The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-07-11
THE ELKs, SESSION.
The Floor Coliapses and One Hundred
In1urad.

The Floor ColiapseB and One Hundred
Injured.
ATLANTIC CITY, N. j., July 1O.-This
mornings session OF the grand lodge of
Elks Witnessed the completion Of the
peace negotiations for the uniting OF the
two factions Of the great order. 1t was
the result OF Q secret conference lasting
the greater part Of last night, ut which
Meade D. Detwiler and several of the
representatives. of the Buffalo faction
and the grand exalted ruler and grand
lodge Of the Atlantic City faction were
present. One hundred persons were In.
jured tonight by the collapse of the
floor OF the Casino, in which the Elks
were holding social session.
The session had just opened, and only
one OF the speakers had been heard,
when, without the slightest warming,
the building, which had not been used
for several years, gave way, and fully q
thousand persons were thrown to the
floor beneath. Fully two hundred per-.
sons, who were on the first floor of the
building, and immediately beneath the
banquet hall, lwere crushed beneath
timbers and lay helpless.
The fact that all the electric lights in
the building went out at the same time
the building gave way added to the ter
rible situation. A double alarm for the
department WAS at once turned In and
the entire force Of 200 hremen and every
police officer In the city were called to
the scene as hospital corps. The police
ambulances and carriages of every de-
scription were utilized to convey the
injured to the hospitals and to their
hotels.
When the police and f1remen arrived
on the scene the excitement was so in
tense that they scarcely knew where to
begin first. Within few minutes, how
ever, they succeeded in clearing the
space in the immediate neigh borhood OF
the building and stretched ropes around
to keep the crowd back. In the mean
time the hremen had set to work to ex-
tricate the wounded from beneath the
mass Of timbers. and they were aided in
their efforts by the hotel keepers and
residents near the scene.
Every house was thrown open for the
reception Of the injured, and every
available conveyance WAS pressed into
service to carry them to their hotels.
Meanwhile. physicians were on the
scene and were doing everything IN
their power to aid the unfortunate who
had been caught in the crash. As
quickly % the unconscious form Of
victim was taken out of the ruins, will
ing hands bore 1t to the nearest place.
and everything that surgical skill could
! do to alleviate their sufferings was
done.
The excitement amidst the assem- bled
crowds was even greater than that in
the immediate neighborhood of the
building. All sorts of rumors were rife.
1t was first reported that the building
had caught fire and that in the conse-
quent panic many lives had been
crushed out. Then rumor came that
the entire edifice had collapsed
As it had been generally known, how
ever, that the social session of the order
had been in progress in the building
and that 1t would be in all likelihood
the largest attended event OF the con-
vention almost every new arrival upon
the scene WAS almost frantic with grief
and anxiety for some relative or friend
The first victim to succumb to his
injuries was Frederick Clnproth, Of s46
Kimber street. Camden. He died shortly
after midnight ct q neighboring hotel,
to which he had been conve yed. Dr.
Z. w. Fry, OF Roanoke, vs., had q leg
broken. but is not seriously injured. Il
Ia now feared that other deaths will
result, and 1t ID m after Of wonder
nent that out of the 300 or more persons
who were on the lower floor none were
killed outright.