out
was Michael Kroner Others of his fam
lily followed, but all had to be helped out.
When all in sight were got out, groans
were heard in certain places, and hero the
crowd dug away to save the buried -Four
more were eXtricated, more or less injured,
in a short time. Then the flremen arrived
and went to work Systematically to extri-
cate the bodies Of the dead and rescue the
living.
One by one the dead were carried out
and laid in the midst of the frantic group
of inmates of the little house. No 72, to be
identified, They were expecting to see
their relatives dead for they had been
gathered and counted, and it was known
who were not to be found
The now building had been erected by
A. b. Aaronwitz, proprietor of foundry
about block away Aaronwitz was ar
rested and auaigncd before Justice Hogan
in Essex Market police coust In spite of
the fact that AarOuwitz was charged with
homicide Justice Hogan discharged him.
He, however, issued subpUnas for Aaron
witt and David A. MOlski, the contractor
who put up the building to appear before
him this afternoon and explain what their
responsibility, if any, was for the disaster.
The structure, it is alleged by Thomas
Brady, whose family occupied the rear of
No. rs, was weak, and he says that he had
made complaints about it to the building
inspector, but that no attention had been
paid to them.
Other ncighbors assert that one story
was built pretty well, but the costs seemed
to have mounted too high, after which less
expensive material than cement was used.
No reliance can be placed on these stories
as yet however, because all witnesses were
excited and indignant They were too
anxious to find somebody to hold guilty.
NIaItreated by Masked Burglars.