The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-08-09

NEW YORK, Aug. S.-With scarcely
a sound TO warn the seventy or eighty
workmen of their danger. an eight
story building in course of erection and
nearing completion at West Broadway
and Third streets, collapsed an hour
before noon today.
At least five men are thought to have
been killed. Several others are ser%-
ously wounded Those thought to be-
dead are: John Burke. John Murphy,
Christopher Burke and Michael O'Hare.
plasterers, all of Brooklyn; Frank or
James Kenny, Italian; Charles L. Hen
dersOn. electrician.
William Fox, plasterer, us also mis-
sing. Charles Smith was taken from
under pile of bricks horribly cut
about the head and body.
4 Clash of Opinion.
There is a difference of opinion as to
how the accident occurred. The pre-
vailing idea is that an immense iron
beam on one of the upper floors
snapped, the floor gave way and
crashed through the building.
There was a great V-shaped jagged
hole in all the floors and at the bottom
of the wreck were piled up bags of
lime which had been stored on an up
per floor, mingled with bricks, beams,
and tools, and from the mass came the
grOanS and cries of wounded work.
men. The firemen and police. who
came early to the scene, could hardly
see to perform their work of rescue be-
cause of the cloud of dust that poured
from the wreck. Many friends and rel
atives of the dead and injured were
n
resulted. When Coroner Fitzpatrick ar
rived to look after the dead, ne said,
as q practical builder it was his opin-
ion that the collapse was caused by the
sandy nature of the land on which the
structure had been set. There were
others who said the building had been
originally intended to be only seven
stories high and the igthth story, when
added, had been too heavy for the iron
work. The builder denied this with
out being able to form any idea as 10
the cause of the collapse.
No One knows.
A number of men who were engaged
in the Iilding soon after the accident
occurred left the scene. This makes il
impossible to say just how many men
are actually missing and the true num-
Der will not be known until these have
reported to their foreman.
The ruins fill the centre of the build
ing with broken timber. twisted iron
girders and columns, bricks and plas-
ter 1t makes a mound as high as the
second floor and is a mass as dense
and hard to handle as a bank of clay.
1t is said that seven men were at work
in the cellar directly under the centre
of the wreck. The building was filed
with plasterers, plumbers, electricians.
gas filters and laborers- Contractor
Parker and Foreman Seligman have
both been arrested.
Caused by Overlooking.
1t was said at the scene of the dis
aster that the cause was undoubtedly
the Overlooking of the sixth floor with
plaster and building matter
Harry Alexander. of the Alexander
Chamberlain Electrical company.
which was doing the electrical work
in the building said that his men had
reported to him on Monday that the
wires that had been placed in the sixth
door were out of line, showing the
walls had already got out of plumb.
Mr.. Parker, the contractor. said that
the plastererS had overloaded the
center of the building. The iron work
was sound and well made. The bolts
were sliced clean off where the iron
work parted showing that a heavy
pull had been exerted downward.
in the ruins at 4:3O. and after digging
for two hours extricated the body,
which was that of Charles Peterson,
the electrician.
Mrs. Peterson stayed at the scene
while the men were working to rescue
her husband.
BIOOdthirsty Butchers.
Henry Alexander, manager OF ths
electric company, whose men are
working in the building, has written
warm letter, asserting that when
John Smith, the wireman, was brought
from the ruins, the surgeons from RI
val hospitals, whom he terms blood
thirsty butchers fought for the body
and almost upset the stretcher. But
for this delay he thinks Smiths life
might have been saved. He died on
the way TO the hospital
Parker and Sillick were arraigned
before Coroner Fitzpatrick and each
held in $1,000 bail on the charge OF
causing the death of John Burke, the
man who was the first to die as the
resalt of injuries received