Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-04-10
TUMBLES TO RUINS
And Sends Six Persons to Their
Eternal Sleep.
TERRIBLE COLLAPSE AT WHEELING.

One Building Goes to Pieces and Carries
People, Six OF Whom Lose Their Lives
Fire Follows the Crash-Two Railway
Accidents That Bring Death to Five 9th
ersLMine Horror in Washington.
WHEELING, April 1O.-At twenty min
utes past 8 a. m. the south wall Of the
four-story brick block of T. T. Hutchin.
son & Co, on the corner Of Main street
and the alley south of Twelfth, collapsed
without warning. Next north of it Chap
man & Son were just finishings Q five story
brick block, to be used as paint, glass
and building supply store, and they al
ready had stored in it about sl4, 600 worth
of stock and were doing business. Hutch.
ison & Co. deal in hardware, saddlery
md wagonmakers' supplies and the
building was packed full of goods. The
wall on the alley first fell out, pulling
with it the party wall between Hutchi-
soE and Chapman People who were
near say that the cracking of the timbers
was like the rattle Of musketry and that
In few seconds everything was rendered
invisible by huge cloud of dust.
seven Men Caught in the Crash.
The crash of the falling buildings was
terrific and soon drew thousands to the
scene. The horror of the accident was in
creased by fire which broke out immedi-
ately, and as there were large quantities
of oil, turpentine, and the like in Chap
man g. Sons the situation was danger
GUS. As soon as people about the place
became cool enough to think it was
found that there were buried in the
Hutchinson buildings ruins four EN-.
ployes, as follows: Robert Wincher, Eu-
gene Birch, 2. j.. Horan, and NJ. J. Ford.
Charles Haller, the bOokkeeper, and Adam
Brum, senior partner, were penned up
against the rear wall, and were released
by prying the bars off the windows They
were unhurt. Hutchinson was in the Sec
ond story and was badly injured, but was
rescued alive, and hopes are entertained
that he may recover.
One Man Taken Out Alive.
Ford was reached after hard work by
a large force of men and found alive and
conscious. He was taken out after an
hours work and removed to a hospital
He may get well. The other three en-
ployes are still in tine ruins and doubtless
dead. When the collapse came Ford was
selling bill of goods to Benjamin +.
Pritchard, wagon manufacturer of
Buchannon, W. Va Pritchard's dead
body MAS found lying across Ford's legs.
H, was crushed t. death. Shortly before
the accident Very Rev. Father T. 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 7:30 p.
IN. by the recovery of his body. He was
72 years old, 4 distinguished clergyman.
Western Union Boy Disappears.
A Western Union telegraph messen-
ger boy, Harry Cowl, aged Il, is also
thought to have been in the alley and 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 a
hole thirty feet long in the three-story
building across the alley occupied by G.
NJ. Rice & c., wholesale milliners, and
smoke and water ruined that firms val
liable stock. The smoke also permeated
to the adjoining house occupied by Speyer
Bros. wholesale millinery, and their loss
will be heavy.
Little Effect of Floods of Water.
Water caused serious damage to Greer
& Laings' hardware store and OFT Bros. &
Co, hardware dealers. The cellars were
flooded for a block, ten streams playing
all day and averaging 1,OoO gallons a
minute. and yet at O'Clock the fire was
not extinguished- Great Indignation is
expressed because at the time the old
Melodeon hall property was remodeled
and a story added in 1891 the walls
were condemned. but owing to the lack
of adequate laws their use could not be
prevented.
THO :