The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-10
OTHERS DRAGGED DOWN.
Several Men, Including an
Aged Priest, Meet Death
in the Ruins.
HORRORS INCREASED BY FIRE.
Terrible Havoc Wrought by a Dis
aster in a Business Block of
Wheeling.

WHEELING, W. VA, April AT 500
O'Clock this morning the south wall of the
four-story brick block of Hutchinson & Co.,
on the corner of Main street and the alley
south of Twelfth, collapsed without warm
ing. Next north of it was the store of
Chapman & Son, who were just finishing a
five-story brick block, to be used as a
paint, glass and building supply store, and
they already had stored in it about $14, 900
worth of stock and were doing business
there. Hutchinson & Co. deal in hard
ware, saddlery and wagon supplies, and
that building was packed full of goods.
The wall on the alley first fell out, pull
ing with it the partition wall between the
Hutchinson and Chapman buildings. The
crash of the falling buildings was terrible,
and soon drew thousands to the scene.
The horror of the accident was increased
by fire which broke out, and, as there
were large quantities of oil, turpentine and
the like in Chapman & Sons place, the
situation was hard to meet.
Four employees were caught in the
Hutchinson ruin: Robert Winchester, Eu-
gene Birch, P. J. Koran, NJ. ]. Ford.
The first three have not been found, and
are doubtless dead. Ford was rescued and
may recover.
Charles Halter, the bookkeeper, and
Adam Blum Jr., partner, were penned up
against the rear wall and were released by
prying the bars off the windows. They
were unhurt.
Mr.. Hutchinson was in the second story
and was badly injured, but was rescued
alive, and hopes are entertained that he
may recover. When the collapse came
Ford was selling a bill of goods to Ben
jamin Pritchard, wagon manufacturer of
Buchanan, w. Va. Pritchard's dead body
was found lying across Ford legs. He was
crushed to death.
Shortly before the accident Very Rev.
Father F. H. Parke, Vicar-General of the
Catholic diocese of Wheeling, was seen to
enter the alley, and he was believed to be
killed, and this belief was sadly confirmed
at $50 P. NJ. by the recovery of his body.
He was y years old, distinguished clergy
man, chaplain of Mount Dechantal Acad-
envy and had been twice administrator of
the diocese.
A Western Union Telegraph messenger
boy, Harry Cowl, aged IA, is also thought
to have been in the alley, but his body has
not been recovered. No others are known
to be lost. There was an early report that
a cab, its driver and four occupants were
buried by the falling walls, but this is
proved to be untrue.
The falling brick and timbers knocked
hole thirty feet long in the three-story
brick building across the alley, occupied
by G.. NJ. Rice & Co., wholesale milliners,
and the smoke and water ruined their val
liable stock. The smoke also permeated
the adjoining house, occupied by Speyer
Bros, wholesale milliners, and their loss
will be heavy. Water caused serious dam
age to Greer 81 Lang's hardware store and
OFT Bros. & Co., hardware dealers. The
cellars were flooded for block, ten streams
playing all day and averaging 1000 gallons
a minute, and yet at o'clock the fire is
not extinguished.
Great indignation is expressed because
at the time the old Melodeon Hall prop
erty was remodeled and story added in
1891 by Mr.. Hutchinson the walls were
condemned, but he persisted in using them,
and owing to the lack of adequate laws
could not be prevented.
The loss will probably aggregate $3.50, 900.